Restore image on network drive

I like to keep system images in multiple locations, including on network drives. However I'm currently unable to access the image I keep on a hard drive plugged into my router from my rescue media because I'm being told that that drive requires SMB1 which Macrium considers unsafe. It says use SMB2. I can access the image ok in Windows but that's not much use as you cannot restore a system image whilst still in Windows. I have tried recreating my rescue media after enabling SMB2 but that hasn't made any difference. I could of course first copy the image to a local drive but that rather defeats the purpose of storing it on my network.

What's the answer to this conundrum?

Did you configure your network? LAN or WIFi? Lan profile?
in Macrium Recovery open Command Prompt and type:
ipconfig /all
ping <router ip>

The WiFi config is fine in my rescue media, using WinRE

OK, I'll have another look

Pinging the router IP in rescue media works fine.

drivers are loaded?
netsh wlan add profile?
net start WlanSvc ?
net share ?
net use * \\ip-router\shared folder
disk by USB connected to router?
Do you use the network config in Macrium?
Do you see the wifi-icon and the name?

The network config is fine in rescue media - I can browse the other LAN computers' folders, no issue. Just being denied access to this one drive for the reason I have given. Thanks for your time.

No, SMB is just a protocol. Rightclick on the folder containing the recovery and select share full access. Use a simple name.
type
cmd (admin) net share /?

when in Macrium: command prompt:
Wpeutil DisableFirewall

I can't see how to carry out your last suggestion as the share option isn't there. However I can access the folder containing the image from any of the LAN computers so it is already shared

Is it a USB-disk?
Connect to a different computers USB-port?
PE/RE computers have a different name like \\minint-thnc0bv\
Can this be a problem for your router firewall?

It's 1Gb Sata3 HDD. The problem here is unquestionably with the recovery media, which would seem not to have the necessary access capabilities that Windows has, which would suggest a Macrium problem. Would be good to hear from anyone who has already successfully restored a system image from a network drive or someone who is prepared to try it.

Create your RE recovery media again if you updated to 23h2. Per one of the gurus on Macrium forum.
"Did you install a Windows feature release that might have updated your WinRE partition and therefore the “baseline” used for WinRE-based Rescue Media builds? Sometimes those can introduce problems. WinPE is a static build that comes straight from Microsoft, does not get updated within a given kernel selection, and is not customized on a per-system basis before Reflect gets to it, as WinRE can be".

I am on 23H2 and recreating the RE rescue media was the first thing I did. Also ensured SMB2 was active before doing so but still no joy.
Perhaps I should see if PE works.

In MR Command prompt type

net use * \\ip-router\sharename

and watch the system answer

Can you explain please what 'in MR Command' exactly means. I see no option to use commands in MR, or am I just missing the obvious?

At the bottom of the MR Recovery Media (LEFT) you'll see some ICONs... one of them is the Command Prompt.

When you boot into MR Recovery you see at the left bottom the icons
On/OFF | C:\ | screenshot
take the C:\ icon to open command prompt


This also means that you didn't try the ping command!!!

fixer said:

However I'm currently unable to access the image I keep on a hard drive plugged into my router from my rescue media because I'm being told that that drive requires SMB1 which Macrium considers unsafe. It says use SMB2. I can access the image ok in Windows but that's not much use as you cannot restore a system image whilst still in Windows. I have tried recreating my rescue media after enabling SMB2 but that hasn't made any difference.

Click to expand...

fixer said:

I am on 23H2 and recreating the RE rescue media was the first thing I did. Also ensured SMB2 was active before doing so but still no joy.

Click to expand...

I too have a hard drive plugged into my router, and as we share the same timezone there's a good chance we share the same ISP and the same (or similar) router. Mine is a BT Home Hub 6.0.

Why do you keep mentioning 'enabling SMB2'? The router can only handle SMB1, there is no way to update it to SMB2. Anything that needs to connect to it must have the 'SMB 1.0/CIFS Client', which all my PCs have had enabled in 'Turn Windows features on or off', and so must yours if you can access the share in Windows.

For building the Macrium rescue media you need to Enable legacy SMB v1 support in the Advanced build options.

Thanks. Says network name cannot be found