Macrium Reflect Restore

Wynona · Mar 21, 2022

Windows 11 2000.588 Macrium Reflect 8 latest update.

I'm helping my students learn to back up and restore with Macrium Reflect. The tutorial for backing up and scheduling same is written and we're on our way there. However, next comes "proving we can restore" if and when the time comes. Hopefully never!

Through my research toward the simplest way to prove restore works, I'm thinking about creating a second partition on my 1 TB data drive. Then restoring my backup to that partition, just to verify that I have a good backup.

Would that work? I don't want to go to the trouble of partitioning, etc. if it won't work.

Secondly, I've seen that I can create a virtual hard drive with my backup, but the only instructions I've found are from 2015; from both Macrium and HowtoGeek. So far I haven't looked very closely at those, since I think both were written pre Windows 10.

I'm looking for the simplest method possible for my students.

Ghot · Mar 21, 2022

@Wynona
Probably the easiest way is just to do a real restore.

Put an unusual file on your desktop... a textfile or a picture maybe. Something that you know isn't in your backup.
Then restore from your most current backup, and voila... the text file or pic is gone, but all else is there as should be! :)

Another option is to do a real restore on your own time, and use Macrium's screen shot tool (lower left), to take pics of the various steps.

Here, I did it for you...

Macrium Reflect, AOMEI Backupper and Hasleo Backup Suite - GUIDES

How to use backup software... 1. When everything is working perfectly... make a full Windows backup. 2. Then, if something breaks... restore from the latest backup. 3. Then... try "whatever you were doing" a different way. If it still breaks Windows, then... go to step #2. 4. Repeat...

www.elevenforum.com

Macrium Reflect User Guide... (newest version... 15 October 2021)
https://updates.macrium.com/reflect/v8/user_guide/macrium_reflect_v8.0_user_guide.pdf

Bree · Mar 21, 2022

Wynona said:
, I've seen that I can create a virtual hard drive with my backup, but the only instructions I've found are from 2015; from both Macrium and HowtoGeek. So far I haven't looked very closely at those, since I think both were written pre Windows 10.

Here you are, six easy steps in pictures, done with Windows 11. I used Disk Management to create the virtual disk. The restore was started from within Windows though. If you create the virtual disk as a .vhdx, then you can even set it up to boot from it after the restore.

Native Boot Windows 11 Virtual Hard Disk (VHDX) Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to boot a Windows 11 VHDX file natively to dual boot with Windows 10 or Windows 11. Native Boot allows you to create a virtual hard disk (VHDX), install Windows to it, and then boot it up, either on your PC side-by-side with your existing installation, or on a...

www.elevenforum.com

Macrium -create and restore to a virtual disk - 1.png

Macrium -create and restore to a virtual disk - 2.png

Macrium -create and restore to a virtual disk - 3.png

Macrium -create and restore to a virtual disk - 4.png

Macrium -create and restore to a virtual disk - 5.png

Macrium -create and restore to a virtual disk - 6.png

cereberus · Mar 21, 2022

Bree said:
Here you are, six easy steps in pictures, done with Windows 11. I used Disk Management to create the virtual disk. The restore was started from within Windows though. If you create the virtual disk as a .vhdx, then you can even set it up to boot from it after the restore.

Native Boot Windows 11 Virtual Hard Disk (VHDX) Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to boot a Windows 11 VHDX file natively to dual boot with Windows 10 or Windows 11. Native Boot allows you to create a virtual hard disk (VHDX), install Windows to it, and then boot it up, either on your PC side-by-side with your existing installation, or on a...

www.elevenforum.com

View attachment 24895 View attachment 24896 View attachment 24897 View attachment 24898 View attachment 24899 View attachment 24900

And then create a boot entry to test it.

Mount c:\temp\test.vhdx as a drive

Note drive letter of windows directory in vhdx e.g. F

Run this from admin command prompt

Code:

bcdboot F:\windows /d

Then boot and select vhd and you should boot to it.

Bree · Mar 21, 2022

cereberus said:
The size of drive has to be smaller than spare space on drive of course.

If, as in your example, you create a dynamically expanding .vhdx then you can create as large a drive as you like. You can't use it all, you'd run out of space, but there's nothing to stop you creating it.

My example was a 500GB virtual drive that I created on my 256GB C: partition. It's only when you try to write more data than the free space available to expand the .vhdx that you'd have a problem. But as the image I restored only had 35GB of used space then the restore completed successfully. Disk 1 here is actually a dynamically expanding .vhdx stored on Disk 0's C: partition.

cereberus · Mar 21, 2022

Bree said:
If, as in your example, you create a dynamically expanding .vhdx then you can create as large a drive as you like. You can't use it all, but there's nothing to stop you creating it.

My example was a 500GB virtual drive that I created on my 256GB C: partition. It's only when you try to write more data than the free space available to expand the .vhdx that you'd have a problem. But as the image I restored only had 35GB of used space then the restore completed successfully. Disk 1 here is actually a .vhdx stored on Disk 0's C: partition.

View attachment 24906

Sure - that is why I said it to avoid issues. One problem with dynamic vhdx files is they grow inexorably - if you delete files in vhdx file, space is not automatically reclaimed i.e. vhdx does not shrink in physical size, unless you manually compact the vhdx.

By limiting size to spare space (a bit less by say 10GB actually to avoid over filling host), the vhdx cannot overfill.

Bree · Mar 21, 2022

I have now tested restoring to a .vhdx while booted from a Macrium rescue usb. The virtual drive will not mount automatically, so there are a couple of extra steps needed before you can test restoring to a virtual drive. Once booted to the rescue environment, open a command prompt and type DISKPART. In Diskpart use the commands:

SELECT VDISK FILE=<full path to .vhdx file> (eg. select vdisk file="C:\temp\test.vhdx")
ATTACH VDISK

You can now close the command prompt. In Macrium click on the Create Backups tab then select View > Refresh and the virtual drive will appear. As before, you'll need to click 'select a different target disk' in the restore dialog to be able to choose to restore to the virtual drive.

cereberus · Mar 21, 2022

Bree said:
I have now tested restoring to a .vhdx while booted from a Macrium rescue usb. The virtual drive will not mount automatically, so there are a couple of extra steps needed before you can test restoring to a virtual drive. Once booted to the rescue environment, open a command prompt and type DISKPART. In Diskpart use the commands:

SELECT VDISK FILE=<full path to .vhdx file> (eg. select vdisk file="C:\temp\test.vhdx")
ATTACH VDISK

You can now close the command prompt. In Macrium click on the Create Backups tab then select View > Refresh and the virtual drive will appear. As before, you'll need to click 'select a different target disk' in the restore dialog to be able to choose to restore to the virtual drive.

View attachment 24917

When restoring to a VHD, you do not need to go into the WinPE environment - you can use Reflect from Windows.

However for teaching purposes, this way is fine.

Bree · Mar 21, 2022

Yes, my initial example in post #3 was restoring to a virtual disk from within Windows. But I though Wynona may want to demonstrate booting from a usb to do a restore.

cereberus · Mar 21, 2022

Bree said:
Yes, my initial example in post #3 was restoring to a virtual disk from within Windows. But I though Wynona may want to demonstrate booting from a usb to do a restore.

I actually posted some screens at same time based on usb restore as you but decided mine was more complicated and deleted it LOL.

One additional point - if you attach vhd using diskpart, sometimes you have to do "view refresh" for vhd to be visible to restore to. Seems random, but I just do it anyway.

I saw a request on Macrium Forum a couple years back (V7 days) for ability to attach a VHD as an option but they have a couple of "pompous" guys there who poo pooed it saying you could do that from Windows, and so was unnecessary, but of course that pre-supposes Windows is working ok.

Wynona · Mar 21, 2022

Thank you very much, guys! I've read the instructions and discussion thereof . . . now I gotta absorb and understand 'em!

This is great!

Bree · Mar 21, 2022

cereberus said:
One additional point - if you attach vhd using diskpart, sometimes you have to do "view refresh" for vhd to be visible to restore to. Seems random, but I just do it anyway.

Sometimes? In my tests it was every time :wink:

I found that View>Refresh was greyed-out if you were on the Existing Backups tab. I noted that in my post #7, saying: "In Macrium click on the Create Backups tab then select View > Refresh and the virtual drive will appear".

Wynona · Mar 21, 2022

Ghot said:
@Wynona
Probably the easiest way is just to do a real restore.

Put an unusual file on your desktop... a textfile or a picture maybe. Something that you know isn't in your backup.
Then restore from your most current backup, and voila... the text file or pic is gone, but all else is there as should be! :)

Another option is to do a real restore on your own time, and use Macrium's screen shot tool (lower left), to take pics of the various steps.

Here, I did it for you...

Macrium Reflect, AOMEI Backupper and Hasleo Backup Suite - GUIDES

How to use backup software... 1. When everything is working perfectly... make a full Windows backup. 2. Then, if something breaks... restore from the latest backup. 3. Then... try "whatever you were doing" a different way. If it still breaks Windows, then... go to step #2. 4. Repeat...

www.elevenforum.com

Macrium Reflect User Guide... (newest version... 15 October 2021)
https://updates.macrium.com/reflect/v8/user_guide/macrium_reflect_v8.0_user_guide.pdf

Thank you, Ghot. I've thought of doing a real restore, but what if I get part way through the restore and it fails? I've destroyed my system, and now I'm in deep doo doo!

I have to remember that these are seniors (me too) and that we're all prone to making mistakes.

We got halfway through a backup last week, and had to quit. However, our backups will go much faster this week since we're a bit more familiar with Macrium. They all know how to create Rescue Media on a USB stick. The last thing I need to teach them is how to restore and "prove" their backup is "foolproof."

Ghot · Mar 21, 2022

Wynona said:
Thank you, Ghot. I've thought of doing a real restore, but what if I get part way through the restore and it fails? I've destroyed my system, and now I'm in deep doo doo!

I have to remember that these are seniors (me too) and that we're all prone to making mistakes.

We got halfway through a backup last week, and had to quit. However, our backups will go much faster this week since we're a bit more familiar with Macrium. They all know how to create Rescue Media on a USB stick. The last thing I need to teach them is how to restore and "prove" their backup is "foolproof."

That's the one great thing about backups. Even if one fails, which happens almost never... you can just run the restore again.
Unless the hardware breaks, or you lose the bootable media... no failure is really permanent. :)

1. I always keep at minimum 4 backups
2. I always Verify every backup I make, separately, not automatically.
3. I always have a USB copy of the bootable rescue Media and a CD copy.

If you don't have an optical drive, just keep two USB copies (tested ofc).

Wynona · Mar 21, 2022

Ghot said:
That's the one great thing about backups. Even if one fails, which happens almost never... you can just run the restore again.
Unless the hardware breaks, or you lose the bootable media... no failure is really permanent. :)

Oh!

Ghot · Mar 21, 2022

Wynona said:
Oh!

Wynona · Mar 21, 2022

Ghot said:
View attachment 24950

Wynona · Mar 21, 2022

Question: Since most laptops come with Windows 10 Home, I'm pretty sure at least most of my students will have Home, be it 10 or 11. How will the vhd/vhdx work (or not) with that? Especially if it needs Hyper-V?

cereberus · Mar 21, 2022

Wynona said:
Question: Since most laptops come with Windows 10 Home, I'm pretty sure at least most of my students will have Home, be it 10 or 11. How will the vhd/vhdx work (or not) with that? Especially if it needs Hyper-V?

VHDXs are used by Hyper-V but you do not need Hyper-V to use a VHDX. VHDXs work fine on Home.

If you get into the subject of virtual machines, probably easier to show virtualbox - you can actually open a Reflect image in virtualbox as a VM on Home using Viboot - really cool!

Bree · Mar 21, 2022

Wynona said:
I'm pretty sure at least most of my students will have Home, be it 10 or 11. How will the vhd/vhdx work (or not) with that? Especially if it needs Hyper-V?

No, Hyper-V has nothing to do with it. All you need to be able to do is create a .vhdx file. You can do that with Disk Management in Home and Pro.