Solved Image your system with free Macrium

[eldinv]

Hi all I need some help, please.

I created an image, probably the largest I ever created with Macrium free edition.

I didn't look at the output files until I went to the recovery mode and notice two files, one small file and one larger file.

So I booted back into Windows and renamed the files so I new what to look for when I'm doing the recovery.

Well, it doesn't want to do the recovery the last step after I select the target disk, it just goes on and searching for something and never engages the transfer of files.

So I try to mount the bigger image file and it says "its a multi-file image and one of the parts don't exist". I assume its the smaller file? I click this file and it says its corrupt.

So what now, I lose all my data? There's a 264GB image their, the backup was roughly that size.

Did I screw the whole process up, just because I renamed the two files.

How can I undo this. And no restore won't work. Because I had wipe the disk just before, these images were taken prior to running CopyWipe and wiping the disk.

 

[alan10]

Hi all I need some help, please.
Did I screw the whole process up, just because I renamed the two files.

Absolutely yes - your mistake - You caused total confusion to Macrium which expects the backup to use the name with which it was created.

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.

It SHOULD be easy to remedy by renaming the files to what they WERE when created.
Please not the the names are NOT what you think they are because you are not seeing extensions,
and Macrium typically uses full names such as
C94F2F21B312F2D0-00-00.mrimg
and
C94F2F21B312F2D0-01-01.mrimg etc for differential and Incremental backups that hold the difference from the FULL.

If you do not remember the original file names then use Macrium GUI and inspect the logs that it created when making the backups.

 

[alan10]

Accepting that some people want to use the Macrium clone capability, it may be useful to document any potential problems.

This one is a doozie.

On another forum I encountered a Macrium Free user whose LAPTOP was horribly corrupted,
and he had never tested his backup strategy.

Instead of regularly creating an image backup on his external USB Flash Drive,
he had been regularly using the CLONE facility on his Flash Drive.

His laptop was not prepared to Boot from his USB Flash Drive
Macrium works miracles, but one miracle it does not perform is to use a clone as the basis for a restore

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...Macrium works miracles, but one miracle it does not perform is to use a clone as the basis for a restore

Actually, it can. Just clone the clone back to the original drive. I did this very thing last Sunday when my main data drive got corrupted (fortunately, reformatting it fixed it).

Normally, images are better for backups because one can image just one partition at a time instead of having to do the entire drive. Imaging is faster, the image can be verified after creation, and images can be safely compressed during creation to save space. Restoration is also easier and faster with imaging.

That said, though I use images to backup my boot drive, I use clones to backup my data drives because I want to be able to use the backup as is should a data drive installed in my computer ever completely die. In that event, I can just plug my clone into the hot swap bay in my computer (I also use the bay for making backups), disconnect the SATA data cable from the dead drive, then keep chugging along until I can buy and install the new drive (I don't want to keep a spare drive on hand because HDDs keep going up in quality and down in price over time and I don't want to waste warranty time on a drive setting unused in a drawer). I don't worry about losing data when using the clone because I always make two clones when backing up.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Hi all I need some help, please.
Did I screw the whole process up, just because I renamed the two files.

Absolutely yes - your mistake - You caused total confusion to Macrium which expects the backup to use the name with which it was created.

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.

It SHOULD be easy to remedy by renaming the files to what they WERE when created.
Please not the the names are NOT what you think they are because you are not seeing extensions,
and Macrium typically uses full names such as
C94F2F21B312F2D0-00-00.mrimg
and
C94F2F21B312F2D0-01-01.mrimg etc for differential and Incremental backups that hold the difference from the FULL.

If you do not remember the original file names then use Macrium GUI and inspect the logs that it created when making the backups.

In the future, you can keep track of what images go together by grouping them in folders. You can move images but renaming them after they are created will confuse Reflect. Also, you can rename the image when setting it up prior to making the image although Macrium doesn't recommend it. I used to rename my images to the date they were created on until whs pointed out the folder they are stored in will show that date for me (that was a DUH moment).

 

[whs]

Hi all I need some help, please.

I created an image, probably the largest I ever created with Macrium free edition.

I didn't look at the output files until I went to the recovery mode and notice two files, one small file and one larger file.

So I booted back into Windows and renamed the files so I new what to look for when I'm doing the recovery.

Well, it doesn't want to do the recovery the last step after I select the target disk, it just goes on and searching for something and never engages the transfer of files.

So I try to mount the bigger image file and it says "its a multi-file image and one of the parts don't exist". I assume its the smaller file? I click this file and it says its corrupt.

So what now, I lose all my data? There's a 264GB image their, the backup was roughly that size.

Did I screw the whole process up, just because I renamed the two files.

How can I undo this. And no restore won't work. Because I had wipe the disk just before, these images were taken prior to running CopyWipe and wiping the disk.

Looks like you mucked it up. If nothing else works, you can mount the big image (double click on the image file and you will see) and it will appear as a virtual volume in Computer like any other volume.

From there you can do 2 things:

1. Recover your own files by copying them to another volume

2. Reimage that virtual volume. That you can image like any other volume. Hopefully that image can be restored because I do not really know what the story on the 1KB file is - maybe it is essential or maybe it is not really needed.

To get rid of the virtual volume in Computer, you have to reboot.

Another question is what happened to your 100MB system partition. If the C partition that you imaged was the active partition, then you would not need it. If not, then you would not have a bootmgr on your big image and could not boot.

The bootmgr can be recreated but that would be another project.

 

[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.

If you do not remember the original file names then use Macrium GUI and inspect the logs that it created when making the backups.


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.


Looks like you mucked it up. If nothing else works, you can mount the big image (double click on the image file and you will see) and it will appear as a virtual volume in Computer like any other volume.


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

 

[alan10]

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.

/QUOTE]

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.

 

[alan10]

...Macrium works miracles, but one miracle it does not perform is to use a clone as the basis for a restore

Actually, it can. Just clone the clone back to the original drive. I did this very thing last Sunday when my main data drive got corrupted (fortunately, reformatting it fixed it).

I am sure that is feasible with NON-system drives which seems to be your application.

All that this user had was a crippled Windows system running on a single HDD Laptop,
and a USB Flash Drive clone of his HDD.
Obviously his HDD Windows would not support an operation of being cloned from his Flash Drive.

I had doubts about the capability of a Macrium Boot Rescue CD supporting a Clone operation.
I had doubts about any (automatic ?) adjustments that Macrium might make when cloning from HDD to a Flash Drive - e.g.
can a Flash Drive have an extended partition table ?
and can it have more than one partition recognised by a separate drive letter ?
and would there be any extra "gotcha's" when using the Boot Rescue CD to clone the HDD from the flash drive ?
I had EXTREME doubts about his capability to successfully do anything technical with Macrium.
I think his original problem was that his email folder was corrupted and he tried to muddle through by himself and added corruption to both the HDD and also the USB clone before he asked for help.

I suggested that the simplest solution was to get another external USB drive, preferable HDD rather than Flash,
and create on the USB HDD an image backup of the USB Flash drive,
and then he could use a Boot Rescue to restore the image and hopefully have Macrium Restoration fix any startup issues.

I think too much corruption had been done and the story did not end well.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I've never tried using a USB flash drive to clone to (my drives, even my boot drive, are far too big for that) and I also doubt that it can be done successfully but a USB external HDD can be used (and I have done so). You may or may not be able to boot from the drive when connected via USB (never tried it) but the clone could be cloned back to the internal drive or, if physically compatible, one could just swap drives (I've done both on my desktop and my notebook).

 

[kado897]

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.

It looks like you have set a maximum image size and it has split it into more than one file.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

The upshot of all of this is DO NOT make any changes to an image file once it has been made. It can be moved but that can be risky because multiple image files may be associated with each other.

 

[mjf]

Accepting that some people want to use the Macrium clone capability, it may be useful to document any potential problems.

This one is a doozie.

What's the doozie?

On a later comment... Using Windows inbuilt imaging or Macrium it is safe to copy out files from a mounted image but of course don't alter the image. When moving images you need to be clear what you mean by "move". Moving within a partition is a directory (file system) entry change and I have never experienced a problem. Moving across partition boundaries is a physical move and I would not recommend it.

 

[alan10]

Accepting that some people want to use the Macrium clone capability, it may be useful to document any potential problems.

This one is a doozie.

What's the doozie?

On a later comment... Using Windows inbuilt imaging or Macrium it is safe to copy out files from a mounted image but of course don't alter the image. When moving images you need to be clear what you mean by "move". Moving within a partition is a directory (file system) entry change and I have never experienced a problem. Moving across partition boundaries is a physical move and I would not recommend it.

What does doozy mean? doozy Definition. Meaning of doozy. OnlineSlangDictionary.com

Macrium expects all Incremental and Differential backups to reside in the same folder as their corresponding FULL backup. You can move the folder with no problems.
If you move only some of the backups to a different folder then expect trouble,
but this is POSSIBLY mitigated if the Windows Service "Distributed Link Tracking Client" is running at the time the moving is performed.

 

[mjf]

This one is a doozie.

What's the doozie?

On a later comment... Using Windows inbuilt imaging or Macrium it is safe to copy out files from a mounted image but of course don't alter the image. When moving images you need to be clear what you mean by "move". Moving within a partition is a directory (file system) entry change and I have never experienced a problem. Moving across partition boundaries is a physical move and I would not recommend it.

What does doozy mean? doozy Definition. Meaning of doozy. OnlineSlangDictionary.com

Macrium expects all Incremental and Differential backups to reside in the same folder as their corresponding FULL backup. You can move the folder with no problems.
If you move only some of the backups to a different folder then expect trouble,
but this is POSSIBLY mitigated if the Windows Service "Distributed Link Tracking Client" is running at the time the moving is performed.

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.

 

[SIW2]

You could give THIS a try. It will attempt a file level restore from a corrupted image

 

[whs]

LF. a flash drive works. I have done it.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...When moving images you need to be clear what you mean by "move". Moving within a partition is a directory (file system) entry change and I have never experienced a problem. Moving across partition boundaries is a physical move and I would not recommend it.

I've copied images from one HDD to another (usually by cloning the drive the image is on) and restored from them successfully.

 

[whs]

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.

 

[lehnerus2000]

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 internal HDD and then copy/move them to an external HDD.

When I only had the Linux Restore Disc, I discovered that it would not recognise my external HDD (i.e. I could not browse to it, as it didn't appear in the file browser).

I have moved an image from an internal HDD to an external HDD and back to an internal HDD again and successfully restored using that image.