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

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• 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

 

[SIW2]

If you are using something fancy, like O&O diskimage, you can either just use the default restore proces - or you can ( if you wish ) engage various options.


O&O also has options for making the image files - for example, you can exclude certain files, filetypes, folders, etc.


It also includes a module to make an operating system bootable on different hardware, and plenty more goodies.

 

[kado897]

The interface in the bootable media is pretty much the same as the program itself. You can start the restore from within windows provided you have created the boot menu entry. This knowledgebase article describes the process.Restoring a System image from Windows - KnowledgeBase v7.2 - Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase - KnowledgeBase v7.2 - Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase

 

[RedLad]

Hi guys,

Thank you for the replies. I am just seeing them now.

When I booted up my PC this morning, I noticed I had 2 options - the Windows 7 boot option & a Macrium Recovery option. So I said why not, I will try the Macrium one, as I had nothing to lose. I think this is because I had clicked on the Run from Windows PE box in the dialogue that pops up when trying to restore an image (from inside Windows)?

So it then showed the interface and I pointed the restore image to the one I had created and placed on my separate HDD. It all went great and now I have a restored image. I do notice that the space on my C: is actually a bit more, compared to when I created the actual image. Not sure why, but I won't complain!

One thing I am a little confused by - why didn't it ask me to load the Recovery CD that I had previously made? Or is that a totally separate thing altogether? Anyway, it is looking good now.

 

[kado897]

Hi guys,

Thank you for the replies. I am just seeing them now.

When I booted up my PC this morning, I noticed I had 2 options - the Windows 7 boot option & a Macrium Recovery option. So I said why not, I will try the Macrium one, as I had nothing to lose. I think this is because I had clicked on the Run from Windows PE box in the dialogue that pops up when trying to restore an image (from inside Windows)?

So it then showed the interface and I pointed the restore image to the one I had created and placed on my separate HDD. It all went great and now I have a restored image. I do notice that the space on my C: is actually a bit more, compared to when I created the actual image. Not sure why, but I won't complain!

One thing I am a little confused by - why didn't it ask me to load the Recovery CD that I had previously made? Or is that a totally separate thing altogether? Anyway, it is looking good now.

They are separate things. You would need the CD/USB recovery if for some reason you couldn't boot to the Windows boot menu or the Macrium image on your HDD had become corrupted. I have been using Macrium for many years now and have always used the boot menu although I create the USB recovery drive just in case.