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#1071
Renaming the image file will cause problems if using the XML files.
I had to use Macrium this evening for the first time. I got a scary message on bootup that "my system's firmware did not preserve the system memory map...." then my PC got stuck at bootup in an endless cycle. I couldn't boot into safe mode either. After trying the repair feature on my WinPE Macrium CD-ROM without success I restored the image from my spare drive onto my C drive and booted up again.
Same thing happened. Endless cycle of reboots.
Until a very helpful forum member asked if my C drive was configured correctly in the BIOS. I checked and to my surprise my SSD (C / OS drive) was listed as ICE, whereas I was sure I'd set it to AHCI when I installed Windows. I changed it back again and hey-ho bootup straight into Windows as if nothing untoward had happened.
Moral of the story - BIOS settings can also stop a PC from booting up correctly regardless of whether the disk has been restored from a known working image or not!
I think some of you are complicating the matter. Although it is possible to rename the image files, there is not really any need to do so.
All image files are dated and if you store them in a folder that is unique for that partition, there should be no confusion. I have one folder for C and one folder for the data partition on each disk where I store the images (I alternate between a couple of disks for the images - extra safety measure). So when I go to my C folder on disk 1 and look at the date of the image, I know exactly which image I am dealing with.
I never renamed the image files since Macrium advises against it (for good reason, I later learned; it messes up the link with the XML files). One of the reasons I started putting my images in dated folders was, at the time, I was also making incremental images at the time (I know longer need to) and I couldn't think of any other easy way to keep a main image and its incrementals associated with each other without renaming the images. I have been renaming the XML files to make associating them with the images much easier but I'm about ready to discontinue making XML files since the only thing I used them for was making incremental images and I no longer do so.
I keep my images on their own "external" HDDs (internal HDDs used in docks or swap bays; three HDDs for each HDD in use) so there never was a need for me to use folders to keep track of which HDD or partition a back up was for.
I tried macrium once. think I tried several backup programs for windows. all looked confusing for me, being a long time mac user. backups are easy on the mac. not so easy for windows it would seem...
on the mac, I just set time machine as my backup and forget it. a few mouse clicks and done (never have to set or change anything again). wish windows had something as easy for backups...