how can I create bootable Macrium rescue on 5TB GPT drive w/o destroying existing partitions

DocDJ · Jun 15, 2025

So I'm a bit paranoid. I have 8 physical internal drives (4 HDD & 4 SSD) on my UEFI system (MSI Z390). My C: drive is a GPT 1TB SSD with an EFI System partition. I use Macrium 8 to backup my partitions onto a 5TB USB drive which is formatted as GPT. I'm assuming that the USB drive AND any of my internal drives, will not BOTH have failures at the same time. The backup drive has 2 partitions: 1GB FAT32 followed by a 4.5 TB NTFS partition for all the backups and other data. Macrium tells me I cannot boot their rescue program from the GPT drive, so they have no way to install it there. So, for now, I have a separate bootable USB stick with the rescue program on it to use with the 5TB drive for the data. From discussions I saw in tenforum.com it seems to me I should be able to install a bootable Macrium program on the GPT drive. I just am not sure of the details of how to proceed without destroying my existing GPT partitions. I have a couple of partitioning programs: Minitool Partition Wizard and Easus Partition Master, if I need to do any partitioning. Can someone provide instructions for me?

badrobot · Jun 15, 2025

GPT is not supported. It is what it is.

cereberus · Jun 15, 2025

Just use the Reflect Gui to create a boot entry - it will not affect existing partitions.

OldNavy · Jun 15, 2025

I use Macrium and have the rescue disk installed as a part of my boot menu so a if windows throws a wobbler i can boot to that and revert to a Macrium image (taken daily to another computer disk and also to a NAS).
If my C drive should fail which prevents booting from that recovery drive on my computer i also have a prepared Marcium USB stick.
Why not just create a seperate recovery USB?

SIW2 · Jun 15, 2025

Macrium can create media in %systemdrive%\boot folder to which you can add a boot menu entry

typically

C:\boot\macrium\WinREFiles\media\sources\boot.wim

you could include other programs yourself.

After selecting the macrium recovery from the boot menu other useful stuff is in there

SIW2 · Jun 15, 2025

I made little batch file that can do it either from scratch using winre.wim OR by selecting any other bootable wim

if macrium boot.wim has already been created, browsing to it will do the job

SIW2 · Jun 15, 2025

browse to macrium boot.wim

Typically C:\boot\macrium\WinREFiles\media\sources\boot.wim

( mine is in a different place dont worry about that)

It tells you what it is . If you have selected the intended wim file press enter

If it finds some of the popular programs it offers to include them

If you selected macrium boot.wim answer N to including macrium because it is already included in the wim

It then adds everything into the wim which takes 2 or 3 seconds

Choose to optimize it to reduce size if desired

Not neccessary to create usb structure ( next question would be to create iso ) because you are just using the macrium wim already on disk

It is a bit bigger now because of the added stuff

SIW2 · Jun 15, 2025

Having a little play

Topgundcp · Jun 15, 2025

When you create Macrium Boot Menu. By default it will create a C:\boot folder and under
C:\boot\macrium\WA11KFiles\media, it stores the exact same files and folders as on
bootable USB stick and create an entry in BCD for dual boot.
To store this Boot folder on another drive:
1. Run Macrium, Click on Defaults Icon->advance Settings, select Macrium Reflect PE Files then put a tick mark
on whatever drive you want it to move to.

SIW2 · Jun 15, 2025

C:\boot\macrium\WA11KFiles\media
only if you downloaded WADK or whatever it is called now
if using winre the default path is %systemdrive%\boot\macrium\WinREFiles\media\sources\boot.wim

If you did the wadk thing, the winpe.wim that comes down does not include srt as I recall

That is taken care of by pecmd.ini

IFEX X:\sources\recovery\recenv.exe,
{
SHEL X:\sources\recovery\recenv.exe
}!
{
SHEL PECMD.EXE LOAD %CURDIR%\PEMENUD.WCS
}

If the wim does include srt you can get to it by clicking the red X at top rt of the menu
to get back to the menu

I dont know if this bit below works, I haven't got a machine that needs vmd drivers

EXEC !PNPUTIL /add-driver "%systemdrive%\pedrivers\*.inf" /subdirs /install

be handy if pnputil had a log switch

Topgundcp · Jun 15, 2025

SIW2 said:
C:\boot\macrium\WA11KFiles\media
only if you downloaded wadk or whatever it is called now
if using winre the default path is %systemdrive%\boot\macrium\WinREFiles\media\sources\boot.wim

If you did the wadk thing, the winpe.wim that comes down does not include srt as I recall

That is taken of by pecmd.ini

IFEX X:\sources\recovery\recenv.exe,
{
SHEL X:\sources\recovery\recenv.exe
}!
{
SHEL PECMD.EXE LOAD %CURDIR%\PEMENUD.WCS
}

I only answer the OP via a normal creation of Macrium Rescue Boot Menu.
However I don't even use the dual Boot Menu since it is a nuisance to wait for the Boot Menu time out before booting into Windows.
I prefer to boot whatever I want via boot menu using Function Key (F11 for MSI MB)
as shown below:

I know people use Ventoy to set up multiple boot which is slow. I just manually create the partitions. Extract the ISO to the root of each drive
then select from the BOOT menu to boot from.

SIW2 · Jun 15, 2025

it is a nuisance to wait for the Boot Menu time out

If you prefer you could use a scankey instead of displaying the entry

can find the macrium guid easily
bcdedit -enum |findstr "iden desc"

scancode for F9 is 4300
check if 0x54000001 is already in use. If it is just use the next one 0x54000002

bcdedit.exe -SET {BOOTMGR} custom:0x54000001 {macrium-guid}
bcdedit.exe -SET {BOOTMGR} customactions 0x1000043000001 0x54000001
bcdedit.exe -displayorder {macrium-guid} /remove

oems do it

backup the bcd store before trying if you are new to this kind of thing

bcdedit -enum {bootmgr} should reveal if a custom is already there

that custom thingy has been around since bcd started.

Topgundcp · Jun 15, 2025

@SIW2
Yes, I have used Custom Key in the past.
I seldom boot into Macrium unless when needed.
However, I am just offering different way to boot into different environment without messing around with BCD, without having dual boot menu, without using Ventoy and also without having to carry around USB stick for Macrium rescue which is slow.

Steve C · Jun 16, 2025

SIW2 said:
Macrium can create media in %systemdrive%\boot folder to which you can add a boot menu entry

typically

C:\boot\macrium\WinREFiles\media\sources\boot.wim

you could include other programs yourself.

After selecting the macrium recovery from the boot menu other useful stuff is in there

View attachment 136935

Interesting idea. Can you make available the utility used to do that?

SIW2 · Jun 16, 2025

check your pm

DocDJ · Jun 16, 2025

badrobot said:
GPT is not supported. It is what it is.

View attachment 136933

"Unsupported" does not mean it won't work properly. It just means they won't answer any questions, offer help or handle any problems if it fails. This same statement occurs for all kinds of programs in every operating system. It's just a limit of liability. It just means "buyer beware". As seen below, MANY smart people have gotten it to work. Macrium programming just hasn't added the capability. Macrium does a great job of backing up, but their rescue facilities are behind the times.

jimbo45 · Jun 16, 2025

DocDJ said:
"Unsupported" does not mean it won't work properly. It just means they won't answer any questions, offer help or handle any problems if it fails. This same statement occurs for all kinds of programs in every operating system. It's just a limit of liability. It just means "buyer beware". As seen below, MANY smart people have gotten it to work. Macrium programming just hasn't added the capability. Macrium does a great job of backing up, but their rescue facilities are behind the times.

I find the best way to do this is to simply to use physical vhdx files and then use dism /Apply-Image to the boot.wim from the macrium file and then run bcdboot.exe on your normal boot disk -- you should then see the Macrium boot as well as your Windows boot when booting up the system.

Note - when creating the vhdx file - -- attach it (in diskpart via select vdisk) and then selelect disk (the attached vdisk will show as a disk) create a primary partition on it (no EFI etc needed) and then use dism to apply the image to it. Plenty of instructions on these forums on creating, using and booting from physical vhdx files.

Cheers
jimbo

DocDJ · Jun 16, 2025

So, if I understand correctly, if I want my GPT USB Rescue drive to be bootable and NOT have a boot menu on my system I just have to copy the Macrium\WA11KFiles\media\sources\boot.wim to the FAT32 partition on my Rescue drive and ONLY WHEN I want to boot from that drive, modify the boot order in UEFI to make the USB Rescue drive appear ahead of my "normal" C: drive. Is that correct? (Sorry for the long sentence.) Otherwise that drive is just like any other drive.

badrobot · Jun 16, 2025

DocDJ said:
"Unsupported" does not mean it won't work properly. It just means they won't answer any questions, offer help or handle any problems if it fails. This same statement occurs for all kinds of programs in every operating system. It's just a limit of liability. It just means "buyer beware". As seen below, MANY smart people have gotten it to work. Macrium programming just hasn't added the capability. Macrium does a great job of backing up, but their rescue facilities are behind

that's exactly what I said. Unsupported.
I personally prefer booting up Macrium from USB flashdrive.

DocDJ · Jun 16, 2025

badrobot said:
that's exactly what I said. Unsupported.
I personally prefer booting up Macrium from USB flashdrive.

Admittedly, building a flash drive is easier, but if you have a fire and have to leave the house fast, grabbing the disk and running is the best bet (other than having an off-site backup/restore you can trust). And if you have as many USB sticks as I do, it's problematic to keep the 2 devices with each other, but away from everything else. I am also paranoid about ransomware, so I have a USB switch to keep my Rescue files offline and not have to fiddlle with plugs every time i do a backup.

how can I create bootable Macrium rescue on 5TB GPT drive w/o destroying existing partitions

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