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

 

[pparks1]

Awesome, thanks for sharing. I've suggested Macrium Reflect free to a few people at work. I tested it for awhile to let them know how it works and it's worked pretty well for me.

The only thing I don't like is that you don't seem to be able to restore multiple partitions at the same time..but rather have to restore them individually. Certainly not a showstopper, but a bit annoying.

 

[SIW2]

Another plus is that the BartPe plugin you can download from within the free Macrium app. runs in WinPe 2 and 3.

No backup function in the free macrium pe plugin - Restore and explore your backup images - restores individual files too. plus a boot corrector ( be careful with that - I used Paragon Boot Corrector to correct drive letters after running the Macrium version ) and network configurator.

New app. ( free atm ) converts macrium images to vhd - it's fast too. It also runs in WinPe.

Macrium Reflect - Blogs and News

If you have any problems booting the vhd, hit it with Paragon P2V Adjust Wizard .

That's not generally available free, but many will have the recent giveaways Of Paragon Virtualization Manager personal .

Paragon apps. also run beautifully in WinPe .

 

[whs]

Thanks for the additional explanations. I wanted to keep it simple which is the advantage of the Linux version.

 

[alwinwinjoe]

Excuse me whs. May I ask a question? Can the recovery disk that has been made be used with another system image? I seem to have accidentally deleted my original system image and created a new one this day.

 

[whs]

The recovery disk is a one time matter and can be used with all Macrium images - even on a different system. It just pulls in the recovery program that then lets you choose the image you want to use.

Note: on one of my systems a new version of Macrium turned up and they explicitely asked to burn a new recovery disk for that new version. But that was only because Macrium was changed, not because of the images.

 

[CarlTR6]

Thank you for the tutorial. I am about try Macrium for the first time.

 

[whs]

Carl, you are welcome. You will see, it is really easy.

 

[alwinwinjoe]

The recovery disk is a one time matter and can be used with all Macrium images - even on a different system. It just pulls in the recovery program that then lets you choose the image you want to use.

Note: on one of my systems a new version of Macrium turned up and they explicitely asked to burn a new recovery disk for that new version. But that was only because Macrium was changed, not because of the images.

Thank you very much! I didn't want to buy another CD if it was not possible.

 

[whs]

No problem, any time. Can you even buy a single CD - just curious. Here they usually come in packs of 25 or 50.

 

[alwinwinjoe]

No problem, any time. Can you even buy a single CD - just curious. Here they usually come in packs of 25 or 50.

We have retail and wholesale but it comes cheaper when bought wholesale.

 

[Dave76]

Great tutorial, Imaging software is a little difficult to understand the first time using them, after that they are very similar and generally easy.

This will help a lot of people doing this for the first time, like the video tut....

 

[whs]

Added a warning

Please note that I added a warning to this tutorial ( http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html#post648001 ) because it is a trap that one can easily fall into. And since it is a relatively recent phenomenon, the mistake is easy to make.

 

[derekimo]

Please note that I added a warning to this tutorial ( http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html#post648001 ) because it is a trap that one can easily fall into. And since it is a relatively recent phenomenon, the mistake is easy to make.

Thanks for the updated info, good to know.

 

[SIW2]

Hi whs,

Good note about not marking the o/s partition active during restore - if you have the 100 mb system partition.

It won't matter if you tick replace the mbr code - windows will boot fine - it is standard code that works with any o/s.

 

[whs]

Hi whs,

Good note about not marking the o/s partition active during restore - if you have the 100 mb system partition.

It won't matter if you tick replace the mbr code - windows will boot fine - it is standard code that works with any o/s.

It won't matter if you tick replace the mbr code - windows will boot fine - it is standard code that works with any o/s.

Unfortunately that is not my experience. I did click the MBR replacement box (but kept C as primary, not active) and got "NTDLR missing". Once I checked not to replace the MBR, things worked.

 

[eldinv]

great video!! i will be using this program for my back up needs
​

 

[whs]

great video!! i will be using the program for my back up needs​

Very good, if you have any further questions, do not hesitate to ask.

 

[eldinv]

great video!! i will be using the program for my back up needs​

Very good, if you have any further questions, do not hesitate to ask.

first part is done i burned recovery CD without any problems, and store it safely way.. second part to where i want to create the image (backup) i have two drives C and D.. my C has of course the operating system but also has 100MB of Active Reserved? and then 465GB of Primary.

is there away to delete that system reserved and part the other partition active..
one more thing, can i say what files within the partition i want to back up or is the whole thing.. also does the program get recognized by windows 7 as a backup utility so it makes those open action message center go away.

if i can delete that system reserved, as i believe, do i have to check it off when using this program to make a backup


thanks in advance for the help

 

[derekimo]

This will tell you how to turn that message off,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/364-action-center-change-message-settings.html?ltr=A

whs can explain the rest.