Step by step setting up Macrium

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Step one, download the software from the Macrium site

Click next to install the software

You can install the trial or if you’ve purchased it, put in the product key that you’ve received from the email

Click to install

Restart your system

Once you’ve rebooted, click to launch the application

Next click on “other tasks”  and click on create rescue media

From here you can make build rescue media and add a boot process to your Windows 10 booting

Choose to build/add to the boot menu

It creates the boot menu

Choose to set up your backup, select the drives, and store on an external drive

Click finish and the backup will being

When you boot, you’ll see that you are offered Windows 10 or the Macrium recovery option

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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kewlputergeek, Lhse44, GDR

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It’s easy to forget the creation of the USB recovery media, Oh, I’ll do it sometime.

You do not have access to your backup without the USB recovery media.  Create the recovery media, do it, DO IT NOW!  And then test it, make sure that it works, that you can boot your system from it.

I have just recovered the Macrium Reflect image for my wife’s hard drive which failed catastrophically with a bad block, would not have been possible without the recovery media.

Dell E5570 Latitude, Intel Core i5 6440@2.60 GHz, 8.00 GB - Win 10 Pro

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GDR

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ScotchJohn wrote:

You do not have access to your backup without the USB recovery media

You do have access to your backups and any folder/file without the USB recovery. You can recover any folder or file or the whole PC.

You need the USB recovery only in case your PC doesn’t boot/crashed.

(I am using Acronis).

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Question about the last step, wording makes it sound that after completely all the steps that from then on whenever I turn on my PC a new window will appear to choose to continue turning on PC with Win10 or open up Macrium Reflect 7 Free Version, Is this correct?
The window seen in last screenshot has become part of the start up/turn on process for PC without having Bootable Recovery USB plugged in ?

Question on Creating a full image/full disk image backup Step:
Does the add a boot menu screenshot look the same for Free Version?

How do you delete a schedule created automatically for a backup while doing full image/disk image backup? And how do I create a schedule later on?

I’ve heard both yes and no that technically you can recover individual files with Macrium Reflect 7 Free Version.

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Correct that boot menu is always in that boot up process.

I’m not sure what the free version is like – I prefer the paid because it gives me lots more options and has a ransomware file protection feature that the free doesn’t have.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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Since moving to Win10 & want to try out different Backup Programs, Should I add a boot menu when creating Bootable Recovery USB for Win 7 ?     Will it give my PC any trouble/like when I want to turn on and start using PC/ when wanting to pick what I want to boot up too(Windows or backup’s recovery menu) ?

 

When trying out one Backup Programs to use to create backup, Bootable recovery and repair USB sticks for my Win 7 Pro then creating those same Bootable USBs once I have Windows 10 installed. Will Boot Menu from Backup Program that was used while being in Win7 interfere/cause conflict when I turn on my PC ??

Plus, how do I try out creating Recovery with boot menu, Repair USBs in different Backup Programs since the pick Windows or Boot Menu Window  appears without USB being plugged in??

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The free version also has the same boot menu.

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Two things, since I’m feeling anxious for answers (& in deadline) on my reply with follow up questions in it based on PDF given (#post 2393296)…would you be willing to answer them ? (I would wait longer for reply back from person in normal circumstances)

And 2nd thing, after looking at screenshot I see window to make it looks close to paid

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I’ll try to address some of your concerns using Macrium Reflect Free.

First, regarding the boot menu, I suggest you forget about that step unless you expect to frequently boot into Recovery mode.  The appearance of the boot menu screen for the free version is similar to that shown above. I tried creating the boot menu, which added an interaction at each boot that I never used, so soon removed it. If you don’t use it, you avoid any potential complications it could create.

TheFamilyIT wrote:

I’ve heard both yes and no that technically you can recover individual files with Macrium Reflect 7 Free Version.

The free version does not explicitly support file and folder backup/restore. However, Image files can be mounted with File Explorer to assign a drive letter permitting access to desired folders/files on the virtual disk.  I recently used this facility to recover some lost photos.

Hope this helped.

Regards, Phil

 

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Using Free version, Adding a boot menu during process of creating Bootable Recovery USB isn’t just clicking a checkbox like in steps screenshot above/like in paid version. I remember seeing a YouTube video of process and left me with questions on like which is best for my situation, do I choose Windows PE 3.1(under advanced settings) ?

In video, that the person clicked Advanced Settings to pick Win RE version & other RE options.

 

About my PC: Is custom built started with Win7 enterprise then had an issue and it’s partition got messed up. In the end repair shop had to install Win10 Pro. I kept Win10 for couple of days before asking shop to install Win7 Pro.

Does this change which Win RE version that you said I should pick?

 

How do you turn off Boot Menu if you don’t like it or because of something else ?

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Below is a screen shot of Reflect Free Rescue Media Builder. Note that if you want to create a USB Flash Drive, Plug it in before selecting Create bootable Rescue Media.

I have generated a PDF copy of Macrium Rescue Media Builder doc from the Help button of the Media Builder.  Its contents will answer your other questions.

HTH. Regards,

Phil

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Thanks for PDF & I read it over. Have a few questions and confirmations if I understood correctly.

What I understood of pdf guide: If want to add a boot menu window which includes WinPE every time I turn on PC I’ll need to pick Windows to continue the Windows start up/boot up like how use to. I’ll need to go through process again to create a Bootable Rescue USB, right?

What I understood of pdf guide: selecting USB as my target device is the way the boot menu window will only appear when I plug in the USB

Question: I saw a post here saying didn’t like having boot menu as part of PC’s boot up/start up process and removed it. A good thing to know…How I do remove it ?

Question: On Page 7 of Rescue Media PDF, about Win PE version options in Advanced Settings. I have a custom built PC that had Win7 enterprise (but repair shop couldn’t clone HD & HD not useable) so Win 10 Pro was installed but I took it back days later to downgrade to Win 7 Pro.

Soo, since I am forced to move back to Win 10 Pro (Adobe programs not supported anymore) and I should create a Bootable Rescue USB for my Win 7 Pro.   Should I follow/pick the PE mentioned in the 1st Note box something about with Win7 & to enable USB 3.0 port in Rescue build pick this PE?    So, In Advanced settings, whi how Win PE option is best for my case ?

Question: PDF didn’t say if you can edit a Rescue Media USB in the future and if not work after testing it. Is this possible?

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Disclaimer: I am not a Macrium expert, but another user sharing the results of my experience, especially points that I found confusing in the past. My PCs are laptops with a single internal HDD or SSD.

TheFamilyIT wrote:

I’ll need to go through process again to create a Bootable Rescue USB, right? What I understood of pdf guide: selecting USB as my target device is the way the boot menu window will only appear when I plug in the USB

In the Create Rescue Media process, a USB drive must be present to create a Bootable Rescue USB. In my opinion, this should be your first choice. Another Create pass can create your boot menu, if desired. In the context of a single internal disk, I didn’t feel confident using the boot menu option if the recovery media resides on that same disk. No boot menu means one less thing that can go wrong.

When booting Windows normally with the boot menu in place, you are prompted to choose between Windows or Macrium Recovery to boot.

TheFamilyIT wrote:

Question: I saw a post here saying didn’t like having boot menu as part of PC’s boot up/start up process and removed it. A good thing to know…How I do remove it ?

See Page 5 of the PDF in Boot Menu Options. If a boot menu is present when you run a Create Rescue Media step the remove choice will be offered.

Regarding the choice of RE/PE version for your context, I would say go with the default of Windows RE as recommended, if available. Otherwise, I would choose PE 10 or PE 5.

In answer to your last question, pages 9 and 10 of the PDF mention Custom base WIM, as being beyond the scope of the casual user. I have never tried customizing WIM. If there is a problem with creating rescue media, you can always start over.

My practice is to create a new Rescue USB with each new update of Macrium, thereby combining the latest versions of Windows RE and Macrium Reflect on the same bootable medium. I will then boot it and test by browsing a Macrium Image file.

Hope this helped. Regards,

Phil

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Having the Boot Menu is very useful.  It saves you from having to remember whether it is F8, F12 or F2 that you have to press to interrupt the boot process, one less thing to worry about when you’re stressed by having to find the USB stick that you prepared earlier – you did do that, didn’t you?

The Boot Menu has a time-out, and the machine boots normally if you don’t take the branch.  I think that the time-out can be adjusted, mine is ten seconds, but any key stroke cuts that short.

@PhilF – one doesn’t expect to have to boot into Recovery Mode, ever.  But, when something goes wrong, and perhaps it never has for you, but it has for me, anything that makes Recovery Mode easier to access has to be good.

Dell E5570 Latitude, Intel Core i5 6440@2.60 GHz, 8.00 GB - Win 10 Pro

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With a Custom built PC, How do I find out which press to interrupt boot process ?  My PC is custom built (built in 2014) with intel as CPU and with other mainstream internal parts

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The place to look is the documentation for your Motherboard. Popular motherboard settings are at the end of the article linked by Moonshine, below.

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This link might be useful to you:

Booting to the Boot Menu and BIOS

https://kb.nmsu.edu/page.php?id=80139

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oldfry

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When creating a Rescue Media from Macrium Reflect, are you actually also creating a Repair Media at the same time based on description of what each of those media does for you (as seen below) ?

PKCano said before moving to Win10, need a bootable Rescue CD/Flash Drive, created by your backup software, to allow you to access your full disk image and a bootable Windows Repair CD/Flash Drive allowing you to boot into the Windows Repair environment.

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TheFamilyIT wrote:

When creating a Rescue Media from Macrium Reflect, are you actually also creating a Repair Media at the same time based on description of what each of those media does for you (as seen below) ?

PKCano said before moving to Win10, need a bootable Rescue CD/Flash Drive, created by your backup software, to allow you to access your full disk image and a bootable Windows Repair CD/Flash Drive allowing you to boot into the Windows Repair environment.

You should create a bootable rescue disk using the instructions for your chosen backup software, so that you can restore from a backup disk image in the case of being unable to boot your PC.

You should also make a bootable Windows repair disk and learn about the options included there. For example, you may not need to do a full image restore to get Windows bootable again.

But bottom line, I have so much confidence in my image restore process now, that I rarely bother with trying to fix Windows with the repair disk. But YMMV, better to have Windows repair and not need it.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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oldfry

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Phil F wrote:

In the Create Rescue Media process, a USB drive must be present to create a Bootable Rescue USB. In my opinion, this should be your first choice. Another Create pass can create your boot menu, if desired. In the context of a single internal disk, I didn’t feel confident using the boot menu option if the recovery media resides on that same disk. No boot menu means one less thing that can go wrong.

I agree, and have never bothered with the boot menu. Like you said, one less thing to go wrong.

I have always used a Macrium bootable Rescue USB with Windows 10 PE. No issues, and always works great. I even let it store my my BitLocker keys, so the boot disk is BitLocker unlocked whenever I do a restore, so there’s no need to re-encrypt the disk after a restore! 🙂

I keep the USB with the BitLocker keys locked away safely too, along with my unencrypted images.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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After internet searching, there seems to be a FREE version 8.0.6161(latest ver. 8 released Sept.) technically but Macrium’s website does saying anything about it. BUT, there’s a lot of Reflect Free version 8.xxx in search results that person can download including majorgeeks.

One of the things I did to check if this is true was to see if there’s Reflect FREE Version 8.xxx that I can find when googling. I Couldn’t. And that means I don’t know UI was changed to the point need to re-familiarize myself on how to do stuff.

The instructions after download in majorgeeks (but seen in another place too) says switch to free version edition, download Installer, and PE Components and then uncheck run installer (optional) before running the setup to install.

Question: Are these instructions different than what you have to do to install Free Version from Macrium website ?

Question: Can’t find anywhere on how to I unsubscribe the email needed in order to download Free Version ?

Question: Which stable FREE version should I download?

 

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TheFamilyIT wrote:

Question: Which stable FREE version should I download?

Per the FAQ at Macrium, here is the answer:

https://www.macrium.com/reflect-free-faq

Q: Reflect free is still based on Reflect 7. When will Reflect 8 Free be released?
A: We will announce the availability of Reflect 8 Free via our newsletter.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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TheFamilyIT wrote:

Question: Which stable FREE version should I download?

https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree#

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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[Phil F]

Note that the site linked above shows the following text following the 3 boxes in the Backup at Home group:

“Learn More
Before you jump straight to the free option, why not check out Reflect 8 Home? Our 30-day trial of Reflect 8 Home is the ideal way to explore what we have to offer with absolutely no risk. If for whatever reason you decide it isn’t right for you, any backups you create during the trial will still be accessible as the software reverts to Reflect Free 8. Risk free backup software that just works!”

Also, at the top of the same page, if you select Support, then Knowledgebase, you find yourself at the Macrium Reflect V8.0 User Guide. From a quick comparison, there is a strong resemblance to the V7 User Guide.

Contrary to some unnamed vendors, Macrium doesn’t appear to think a massive overhaul of the User Interface is a necessary part of a version upgrade.

In summary, you can directly download Reflect 7 Free or download Reflect 8 Home Trial which will become Reflect 8 Free if you don’t purchase at the end of the trial.
 

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by Phil F. Reason: formatting

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Question: I’m worried, Will the installed Home 8 trial get messed up since I’m moving to Win 10 since with paid version users need to remove license before doing major PC changes ?

When trying to download Reflect 7 it does ask which license you want & your email(which I think it’s just for newsletter).

I really don’t know which Free version to pick. Weird that they’ll have hidden way the only indication that there is technically 2 free versions. Plus, their FAQ still says release of free version 8 on their Main Product Page will be announced in newsletter.

Question: Will Reflect FREE 7 users get a notification when free version 8 is available? Is it a smooth process to uninstalling Reflect Free 7 & then installing version 8 in near or further away future(whether thru ver.8 trial or when Product page is updated) ?

I followed your steps to version 8 which is for paid version of it and the links in the beginning/table of what’s covered in guide, has some links of instructions on the basic stuff for newbie users to backup programs. But, are buried in blue link list. My 1st reaction is to follow v.7 user guide since I’m a newbie to backup programs.

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To get Full Image Backup created quickly so can move forward in process of moving to Win 10 Pro and not have to deal right now in the backup wizard with editing the default settings in the backup plan.

So, How do I not create a backup plan at all and instead create a one time Full Image Backup ?

And as a back up, if I can’t find what to click in the steps given to skip creating a backup plan then how do I edit it after it’s been created ?

 

I picked Reflect Free version 7 because of previous reason/my case of moving to Win 10 stated in my previous reply and I made Rescue Media

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I have Reflect 7 Home, and so far have seen no reason to upgrade to v8, when v7 just works fine.

And I am eligible for a free upgrade to Reflect 8, since I purchased v7 after Nov 15th, 2020.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Question: I’m worried, Will the installed Home 8 trial get messed up since I’m moving to Win 10 since with paid version users need to remove license before doing major PC changes ?

When trying to download Reflect 7 it does ask which license you want & your email(which I think it’s just for newsletter).

I really don’t know which Free version to pick. Weird that they’ll have hidden way the only indication that there is technically 2 free versions. Plus, their FAQ still says release of free version 8 on their Main Product Page will be announced in newsletter.

Question: Will Reflect FREE 7 users get a notification when free version 8 is available? Is it a smooth process to uninstalling Reflect Free 7 & then installing version 8 in near or further away future(whether thru ver.8 trial or when Product page is updated) ?

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Reflect version 7 continues to work just fine after the release of version 8. I’m not sure that I share the urgency to upgrade to the latest version. What I have is stable.

https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW80/New+in+Version+8+0

The one new feature that I may be interested in is the automatic partition resizing when restoring or cloning to different sized disks.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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To get Full Image Backup created quickly so can move forward in process of moving to Win 10 Pro and not have to deal right now in the backup wizard with editing the default settings in the backup plan.

So, How do I not create a backup plan at all and instead create a one time Full Image Backup ?

And as a back up, if I can’t find what to click in the steps given to skip creating a backup plan then how do I edit it after it’s been created ?

 

I picked Reflect Free version 7 because of previous reason/my case of moving to Win 10 stated in my previous reply and Rescue Media is made

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OK, if you have Reflect Free V7 installed and a Rescue USB created and have a sufficiently large external USB drive, you are ready to create your image. In fact, the steps shown in Susan’s example are sufficient to take your Full Image Backup.

However, I’ll show you the screen shots for an Image Backup of my ASUS laptop’s system drive to my external HDD (drive D:).

Having selected Image this disk, we are presented with:

Selecting Next> displays Backup plan default values that you can modify as needed.

At this point, by clicking Advanced Settings, you can select Auto Verify Image to check the integrity of your image at completion of the copy.

Clicking OK brings us back to the last panel:

where clicking Finish will bring up the Backup Save Options panel:

Clicking OK will save the XML and start the backup.

When I started using Macrium, I used this sequence to manually run full Image Backups. I now use the saved XML files by selecting the Backup Definition Files to choose and verify the options I want, edit if necessary, then click on the  Run the backup definition to manually run my backup.  Until very recently, I never ran anything but a full image backup. I just recently tried a Differential backup on my oldest, slowest laptop, which is mostly powered off these days.

All of this has taken much longer to document than to do.

I hope this has helped. Regards,

Phil

 

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TheFamilyIT

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I just wanted to let you know, I can still see/read name that’s scratched off in last screenshot. It seems like you pick not add a schedule right now, right?

But, there’s no way to not create/skip creating Backup Definitions but can change them later in the future, right ?

OR according to last screenshot, wondering..couldn’t I.. is it a viable other option of Uncheck the 2nd box to stop Macrium from saving backups, backup definitions, XML files in order to do a one time Full Image in Win7 ??  So, I will just need to go thru disk image wizard again after I upgrade to Win 10 Pro.     I  ask this because I ‘m worried of having 1 full image backup of my Win 7 Pro listed and it causing issues if use it (backup plan/ xml backup definitions file,etc) in any way to do future backups in Win 10 Pro…

 

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TheFamilyIT wrote:

So, How do I not create a backup plan at all and instead create a one time Full Image Backup ?

Manually running a job from a configured XML backup definition

https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Retrieving+saved+XML+backup+definition

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Wondering.. is another viable other option which is to Uncheck the 2nd box to stop from saving backups, backup definitions, XML files in order to do a one time Full Image in Win7 & avoid completely saving backup definitions and everything created in Disk Image Wizard ?

So, if it is a viable option,  I will just need to go thru disk image wizard again after I upgrade to Win 10 Pro?    I  ask this because I ‘m worried of having 1 full image backup of my Win 7 Pro listed and it causing issues if use it (backup plan/ xml backup definitions file,etc) in any way to do future backups in Win 10 Pro…

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Note that, unless you start your Backup operation from the Backup Definition Files tab, the Disk Image operation will always go through the disk image wizard. I never tried unchecking the 2nd box as my priority was performing the function of the first box (i.e. starting the backup).

I worked from a philosophy of keeping it simple and doing what was most likely to work.

To the best of my recollection (I updated from W7 Pro to W10 Pro in 2016), the presence of a W7 backup never interfered with W10 backups. I set up separate folders on the external disk for W7BKUP and W10BKUP. Macrium creates a new IMAGEID for each new backup. And, as I previously mentioned, I always started through the disk image wizard to start a full image backup, without using a previously-saved xml file.

HTH. Regards,

Phil

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It Guy,

You need to remember you’re not backing up an Operating System! You are Imaging a disk drive. Macrium doesn’t care which OS is on the drive it is just making a bit for bit copy of the entire drive.

Thus, a saved Backup Definition file will work regardless of the OS that is actually on the drive. The only time you need to Change the Backup Definition file is if you create new partitions (in the case where your Definition File was not backing up all partitions) or the Destination drive changes.

Actually, there are two ways to prevent the latter.

The one I use is USBDLM (USB Drive Letter Management FREE!) it insures any one of my 5 backup drives are always mounted as Drive I: (for Image…).

The other way is the setting in Other Tasks -> Edit Defaults -> Advanced Wrench Icon ->Destination Drive Discovery.

Note: this option locks your Definition to a SINGLE disk drive. Handy for individuals that only have one backup drive and don’t want to install additional software like USBDLM.

HTH 😎

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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TheFamilyIT wrote:

Wondering.. is another viable other option which is to Uncheck the 2nd box to stop from saving backups, backup definitions, XML files

The simple answer is YES – uncheck the 2nd box.  I have used Macrium for several years and I have always unchecked the 2nd box.

Each time you open the program to make a new backup, it starts you over from the beginning to make all your selections again from the beginning.

 

Windows 10 Pro x64 v22H2 and Windows 7 Pro SP1 x64 (RIP)

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TheFamilyIT wrote:

I ask this because I ‘m worried of having 1 full image backup of my Win 7 Pro listed and it causing issues if use it (backup plan/ xml backup definitions file,etc) in any way to do future backups in Win 10 Pro…

Why not use windows built in Backup & Restore to create your windows 7 image leaving Macrium Reflect for your windows 10 upgrade.

Win 10 home - 22H2
Attitude is a choice...Choose wisely

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Because in PKCano steps given to me and answered to my questions of steps says doesn’t like Windows built in backup feature/tools when I asked if I could it.

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Phil F wrote:

Note that, unless you start your Backup operation from the Backup Definition Files tab, the Disk Image operation will always go through the disk image wizard. I never tried unchecking the 2nd box as my priority was performing the function of the first box (i.e. starting the backup).

I worked from a philosophy of keeping it simple and doing what was most likely to work.

To the best of my recollection (I updated from W7 Pro to W10 Pro in 2016), the presence of a W7 backup never interfered with W10 backups. I set up separate folders on the external disk for W7BKUP and W10BKUP. Macrium creates a new IMAGEID for each new backup. And, as I previously mentioned, I always started through the disk image wizard to start a full image backup, without using a previously-saved xml file.

HTH. Regards,

Phil

Great points here Phil!

Simplest solution here is to just save one backup definition file, and then for the user to run it whenever they choose! No need to run the wizard each time, or to set up any schedules!

Regarding the Win7 image utility, it is still available in Win 10, so that you can run an ad-hoc image directly from Windows anytime that you wish! I upgraded to Win 10 Pro in 2016 as well.

In fact, I do run the Win7 image once a month as an extra precaution against Macrium ever going sideways on me. I know that I can always access files/folders directly from a Windows image via mounting that image as a VHD (virtual hard drive). No 3rd party software required to access the files!

 

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Hi Susan, thanks for the post. I have a question, will Macrium create all of my partitions, I have five? I have yet to find a answer on this…

I have a 1 TB external drive to back it up on.

Thank again, GDR

GDR

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Yes, the whole disk, if you check all the partitions.

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GDR

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GDR wrote:

Hi Susan, thanks for the post. I have a question, will Macrium create all of my partitions, I have five? I have yet to find a answer on this…

I have a 1 TB external drive to back it up on.

Thank again, GDR

If you are referring to making an image of your primary C: boot drive, which usually has more that one partition, Macrium will display all of the partitions on the drive as you create the backup definition. When you run the image, it will follow those rules.

They should all be selected by default, as that would be the recommended choice, but you have control of what partitions are or aren’t included.

Recommend reviewing the user guide section on backup definitions. https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW80/Creating+a+backup+image+of+your+computer%2C+drive+or+partitions

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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GDR

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