USB boot drive for Windows 8.1?

English Backup and data protection
1

I have a Windows.8.1 desktop that I need to back up before upgrading and creating a dual boot system. The NetBak app suggested in the online help only works with Windows 10 or later. Can anyone suggest a way to make a USB boot drive that will allow me to access the System Image on my NAS (TS-664)?

Firmware 5.2.5.3145 Build 20250526

Thanks!
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I’ll check with our internal team regarding Windows 8.1 support.

However, given that Windows 8.1 is an older operating system, I’d personally suggest focusing on backing up your data rather than the entire system. This approach is generally more robust for older platforms.

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@mnem
You May check if following help:

Use Windows Built-in System Image Backup + USB Recovery Disk

Windows 8.1 has a built-in System Image Backup feature:

  • Go to: Control Panel > File History > System Image Backup
  • Choose the NAS shared folder (\NAS_IP\Backup) as the backup location.
  • Create a Windows Recovery USB drive via:
    • Control Panel > Recovery > Create a recovery drive
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Yes, I thought of this and already have a system image on my NAS. But if I want to recover with that image, I won’t be able to access the NAS if I boot from a Windows USB boot drive, will I? Don’t I need the QNAP software?

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You don’t need QNAP software on your PC to access the NAS. All the QNAP software does is locate and tell you what NAS devices are in your system. If you have a fixed IP assigned to your NAS (networking malpractice if you don’t), then you simply access the NAS from your web browser or access it from the Windows File Explorer.

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