Solved Image your system with free Macrium

[eldinv]

You do NOT need to use Windows to find your specific backup file.
Just Launch the Macrium GUI and it will show you the backup files in whatever partition/folder you choose.


They don't appear in the when I browser the location where all my images are located, only the other two images.

I was talking about running the Macrium Reflect Application and selecting files from that.

I do not understand what you meant by "They don't appear in the when I browser the location where all my images are located". When you say browser are you referring to Windows Explorer ?

Via Windows Explorer I can select two different image backup files and whilst holding down the Shift key either :-
Double click; OR
use the right click option "Explore Image".
Either way I am given TWO, NOT ONE, Backup selection menus similar to your screen shot,
excepting that what you show as a single pop-up with two separate backup dates and backup ID's,
is presented to me in a pair of pop-ups, one pop-up for each backup date and ID.

I can't search the log because that Macrium, the one used to create the image, was on my drive previous to my wiping it clean with CopyWipe.

When I double the big image it tells me the image is part of a multi-part image.

/QUOTE]
I get exactly the same error message if I change the backup extension from MRIMG to BIN.

I strongly suspect that if I deleted or uninstalled Macrium Reflect, or if I lost it by using CopyWipe,
Then all I would get are error messages - Neither Windows nor the MRIMG backup would have the intelligence to browse or restore a backup file.

To browse or restore a backup file you need Macrium to be installed, or to be running a Macrium Boot Rescue CD.

I think we are getting mixed up, maybe because I used the word browser instead of browse.

When I open the Macrium program and point it to the folders where my images are located, it cannot locate the last backup (image) I created.

I'm added screenshots, to try and help, but I guess its not helping.


When I right click and explore on the bigger image, again I repeat it says:

and if I do the same on the smaller image, it says:

I mentioned I wipe the disk using CopyWipe, since then I have re-imaged to image # 2 and obviously reinstalled Macrium. How else how I run the program to try and explore the files. I couldn't ask Windows to do anything with some random file without re-installing the program. I only mentioned the Wiping procedure, because, I cannot go back to trace the original file names of the two images.

I've been away from this thread for some time now, I don't know if there is some feud war going on about whether Windows backup/imaging is better than Macrium or not, but this is a Macrium thread and we have chosen to use this program.

Even if I cannot resolve the and lose all the data because a mistake I made, I still stand behind Macrium. Its saved my life many times and its effortless to use. This headache I created and if I can't undo do then I guess I'm stuck.


PS.

SIW2

Is their some documentation I can read about this RoboRestore?


Image file path >> Means to locate the images >> Correct?

When I point at the images ... I tried both images ... I get the same errors as above, same as if I was trying to explore the images.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

LF is right. Macrium recovery does not care from where the image comes as long as you can properly point to it. This is not Windows imaging where moving an image would be fatal.

I save my images to an internel HDD and then move them to an external HDD...

That's pretty much what I do. I image my C: drive to a folder on my data drive, then I make a couple of clones of the data drive. I have restored from those clones as well as from the data drive. I don't know if the free version of Reflect has this feature or not (I use the Pro version) but I have mine set up so I can do a restore during the boot up sequence directly from the computer without using a rescue disk or USB stick (although I also have the stick just in case).

 

[mjf]

This is not Windows imaging where moving an image would be fatal.

This is not true Wolfgang. I do it all the time and reimage successfully. The caveats are:
1) Only make single images and do not use difference images. I would strongly recommend it anyway for Windows imaging.
2) Do not cross partition boundaries.

So in an appropriate folder I have multiple images named WindowsImageBackup_xx_xx_xx. I use x as a date related number. Move the image back to the root as WindowsImageBackup and you are good to go.
With Macrium you can just browse to the folder in a system restore.

 

[whs]

Thanks Michael for setting the record straight. I must have been confusing things.

 

[alan10]

I'll clarify. I am talking about one of (NOT incremental or differential) images - (made by Windows imaging and Macrium free. Macrium free is what the sticky is about).
Singling out my comment as a doozy (doozie your spelling) makes an unnecessary comment. Let me make it simple. There appear to be some concerns with Macrium cloning. If so then this a good place to document them.

1.
I use a professional version with a licence awarded as a result of my having assisted Macrium with Beta testing of series 5.
So far as I am concerned 99.9% of my experience with creating and restoring Macrium Backups should be relevant to the use of Macrium Free series 5.

Sorry that you got confused, I was NOT criticizing your comment about images.

Confusion was caused by your post no.1273 where you asked the question
"What's the doozie? "
and then in the same post followed this with a comment.

In my single post I both answered your specific question with an Internet Link with a definition of doozie,
and then also as a separate issue I added my thoughts upon your comment.

I was NOT calling your comment a doozie.

The ONLY thing I have ever called a doozie in this topic was in the post #1263,
where I answered your request for information upon potential problems arising from the use of Clone instead of Image,
and I gave you a DOOZIE of an example where clone backups had been religiously created on a Flash Drive by a user who had no idea how to use it when his system failed.

 

[Diddlededum]

I would certainly recommend soon after installing your PC and getting it to a condition you like making an image AND THEN restoring it to check that it restores. I have a couple of images, one with the key software configfured but a while since I installed Windows, the other a recent one. Having tested the earlier one I know if the recent fails, the old one will still image itself OK. I once made a clone as well and tried to restore from that but the restoration failed so I had to use one of the other images. Not sure why that happened, but it put me off making clones (not to mention the huge storage space required for more than one) when I know images do what they need to.

For the same reason I use (free) Macrium rather than Windows backup - a couple of years ago I used the built in Windows 7 backup and when I had to reinstall after a failed Windows update it refused to reinstall from the image. Once bitten forever shy asnd I determined never to use Windows backup again.

Can I throw in two random questions please. If my hard drive fails so I get a new harddrive but a different make or model, would a simple restoration of the Macrium image onto it work or would I have to reinstall Windows (I'm using an SSD for my operating system disk by the way; all my personal files are on a second drive that I backup separately).

And if I upgraded my system by adding say a new motherboard or new graphics card, but kept the same processor and hard drive, will I be able to boot straight up into Windows and will earlier images be restorable? Or do I have to reinstall Windows even though the hard disk is unchanged? Somewhere the Macrium website mentioned something called Redeploy in the paid for version - is it what it's for, and is it worth getting the paid-for version just for that feature (on the grounds that if my machine is ever stolen or a vital piece of hardware fails, if the image made by the free version is useless in that situation, it sort of defeats the point of having imaging software).

 

[SIW2]

You would need something to fix restoring to different hardware. See here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/292068-make-windows-7-bootable-after-motherboard-swap.html

It works perfectly.

 

[whs]

If my hard drive fails so I get a new harddrive but a different make or model, would a simple restoration of the Macrium image onto it work

A simple restore works. Macrium does not 'register' from which disk the image came.

But new hardware is a problem - especially mobo - because your system would not have the drivers for that.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I would certainly recommend soon after installing your PC and getting it to a condition you like making an image AND THEN restoring it to check that it restores. I have a couple of images, one with the key software configfured but a while since I installed Windows, the other a recent one. Having tested the earlier one I know if the recent fails, the old one will still image itself OK...

Testing an image is a good idea but there is a better way to go about it when using Macrium Reflect. Create a test partition on an internal drive or use an external drive. Copy some easily checked data, such as a few photos, onto that partition or drive. Image it, saving the image somewhere convenient other than the partition or drive being imaged. After the image is made, delete the data. Use the recovery disk or USB stick you made earlier to recover the partition or drive, using the image you just made. This will assure you that the recovery media is working and that you are doing things correctly.

Rather than testing your latest image as you suggested, when making the image, set it to verify the image after making it. That will ensure the image is valid without risking anything you have on the drive the image came from. Verifying takes almost as long as making the image but, by letting Reflect do it automatically at the end of making the image, you can just set it and forget it until Reflect alerts you the process is complete.

...I once made a clone as well and tried to restore from that but the restoration failed so I had to use one of the other images. Not sure why that happened, but it put me off making clones (not to mention the huge storage space required for more than one) when I know images do what they need to...

The amount of space required by a clone is a downside but clones do have their upsides and uses. Normally, they are not the best choice for backups, images being the preferred choice. I use clones to backup my data drives so I can just plug one into my computer and use it as is if a data drive completely dies.

I ran into a situation last Sunday when something went wonky with my data drive (my fault, I'll spare you the details) and I tried to clone the data to another drive so I could reformat the wonky drive (I could access my data on the wonky drive but it was unstable and kept dropping out). The clone failed, stating drive errors as the cause. Fortunately, I had a second identical clone drive with data from a backup last Friday night on it and the only data I had added/changed since then was in two folders so I copied those folders from the wonky drive to another internal drive, then reformatted the wonky drive. I then cloned the data from the good clone back to the reformatted drive and copied the two folders to the reformatted drive. I didn't lose a thing.

When cloning, I have Macrium Reflect set to verify the source drive is error free so, if a clone is going to fail due to drive errors, I find out within minutes instead of hours. That saved me a lot of grief last Sunday even though it gave me a bit of a scare.

...For the same reason I use (free) Macrium rather than Windows backup - a couple of years ago I used the built in Windows 7 backup and when I had to reinstall after a failed Windows update it refused to reinstall from the image. Once bitten forever shy asnd I determined never to use Windows backup again...

I've seen that same complaint many times about Windows backup. I also feel Macrium Reflect is easier to use and is more versatile.

...Can I throw in two random questions please. If my hard drive fails so I get a new harddrive but a different make or model, would a simple restoration of the Macrium image onto it work or would I have to reinstall Windows (I'm using an SSD for my operating system disk by the way; all my personal files are on a second drive that I backup separately)...

Generally, imaging from one disk to another will work just fine, even if the disks are different make and model. In the case of your SSD, saving an image of the SSD to a HDD then restoring back to the SSD is no problem. Moving DATA and/or an OS from a HDD to a SSD via is a bit trickier since they use different "cylinder" alignment but there is at least on tutorial here on how to do so successfully.

You are wise to keep your data and OS backed up separately.

...And if I upgraded my system by adding say a new motherboard or new graphics card, but kept the same processor and hard drive, will I be able to boot straight up into Windows and will earlier images be restorable? Or do I have to reinstall Windows even though the hard disk is unchanged? Somewhere the Macrium website mentioned something called Redeploy in the paid for version - is it what it's for, and is it worth getting the paid-for version just for that feature (on the grounds that if my machine is ever stolen or a vital piece of hardware fails, if the image made by the free version is useless in that situation, it sort of defeats the point of having imaging software).

I don't feel that Redeploy is worth paying for by itself but, from what I've read, it does work. There are ways to get a drive from a previous system to work with a new MOBO (I think there is at least one tutorial here on how to do that) but, generally, it's better to do a clean install. A new graphics card will just need a new driver so no worries there. I did get the Pro version because I was already getting the other paid version for other reasons and it wasn't that much more to get the Pro version

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

You would need something to fix restoring to different hardware. See here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/292068-make-windows-7-bootable-after-motherboard-swap.html

It works perfectly.

If my hard drive fails so I get a new harddrive but a different make or model, would a simple restoration of the Macrium image onto it work

A simple restore works. Macrium does not 'register' from which disk the image came.

But new hardware is a problem - especially mobo - because your system would not have the drivers for that.

The Pro version of Reflect has a feature called Redeploy that will supply the necessary drivers.

 

[alan10]

Can I throw in two random questions please. If my hard drive fails so I get a new harddrive but a different make or model, would a simple restoration of the Macrium image onto it work or would I have to reinstall Windows (I'm using an SSD for my operating system disk by the way; all my personal files are on a second drive that I backup separately).

My old drive was replaced by brand new empty drive from an alternative maker.
It was 4 times the size of the original.
I plugged in the Boot Rescue CD and restored my old system from an image backup of the old partitions on the old drive.
I rebooted and it started up running without problems or needing any redeploy fixes,
and the main difference from the old was that 75 % of the new drive was now "Unallocated Space" waiting for my allocation and use.

My experience was with an HDD and new new drivers had to be installed.
I assume that SSD's may also work with the same drivers.

 

[essenbe]

If you really look at it, that is one of the main purposes for macrium. To be able to reinstall the OS in case of hard drive failure. Yes, it is the way it works with no drivers needed. The drivers are in the image. The only reason that I know of that new drivers would need to be installed is if you were restoring to dissimilar hardware. Of course, if restoring to dissimilar hardware, there is a good chance the restoration would not work. For instance if you were restoring to a computer where the motherboard had been changed. The image would be using drivers from the older motherboard which may not work on the new motherboard. In a situation like that Sysprep would be a better option.

As far as restoring to an SSD, it would work the same. The only concern would be SSD alignment.

 

[alan10]

I would certainly recommend soon after installing your PC and getting it to a condition you like making an image AND THEN restoring it to check that it restores.

NOT a good idea - it can only lead to tears

If your test successfully proves that something is wrong you will NOT be able to fix it until you reinstall Windows plus applications.

I have always been cautious and rewarded with good luck.

Macrium failed a few years ago when USB3 was a new possibility.
When running under Windows it was able to write the image to an USB3 HDD, and to read back and validate.
When the Boot Rescue CD was in use it did not have the relevant driver to be able to read from the USB3.
Had the Boot Rescue CD been used to validate the backup it would have found the problem and not deleted C:\.
I do not know what happened to users that restored without having the Boot Rescue validate,
but I guess that with a missing C:\ they had no Internet complaint capability
I remember that Macrium issued a new release within a few days that fixed that issue for WinPE Boot CD's.
Their developer support is excellent.
I guess that the Linux Boot CD may by now have USB3 capability.

My approach for first time use when I do not know if anything will work :-

Have unallocated spaces (perhaps on an external drive) for test partitions;
Create TEST_1 partition and fill with a files and create an image backup;
Change the Volume Label from TEST_1 to TEST_B ;
Close Windows and use the Boot Rescue CD to restore the TEST_1 backup into remaining unallocated space;
Boot into Windows and compare the contents of TEST_B with the restored TEST_1.
This will show if your Boot Rescue CD has what it takes to read your image backups and to restore them.

I DO NOT KNOW if the above proves that the Boot Rescue CD will correctly write to my System Drive.
I have developed paranoia after a 30+ year career using computers and suffering inevitable BSOD's.

To experts on this forum - your comments could be useful on the following :-

I understand that Windows uses drivers for all the hardware,
and ASSUME that the Boot Rescue CD's always have all the drivers that are needed,
but just in case I ALWAYS have available an old Boot Rescue CD that I know has all it needs for my hardware.
To prove that CD has all the drivers I restore an image backup of TEST_1 to the internal HDD/SSD,
and if there is no space for restoration I would use Windows Disk Management to shrink C:\ and get some space.
Windows will still work for me when it is shrunk - it will not work if C:\ is deleted and restoration fails.

 

[mjf]

If my hard drive fails so I get a new harddrive but a different make or model, would a simple restoration of the Macrium image onto it work or would I have to reinstall Windows (I'm using an SSD for my operating system disk by the way; all my personal files are on a second drive that I backup separately).

I believe the question has been answered. The answer is yes.
In fact I would recommend getting a new HDD as a standby and/or auxilliary drive and perform a system image restore to it with the original HDD disconnected. This is the safest test that you can reimage with confidence. I think spinners are back down to sensible prices now.

If you wanted to use your strategy of clean install of the OS plus apps then doing an image restore just make sure you deactivate paid software first in case you need to go through the complete install again.

A number of people report a lack of confidence in Windows inbuilt imaging. It still remains my primary OS partition imaging tool but I use Macrium as well. I would agree that if you wanted to pick only one imaging package it would probably be Macrium over Windows.

 

[Scoop]

Novice Macrium (Free ver) user update:

I've run a couple of images (all images are full-disk mode) and so far, smooth sailing.

I tested the image recovery to a spare HDD and all worked ok.

Laptop: I ran into one of those

things where I forgot about Drivers so I had to burn another ISO using my Laptop PC instead of the Desktop PC. I'm using the WinPE 3.1 version burn.

I perform all of my images from the boot CD, outside of Windows.

I just completed an Image from my 500 Gb HDD Laptop to my external HDD using USB 2.0 and a Seagate 4 Tb HDD. I'll test the Recovery with my spare HDD later.

Image time was about 1:30.

I'm interested in the Macrium Cloning tool and how it will compare to Acronis, which I've used to clone for a couple of years without any issues.

I prefer both approaches, cloning and imaging. I'm new to the imaging scene and I already see some of the advantages of storing images. I ran an image on my Mom's XP PC last week and have it stored on my 4 Tb Seagate external HDD along with my Desktop & Laptop images.

I use the cloning approach for a fast recovery from any malware / virus intrusions (or user mistakes) since I can plug/play and be running as normal within a few minutes after copying a few frequently-edited items from another HDD.

I like the imaging method for flexibility and the ability to store multiple PC/HDD files on one device.

I see diverse pov's about testing images here. I'm in the "testing" camp as I like to see my PC's fully recover / boot up, run my apps, e-mail client, etc to know that the image (or cloned HDD) is a verified working shelf spare if needed later.

I haven't used the "verify" option yet when imaging but will try that soon.

I believe the question has been answered. The answer is yes.

In fact I would recommend getting a new HDD as a standby and/or auxilliary drive and perform a system image restore to it with the original HDD disconnected. This is the safest test that you can reimage with confidence. I think spinners are back down to sensible prices now.

I have a couple of spare HDD's for my PC's for that reason. I also like it for the "peace of mind" factor. I can test clones, download something and not be concerned about the "C" HDD with those tested shelf spares available.

 

[whs]

If your image completes successfully and the WinPE CD is working, then there should really be no problem. The WinPE CD is really the weak part. I test that one on a small 2GB partition with some odd data. That only takes a couple of minutes.

For the integrety of the images it is best to make images frequently. Then you always have multiple recent choices. I used to make 3 per week, but since I have never been disappointed by free Macrium (in 4 years), I am now down to one image per week.

 

[Scoop]

If your image completes successfully and the WinPE CD is working, then there should really be no problem. The WinPE CD is really the weak part. I test that one on a small 2GB partition with some odd data. That only takes a couple of minutes.

For the integrety of the images it is best to make images frequently. Then you always have multiple recent choices. I used to make 3 per week, but since I have never been disappointed by free Macrium (in 4 years), I am now down to one image per week.

Good idea. It's hard to beat redundancy. That's my plan as well, to compile a few images for both PC's.

Thanks for the reliability info with Macrium. That's good to know. Four years is a lot of validation info for this tool.

I forgot to mention that my WinPE Rescue CD queries me for a couple of missing drivers when it's loading. Since my images have all tested good, I guess that it's not an issue and that the drivers are only needed for WinPE to communicate with the PC's hardware.

I did check the "update to licensed" query when the ISO builder was preparing the ISO file. I'm guessing that the paid version contains most drivers required for various hardware on the majority of PC's.

For my Desktop PC's Rescue CD, there's only one "missing driver" dialog message when I boot the WinPE CD.

My previous image recovered and tested good so I'm guessing that the missing-drivers messages aren't an issue with the actual image that's created.

My Laptop's Rescue CD displays a couple of "network/Ethernet" drivers missing messages.

I haven't tested the recovery yet on this one.

 

[whs]

Rather than running the images from the WinPE disc, I recommend to install Macrium and run it from the system. That has the advantage that you can run it in the background (hide) and do other things during the imaging. Then a long running image becomes a no-brainer.

And yes, I also saw that call for addl. drivers when running with the WinPE. I always ignored that and never had a problem.

 

[Scoop]

Rather than running the images from the WinPE disc, I recommend to install Macrium and run it from the system. That has the advantage that you can run it in the background (hide) and do other things during the imaging. Then a long running image becomes a no-brainer.

And yes, I also saw that call for addl. drivers when running with the WinPE. I always ignored that and never had a problem.

Thanks for the info It always helps when a symptom or observation is observed by another user, particularly an experienced one, which I certainly am not

I forgot to mention that I installed the Free version on both PC's. I guess it's old habit, booting from media when cloning, etc.

That habit started during my early cloning days with Acronis 2011. I was experiencing Windows boot issues, struggling to load to the desktop and had thought that the issue was related to cloning from my Acronis installed platform in Windows and not booting from the Acronis CD.

It turned out that the cloning process wasn't related to my issue. I have fixed that issue.

How does Macrium work when launching from within Windows? Does it restart the PC, and then boot up to RAM via a Linux platform when actually performing the imaging or cloning?

Is this what is known as "Volume Shadow Copy Service" in Windows?

I'm curious since that's what Acronis appears to do, when I used to launch from the HDD within Windows. After I had set up my cloning user-input's, Acronis would then restart the PC and then the cloning process would begin, from a screen that looked similar to most Linux-based boot/RAM screens that I've seen with other rescue/boot media.

 

[whs]

How does Macrium work when launching from within Windows? Does it restart the PC, and then boot up to RAM via a Linux platform when actually performing the imaging or cloning?

Macrium runs like any other program under Windows. No reboot or any specials.