Macrium Reflect Restore


Well, in the context of this thread, it is not just making the bootable external medium. It is also restoring to that bootable external medium, then verifying it > turn off secure boot > change boot order > boot from the external medium that now contains OS, apps, user data > visit a website or something to demo that the 'new' machine works > change boot order back > turn on secure boot > show that the 'old' machine is back. Can it all be done in 1 hour? Possibly, but I have my doubts.
So it takes 2 lessons?
 

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I imagine this is simply a cost issue. I would be willing to donate some old hard drives but it may cost too much to send then internationally - maybe some of our friends across the Pond have some kicking around they would be willing to donate (assuming @Wynoma was receptive to idea).
Hi there
Sometimes your local tip / recycling station or whatever they are called these days can help with collecting and re-distributing old hardware as can possibly some schools / salvation army etc.

Actually it's very easy installing a bootable Windows system (a real system not just an "installable medium" ) to an external device - no need for wintousb or anything. Just create on ext device an efi and an msr partition, then a vhdx vdisk file, attach it, format as ntfs, and with dism simply then run dism /applyimage. then install the boot manager with bcdboot. No longer to do than standard Windows setup via setup.exe and a lot more flexible.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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Restoring the MR backup to the external hard drive or flash drive can definitely be done in a 1 hour class. But I thought you wanted a bootable external medium? Making and verifying that could take (much) longer than an hour, I think.
Yes, I do want it to be bootable. If I restore to the external or flash drive and don't have a way to boot it, I can't know if the backup is actually valid.
 

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    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
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So it takes 2 lessons?
Which is why I threatened to add the genealogy class time to my lesson. We have Genealogy from 9:30 to 11:00 and Windows 10 from 12:30 to 2:00. Lunch time in between.
 

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    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
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Yeah, 2 x 1.5 hours and a 1.5 hour lunch break in between sounds like a much more realistic class schedule to me. Why not take 15 to 20 minutes time to revel in the high point of the 'new' machine working? Also important is to take 15 to 20 minutes time to make sure that at the end, the 'old' machine is properly back. Then proper storage of the external backup and restore media, etc.
 

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I might have missed this in the talks, but I didn't see or recall anything about cloning. Instead of back ups why not just clone a seperate drive as a plug and play device? It's much easier and it's an exact copy. Just a thought. Of course a seperate drive would be needed.
 

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    2 each Samsung 980 pro gen 4 NVMe, 2 ea Corsair MP600 gen 4 NVMe, 2 each Western Digital SN850 NVMe, 1 Samsung 970 NVMe on a PCIe adapter, 2ea Samsung 860 SSD, all drives are 2 TB, a few spare spinners for back ups.
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I might have missed this in the talks, but I didn't see or recall anything about cloning. Instead of back ups why not just clone a seperate drive as a plug and play device? It's
The reason for this thread is for my students to be able to prove they can restore their backup if and when the time comes.

I want them to know how to back up their systems and then if necessary, to restore them. Cloning is not a viable option for this exercise.
 

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    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
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    16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1463MHz (21-21-21-47)
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    16384 MBytes
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    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor 1 - Acer 27" Monitor 2 - Acer 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 (SSD)
    Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB102
    Seagate BUP Slim SCSI Disk Device (SSD)
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    That's all Folks!
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    Windows 11
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    HP
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    Intel Core i7 (10th gen) 10700
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    Intel
    Memory
    16 GB
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    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 27" & Samsung 24"
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    1920 x
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    SSD (512 GB)
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    Seagate
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    Intel i7 10th Generation
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    HP
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    Logitech Wave K350
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    SuperSpeed USB Type-A (4 on front)
    HP 3-in-One Card Readr
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    DVD Writer
Full system backup/restore and demoing that it is working, is VERY time consuming, especially if you restore to an external SSD (instead of restoring back to the computer) to prevent system trouble if a restore fails.

Did you consider File History? It could comfortably fit in a one 1.5 hour lesson. Demo is by deleting a backed up file/folder and restoring it, for example. If a restore fails, then there will be no system trouble, it would be a matter of 'just try again'

File History may be fully adequate in real life also, especially for students who only have a few apps, particularly apps that don't require much configuration after install or re-install.
 

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Full system backup/restore and demoing that it is working, is VERY time consuming, especially if you restore to an external SSD (instead of restoring back to the computer) to prevent system trouble if a restore fails.

Did you consider File History? It could comfortably fit in a one 1.5 hour lesson. Demo is by deleting a backed up file/folder and restoring it, for example. If a restore fails, then there will be no system trouble, it would be a matter of 'just try again'

File History may be fully adequate in real life also, especially for students who only have a few apps, particularly apps that don't require much configuration after install or re-install.
Right now, I'm re-evaluating whether my students will actually want to go to the trouble of what it will take to use an external or flash drive just to prove they've done it right.

After all, Macrium Reflect has a verification process (which I lost sight of) in my search for "proof of a valid backup". I think we're going to go into more depth on this subject in our next class.

Being a "teach" isn't as cut and dried as others think it may be. :eek1:
 

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  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy TE01-1xxx
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
    Motherboard
    16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1463MHz (21-21-21-47)
    Memory
    16384 MBytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor 1 - Acer 27" Monitor 2 - Acer 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 (SSD)
    Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB102
    Seagate BUP Slim SCSI Disk Device (SSD)
    PSU
    HP
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    Standard
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's all Folks!
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 (10th gen) 10700
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 27" & Samsung 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x
    Hard Drives
    SSD (512 GB)
    HDD (1 TB)
    Seagate
    PSU
    Intel i7 10th Generation
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    HP/Intel?
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Internet Speed
    50 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox 90.2
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Headphone/Microphone Combo
    SuperSpeed USB Type-A (4 on front)
    HP 3-in-One Card Readr
    SuperSpeed USB Type-C
    DVD Writer
Being a "teach" isn't as cut and dried as others think it may be. :eek1:
No, it isn't. In my teaching days, I spent nearly the entire work week huffing and puffing on a 45 minutes lecture on new subject matter. It does get a lot easier and a lot faster in subsequent rounds.

In any case, on verification, I used to verify restore in all my individual backup tools (FH, MR, robocopy, direct copy) The more tools I use, the lazier I become wrt verifying restore :eek1: if all 4 fail, I'd consider that karma :eek1::eek1::eek1::eek1:
 

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