Quick Navigation:. The Drive Is Not a Valid Backup Location Windows 7/8/10 Nowadays, computer security has caught many persons' eyes since nobody knows when disasters like hard drive failure, ransomware virus, etc. Will happen, causing data loss or system corruption.
WD My passport storage button for switching to backup by file not showing in WD smartware screen. In the backup option it shows ready to backup by category. There is supposed to be a button for.
To keep the computer safe, backing up disk data or Windows operating system is an excellent solution. However, Windows backup issues always appear, for example, Windows did not complete backup successfully, etc. Recently, some users reported create a system image not working for USB drive to us: After choosing a USB drive as the storage path, a message says ' This drive cannot be used to store a system image because it is not formatted with NTFS'.
Then, the drive is formatted to NTFS. But another error appears ' The drive is not a valid backup location'. Why can't create a system image on a USB drive?
Actually, this is due to a limitation of Windows backup tool: Windows Backup and Restore feature does not support USB flash drives or thumb drives as the backup storage location, yet backing up files and other data to the USB drive is feasible. What if you also encounter USB not a valid backup location for system image issue when backing up Windows to a USB drive with the built-in tool? Three simple solutions are offered to you in this post. Just choose one based on the needs. How to Fix The Drive Is Not a Valid Backup Location Windows 10/8/7 Solution 1: Windows 10/8/7 Backup to USB Flash Drive with MiniTool ShadaowMaker If you still want to to use a USB drive to save the system image backup, the best way is to use the third-party backup tool. This is suggested by many users in forums. MiniTool ShadowMaker, all-around and designed for Windows 10/8/7, provides you with data protection & disaster recovery solution.
This freeware is more flexible and reliable than Windows Backup and Restore, enabling you to back up files, Windows operating system, disk and partition to an external hard drive, flash drive, thumb drive, pen drive, NAS, etc. On a regular basis. Full backup, incremental backup, and differential backup are supported. Simultaneously, disk management can be enabled. As professional backup software, it is the best alternative tool when Windows 7/8 or Windows 10 create system image USB not a valid backup location happens. Now you can download and try MiniTool ShadowMaker or to create a system image on your USB flash drive in Windows 10/8/7 with simple steps. Tip: Some features are not available in Free Edition, for example, back up on event, change the backup scheme, etc., but you can get Trial Edition to free use for 30 days.
To learn more, refer to. Now, let's see how to create a system image to refresh your Windows 10/8/7 PC in case of system crash. Step 1: Run MiniTool ShadowMaker Free Edition to get the small window as shown below. Please click Connect button in This Computer section to start a backup without 'The drive is not a valid backup location' error. Step 2: Click SET UP BACKUP button in the Home interface if there is no backup created by this free backup software.
Step 3: Then under the Backup tab, you will see two sections, requiring you to choose backup source and destination. As for system backup, this will automatically select System Reserved Partition and System Drive (C drive) for you. Tip: Before performing a backup operation, you can configure your backup, for instance, create automatic backups using Schedule feature, or make incremental backups using Scheme feature. Just get MiniTool ShadowMaker to have a try. You may like: Within simple steps, you can easily and effectively create a system image on USB drive without 'The drive is not a valid backup location'.
If your friends also experience create a system image not working for USB drive, share this backup software with them. In case of system issues, the created system image can be used to refresh your Windows 10/8/7 PC. Generally speaking, the system image recovery is quite easy as long as you get a bootable edition using MiniTool Media Builder of the Free Edition.
Related articles:. Solution 2: Back up System to an External Hard Drive Instead of USB Drive Some of you may still want to use Windows Backup and Restore utility to back up your Windows OS. To fix drive not a valid backup location, the direct way is to change a location to save the system image and continue the backup operation. Take Windows 10 as an example. Step 1: Go to Control Panel Backup and Restore or Backup and Restore (Windows 7) Create a system image. Step 2: Please decide which place you want to save the backup to. When clicking On a hard disk, you can view all detected partitions.
And here we suggest choosing the partition of an external hard drive. In addition, you can create a system image on a CD/DVD or specify the network for the system image. Step 3: In the pop-out window, you see the drives required for Windows to run are selected by default. Tip: Here, if you want to back up the entire system disk, please check all other partitions on the system disk.
Step 4: Confirm your backup settings: backup location and backup drives. Then, click Start backup button. This operation will take a few minutes, thus, wait patiently.
Sometimes Windows Backup fails to create a system image, for instance, it is, etc. When encountering one of these cases, it is troublesome to fix issues. Therefore, we strongly recommend using the third-party backup software - MiniTool ShadowMaker. Just follow the steps mentioned in solution 1 for system image creation. Solution 3: Share USB as Network Drive and Continue the Backup If you still want to use Windows Backup and Restore feature to create a system image on USB drive rather than external hard drive, you can create a directory on a USB drive, share the drive as a network drive and continue the system image creation.
This can effectively troubleshoot 'The drive is not a valid backup location' problem in Windows 10/8/7. See the guide as shown below (take Windows 10 as an example). And the only defect is that it takes much more steps to do this work. Step 1: Connect your USB flash drive to a computer. Step 2: Format your USB drive to NTFS file system using Windows Disk Management or a third-party tool - MiniTool Partition Wizard.
Step 3: Share the USB stick as a network drive:. Create a directory on your USB drive: open the USB drive, right-click the blank place to choose Folder from the New drop-down menu. Right-click the directory and choose Share with and Specific people. Share this directory to yourself from the list of users and click the Share button,.
Decide to turn on network discovery and file sharing for a private network or all public networks. Then, the folder you have created is shared. Click Done to continue. Step 4: Right-click the directory to choose Properties, and click Advanced Sharing button under Sharing tab. Step 5: In the pop-up small window, click Permissions to set all permissions to Full Control. Step 6: Open Windows Backup and Restore (Windows 7) to choose Create a system image. Step 7: Select the network drive as your backup location:.
Browse your computer and choose a network location. Enter the computer's login credentials and click OK. Note: Make sure your USB drive is large enough to save the system image file. Otherwise, you will receive a warning saying 'The specified network location cannot be used', as shown in the following figure.
Step 8: Then, all system drives are included in the backup. Step 9: And then, confirm the backup settings. At last, start the backup. By this way, you won't encounter 'The drive is not a valid backup location' error any longer at most times. Further Reading: MiniTool ShadowMaker VS Windows Backup and Restore In the above part, we mention the third-party free backup software - MiniTool ShadowMaker. And some of you may be wondering about the differences between this program and Windows snap-in backup tool. As for the backup storage location, MiniTool ShadowMaker supports internal or external hard drives, USB flash drives, NAS, etc in Windows 10/8/7.
But Windows Backup doesn't allow creating a system image on a USB drive. In backup type, MiniTool ShadowMaker offers an easy-to-use interface, letting you easily back up OS, files, partition or the entire disk. But the built-in tool doesn't offer obvious options for you to choose the backup type, except system backup and file backup. Besides, MiniTool ShadowMaker is more flexible to create automatic backups, incremental backups, and differential backups. But Windows Backup feature doesn't support differential backup and there isn't any obvious option for the incremental backup. Thus it can be seen that MiniTool ShadowMaker is worth recommending if you want to keep your computer safe. To effectively and successfully create a system image on a USB drive, please get this free Windows backup software on your Windows 10/8/7 computer for a try.
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Final Words Reading here, you must know how to fix 'The drive is not a valid backup location' in Windows 10/8/7. Now it's your time to try the above solutions out.
If you have other workarounds, tell us the troubleshooting steps in the following comment zone. As to any questions related to MiniTool ShadowMaker, please contact. Facebook. Twitter.
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