Windows Backup and Restore System Image

BJB · 31 Jan 2014

Yes, I get the splash screen with the Windows logo and Starting Windows on each reboot, sometimes for about 30 seconds, other times for minutes. Then it just reboots, no BSD, no .dmp files. It's all taking forever so atm I've restored my pre-Grub Acronis image and all is well.

I don't have a Linux partition, just boot to a live Puppy CD when required. This was a truly clean install, wiping the disk completely beforehand, so I have both System Reserved 100MB and Win 7 partitions, plus three data partitions.

Kaktussoft · 31 Jan 2014

BJB said:

Yes, I get the splash screen with the Windows logo and Starting Windows on each reboot, sometimes for about 30 seconds, other times for minutes. Then it just reboots, no BSD, no .dmp files. It's all taking forever so atm I've restored my pre-Grub Acronis image and all is well.

I don't have a Linux partition, just boot to a live Puppy CD when required. This was a truly clean install, wiping the disk completely beforehand, so I have both System Reserved 100MB and Win 7 partitions, plus three data partitions.

It reboots because it crashed and "automatic restart on system crash" is on. In advanced boot options... Advanced Boot Options you can switch it off (for one reboot). Without a stopcode or dump we can't help you.

If you clean the MBR totally, the image restores without issues? Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command

Kaktussoft · 31 Jan 2014

After a diskpart clean (it zeros first 1MB of physical, so actually MBR and more) the partition table, master boot code is gone.

After diskpart clean all: All info on disk is gone.
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Even after both actions and finally a system image restore (so restore to an empty disk) a system boots. So win7 built in restore DOES put master boot code on disk. Just what you experienced.... no signs of grub anymore.

BJB · 31 Jan 2014

I've checked for .dmp files and there are none and I can't use Clean without losing my data partitions and their files. I could probably recover them later but this whole episode is taking time I cannot afford just now, especially as I currently have a working system. However this thread contains a whole lot of valuable info and I hope to come back to it at a better time and try again to recover that image. Very many thanks for your input.

mjf · 31 Jan 2014

Clean all will clean your data partitions as well !
I advised you way back that windows inbuilt backs up and restores the MBR. I've totally lost count of the number of images and restores I've made with Windows inbuilt imaging to new and existing drives. But I repeat that some people come here with Windows inbuilt imaging problems that are hard to pin down.

Maybe posting a Disk management screenshot would help.
Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image

Have you ever managed to restore an image using Windows inbuilt imaging?
It may be that you have faulty Windows images. If you are able to attach/mount the images you can copy data from them without interfering with the image.
System Image - Extract Files Using Disk Management

BJB · 31 Jan 2014

I did say in an earlier post that the image restored and booted ok before I installed Grub4DOS, but doesn't now. It was the third of three images I created while setting up and when time permits I'm going to see what happens with the earlier ones. But I just cannot afford this huge time loss just at present, but I will come back to it.

I've done a lot of partitioning, multi-booting and imaging (mainly with Acronis) over the years and know that stuff quite well. Not sure how my disk layout is relevant as it's working perfectly normally, as it did prior to installing Grub4DOS. It's the low level boot process I'm not really familiar with, and where my current issue appears to be. It's going to have to wait though.

BJB · 01 Feb 2014

This morning I decided I needed to check whether the systemimagebackup file that won't boot had somehow been damaged, so I restored the previous image I had taken. The result was the same - splash screen for a while then a reboot, no BSoD. I let it attempt repairs but that failed too, just as previously. However the test results might be informative as the final test was logged as -

Diagnosis and repair details:

Root cause found:
Unspecified changes to system configuration might have caused this problem.

Repair action: System files integrity check and repair
Result: Failed. Error code = 0x490
Time taken = 475125ms

Finally I restored just the System Reserved and Windows partitions from my Acronis image taken before Grub4DOS was installed. I purposely did NOT restore the MBR and track 0 so as to leave the MBR in the state it was in in the Windows System Image. As the two partitions in the Acronis image were more or less identical to those in the systemimagebackup file (they were taken consecutively) I did not expect it to boot but much to my surprise it did, so it seems that subsequently installing Grub4DOS made changes other than those it made to the MBR and track 0. I'm completely confounded as to what those changes may be but whatever they are this test means that while I continue to use Grub4DOS I cannot use the built-in Backup and Restore. More importantly it also proves that systemimagebackup does not put absolutely everything back as it was at the time the image was taken.

Kaktussoft · 01 Feb 2014

The result was the same - splash screen for a while then a reboot, no BSoD

Goto "advanvaced boot options" Advanced Boot Options and select "Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure". This works for next boot only.
I want to see the BSOD!

Was Grub4DOS still in MBR after restore? Normally you see a logo or grub menu on boot.

BJB · 01 Feb 2014

I've said before that there are no .dmp files. When you get a BSoD with Restart on System Failure set you do briefly see the BSoD screen, That is not the case here, there is no BSoD, there are no dump files.

No, Grub4DOS was not in the MBR, The system images were all taken prior to installing it. It seems that subsequently installing it, and then restoring the system image is the cause of this behaviour, as I've been saying all along.

Kaktussoft · 01 Feb 2014

BJB said:

I've said before that there are no .dmp files. When you get a BSoD with Restart on System Failure set you do briefly see the BSoD screen, That is not the case here, there is no BDoD, there are no dump files.

No, Grub4DOS was not in the MBR, The system images were all taken prior to installing it. It seems that subsequently installing it, and then restoring the system image is the cause of this behaviour, as I've been saying all along.

I have never heard of or seen a machine automatically reboot without a BSOD. Only seen it in case of heat protection. If temperature is too high.... power off. That's not the case of course.