Overwhelmed - Macrium Reflect

You're right @Ghot

But disabling this greatly reduces the security of the computer. For those that are advanced users and know what they're doing and the possible repercussions, that's their choice but recommending it to the average home user would not be my recommendation.

I believe backing up and restoring still actually works in Macrium Reflect. However mounting a backup image as a drive looks to be broken


My guess is that users of the FREE version of Macrium 8.0 (there is no 8.1 Free version) are not having this driver blocked error as long as they did not fully update to the latest Windows update a couple days ago.


Current entry in the Microsoft security Block list file


<FileAttrib ID="ID_FILEATTRIB_PSMOUNTEREX" FriendlyName="psmounterex\02fa3060a8319f0f691547345863679d750bfea0974798ffcd379ee965bce83d FileAttribute" FileName="psmounterex.sys" MinimumFileVersion="0.0.0.0" MaximumFileVersion="8.0.7760.0"/>



Last Macrium Reflect FREE Edition 8.0.7783
The entry in the Blocl List from Microsoft: MaximumFileVersion="8.0.7760.0"

Bug fixes and Security Updates v8.0.7783 - 1st December 2023
Bug fixes and Security Updates v8.0.7690 - 11th October 2023

So my guess (not tested) is that if you have a version of Macrium Reflect 8.0 before the "8.0.7760.0" build then you will not get this error message alert and it will still work.

Windows 10 doesn't use the same aggressive security model and Microsoft no longer updates security on Windows 10 unless you signed up for the 1 year grace on updates so they should not get this error either.

For paid users on Macrium 8.1 there is no good workaround that I'm aware of. Macrium would need to provide an update


At this time I think the best Free solution would be to consider switching over to Veeam. The UI is not even close to Macrium but it is an Enterprise level product that does work very well and is free for home users.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows FREE

AdvancedSetup said:

At this time I think the best Free solution would be to consider switching over to Veeam.

Click to expand...

That is not a solution as Macrium will fix this.

Even Macrium X has a version that would be blocked.

KevTech said:

That is not a solution as Macrium will fix this.

Even Macrium X has a version that would be blocked.

View attachment 169048

Click to expand...

Except that Reflect X can still happily mount drives after updating to 26200.8246.

No doubt. If the paid version of Macrium X is having this issue I would expect Macrium to quickly come up with a solution to correct the issue.

AdvancedSetup said:

No doubt. If the paid version of Macrium X is having this issue I would expect Macrium to quickly come up with a solution to correct the issue.

Click to expand...

The reason Reflect X doesn't have this issue is that it doesn't use psmounterex.sys at all. You can delete it from System32\Drivers and Reflect X will still mount images. It obviously is using different code of its own.

Why it's still included in the install is a mystery, someone apparently forgot to remove it when it was no longer needed.

So, did Macrium work with Microsoft to find a way to cut off all their old customers?

Just tested both Hasleo and Veeam. Neither one has issues mounting and loading backup images.
Both did full live backup to an image file.
I booted to USB restore disk and did a restore testing each program. Both worked perfectly

Hasleo even allows you do do full block restore or chose a Delta restore to restore only missing or different files. It was able to complete the full backup of 1.2 TB in 1 minute 49 seconds

Veeam did the full restore in about 8 minutes

AdvancedSetup said:

So, did Macrium work with Microsoft to find a way to cut off all their old customers?

Click to expand...

How so? The only issue here is browsing images. If you really need to browse images, turn off Memory Integrity,
restart computer then you can mount and browse images all you want.

It's primary functions, image backup and restore, work perfectly fine. That's all I use it for.

Scott said:

How so? The only issue here is browsing images. If you really need to browse images, turn off Memory Integrity,
restart computer then you can mount and browse images all you want.

It's primary functions, image backup and restore, work perfectly fine. That's all I use it for.

Click to expand...

It was mostly a joke, but you need to turn off more than memory integrity of Core isolation or it will still not work.

If you don't use that process of opening a backup then yes, I agree you're all set. But for those that do it does not work and does require weakening the security model of Windows which is not good advice.

If all else fails and I need to explore an image, I'll resort to using a laptop with Win 10... that's ok for now with MR 8853

Macrium Support has responded on the Macrium Forum......

Macrium said:

This issue will only affect Version 8.1 users who have applied the latest Windows 11 update (KB5083769)

We are continuing to investigate this further and will provide updates as more information becomes available


Kind Regards

Joe A

Macrium UK Support Team

Click to expand...

dalchina said:

If all else fails and I need to explore an image, I'll resort to using a laptop with Win 10... that's ok for now with MR 8853

Click to expand...

Or temporarily turn off Core Isolation, that works too.

Thank you for the updated information from Macrium @Bree

Again I would not recommend lowering the security model of Windows just to mount and view a backup file.

Crime directed at everyone is very active

I do malware removal for users every day and there are various ways of attacking computers

AdvancedSetup said:

Thank you for the updated information from Macrium @Bree

Click to expand...

They will have to provide an update, if only for Reflect LTSC which is based on v8.1. I've downloaded the LTSC installer and confirmed that LTSC uses the same (now blocked) psmounterex.sys as v8.1 Home.

Macrium Reflect LTSC is based on a stable version of Macrium Reflect 8.1 ... we have continued to finetune Macrium Reflect 8 with bug fixes and security patches to a point where we are confident that Macrium Reflect 8 is a stable foundation for the LTSC edition.

Click to expand...

What is Macrium LTSC?

Bree said:

Except that Reflect X can still happily mount drives after updating to 26200.8246.

Click to expand...

Yes X does not even have this file so the one on my system was from 8 which did not uninstall when I uninstalled 8.

I have now deleted the file and removed all references to it in the registry since I am now on X.

Looks like X uses this file for mounting images.

I tried renaming and replacing the file from Macrium X and it will start to load but then errors out.

I suppose we need to wait on Macirum for a valid solution

...and remember, unless Macrium decides to be overall "community friendly," they're only required to integrate any future FIX into their v8.1 LTSC edition... no other v8 editions are under current support.

Here is a convoluted method of bypassing the issue

You'll need to decide if it's worth the trouble or not.

Workaround Method (Virtual Machine)

You can use a VM (virtual machine) as a "safe compatibility layer"

1. Install VMware or VirtualBox (both are now free) VMware | VirutalBox
2. Create a Windows 10 virtual machine (no need to activate)
3. Fully update Windows 10 (optional but tested working)
4. Install Macrium Reflect 8 (disable update checks)
5. Provide access to your backup files:
   • Map a network share from the host
   • Or attach the backup drive directly to the VM
6. Open Macrium Reflect inside the VM
7. Mount the image as usual
8. Browse and extract files/folders normally

Additional finding:

Testing shows that Windows 10 (fully updated, ESU) still receives updates to the
driversipolicy.p7b file, but does not enforce the Microsoft Windows Driver Policy
in the same way as Windows 11.

As a result, the Macrium Reflect 8 driver (psmounterex.sys) continues to load
normally on Windows 10.

This allows a workaround using a Windows 10 virtual machine to mount and extract
backup images without disabling security features on the Windows 11 host.

TenForum and ElevenForum are two brilliant, GoTo websites
populated by knowledgable experienced people who share their skills for free

God bless you all!!

I give thanks for you all
- but also for my clapped out Win10 laptop with MR Free still on it,
'cos I think I can extract that file I need from Last December

I'm glad I found this thread; I thought I was the only person having this problem. I seldom have to mount a backup image but going forward, when I do, I'm going to shut off the vulnerable driver blocklist, reboot, mount my backup image and do what I have to do, turn drive blocklist back on, reboot. PITA. If Macrium doesn't fix this shame on them.

I think "Shame on them" is a bit harsh. This issue only affects users here with unsupported versions of REFLECT. Macrium has no obligation to support those versions. Having said that...

I believe they will provide a fix regardless (they have done so in the past).