How to create a system image?

Prerequisites

Before creating a system image in Azure:

1. You have an active Azure subscription with appropriate permissions to create VM images.

2. The VM is powered off or in a consistent state to ensure data integrity.

3. You have sufficient storage in your Azure Storage account to store the image.

4. Backup any critical data from the VM (optional but recommended).

Steps to Create a System Image in Azure

Step 1: Log in to the Azure Portal

• Go to https://portal.azure.com
• Sign in using your Azure account credentials.

Step 2: Navigate to Virtual Machines

1. In the left-hand menu of Azure Portal, click Virtual Machines.

2. From the list of VMs, select the VM for which you want to create a system image.

3. Make sure the VM is powered off (optional but recommended for consistency).

   

Step 3: Create the VM Image

1. In the VM overview page, click Capture (usually in the top menu).

2. In the Capture VM pane:

   • Enter an Image name.

   • Select a Resource Group for storing the image.

   • Check the option Automatically delete this virtual machine after creating the image if you don’t need the original VM.

3. Click Review + Create, then click Create.

4. Azure will start creating the system image. This may take several minutes depending on the VM size.

   
   
   

Step 4: Verify the Image

In the Azure Portal, go to Compute infrastructure → Custom images

You can create a system image in Azure successfully.