How to create ISO image of hard drive in Windows 10

 

Creating an ISO image of a hard drive in Windows 10 allows you to make a complete backup of the drive's contents, including the operating system, applications, and files. Here's how you can create an ISO image of a hard drive for free:

1. Download and Install Disk2vhd:

   
   
    
   • Disk2vhd is a free utility from Microsoft Sysinternals that allows you to create VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) images of physical disks.
   • Visit the Disk2vhd webpage (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/disk2vhd) and download the ZIP file containing the utility.
   • Extract the contents of the ZIP file to a folder on your Windows 10 computer.

2. Launch Disk2vhd:

   • Navigate to the folder where you extracted the Disk2vhd utility and double-click on the "Disk2vhd.exe" file to launch the program.

3. Select Hard Drive to Image:

   • In the Disk2vhd interface, you'll see a list of available physical drives on your computer.
   • Check the box next to the hard drive you want to create an ISO image of. Ensure that the drive has enough free space to store the resulting VHD file.

4. Choose Destination and Options:

   • Below the list of drives, specify the destination where you want to save the VHD file. You can save it to an external USB drive, network location, or another internal drive.
   • Optionally, you can customize the options for the VHD file, such as whether to create a single VHD file or split it into multiple files, and whether to include the disk's page file or not.

5. Create VHD Image:

   • Once you've configured the settings, click on the "Create" button to start the process of creating the VHD image.
   • Depending on the size of the hard drive and the speed of your computer, this process may take some time to complete. Be patient and allow Disk2vhd to finish creating the VHD image.

6. Verify VHD Image:

   • After the VHD creation process is complete, navigate to the destination folder you specified earlier and verify that the VHD file has been created successfully.

7. Convert VHD to ISO (Optional):

   • If you specifically need an ISO image instead of a VHD, you can convert the VHD file to an ISO using third-party software like ImgBurn or PowerISO. These tools allow you to create ISO images from various disk formats, including VHD.

By following these steps, you can create an ISO image of a hard drive in Windows 10 for free using the Disk2vhd utility from Microsoft Sysinternals.