Step-by-step instruct on creating image: Macrium

Topic

New Reply

Imaging with Macrium Reflect Free 4.2

1> From the starting screen select the Create a Backup Image Icon..

2> In the wizard, click next, and then select the disk or partition you wish to image. In my example we will only image our C: partition on disk #2.

Click Next

3> We now choose the location to store our backup. I am using an internal local disk with the drive letter X: (Here we could choose a removable disk or network shared location).

Click NEXT and you will see the following screen.

4> At this point I can simply click Finish and then OK in the confirmation screen and the backup will run. If I chose to fine-tune compression or other settings, I would go into the advanced button.

After hitting finish I get one more screen asking me what I want to do with the job settings I have just created.

Hit the OK button and your backup job will run. In about 30 minutes you will have an image that can return your C: partition precisely to the state it is in now.

We have one more task to complete before we are done. We need to create our rescue boot disk.

1>From the main screen select Other Tasks then Create Rescue CD

2> I have always been able to use the Linux CD with no trouble but YMMV

Click NEXT

3> Put a blank CD in your CD writer, Make sure the correct drive is selected and press finish

Be sure to test that your PC can boot from the above CD and that you can see the image that you created in step one. It is also a good idea IMPERATIVE to mount the image from inside Macrium and make sure you can see and open the files on it to verify that it is a viable image.

Reply | Quote

Replies

Mounting the image to manually verify it.

This is also a very simple process.

1> From the main screen select the browse image icon

2> Select the image you wish to browse by placing a checkmark in the box beside it, you will then be able to click the “drive letter” field and get a dropdown list of all available drive letters. Assign a letter you like and press OK.

The image should open in a standard windows explorer window and you will see an exact replica of the files from the drive that you imaged. You can go into this new drive and open the files just like you were on the original drive.

If you wish to not leave this drive mounted, the next icon over from the browse image icon in the first screenshot is the “detach mounted image” icon and will allow you to unmount the image and remove that drive letter from windows explorer.

Reply | Quote

Macrium Reflect Free also has a manual verification wizard

1>From the main screen click the “verify image” icon

When the wizard pops up click NEXT and you will get this screen:

2>Select the location where you save your image(s) and then select the image you wish to verify, hit NEXT and then in the following screen hit VERIFY and verification will run.

This process will take about as long as original image creation but can run in the background while you are posting answers in the lounge…

Reply | Quote

Mercyh,

Thank you so much for lending your invaluable knowledge to my original post and taking the time to start this thread for Macrium Reflect. I believe that there are many out there who do not Image/Clone because it appears too intimidating. Little do they know that it is, but it can save your bacon and make recovery or moving to a new PC so much quicker and easier. Again, thank you!

Reply | Quote

applause to both of these threads, extremely helpful. In my saved list for future referrals.

Reply | Quote

Is there a way to overwrite the previous image when creating a new image with the same name or, better yet, is there a way to delete a number of previous images when they exceed a selected number? I find that the images are beginning to pile up if I forget to periodically go to the backup location and delete all but 2 o3. There should be a way to do this in the settings but I can’t seem to find it.

Thanks,
John

Reply | Quote

The paid version has image management. The free version does not.

If you are into .bat scripting you can write a batch file using the forfiles command to delete all images older than XX# of days. You can then use the task scheduler to run it on whatever schedule you prefer.

Here is the Microsoft documentation on the FORFILES command.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753551(WS.10).aspx

WARNING, anytime you do delete processes with a batch file, Test TEst TEST before you turn it loose on your production machine….

I would consider the Macrium Free version to be a somewhat manual process although you can schedule the backups themselves with it.

The bottom of the following page has the comparison of features between the free and full versions:

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

Reply | Quote

The paid version has image management. The free version does not.

If you are into .bat scripting you can write a batch file using the forfiles command to delete all images older than XX# of days. You can then use the task scheduler to run it on whatever schedule you prefer.

Here is the Microsoft documentation on the FORFILES command.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753551(WS.10).aspx

WARNING, anytime you do delete processes with a batch file, Test TEst TEST before you turn it loose on your production machine….

I would consider the Macrium Free version to be a somewhat manual process although you can schedule the backups themselves with it.

The bottom of the following page has the comparison of features between the free and full versions:

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

Please help with this problem. I’m stumped at the best course to follow.

I am using Macricum Free to Image to a external drive and have made two images and today tried to deal with the Rescue Disc in Lynux .

The problem is the Lynux disc will not boot in Win 7 Home Premium. The advance disc would not boot. So.. How to work around this? Buy Macricum? Thanks for the rich help offered here.
…….
Ray/FL

Reply | Quote

Mercyh, thanks for your suggestion. I downloaded the paid version and now I am able to control the number of saved images and also VERIFY the image immediately after creation which I consider important and further puts my mind at ease. To others using the FREE version: Go ahead and get the paid version. It is well worth the money and it has the extra features you need and makes it one of the best imaging programs available.

Thanks again.

John

Reply | Quote

Mercyh, thanks for your suggestion. I downloaded the paid version and now I am able to control the number of saved images and also VERIFY the image immediately after creation which I consider important and further puts my mind at ease. To others using the FREE version: Go ahead and get the paid version. It is well worth the money and it has the extra features you need and makes it one of the best imaging programs available.

Thanks again.

John

Thanks for your input. The two features you speak about above are very important. If you do not wish to do them manually, by all means get the paid version as it is IMPERATIVE that you verify that the image is good….

Reply | Quote

My 250 GB SATA hard drive has failed. Fortunately, I have a fresh Macrium image and a new spare 500 GB on the shelf ready to go. After the restoration I will have approximately 250 GB of free space on the new drive at the end of the partition and I would like to stretch the partition to utilize all of the free space on the new drive. Now here is my question: During the restoration I am asked whether I want to copy the MBR from the image. I assume the answer is NO since the MBR contains the partition size which is 250 GB and I need a new partition size of 500 GB on the new drive. I guess my question is: Is this a logical assumption and at what point do I make the new partition 500 GB? Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
John

Reply | Quote

I think if you want to boot and go after you restore you will need to copy it. (this is assuming you are using a clean unformatted drive.)

I would use another of my favorite free utilities from easeus:
http://www.partition-tool.com/
to resize the partition how you want it after you are up and running.

Reply | Quote

If you are open to suggestions on this idea of extending the partition, I would suggest that you SHRINK the C: partition to about 100gb and put the rest of the disk into a second partition for storage.

This keeps your Operating system, programs and user folders on C: which you can image. Your nonessential files such as downloads, install files, etc. can be kept on the second partition. This keeps your images down to a more manageable size.

Be sure to let us know how you get on…..

Reply | Quote

Sounds good! Thanks for the suggestions. I will let you know how I make out.

John

Reply | Quote

OK! I’m a newbie to the world of image backups and I just successfully created a Macrium Reflect image backup on eight DVDs (~60 GB of stuff on my HD), and then a Linux Rescue CD — all by following your beautifully laid-out instructions.

Note: I would love to have saved it to a second (internal) hard drive on my PC, but it’s an all-in-one with room for only one, and at the moment I don’t have the $$$ to buy an external hard drive.

Question: Let’s say I get into trouble and I need to restore my machine (running Windows 7) from my image stored on the 8 DVDs. I just read in the instructions that “It is IMPERATIVE to mount the image from inside Macrium. . . ” Unfortunately for me, the instructions don’t tell me how to do that. Specifically, how do I run Macrium if my HD is wiped out? Is it on the Rescue CD? It would be nice if the instructions covered this important point.

Could someone please elaborate for me? Thanks!

Frank D

Reply | Quote

OK! I’m a newbie to the world of image backups and I just successfully created a Macrium Reflect image backup on eight DVDs (~60 GB of stuff on my HD), and then a Linux Rescue CD — all by following your beautifully laid-out instructions.


Frank D

Frank,

Even though I use Acronis rather than Macrium, the theory is the same. As the price has come down, it does not cost a lot to get an ext HD for Image storage. I was able to get a Seagate Go 1 TB ext HD for well less than $100. I have 8 Images on it so far and have not yet used 1/4 of the available space. As I create new Images, I selectively delete old images now. It is important to name the Images so you can choose the Image to restore that you really want. These Images are for 2 seperate laptops, so naturally I include the laptop names to distinguish which laptop the Image is for, I also let Acronis include the date and the partition of the Image (i.e. 08-07-10_C_D_E_Ted Laptop_complete, or something like this. At some point in time I will probably elliminate the original or early Images as they include just one large partition (before I partitioned a large data partition from the main partition) I also Image just the “C” partition in case I fudge up my OS while “playing” with it.

The point is that the ext HD is capable of storing many images without breaking them up to optical media. A seperate int HD would be as effective if you have a desktop capable of adding HD to it, or even a NAS storage device. You might want to consider this option in place of the optical media. This allows you to create Up-To-Date Images on a regular basis without burning through lots of Optical media and having to store all this media.

Reply | Quote

In your case you will possibly no be able to mount the image (I am not sure as I have never split an image across DVD’s like you have) I think that you should be able to verify the image though using the instructions above. I think Macrium will ask for each of the dvd’s as it goes through the verification process…….

see the following thread from Macrium’s forum:
http://support.macrium.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1859

If your hard drive is wiped out, you will replace the drive with a new one of equal or larger size and using the windows rescue CD (or some other bootable partitioning and format tool) will partition and format the new disk. (the linux rescue cd should be able to manage the whole process on its own).. You will then boot with the linux rescue CD and tell it you want to restore the image, pointing it to your dvd drive. Macrium should then begin asking you for your first image dvd and run through them all until the image has been restored.

On an all in one like you describe I think I would create a bootable rescue USB flash drive (if it is within your budget) using the tutorial here:
http://www.macrium.com/blog/2008/09/23/HowToCreateABootableLinuxUSBStick.aspx

This would allow you to leave the bootable stick in the machine while rotating the image media in the DVD drive.

Reply | Quote

and at the moment I don’t have the $$$ to buy an external hard drive.

I understand, luckily external drives are coming down in price. Here is a 1TB model for $80 including shipping….
http://www.buy.com/prod/fantom-greendrive-pro-1tb-esata-and-usb-2-0-7200rpm-16mb-external-hard/q/loc/101/211903849.html

I would suggest that using DVDs will get expensive also if you make very many images…..

Reply | Quote

My thanks to all for your replies. I’ll look into each one for the options.

You’ve convinced me. I’m going to save up the $$$ for an external HD. As you point out, they’re cheap and getting cheaper all the time. And there’s no future in using DVDs in view of their cost and obvious limitations.

Frank

Reply | Quote

I am now using macrium free for a total backup solution for my Home customers. I have it backup to an external (or internal) second harddrive with scheduled backups running nightly to a single folder on the drive. I then setup a weekend backup schedule that runs to a different folder on the drive.

To manage the images I have written a .bat file that deletes all files older then 8 days in the daily folder and all files older then 35 days in the weekly folder. I use windows scheduler to run this file nightly. You must have a drive large enough to store 14 images for this to work. (this allows me to restore to any day in the last week or any weekend in the last month). This system MUST BE MONITORED at least weekly but if it is monitored (and the house doesn’t burn) you will have current backups when you need them.

THIS does not cover Offsite needs but for most of my customers it is a lot better then nothing which is what they had before.

If anybody is interested in the code for the cleanup .bat file, I would be glad to post it.

Reply | Quote

If anybody is interested in the code for the cleanup .bat file, I would be glad to post it.

Here is what I use.

It is very basic, but this along with CCleaner does a good job of cleaning everything. I would appreciate seeing what you use. Thanks.

Reply | Quote

Ted,

what I am talking about is the code I use to manage multiple images, not the cleanup code….

If you are using the paid version of Macrium (and I am sure Acronis) the program itself will manage multiple images. What I use is a bat file that is run by scheduler that deletes old images.

Reply | Quote

Ted,

what I am talking about is the code I use to manage multiple images, not the cleanup code….

If you are using the paid version of Macrium (and I am sure Acronis) the program itself will manage multiple images. What I use is a bat file that is run by scheduler that deletes old images.

Sorry, I misunderstood the post. I use this cleanup.bat for cleaning before I Image. Feel like a fool now. Guess I’m tired after work today.

Reply | Quote

Feel like a fool now.

If this is the most foolish thing you have done….you are not in very bad shape yet…

Reply | Quote

first download forfiles.exe from here:
http://www.petri.co.il/download_free_reskit_tools.htm

(I think this only works on 32bit but am not sure)

Unzip it and put it in your Windowssystem32 directory.

Here is the .bat file I use to manage old images. If anyone else has a good way to delete files older then X days, bring it on…..

Code:

echo on

rem Delete old image Backup Files

FORFILES -pYour_Drive_Letter:imagesdaily -s -d-8 -c"CMD /C del /Q @FILE"
FORFILES -pYour_Drive_Letter:imagesweekly -s -d-35 -c"CMD /C del /Q @FILE"

rem pause

Line one deletes all files older than 8 days in the Drive_letter_You_choose:imagesdaily folder you can change how long images are kept by changing the -8 to what ever you wish.

Line two deletes all files older then 35 days in the weekly folder.

BE VERY CAREFUL WITH TURNING THESE KINDS OF FILES LOOSE ON YOUR MACHINE. If you pointed this thing at your My documents folder it would clean it out. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THE CODE and TEST TEST TEST.

Reply | Quote

You do not boot the rescue disk “in” windows. You will need to put the disk in the CD drive, and reboot your machine. As your machine boots up, there will be a key you need to push on the keyboard to tell the machine to boot from cd. The machine should then boot from the CD and you will be in the linux restore environment.

Reply | Quote

You do not boot the rescue disk “in” windows. You will need to put the disk in the CD drive, and reboot your machine. As your machine boots up, there will be a key you need to push on the keyboard to tell the machine to boot from cd. The machine should then boot from the CD and you will be in the linux restore environment.

Did it as described but did not know about a special key to use to “tell” the machine to boot from CD drive. Can you share about where this special key is? I may be able to search elsewhere for this information. Thanks again.
…….
Ray/FL

Reply | Quote

what is the brand and model of your machine and I will find out for you.

Reply | Quote

what is the brand and model of your machine and I will find out for you.

ASUS Notebook K40IJ/K50IJ series

Thanks.

Reply | Quote

I think it is ESC on that model.

You may have to shut it clear down and start up from cold to get it though. Generally you have a very short time to get the key press in. (usually from the time you see the first light on the screen until the windows logo comes up.) I usually hit the power key and then start pressing and releasing the key rapidly until I see the boot menu. You will then have the option to boot from harddrive, optical (or cd/dvd) or usb on most machines. Select the cd/dvd option, make sure your disk is in the drive and it should boot into the recovery environment.

let us know if this gets you what you need…..

Reply | Quote

I think it is ESC on that model.

You may have to shut it clear down and start up from cold to get it though. Generally you have a very short time to get the key press in. (usually from the time you see the first light on the screen until the windows logo comes up.) I usually hit the power key and then start pressing and releasing the key rapidly until I see the boot menu. You will then have the option to boot from harddrive, optical (or cd/dvd) or usb on most machines. Select the cd/dvd option, make sure your disk is in the drive and it should boot into the recovery environment.

let us know if this gets you what you need…..

When you do it right it works. That is exactly correct. Had to fiddle a bit due to never being there (in the recovery process) before but it worked fine. Please allow more questions regarding the process.

I have six partitions on the hard drive but made images of four partitions only since the other partitions are empty. In the Rescue process it appeared only one partition would be restored at one time. Not understanding the full process yet I wonder if I should have imaged the entire drive.

Also how is the restore process done if only one partition is restored at a time? Continued thanks for this great help in understanding the unknown.

Reply | Quote

Imaging with Macrium Reflect Free 4.2

1> From the starting screen select the Create a Backup Image Icon..

2> In the wizard, click next, and then select the disk or partition you wish to image. In my example we will only image our C: partition on disk #2.

Click Next

3> We now choose the location to store our backup. I am using an internal local disk with the drive letter X: (Here we could choose a removable disk or network shared location).

Click NEXT and you will see the following screen.

4> At this point I can simply click Finish and then OK in the confirmation screen and the backup will run. If I chose to fine-tune compression or other settings, I would go into the advanced button.

After hitting finish I get one more screen asking me what I want to do with the job settings I have just created.

Hit the OK button and your backup job will run. In about 30 minutes you will have an image that can return your C: partition precisely to the state it is in now.

We have one more task to complete before we are done. We need to create our rescue boot disk.

1>From the main screen select Other Tasks then Create Rescue CD

2> I have always been able to use the Linux CD with no trouble but YMMV

Click NEXT

3> Put a blank CD in your CD writer, Make sure the correct drive is selected and press finish

Be sure to test that your PC can boot from the above CD and that you can see the image that you created in step one. It is also a good idea IMPERATIVE to mount the image from inside Macrium and make sure you can see and open the files on it to verify that it is a viable image.

Reply | Quote

For that you need the paid version of Macrium Reflect. The paid restore disk has an option called “disk restore” that will do the whole thing and present you with an exact mirror of your old drive. In very simple setups Free is probably all you need. If you have more complex configurations with multiple partitions the paid version may have more of the options you are looking for.

If you have your Operating System, programs and any personal data (such as My documents) that are addressed in the registry on one partition, and all other data that is not needed during the startup of the machine on other partitions, you should be able to restore the Operating system partition, boot the system and restore the other partitions from within the running system.

(If you have found that Macrium does what you need, I would recommend purchasing it.)

Reply | Quote

For that you need the paid version of Macrium Reflect. The paid restore disk has an option called “disk restore” that will do the whole thing and present you with an exact mirror of your old drive. In very simple setups Free is probably all you need. If you have more complex configurations with multiple partitions the paid version may have more of the options you are looking for.

If you have your Operating System, programs and any personal data (such as My documents) that are addressed in the registry on one partition, and all other data that is not needed during the startup of the machine on other partitions, you should be able to restore the Operating system partition, boot the system and restore the other partitions from within the running system.

(If you have found that Macrium does what you need, I would recommend purchasing it.)

Thank you very much for thoughtful help. I understand your comments and will purchase this program.
……….
Ray/FL

Reply | Quote

I would also recommend checking out Acronis True Image Home 2011 if you decide to pay for your Image app. It’s worth a few minutes to compare.

Reply | Quote