Solved Macrium Reflect Success


You probably have a very good reason to manage so many computers, I hope it’s not a big family!:D
Just me, actually - but I do tend to collect PCs :wink:

I have a solid justification for the three most important ones, each serves a quite different purpose. After the next three the excuses get a bit tenuous....

bree said:
My machines fall into three main categories.
  1. 'Main machines' - the one's in daily use. There are 3 in this division, each justified by having its own job to do. System Three runs all my Hyper-V VMs, System One is my general purpose machine with all my photos, documents etc. and System Four (now replaced by Five) is my 'go anywhere' machine for taking on vacation etc.....
My 'league table' of machines
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    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
    Internet Speed
    50 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 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.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude 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.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
One can always make recovery media on a machine that has Macrium installed. Then boot any machine from the recovery media and make an image offline.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Some of us are gluttons for punishment :lmao:

Typically I'm updating then backing up nine laptops each Patch Tuesday. I have a 4-pack of Macrium licences and use Reflect Free for all the others.

(I hate Patch Tuesday)
Yikes! 9?? :eek1: And I thought I had my hands full with 3. LOL
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Zbook Power 15.6 G9
    CPU
    Intel 12th Gen I7 - 12700H
    Memory
    16G Ram
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX A1000
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 512G
    Browser
    Chrome
    Other Info
    Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt Dock
One can always make recovery media on a machine that has Macrium installed. Then boot any machine from the recovery media and make an image offline.
Is it OK that I made a recovery USB from each Windows computer? Or would they have to be made by Macrium if you image by Macrium?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Zbook Power 15.6 G9
    CPU
    Intel 12th Gen I7 - 12700H
    Memory
    16G Ram
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX A1000
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 512G
    Browser
    Chrome
    Other Info
    Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt Dock
would they have to be made by Macrium
I keep calling it recovery media when actually the proper term is Macrium Rescue Media. And yes, to use Macrium rescue media one has to have their backups made using Macrium.

You make your rescue media from the computer on which Macrium is installed making sure to select the "Enable Multiboot (MBR/UEFI" option.
When you boot any system from this rescue usb recovery drive, it can be used on any computer to not only recover an image, but to create an image as well.

EDIT: Please keep apprised about secure boot revocations imposed by CVE-2023-24932 and the latest May cumulative update.
Unless you manually apply these revocations, Macrium(or any other recovery media) will work as always until the beginning of 2024, when MS will automatically impose these revocations if secure boot is turned on. When this happens win PE on all recovery media will have to be updated as the current rescue media won't work any more. This is all up in the air right now. Macrium has not released any information as yet on what we should do. Once they do the gurus on this forum will give us more guidance. So watch this forum for more information.

 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
I keep calling it recovery media when actually the proper term is Macrium Rescue Media. And yes, to use Macrium rescue media one has to have their backups made using Macrium.

You make your rescue media from the computer on which Macrium is installed making sure to select the "Enable Multiboot (MBR/UEFI" option.
When you boot any system from this rescue usb recovery drive, it can be used on any computer to not only recover an image, but to create an image as well.

EDIT: Please keep apprised about secure boot revocations imposed by CVE-2023-24932 and the latest May cumulative update.
Unless you manually apply these revocations, Macrium(or any other recovery media) will work as always until the beginning of 2024, when MS will automatically impose these revocations if secure boot is turned on. When this happens win PE on all recovery media will have to be updated as the current rescue media won't work any more. This is all up in the air right now. Macrium has not released any information as yet on what we should do. Once they do the gurus on this forum will give us more guidance. So watch this forum for more information.


In the short term, just temporarily turn off secure boot if you need to do a restore or if you are one of those "luddites" who only ever backup from WinPE.

I have seen it stated that these issues only affect the WinRe Rescue drives, and WinPE is ok, but I have yet to test this whole shebang.

It is not clear to me if these revocations modify the UEFI firmware i.e, once invoked, can you revert to the pre-revocation status. Does anybody know?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
I keep calling it recovery media when actually the proper term is Macrium Rescue Media. And yes, to use Macrium rescue media one has to have their backups made using Macrium.

You make your rescue media from the computer on which Macrium is installed making sure to select the "Enable Multiboot (MBR/UEFI" option.
When you boot any system from this rescue usb recovery drive, it can be used on any computer to not only recover an image, but to create an image as well.

EDIT: Please keep apprised about secure boot revocations imposed by CVE-2023-24932 and the latest May cumulative update.
Unless you manually apply these revocations, Macrium(or any other recovery media) will work as always until the beginning of 2024, when MS will automatically impose these revocations if secure boot is turned on. When this happens win PE on all recovery media will have to be updated as the current rescue media won't work any more. This is all up in the air right now. Macrium has not released any information as yet on what we should do. Once they do the gurus on this forum will give us more guidance. So watch this forum for more information.

Thanks glasskuter, I made a USB rescue media for each computer by Windows from Microsoft Support before I even had any Macrium software.
OK, thanks for the heads up.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Zbook Power 15.6 G9
    CPU
    Intel 12th Gen I7 - 12700H
    Memory
    16G Ram
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX A1000
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 512G
    Browser
    Chrome
    Other Info
    Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt Dock
You only need 1 Macrium Reflect Rescue Media Flash Drive, unless you are backing up multiple computers at one time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 64 bit 22H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Gigabyte Z390 UD
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 77000 3.60
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z390 UD
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GEForce RTX 2060 Super
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Two 27" Dell 4K monitors
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    M.2 NVME SSD, 500 GB; Two 2TB Mechanical HDD's
    PSU
    850w PSU
    Case
    Cyberpower PC
    Cooling
    Water cooled
    Keyboard
    Backlit Cyberpower gamiong keyboard
    Mouse
    Backlit Cyberpower gaming mouse
    Internet Speed
    1 GB mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
You only need 1 Macrium Reflect Rescue Media Flash Drive, unless you are backing up multiple computers at one time.
Nope - a rescue drive is often specific to a pc depending on drivers.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
I have used one Macrium Reflect Rescue Flash Drive on several computers. All it does is boot the computer to the Macrium Reflect GUI, it does not load any drivers.
Other Rescue Media from an OS or OEM manufacturer may include drives specific to the computer it was created on.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 64 bit 22H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Gigabyte Z390 UD
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 77000 3.60
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z390 UD
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GEForce RTX 2060 Super
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Two 27" Dell 4K monitors
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    M.2 NVME SSD, 500 GB; Two 2TB Mechanical HDD's
    PSU
    850w PSU
    Case
    Cyberpower PC
    Cooling
    Water cooled
    Keyboard
    Backlit Cyberpower gamiong keyboard
    Mouse
    Backlit Cyberpower gaming mouse
    Internet Speed
    1 GB mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
That is unusual. The macrium pebuild usually includes a folder of your machine specific drivers in a folder called Drivers with sub folders Disk, Ethernet and USB in boot.wim. It annoyingly attempts to load them at program start up.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
I should start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Macrium Reflect - I have 8 purchased licenses (2 of the 4 packs).

However, there a couple things annoying me just a little bit right now.

First, now that I have patched my Windows PE installation on my computer to address the black lotus vulnerabilities, Reflect will no longer recognize my Windows PE install. So, when I try to create a new boot disk, it insists on downloading WinPE from Microsoft even though it is already installed on my system. Naturally, because the version of Win PE that it downloads is not patched, media built with that version will not boot on my machine without disabling Secure Boot.

Second, cereberus pointed out today that boot media may be specific to a particular system if any special drivers are needed. I know that this is nit-picking, but I really like the way that Veritas System Recovery (formerly Norton Ghost) handles this. After you create boot media, you can take that boot media to another system and ADD the drivers for that system to it. There is no need to create new media. You can simply update your existing media. That seems like a pretty intelligent way of handling it.

But, don't get me wrong - the Veritas software has some major failings as well. I still prefer Reflect.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
the Drivers folder is on the root of the media

DRIVERS-media-root.jpg



and also in boot.wim

DRIVERS-media-bootwim.jpg
It added those in spite of telling me that all necessary drivers are already in the wim file before it ran the pebuild.


I haven't tested this, but it is likely you could just delete those folders and it wouldn't have anything to annoyingly load.
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
Reflect will no longer recognize my Windows PE install...it insists on downloading WinPE from Microsoft even though it is already installed on my system.
Can't you select it as your custom wim ?

take that boot media to another system and ADD the drivers for that system to it.

I havent tested this, but possibly you could just copy in the relevant inf cat and sys files into the appropriate macrium Drivers sub folder.

I dont know if they would need to be copied just to the Drivers folder on the media root (easier) , or if they need to be in the boot.wim Drivers folder.

DRIVERS-subfolder.jpg
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
Can't you select it as your custom wim ?



I havent tested this, but possibly you could just copy in the relevant inf cat and sys files into the appropriate macrium Drivers sub folder.

I dont know if they would need to be copied just to the Drivers folder on the media root (easier) , or if they need to be in the boot.wim Drivers folder.

View attachment 61532
I didn't really spend much time with this, but I try to point it to that WIM and it didn't like it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
That is odd it has always picked up any wim I select.

custom-base-wim.jpg

or use the volume guid or device path instead of a letter.
E:\Recovery\WindowsRe\Somename.wim
\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolume5\Recovery\WindowsRe\Somename.wim
\\?\Volume{6e277fa6-aa82-4939-b7e4-1cb049271596}\Recovery\WindowsRe\Somename.wim
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
That is odd it has always picked up any wim I select.

View attachment 61547

or use the volume guid or device path instead of a letter.
E:\Recovery\WindowsRe\Somename.wim
\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolume5\Recovery\WindowsRe\Somename.wim
\\?\Volume{6e277fa6-aa82-4939-b7e4-1cb049271596}\Recovery\WindowsRe\Somename.wim
Ah, yes - you bring up a good point, but it is not as it appears!

Let me step you through what I see.

Select the option to create rescue media.
Click on "Advanced".
The first tab is "Choose Base WIM". Select "Windows RE".
Go to the "Options" tab and then select "Custom base WIM". In my case, I then point it to my Win PE based WIM.

When you build the media you will note a message saying that it is adding WiFi support. This tells me that it is clearly ignoring my WIM and building a Win RE (not PE) based media since Win PE does not support WiFi. Only Win RE supports WiFi.

Now, repeat the above steps, but rather than selecting Windows RE on the "Choose Base WIM" tab, select Windows PE. This time, when I try to build the media it wants to download Windows PE! Again, it is ignoring my custom WIM.

The bottom line is that it seems to be completely ignoring the custom WIM file that I have specified.

EDIT: Note that it will only ask to download WinPE from Microsoft if it has not already done so. Delete the folder where it builds the media and you will see the behavior I described above.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
This tells me that it is clearly ignoring my WIM
Cant tell from that. The option probably appears because of what you selected on the previous page.

If you continue you will probably find that it does use your selected wim file. It is easy to see by adding a folder or a text file with some memorable name to the root of your wim image. Then look inside the macrium boot.wim after it has been created and see if your folder/text file is there. Or just query the completed macrium boot.wim wim file with dism.

running it from within win7, I pointed it at
win7 winre.wim
win7 boot.wim (it mounts and adjusts only the first image the second image is still in the completed macrium boot.wim )
win10 boot.wim (it mounts and adjusts only the first image the second image is still in the completed macrium boot.wim )
win11 winre.wim
and a couple of my home made winpes.

works every time in the sense that it adds the relevant files to image 1. But if pointed at a wim that contains several images, it ignores the other images which remain as they were.
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
Some of us are gluttons for punishment
WOW Bree has 9 laptops!! Some day, IF I'm sent to heaven (only if dogs are sent there too - W. Rogers) I'll have to ask Bree why he has 9 laptops!

I'm currently (while waiting for Macrium to send me product) reviewing the Macrium-sponsored YouTubes...

Currently on "Cloning a disk using Macrium Reflect 8" where at the end 'she' says "Please note that at this time (no date indicated) windows cannot be booted from USB hard drives..." I seem to recall I've done so. Is this (Macrium statement) true?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11, (Linux Mint)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. Inspiron 16 7610
    CPU
    Dell Inc. 0FHWFD A01
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0FHWFD A01
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    2.30 gigahertz Intel 11th Gen Core i7-11800H
    Sound Card
    Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop (small) and 1 or 2 external monitors
    Screen Resolution
    -
    Hard Drives
    PC711 NVMe SK hynix 1TB 1.02 TB NVMe ANB2N582412102F0G_0001
    PSU
    -
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    fan
    Keyboard
    External!
    Mouse
    External
    Internet Speed
    -
    Browser
    Chrome (Chrome profiles), Firefox (Bookmark Search Plus2), Edge (History page), Opera (annoying)
    Antivirus
    WinDefender
    Other Info
    Win11
  • Operating System
    Win10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    self
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B75M-D3H
    Memory
    8068 MB Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics card(s)
    2.30 gigahertz Intel 11th Gen Core i7-11800H
    Sound Card
    Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 Displays
    Screen Resolution
    n/a
    Hard Drives
    SSD and others (internal and external)
    Case
    Desktop
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    External
    Keyboard
    External
    Browser
    Chrome, Firefox, Tor, Brave, Opera, etc.
    Antivirus
    Win Defender
    Other Info
    Win10 & unfortunately OneDrive: Can't completely rid myself of this!!
WOW Bree has 9 laptops!! Some day, IF I'm sent to heaven (only if dogs are sent there too - W. Rogers) I'll have to ask Bree why he has 9 laptops!

I'm currently (while waiting for Macrium to send me product) reviewing the Macrium-sponsored YouTubes...

Currently on "Cloning a disk using Macrium Reflect 8" where at the end 'she' says "Please note that at this time (no date indicated) windows cannot be booted from USB hard drives..." I seem to recall I've done so. Is this (Macrium statement) true?
Yes and no. The version of Windows on a USB drive is Windows to Go. Not supported by Microsoft but creatable via Rufus and other software I believe.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro & 🐥.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. X509DA (FP5)
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RX Vega 10 Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080@60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 2TB NVMe 1.3
    Internet Speed
    25 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ACER NITRO
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H / 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    CZ Scala_CAS (FP6)
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6 GB GDDR6 SDRAM
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio. NVIDIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" LED backlight 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) 144 Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB NVMe M.2
    PSU
    180 Watt, 19.5 V
    Mouse
    Lenovo Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    25 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender

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