EaseUS Image Backup with No Boot Partition - Disaster

Hello everyone,

Last year, I made an image backup of my newly installed Windows 11 system. I had performed a lot of tweaks, including removing Edge and many unwanted Microsoft apps, so I thought it would be a good idea to back up the system. I watched a video on YouTube of someone doing a full image backup using EaseUS Todo software. He didn't mention that what he was doing could only be done using the paid version—they never do, lol.

I was misguided and only did an image backup of my C drive. As I now know, this is incorrect; you need a full disk image that includes the boot partition as well. I found this out too late after my recovery failed. I didn't even have a boot option in my BIOS. I now realize I should have done a full disk backup, and I am very frustrated because I spent a lot of time and effort on that setup, and now it feels like it's all gone down the drain. Thanks, EaseUS.

Since recovering the C drive is not enough on its own, is there any way to recover this installation without having a backup of the boot partition?

Yes, You could do a fresh or repair install of Windows and then restore the backup of C: drive you have. I won't guarantee success, but it should work as either option will create the EFI partition you need to make it bootable.

If there is no EFI partition, you can manually create one and recreate the UEFI boot files. The physical location of the EFI partition on the disk does not matter.

Boot the computer from the Windows 11 installation USB flash drive. If the USB appears twice in the boot menu (once with the "UEFI" prefix and once without), select the entry for your USB that has the "UEFI" prefix. This ensures that bcdboot defaults to installing UEFI boot files.

Run the following commands at the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) command prompt.

Option 1: There is unallocated space on the disk

diskpart
list disk
select disk #
create partition efi size=200
format quick fs=fat32
list volume (find the Windows partition letter)
exit

bcdboot x:\windows (replace "x" with the Windows partition letter)

Option 2: There is no unallocated space on the disk

Run the command shrink desired=200 to shrink the Windows or data partition. This will free unallocated space, which can then be used to create a new EFI partition.

diskpart
list volume
select volume # (use the partition you want to shrink)
shrink desired=200
create partition efi size=200
format quick fs=fat32
list volume (find the Windows partition letter)
exit

bcdboot x:\windows (replace "x" with the Windows partition letter)

Edit: In both cases, the bcdboot command automatically identifies the FAT32-formatted EFI system partition, copies the required UEFI boot files from the Windows partition to it, and creates a Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store on that partition.

Ditto

kelper said:

Yes, You could do a fresh or repair install of Windows and then restore the backup of C: drive you have. I won't guarantee success, but it should work as either option will create the EFI partition you need to make it bootable.

Click to expand...

Many thanks for your reply. Im afraid this did not work sadly, it was worth a try though. I have resorted to a fresh install of Windows 11, i have now backed this installation using the Backup and Restore (windows 7) function.

Celery said:

If there is no EFI partition, you can manually create one and recreate the UEFI boot files. The physical location of the EFI partition on the disk does not matter.

Boot the computer from the Windows 11 installation USB flash drive. If the USB appears twice in the boot menu (once with the "UEFI" prefix and once without), select the entry for your USB that has the "UEFI" prefix. This ensures that bcdboot defaults to installing UEFI boot files.

Run the following commands at the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) command prompt.

Option 1: There is unallocated space on the disk

diskpart
list disk
select disk #
create partition efi size=200
format quick fs=fat32
list volume (find the Windows partition letter)
exit

bcdboot x:\windows (replace "x" with the Windows partition letter)

Option 2: There is no unallocated space on the disk

Run the command shrink desired=200 to shrink the Windows or data partition. This will free unallocated space, which can then be used to create a new EFI partition.

diskpart
list volume
select volume # (use the partition you want to shrink)
shrink desired=200
create partition efi size=200
format quick fs=fat32
list volume (find the Windows partition letter)
exit

bcdboot x:\windows (replace "x" with the Windows partition letter)

Click to expand...

Many thanks for your reply. I really appreciate your effort with providing such detailed instructions. Im afraid this did not work either, i used option 2, when it came to loading the boot files it failed at that stage. 'FAILURE WHEN ATTEMPTING TO COPY BOOT FILES'.

I no longer need this sorted. I have resorted to a fresh install of Windows 11, i have now backed this installation using the Backup and Restore (windows 7) function.

Is there a better free image backup app than the windows one?

In future I'd use something free that works.



Sorry you have a problem, I have no suggestions other than your future system images using Hasleo Free

If you do a clean install, we can help you get back your tweaks

Revelator1969 said:

Many thanks for your reply. Im afraid this did not work sadly, it was worth a try though. I have resorted to a fresh install of Windows 11, i have now backed this installation using the Backup and Restore (windows 7) function.

Click to expand...

As much as I also believe that Win7 backup in Windows still works, I'd use something a little more modern. Backup and Restore (windows 7) is still in 25H2, it could vanish at any point.

RE your tweaks, tell us what they are and members will start posting links.

I am pretty sure Easeus Todo does "system backup". It might be called OS in the main interface

yes it does according to the edition comparison


you might have salected "partition backup" instead and only selected your os partition.

Revelator1969 said:

Im afraid this did not work either, i used option 2, when it came to loading the boot files it failed at that stage. 'FAILURE WHEN ATTEMPTING TO COPY BOOT FILES'.

Click to expand...

Expected output: "Boot files successfully created."

The bcdboot command automatically identifies the FAT32-formatted EFI partition, copies the required UEFI boot files from the Windows partition to it, and creates a Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store on that partition.

You get an error: "Failure when attempting to copy boot files."

- If the USB flash drive is booted in BIOS mode, or
- If you enter the wrong volume letter for the Windows partition, or
- If the EFI partition is missing or not formatted as FAT32.

antspants said:

In future I'd use something free that works.

antspants - Tips for using Hasleo Backup (Free) for the first time

This Tutorial will help guide you with using Hasleo Backup (Free) for the first time. A step by step process for creating a Windows 11 system image which is a comprehensive backup of your entire computer, including the operating system, installed programs, system settings, and personal files...

www.elevenforum.com

Sorry you have a problem, I have no suggestions other than your future system images using Hasleo Free

If you do a clean install, we can help you get back your tweaks

Click to expand...

Many thanks for your reply. I have now done a clean install and i also installed Hasleo Backup, i followed your brilliant guide and did my first backup and i also created an emergency boot usb. I like the idea of being able to restore from the Windows environment too.

antspants said:

As much as I also believe that Win7 backup in Windows still works, I'd use something a little more modern. Backup and Restore (windows 7) is still in 25H2, it could vanish at any point.

RE your tweaks, tell us what they are and members will start posting links.

Click to expand...

I never realised that this was so old, i never usually bothered with backing up in the past. I have been quite lucky and that any problems were always recoverable with a fresh install. I never lost drives or data as i kept everything on a seperate partition from windows.

Regarding my tweaks , i have found an old notepad file with the link saved on it. It should be run from powershell and it deletes all the microsoft apps including Edge. & ([scriptblock]::Create((irm "https://debloat.raphi.re/"))) . I have decided to keep Edge for now but it lets me remove other unwanted apps. So i am still able to run the debloat app.

SIW2 said:

I am pretty sure Easeus Todo does "system backup". It might be called OS in the main interface

yes it does according to the edition comparison

EaseUS Todo Backup Version Comparison

EaesUS Todo Backup Version Comparison.Choose the right version for you.

www.easeus.com

you might have salected "partition backup" instead and only selected your os partition.

Click to expand...

Im not an expert on Easeus Todo but i did recheck, to do an entire drive backup you need a paid version. The free version only lets you backup your windows system and not a entire drive including the other partitions. When i i had it installed it would not let me create a entire disk backup.

Celery said:

Expected output: "Boot files successfully created."

The bcdboot command automatically identifies the FAT32-formatted EFI partition, copies the required UEFI boot files from the Windows partition to it, and creates a Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store on that partition.

You get an error: "Failure when attempting to copy boot files."

- If the USB flash drive is booted in BIOS mode, or
- If you enter the wrong volume letter for the Windows partition, or
- If the EFI partition is missing or not formatted as FAT32.

Click to expand...

Many thanks for your reply. I was using the command prompt in the WinRE, i loaded this from my windows recovery usb drive. Im not experienced enough to say why the boot files did not copy over.

Revelator1969 said:

Regarding my tweaks , i have found an old notepad file with the link saved on it. It should be run from powershell and it deletes all the microsoft apps including Edge. & ([scriptblock]::Create((irm "https://debloat.raphi.re/"))) . I have decided to keep Edge for now but it lets me remove other unwanted apps. So i am still able to run the debloat app.

Click to expand...

You might want to play it a little safer and use Revo Uninstaller Free. It can remove Microsoft Apps





etc etc