Windows 7: reflect updates

I have made a macrium reflect recovery cd from a previous version of macrium reflect. I uninstalled that version some time ago. recently I d/l the latest version & backed up system reserve & "c" drive. Do I even need to make a recovery disk since I made one with the other version of macrium reflect. Also do I need to make a backup of system reserve If I have a recovery disk.

Hello alexm, i have used linux disks from previous versions of macrium in the past to boot into macriums recovery console without any problems, but i would recommend burning a new if you are able.

In regard to backing up the System Reserved partition have a look at this tutorial;

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...trategies.html

Good question. I just go ahead and make a new recovery disk for each update.

~Maxx~

There was an earlier release change ( i do not remember exactly when) of Macrium where they recommended to burn a new recovery disk. Since then, I always do. I also keep seperate recovery CDs for my 32bit and 64bit systems. That may be an overkill, but it takes only a few minutes and CDs are cheap.

The biggest change in the Linux boot CD in a long while has been upgrading the free version of Macrium to the same boot CD as the paid version. The main hassle with burning another boot CD is you should really test it before assuming it will work when the need arises. Sometimes I just can't get psyched to do yet another burn and boot test cycle esp. if there's nothing particularly new on the boot CD.

Short answer is, if you don't want to bother testing the new one, don't throw out the old one.

edit: otoh if you really like commenting your backup images then it may be worth the hassle since the new boot CD is supposed to support viewing the comments in the restore program.

can you guarantee that your boot-up disc is going to be forward-compatible for ever?

no

you might need one at a very awkward time - burn a new one now - it only takes minutes and costs pence.

MilesAhead made a good point though. If you burn any CD, you can never be sure whether the CD will really work. For that purpose I have a little procedure which tests the CD but cannot do any damage: (it looks more complicated than it really is)


Macrium test

1. Shrink 2GBs from C and define a logical volume (partition) - let's call it Y
2. Move some files (any files) into Y - I always also move the sample picture folder in (you'll see why)
3. Define a test folder on your external backup disk - call it Mtest
4. Make an image of Y to Mtest - requires that you make a new definition
5. Delete a couple of pictures from the sample picture folder on Y (I always use the 2 animals)
6. Reboot and tap (ESC, F2 or whatever it is on your system) to get into the BIOS boot sequence
7. Set your boot sequence to CD/DVD reader
8. Throw in the Macrium recovery CD and let it run, then hit Enter
9. Now you are in the recovery wizard, set it to Mtest where it says "Locate Image" and to Y where it says "Choose partition to overwrite with the image data".
Note: the partition letters may not be the same as on your system. Macrium uses its own lettering. Best is to go by the size of the partitions and open it with the little + in the front.
10. Watch out when it asks whether to replace the Master Boot Record - in this case say "do not replace" because this is only a data partition. If that were your system partition, you would replace the MBR provided you do not have a separate boot partition.
11. When you get the little window saying "Your computer will now reboot", you have to hit "Cancel" (on the bottom" to get it to reboot. That's a little strange way to end the session, but that's the way it is.
12. Check whether the 2 animals in the sample picture folder are back. That shows you that the recovery worked.

When you have done these steps, you did the whole cycle and have learned

1. That your recovery disk works
2. How to recover
3. That things work

Now you can delete the little 2GB partition and add it back to it's originating partition.
If you are not familiar with the creation and deletion of partitions, watch this tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/72427-data-partition.html

Nice Wolfgang, very nice.

In addition to a burning a current copy of the Rescue CD Macrium Reflect also allows you to create an updatable Boot Menu on the computer.

~Maxx~

I think that is only an option in the Pro version - or did that come with the last update (which I have not yet installed).