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

 

[MilesAhead]

If it takes 20 to 40 minutes to make an image or restore from one, I can't help but wonder what is being imaged

I have a Laptop with only a Sata II spinner. The output is an AData USB 3.0 stick. I just did a full image of my system partition (about 80 GB used.) It took 30 minutes 32 seconds. Not too bad. I think the new update is a bit faster. Either that or the stick writes faster when it is nearly empty to start.

One of these days I'll move to SSD.

 

[kado897]

Something to be aware of. You need to create a new rescue disk for V6. The V6 disk can restore V5 images but the V5 disk can't restore v6 images.

 

[Anak]

Hi everyone!

The last twenty-one posts #612 to #632 (including the one that Gary posted about macrium free, and this one) I believe, should be moved to whs's tutorial thread, there is a lot of good stuff in these posts and I feel they should be in the tut.

I believe that because Gary isn't as familiar with the tutorial section or even the remaining forums concerning backups he became shy in replying that he may have erred especially after the deluge of posts that ensued.

Therefore I have asked the powers to be if it would be possible to move these twenty-one posts and any remaining ones concerning Macrium Free including this one be moved over to whs's tutorial.

 

[kado897]

Yes a good idea.

 

[whs]

I can understand that a 30 or 40 minute restore is a bit boring. But fortunately that is not being done very often. But a 40 minute image should be no problem at all. Just 'hide' Macrium and continue doing what you wanted to do.

And Keith - yes you can schedule images with free Macrium.

 

[Kari]

... But a 40 minute image should be no problem at all. Just 'hide' Macrium and continue doing what you wanted to do.

Exactly. That's a very nice feature of Macrium.

Macrium creates a snapshot of your system when you start creating an image, and then makes the image based on this snapshot. You can continue working without issues, just keep in your mind that if you for instance create and save a new Word document after the snapshot has been created it will not be included in the image.

 

[Gary]

Macrium Reflect Free

Macrium Reflect is now offering a free version of this great program with almost all of the features of the paid one. I bought this program about two months ago , now I wish I would have waited. IMHO it is the best backup/restore software out there. There is a chart in the link that will show you the all of the features compared to the paid for versions.

Hi Gary!

You may have missed the ongoing tutorial that whs created: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html

Yes I did, sorry I have been messin with Windows 10 to long.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Macrium Reflect Free

Macrium Reflect is now offering a free version of this great program with almost all of the features of the paid one. I bought this program about two months ago , now I wish I would have waited. IMHO it is the best backup/restore software out there. There is a chart in the link that will show you the all of the features compared to the paid for versions.

Check with Macrium. They may have a grace period during which, if you bought V5, they may give you the full version of V6.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I'm still on the fence on whether to just stay with my Pro V5, upgrade to free V6, or upgrade to V6 Pro. Some of the features I still don't understand.

One is the lack of dynamic disk support in free V6. Exactly what is that? I don't believe I have any dynamic disks on my desktop (I don't really understand what dynamic is all about), especially the C: drive, which is the only one I image. I do occasionally clone my data drives (very occasionally). This is a shot of my disk management since someone is bound to ask for it:



SSD TRIM support is another one I don't get. What does TRIM have to do with Macrium Reflect (my C: drive is an SSD, btw)?

I'm also not sure what Backup File Management is. Is that what I am using now to have Macrium Reflect automatically delete images older than eight weeks?

 

[mjf]

One is the lack of dynamic disk support in free V6.

Most people avoid dynamic disks and make them accidentally. Then the job is to convert back to a basic disk.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

One is the lack of dynamic disk support in free V6.

Most people avoid dynamic disks and make them accidentally. Then the job is to convert back to a basic disk.

If people avoid them, what purpose do they serve (just curious)? Besides that, I take it not having support for dynamic disks will not be a problem then?

 

[lehnerus2000]

Software RAID

One is the lack of dynamic disk support in free V6.

Most people avoid dynamic disks and make them accidentally. Then the job is to convert back to a basic disk.

If people avoid them, what purpose do they serve (just curious)? Besides that, I take it not having support for dynamic disks will not be a problem then?

During my TAFE Networking course we used dynamic disks to create software RAID (W2K8 server).

It worked perfectly at TAFE, but I've never been able to do anything successful with them anywhere else.

 

[kado897]

There is quite a good explanation of dynamic disks here...https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa363785(v=vs.85).aspx

 

[DavidE]

I'm still on the fence on whether to just stay with my Pro V5, upgrade to free V6, or upgrade to V6 Pro. Some of the features I still don't understand.

Here's my approach:

Create backups with V5.
Uninstall V5.
Install V6.
Test V6 and see how it works for me.
If V6 isn't for me, restore the V5 image(s).

For me V6 free is much better than V5 free, no going back to V5 for me.
I can't comment on V5 paid vs V6 (free or paid) ...

 

[mjf]

If people avoid them, what purpose do they serve (just curious)? Besides that, I take it not having support for dynamic disks will not be a problem then?

There are numerous descriptions on what dynamic disks are but I just see them as a headache for the average user. So I wouldn't bother using them and worry about any lack of support. I'd be very interested in other opinions - I'm prepared to be swayed.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Thanks, guys, the difference between dynamic and basic disks is much clearer now (for the record, I can't see myself ever needing them).

Now, what about the other two questions?

SSD TRIM support is another one I don't get. What does TRIM have to do with Macrium Reflect (my C: drive is an SSD, btw)?

I'm also not sure what Backup File Management is. Is that what I am using now to have Macrium Reflect automatically delete images older than eight weeks?

 

[kado897]

I'm still on the fence on whether to just stay with my Pro V5, upgrade to free V6, or upgrade to V6 Pro. Some of the features I still don't understand.

Here's my approach:

Create backups with V5.
Uninstall V5.
Install V6.
Test V6 and see how it works for me.
If V6 isn't for me, restore the V5 image(s).

For me V6 free is much better than V5 free, no going back to V5 for me.
I can't comment on V5 paid vs V6 (free or paid) ...

The big improvements in v6 paid over v5 paid. my personal opinion.


1. Task scheduling templates. Grandfather/Father/Son etc.
2. Incremental backups with consolidation of older incrementals into the base image. In other words this allows for continual incrementals with a fixed limit in the chain length.
3. Fast delta restore. If you are restoring a recent image over an existing partition this results in drastically reduced restore times (in my case 35 min down to 5 min).

 

[DavidE]

SSD TRIM support is another one I don't get. What does TRIM have to do with Macrium Reflect (my C: drive is an SSD, btw)?

If required, set Advanced Options as follows:

1. Rapid Delta Restore to copy only changed data blocks and complete the restore process more quickly.
   Note: Only NTFS file systems that are not shrunk can be restored in this way.
2. SSD Trim to enable TRIM on restore.
   Note: Writing to an unused block is quicker than writing to one in use and results in an increase of both the lifetime and the performance of the device.
3. Verify Image to chose whether to verify an image before restoring.
4. Master Boot Record to replace the restore with the Master Boot Record (MBR) from the backup.
   Note: The MBR is a small program that executes when the computer starts up. If this program becomes corrupt then you can have problems starting the computer operating system.

Source: Restoring an image from within Windows - KnowledgeBase - Macrium Software

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...The big improvements in v6 paid over v5 paid. my personal opinion.


1. Task scheduling templates. Grandfather/Father/Son etc.
2. Incremental backups with consolidation of older incrementals into the base image. In other words this allows for continual incrementals with a fixed limit in the chain length.
3. Fast delta restore. If you are restoring a recent image over an existing partition this results in drastically reduced restore times (in my case 35 min down to 5 min).

Thanks for that info, 'tis good to know. My take on those points are:

1. I can't schedule backups since I never can always know if WMC will be running or not. MR will crash early on if WMC is running. I have some series scheduled to record but I record more movies than series, which can be at almost any time. I prefer to make my images immediately after I run my weekly long scans (which are usually on the same day every week but not necessarily at the same time; I also make an image before making system changes, such as installing a new program or installing updates) and before I run my data backups (using a different program; I only image my C: drive/partition), which I run right after I've made the image so the new image will get backed up before I have a chance to lose it for whatever reason. I use only one image configuration on my images and start that from the sole XML file I keep on each computer so having templates wouldn't really benefit me any.

2. I haven't used incremental backups in a long time. Full images are easier to keep track of and are less likely to fail due to a missing or corrupted incremental image. It takes me only 11 minutes to make a full image on my desktop machine (a bit less on my notebooks). I have way more than enough room to store eight weeks of images (MR will automatically delete any older than 8 weeks).

3. Fast delta restore is attractive but that alone wouldn't be enough for me to pay for an upgrade since it takes me only abut 13-14 minutes or less to do a restore (during which time I can be doing something else, like making my bladder gladder, snag a snack, or other such high priority tasks). I don't need to restore very often, maybe once every other month, if that.

Apparently, my main concern is whether I would lose any features I already use if I were to go from V5 paid to V6 free.

 

[DavidE]

Everyone has different configurations, wants, needs, etc.

Can you test V6 free on a test system, perhaps a VM, just so you can kick the tires and see how you like it ?