Solved Macrium Backup queries!


Alexey2912

Well-known member
Member
VIP
Local time
9:27 AM
Posts
2,144
Location
Aiea, Honolulu HI
OS
Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8457).
Hi,

I have earlier created full back ups, but after a few months plan to create another. I have a few questions regarding what need to be done before creating one....

1. Manually run a MBAM scan.
2. Check for W11 and MS off updates.
3. Trim drive.

I wanted to see the functionality of type C USB 12 in 1 Hub. Got connected fine, attached LAN to it and another USB 3.0, but while unplugging, just pulled it out and not via attached devices which displays it's safe to unplug it. Since than I once got a memory error message (ONCE) on a reboot (failed to read it exactly since it disappeared) and once the laptop's USB3.0 to which LAN has been connected via Gigabyte 3.0 USB adaptor failed to respond. I plugged it into other USB and the LAN started running fine. Inserted into the old one and it too started to respond.

What other checks should I run before creation? e.g. like

1. Like check disk.
2. sfc/scan_ now.

Any others to check for any memory errors and and laptop ports you experts would recommend.

Thanks.

In device manage all is fine and when I ran scan for any changes no issues.
 
Windows Build/Version
21H2.22000.675

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8457).core i7 11th gen16 GB DDR4 @3200 MHz
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8457).
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron i5 5510
    CPU
    core i7 11th gen
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4 @3200 MHz
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD M.2 NVMe
    Keyboard
    Dell Premier Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard and Mouse – KM7321W
    Browser
    Brave.
    Other Info
    Edifier speakers. (Thanks to @Edwin).
  • At a glance

    W11 25H2 (26200.7840)11th Gen Intel® Core i7-11700 processor32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz, dual channelNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6
    Operating System
    W11 25H2 (26200.7840)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    XPS Special Edition
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel® Core i7-11700 processor
    Memory
    32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz, dual channel
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6
    Hard Drives
    2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Sure, you can do all those things, but you should be doing them regularly anyway to keep pc well maintained.

There is no specific requirement though to do them in order to backup.

Also, you should do full backups much more frequently e.g. once a week, so if drive fails, you will restore to a much more recent state.

Most Reflect users here backup at least once a manth, but most weekly. The normal practice is to keeep last two or three backups.

More advanced users often do differential or incremental backups daily as well.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ16 GB solderedIntegrated Intel Iris XE
OS
Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUS Zenbook 14
CPU
I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
Motherboard
Yep, Laptop has one.
Memory
16 GB soldered
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel Iris XE
Sound Card
Realtek built in
Monitor(s) Displays
laptop OLED screen
Screen Resolution
2880x1800 touchscreen
Hard Drives
1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
PSU
Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
Case
Yep, got one
Cooling
Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
Keyboard
Built in UK keybd
Mouse
Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
Internet Speed
900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

Macrium Reflect Home V8
Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
Sure, you can do all those things, but you should be doing them regularly anyway to keep pc well maintained.

There is no specific requirement though to do them in order to backup.

Also, you should do full backups much more frequently e.g. once a week, so if drive fails, you will restore to a much more recent state.

Most Reflect users here backup at least once a manth, but most weekly. The normal practice is to keeep last two or three backups.

More advanced users often do differential or incremental backups daily as well.

Thanks @cereberus for sharing your expert thoughts. I keep my backups on an external USB HDD.

Would you recommend any specific hardware tests for memory etc.?
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8457).core i7 11th gen16 GB DDR4 @3200 MHz
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8457).
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron i5 5510
    CPU
    core i7 11th gen
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4 @3200 MHz
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD M.2 NVMe
    Keyboard
    Dell Premier Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard and Mouse – KM7321W
    Browser
    Brave.
    Other Info
    Edifier speakers. (Thanks to @Edwin).
  • At a glance

    W11 25H2 (26200.7840)11th Gen Intel® Core i7-11700 processor32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz, dual channelNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6
    Operating System
    W11 25H2 (26200.7840)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    XPS Special Edition
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel® Core i7-11700 processor
    Memory
    32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz, dual channel
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6
    Hard Drives
    2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Thanks @cereberus for sharing your expert thoughts. I keep my backups on an external USB HDD.

Would you recommend any specific hardware tests for memory etc.?
Not really. Main thing to do is maintain pc, updates, disk cleanup, runs scans periodically etc. This should be a regular regime e.g. weekly. Then do backup after the housekeeping regime.

Running a pc is a bit like running a car - doing regular checks e.g oil level, coolant level, tire pressures etc. keeps car in top condition. A large contributor to pc issues is failure to do basic housekeeping.

Storing on external usb drives is a good plan, but do not put your eggs in one basket in case backup drive fails e.g. as a minimum, backup up critical data elsewhere as well (I backup critical data to onedrive as well). You should always have two backups of critical data to separate media (2 usb hard drives is fine).
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ16 GB solderedIntegrated Intel Iris XE
OS
Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUS Zenbook 14
CPU
I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
Motherboard
Yep, Laptop has one.
Memory
16 GB soldered
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel Iris XE
Sound Card
Realtek built in
Monitor(s) Displays
laptop OLED screen
Screen Resolution
2880x1800 touchscreen
Hard Drives
1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
PSU
Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
Case
Yep, got one
Cooling
Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
Keyboard
Built in UK keybd
Mouse
Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
Internet Speed
900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

Macrium Reflect Home V8
Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
Not really. Main thing to do is maintain pc, updates, disk cleanup, runs scans periodically etc. This should be a regular regime e.g. weekly. Then do backup after the housekeeping regime.

Running a pc is a bit like running a car - doing regular checks e.g oil level, coolant level, tire pressures etc. keeps car in top condition. A large contributor to pc issues is failure to do basic housekeeping.

Storing on external usb drives is a good plan, but do not put your eggs in one basket in case backup drive fails e.g. as a minimum, backup up critical data elsewhere as well (I backup critical data to onedrive as well). You should always have two backups of critical data to separate media (2 usb hard drives is fine).

Thanks again for the expert recommendation. I do run CCleaner and it's registry clean up, before creating one.

Best regards!
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8457).core i7 11th gen16 GB DDR4 @3200 MHz
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8457).
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron i5 5510
    CPU
    core i7 11th gen
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4 @3200 MHz
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD M.2 NVMe
    Keyboard
    Dell Premier Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard and Mouse – KM7321W
    Browser
    Brave.
    Other Info
    Edifier speakers. (Thanks to @Edwin).
  • At a glance

    W11 25H2 (26200.7840)11th Gen Intel® Core i7-11700 processor32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz, dual channelNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6
    Operating System
    W11 25H2 (26200.7840)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    XPS Special Edition
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel® Core i7-11700 processor
    Memory
    32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz, dual channel
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6
    Hard Drives
    2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Thanks again for the expert recommendation. I do run CCleaner and it's registry clean up, before creating one.

Best regards!
Ccleaner is the last thing ever I would run!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ16 GB solderedIntegrated Intel Iris XE
OS
Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUS Zenbook 14
CPU
I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
Motherboard
Yep, Laptop has one.
Memory
16 GB soldered
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel Iris XE
Sound Card
Realtek built in
Monitor(s) Displays
laptop OLED screen
Screen Resolution
2880x1800 touchscreen
Hard Drives
1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
PSU
Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
Case
Yep, got one
Cooling
Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
Keyboard
Built in UK keybd
Mouse
Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
Internet Speed
900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

Macrium Reflect Home V8
Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8457).core i7 11th gen16 GB DDR4 @3200 MHz
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.8457).
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron i5 5510
    CPU
    core i7 11th gen
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4 @3200 MHz
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD M.2 NVMe
    Keyboard
    Dell Premier Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard and Mouse – KM7321W
    Browser
    Brave.
    Other Info
    Edifier speakers. (Thanks to @Edwin).
  • At a glance

    W11 25H2 (26200.7840)11th Gen Intel® Core i7-11700 processor32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz, dual channelNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6
    Operating System
    W11 25H2 (26200.7840)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    XPS Special Edition
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel® Core i7-11700 processor
    Memory
    32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz, dual channel
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6
    Hard Drives
    2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
I just now saw this about cleaner. I have been using it rifle-wise, not shotgun-wise, for years. . I only clean the cache files from each browser. I have a few check boxes clicked - If interested can give you the few check boxes I use.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Professional build 7601Older has 8GB, newer has 16GBbuilt-on motherboards
OS
Windows 7 Professional build 7601
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Acer Aspire 77xx series
Motherboard
dunno
Memory
Older has 8GB, newer has 16GB
Graphics Card(s)
built-on motherboards
Sound Card
built-on motherboards
Monitor(s) Displays
Matte
Screen Resolution
Older 720, Newer 1080
Hard Drives
Internal 2TB HDDs, Backup/Restores onto 1TB HDDs
PSU
dunno
Case
Acer Aspire 77xx series
Cooling
internal fans, ext cooling assembly, ext 5" fan
Keyboard
built-in
Mouse
USB
Internet Speed
Often, snails zip by...
Browser
Chrome, W7 Edge, IE, Firefox
Antivirus
Several alligators in surrounding moat of each castle
Other Info
Details upon request
Ccleaner is the last thing ever I would run!
CCLeaner is the second thing I run after a CU and before making an image, the first thing is Disk Clean-up - clean up system files.

The one thing CCleaner is good for (and the only thing I use it for) is to clean up the browser cache and cookies across all my browsers in one go - while whitelisting the login cookies I need to keep, such as the one for this forum.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
I do a disk clean up in windows, then use Ashampoo WinOptimizer to clean the browser etc.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 113900x32Rtx 2070
    OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    3900x
    Motherboard
    Asus 570 plus
    Memory
    32
    Graphics Card(s)
    Rtx 2070
    Sound Card
    on board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    samsung 4k 28"
    Screen Resolution
    1900x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 1 gb nvme
    PSU
    Corsair 650w
    Case
    midi tower
    Cooling
    Watercooled
    Keyboard
    rgb wireless
    Mouse
    wireless logitech
    Internet Speed
    50m
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 proAmd ryzen 5 5600H (Cezanne)32 gigVega
    Operating System
    Windows 11 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink
    CPU
    Amd ryzen 5 5600H (Cezanne)
    Motherboard
    beelink
    Memory
    32 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    Vega
    Sound Card
    on board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    samsung 4k
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 1tb nvme
    PSU
    12v
    Case
    mini pc
    Cooling
    air
    Keyboard
    rgb wireless
    Mouse
    wireless logitech
    Internet Speed
    50m
    Browser
    edge
    Antivirus
    windows defender

Latest Support Threads

Back
Top Bottom