Install Windows 7 from a USB backup?

[shortstop20]

The HDD in my brother's computer crashed, luckily he had a backup from the day before. Dell is sending out a tech to replace the hard drive since it's under warranty.

I'm not sure if the tech will go through this process as part of the warranty, so I need to know for when the time comes.

Is it possible to recover a backup of Windows 7 from a USB thumb drive and install it to the HDD when booting from the Windows 7 setup CD or the Windows 7 Startup Repair CD? I've never done so yet with Win7 though from what I've been reading it sounds like it will do that.

In other words, I want to take the backup from the thumb drive and deploy that "image" to the HDD, without first having to install Win7(from the CD).

Thanks.

 

[Sheepykins]

hi,
where is the backup stored. and it depends how you stored it, if you just backed up system settings etc or a full system image

 

[shortstop20]

It's on the USB thumb drive.

It's a full system image.

 

[KSoD]

Windows doesnt do a full system image. So unless there was a 3rd party software used to create the system image, then it isnt a system image but a backup of the files and folders that were selected from your brother using the Windows Backup Utility. If he used the Windows Utility to create it, he will use it to restore it. Where ever it is stored.