how can I backup my C Drive with Windows and convert the entire filesyst as ISO file
 

I have windows 7 installed on a hard drive and I've installed several programs that I always install when I get a new computer or restore or recover my hard drive basically every time I install Windows 7 on to it and I was wondering how can I backup my entire C Drive with all the programs I've installed and all the windows security updatespackaged as an ISO file that I can just installfrom a bootable thumb drive I've tried to use Windows to back up the operating system including all my programs and files but it saved it as a VHDcan I try imaging software but it create a different type of image that's not an ISO file. I just want to back it all up as an ISO file so I can create a bootable flash drive that will contain all the programs and documents then I install and restore to my computer every time I reinstall windows

To start off you may find that posting a windows specif question to a windows forum will get a better response than posting in a linux forum like this.
Second as I understand the installed windows you get on a new machine can't be just tranfered over to a new one because of differences in the hardware, the OEM indstall is tied to a specific set of hardware, motherboard, drives etc.

As I understand it, you can transfer a Windows license to another machine, so long as you are running only one instance of that copy of Windows, but it may take a telephone call to Microsoft to explain the situation and to get Windows reactivated.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...g-windows-faq#

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...#1TC=windows-7

You are mixing up the phrase ISO. That is a standard most people mean to be an image of a CD or DVD.

Windows bought a backup company a while ago and did go to the virtual hard drive for backups. The standard way to make it is to include system state. Then you use almost any windows dvd and restore your image.

It will not restore correctly to a different system.


To make a live cd you use something like VistaPE.

I used to love Norton's Ghost to do exactly what you want. While the newer program will work fine you can't do all the things easily.

If you want, you can use a program like Clonezilla or Redobackup to backup to some networked or local location. Remember that some restore partitions may exist on this drive.