Imaging with free Macrium

   Information

This tutorial shows imaging with free Macrium Version 5.0. If you are still using Macrium Version 4.2, go to this Vimeo site where the tutorial of that version is stored.

The Video does not show the recovery part because I have no setup to screen capture it. But Keith (Kado) made this excellent recovery tutorial with text (but no sound) that he captured from a virtual partition.

   Warning

Note that the external disk to which you image must be formatted in NTFS. A disk that is formatted in Fat32 will accept an image, but the recovery programs cannot restore that image. You can, however, mount (open) a Fat32 image as VHD.

   Note

The production of the WinPE recovery CD (which is highly recommended) may take up to 3 hours because Macrium needs to download the 1.7GB WAIK (Windows Application Installation Kit). For your convenience I have uploaded a ready made .iso of the WinPE recovery disc. That can be downloaded in appr. 8 minutes which clearly beats the WAIK download. Once you downloaded and unzipped the folder, you can burn it directly to a CD with e.g. ImgBurn.

Here is the link to my Skydrive site.

Here is an alternate link from FileSwap (courtesy of Gary - Britton30)

I draw your attention to the fact that this WinPE CD can also be used to make images. That may be convenient in case you do not want to install Macrium on your PC.

This video tutorial explains the full cycle of the imaging process which is:

· Initial setups
· Image definition
· Image scheduling
· Image production

The imaging program that was used for this tutorial is free Macrium. But the basic principles are the same for other imaging programs although the user interface will be different.

This video runs for appr. 7 minutes.
There is a related thread on the Vista forum which gives a brief introduction to Macrium followed by a discussion.
You can download the free Macrium edition from here.

Note: If you have a problem with the loudness of the sound output of the video, check the "Loudness Equalization" box in your Playback device. It is under the 'Enhancements' tab.

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Create a System Image Backup in Windows 7
• How to Do a System Image Recovery in Windows 7
• How to Backup User and System Files in Windows 7
• How to Restore Backup User and System Files in Windows 7
• How to Restore your System with a Broken Windows 7 System Image
• How to Create a Bootable Rescue USB Flash Drive for Macrium Reflect

 

[whs]

Keith is right. Once you have the .iso, burn it with ImgBurn.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Ok Wolfgang and Keith mates I have ImgBurn as a matter of normally kept apps what I don't get though is it doesn't seem to "download" much at all? I follow the instructions all the way through until it says insert a DVD and this is what happens.

Now I follow Wolfgang to the part where you say it takes too long and you say it takes a long time so you skip it and go to the imaging.
I start up Macrium and it asks me if I want to make a rescue disk when I clcik on that symbol at top left.
It is at this point I am missing something because I click on that left side and follow the prompts and end up with it giving me the message in the other pic I sent.
However right now I have to leave so I shall have to wait till tomorrow to set it up but I shall be online during the night at some stage should you wish to post back

John.

 

[kado897]

You don't do anything with Macrium. you download the WinPE ISO from one of the locations in the Notes section at the head of this tutorial and then burn it to DVD using Imgburn.

 

[Britton30]

John have you downloaded the iso where Keith suggested? That is all you need to do besides unzipping and saving it. No WAIK and tell Macrium No to making a rescue disk. This iso IS the data to make the rescue disk, a.k.a. WinPE.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

No to both queries a I was thinking it would do the download when I hit that button it sort of did "something" but then I ended up with the message.
I have obviously missed something in the tutorial and will give it another read though tonight I will do the right thing tomorrow when I get up

 

[derekimo]

I notice in your blue tip box Wolfgang you mention the WAIK but call it Windows Application Install Kit, instead of Automated.

Right, it is 'automated' not 'application'.

Just thought you might want to correct the typo, not questioning you.

I start up Macrium and it asks me if I want to make a rescue disk when I clcik on that symbol at top left.

Just tell it no John, then use the ISO and imgburn the others have been talking about.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

I notice in your blue tip box Wolfgang you mention the WAIK but call it Windows Application Install Kit, instead of Automated.

Right, it is 'automated' not 'application'.

Just thought you might want to correct the typo, not questioning you.

I start up Macrium and it asks me if I want to make a rescue disk when I clcik on that symbol at top left.

Just tell it no John, then use the ISO and imgburn the others have been talking about.

Ok mate will do

 

[LittleJay]

Just did my first Windows 7 system restore (22.5 Gb image) using Macrium Reflect the other day and it took over an hour to complete. And this was restoring from a SATA III HDD to and SSD. I thought this was strange as it usually only takes about 3 minutes and 25 seconds to make a complete system image. I was wondering if this is a normal time frame for restoring system images using Macrium Reflect.

 

[kado897]

Not really. My full image to a USB2 attached drive takes nearly an hour. The restore to a spinner takes half an hour. In this case it seems to be the destination drive that is the limiting factor. Why it should be so slow writing to an SSD is strange to say the least.

 

[mjf]

Just did my first Windows 7 system restore (22.5 Gb image) using Macrium Reflect the other day and it took over an hour to complete. And this was restoring from a SATA III HDD to and SSD. I thought this was strange as it usually only takes about 3 minutes and 25 seconds to make a complete system image. I was wondering if this is a normal time frame for restoring system images using Macrium Reflect.

I would think something is wrong for such a smallish image.. Someone else reported something similar but I'm not sure what the outcome was - someone may remember.
What sort of performance do you get when using an external USB HDD? Imaging 50GB to a USB 3 HDD takes me ~10min when the HDD when it has little data on it and ~15min when 80% full (speed of writing to out versus inner tracks).

 

[Britton30]

You hardware, CPU and RAM along with the HDD and its cache will have a big part in how long the restore or image creations takes. Mine take around 13 minutes on both operations. My OS image is 18GB and Data 34GB.

 

[LittleJay]

What sort of performance do you get when using an external USB HDD?

I have images backed up on 3 separate HDD's. The first is an internal HDD I use to save data on and which I used to restore the image from, the second is using e-SATA docking station and the third is using a USB 3.0 docking station. I can save a full image on all three HDD's between 3 minutes 25 seconds and 3 minutes 45 seconds. The slowest one being when I use the USB 3.0 device. I haven't tried restoring from either external HDD dock, but only from the internal HDD, which is a SATA III connection. I may have to try it again and see what happens using one of the other drive and hopefully I will get better performance. With Windows System imaging I can do a complete 22 Gb restore to my SSD in about 10 minutes, or less, so I thought it was strange that Macrium took so long.

Thanks to everyone for their replies!

 

[whs]

On one system I have a USB3/SSD setup. Restore for a 22GB image takes about 15 minutes.

 

[Tews]

Something doesn't sound right ... I just made a 24gb image and it only took 7 minutes..

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Were you imaging to an internal drive or external? Was the destination drive SSD or HDD?

 

[LittleJay]

On one system I have a USB3/SSD setup. Restore for a 22GB image takes about 15 minutes.

That sounds about right to me.

One thing I just thought of that may have made a difference. The image I restored was taken from my Samsung SSD and restored to a Kingston SSD. The total available space on the Samsung is about 2 Gbs larger than on the Kingston, so it would have needed to be resized to fit.

Thanks for all replies!

 

[Solarstarshines]

Wolfgang I have selected the rescue for the Windows ISO and gone through the instructions and insert a disk (DVD) and it goes for two seconds and then ejects it with this message. If I am doing something wrong can you please advise. I have tried 6 different empty disks soi don't think it is the media.
John

PS Meant to mention the image went fine

I backed mine up on a usb stick it was quick and made a disk

 

[LittleJay]

Just finished doing another image restore and this time it only took 3 minutes to complete. But this was restoring an image that was created from the same SSD, so it didn't have to do any resizing.

 

[mjf]

It still sounds odd to me unless Macrium does a full clean prior to a resize. In principle going from a smaller to a larger SSD would give some unallocated space which should be easily and quickly recovered.

 

[bawldiggle]

Thank you "whs" for this excellent tutorial
... and SIW2 for the BartPe plugin, tip

Found this tutorial at bottom of Macrium Free vs Macrium Pay. I have always assumed (until 2 months ago) the only cure for a sick PC was a clean install and days of reinstalling apps and custom settings.