Creating a Backup

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

I think I have a cursory understanding of creating this Rescue Media, but I don’t want to mess things up. Please see the steps and the questions I have about them. The questions are in bold type.

5. If you do not have a PE environment ready to use, Reflect will then offer to create one.
Does this mean it will make changes to the hard drive on my computer or just the USB stick?


14. Shutdown and boot your computer with the Rescue media.
I don’t want this rescue media to boot my computer that I am using to create this rescue media at this time. Can this process be stopped from shutting down and rebooting?
I am just creating this rescue media in case I need it in the future.
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
StuartR
Administrator
Posts: 12577
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 15:49
Location: London, Europe

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by StuartR »

5. It will not make any significant changes to your hard drive - it will probably store the image that will be transferred to the USB stick somewhere on your hard drive, but that's about all

14. You really should verify that the rescue media can be successfully booted in your system before you need to use it.
StuartR


User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

StuartR wrote:
26 Sep 2022, 17:47
14. You really should verify that the rescue media can be successfully booted in your system before you need to use it.
I thought about that but if I let it boot to that USB stick is there an option to just shut it down after it boots?
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

I tried creating that Macrium Rescue Media using an USB stick. The Macrium wizard steps shown in the above link did not follow the link at all. I took screenshots to show you what I saw after I told it to build whatever database it said it had to build. On opening the Create Rescue Media option I was presented with a screen that had 3 choices, "Advanced," "Build," and "Close." As mentioned I had to choose Build. It did some building and eventually told me it had successfully created the rescue media - First attachment.

After hitting OK I was back to the choices of, "Advanced," "Build," and "Close." - Second Attachment. I looked at the Advanced choices and saw nothing in those to even come close to the instructions I was trying to follow. So I chose close expecting it to reboot but it never did.

I looked at I: drive, which is the USB stick I choose to use in making this rescue media, its contents are shown in the third attachment.

Since it did not reboot on its own, I tried restarting it to see if that would make it boot to the USB stick. That didn't work either.

What could I have possibly done wrong here? Since it didn't follow the tutorial for the wizard, I tried making what I thought were the logical choices but that didn't work.
Rescue1.jpg
Rescue2.jpg
Rescue3.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

To continue the above post, I was not presented the below options either.

Rescue Media Builder will first attempt to non-destructively copy the PE/RE files to an existing partition, then non-destructively create a new partition if necessary. If this is not possible then you will be prompt to destructively format the drive.

The Flash drive is prepared and files copied according to the following steps...

The flash media is first searched for a partition of sufficient size and the required file system type as defined in the above table. If found then the PE/RE files are copied to the Flash drive.
Note:

For Multi-Boot (MBR/UEFI) rescue media the suitable partition is determined in the following sequence:

The current 'Active' partition is checked for suitability.
If not found, the first suitable FAT32 partition is used. This partition is then marked 'Active'

For non Multi-Boot (MBR) rescue media the suitable partition is determined in the following sequence:

The current 'Active' partition is checked for suitability.
If not found, the first suitable FAT32 partition is used. This partition is then marked 'Active'
If not found, the first suitable NTFS partition is used. This partition is then marked 'Active'

If no suitable partition/file system is found and the rescue media creation is Multi-Partition Aware then the flash drive is searched to locate unallocated space to create a 1GB FAT32 partition.
USB flash Rescue media is considered Multi-Partition Aware if the host OS is Windows 10 Release 1709 or later and the target Win PE/RE WIM is also Windows 10 Release 1709 or later . In all other cases only a single partition will be allowed on flash media.

There can be a maximum of 4 primary partitions on the drive.
If a partition is successfully created and formatted then it is marked 'Active' and the PE/RE files are copied.

If the rescue media creation is not Multi-Partition Aware or if the partition in step 2 cannot be created then Rescue Media Builder will prompt to format the Flash Drive. This is destructive and all existing data will be lost on the drive:
image2021-5-6_11-8-19.png
Partition and File System Created

Y FAT32 1GB
N FAT32 32GB or the maximum size of the flash drive


If a partition is successfully created and formatted then it is marked 'Active' and the PE/RE files are copied.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
StuartR
Administrator
Posts: 12577
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 15:49
Location: London, Europe

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by StuartR »

In order to test the newly created USB rescue media you will need to configure the BIOS on your computer to boot from it. How you do that depends on the BIOS manufacturer. On my Dell laptop I have to press F12 while the laptop powers up.
StuartR


User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

StuartR wrote:
26 Sep 2022, 21:14
In order to test the newly created USB rescue media you will need to configure the BIOS on your computer to boot from it. How you do that depends on the BIOS manufacturer. On my Dell laptop I have to press F12 while the laptop powers up.
Thank you. I was wondering about that. I remember from days gone by of having to do that. I will get the help of my computer builder so I don't mess things up when I try it.

I wish the tutorials would follow more closely to what they are showing and saying, what I had to do wasn't even close to what it said to do. I think that since the USB shows a Boot folder and it said "Rescue media was created successfully," I think I may try it at a later date to make sure it is working.

Thank you for all your help, I really do appreciate it.
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

In Notifications it said there was a reply to this topic from Jay Freedman but I can't seem to find it. Anyone else able to see his reply?
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
HansV
Administrator
Posts: 78235
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
Status: Microsoft MVP
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by HansV »

Jay removed it because he felt the reply wasn't necessary.
Best wishes,
Hans

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

HansV wrote:
27 Sep 2022, 15:54
Jay removed it because he felt the reply wasn't necessary.
OK, thank you.
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

Please tell me if you think this is feasible. I mentioned in a thread quite some time ago about owning 5 licenses to a program called Living Cookbook. Radium Technologies, who marketed the product went out of business. Although the program is still very useful on the 2 machines I still have it on, I cannot activate it on any of my new computers. How this connects with this thread is, one of the machines Living Cookbook is still active on is the Windows 10 machine I talked about in this thread. So here is what I am asking if you think it is a workable plan.

I have an image of that Win 10 computer but am assuming, from the replies I got here with all the help you guys have been giving me, that if that image is used, it must and will have to replace the Win 10 OS. In doing so, I am hoping it will keep the Living Cookbook program active. When that computer is rebuilt, it will be rebuilt to be Win 11 capable. So after running the image and having that machine be Win 10, I believe I should then be able to have it upgraded to Win 11 and still be able to use Living Cookbook. Does this sound workable?
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
StuartR
Administrator
Posts: 12577
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 15:49
Location: London, Europe

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by StuartR »

It sounds credible, assuming that the program is able to run in a Windows 11 environment
StuartR


User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

StuartR wrote:
28 Sep 2022, 08:44
It sounds credible, assuming that the program is able to run in a Windows 11 environment
Yes, I have not been able to test that out since I can't activate it on my Win 11 machines. I was thinking that, hopefully, it will work and be a way from me to keep using it well into the future.

Thanks for your reply.
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
StuartR
Administrator
Posts: 12577
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 15:49
Location: London, Europe

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by StuartR »

If it doesn't work then you will (hopefully) still have the image available to recover back to when it was working
StuartR


User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

StuartR wrote:
28 Sep 2022, 13:59
If it doesn't work then you will (hopefully) still have the image available to recover back to when it was working
I am not planning on using the image on the machine it was created from because it is not Win 11 compatible. Here are my thoughts: I have an email ready to send to my computer builder but was going to ask another question first. The computer I previously had updated from Win 10 to Win 11 had absolutely no problems running all the programs that were installed on it when it was a Win 10 computer. I am counting heavily on this being true with the new computer I will have built. It too will start out as a Win 10 because of using the image. Once that is done it will then be updated to a Win 11 computer.

Questions:
I am having the computer's name be exactly the same as the computer it is replacing in my network. Since this new computer will have been created using an image of the computer with the same name, will its IP address stay the same? Will all the network paths I have to and from this computer still work?
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
StuartR
Administrator
Posts: 12577
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 15:49
Location: London, Europe

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by StuartR »

You should remove the old computer from the network before you add this one. Two computers on the same network with the same name would cause a problem.

It is likely that the new computer will get a new IP address (but you can play with settings on your router to override this). If you specified a fixed IP address for the old computer then that will be associated with a MAC Hardware Address, which is in the hardware, not the image. Network paths specified by host name will probably be OK, but you may need to reestablish them.
StuartR


User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

StuartR wrote:
29 Sep 2022, 13:37
You should remove the old computer from the network before you add this one. Two computers on the same network with the same name would cause a problem.

It is likely that the new computer will get a new IP address (but you can play with settings on your router to override this). If you specified a fixed IP address for the old computer then that will be associated with a MAC Hardware Address, which is in the hardware, not the image. Network paths specified by host name will probably be OK, but you may need to reestablish them.
OK, thank you. I am keeping this post for the fellow after he builds the computer and comes down here to get it all set up in my network. The old computer of the same name will be removed before the new one is plugged in. I was just hoping to not have to make all the shortcuts to network drives that are on the old machine over again. I guess I'll have to do what's necessary if I go through with this.

Thanks again
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

Well my project is underway. My computer builder stopped by here today and picked up the image and rescue media I created using Macrium Reflect. He is building me a new machine and has already mentioned he will need to get a new Windows 10 key after successfully installing the image. He said this is common because Windows will see the new hardware in the machine and not allow Windows 10 to be installed without an activation key. He mentioned he didn't think that would be a big deal. So, in a week or two, I'll let you know how successful my project turns out.
Regards,
hlewton

IamCarry
NewLounger
Posts: 1
Joined: 06 Oct 2022, 10:24

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by IamCarry »

Rebel wrote:
23 Sep 2022, 16:12

Cloning vs. Imaging a hard drive
Well, it is little difficult to understand.

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3786
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Creating a Backup

Post by hlewton »

Not at all surprising BUT Macrium Reflect FREE is not free at all. Unless, that is, you don't intend to actually use it to place an image onto a new computer. When my computer builder used the Macrium Rescue USB stick to boot up the new computer I ordered, he could not install the image on it. He got a message that said, "Redeploy is not available in this version of Reflect." So I purchased the product, created a new Rescue USB stick, and mailed it to him today. I certainly hope that works. If not, the purpose of buying this new machine has been defeated.
Regards,
hlewton