Macrium KB

v5: How to use VBScript to create a monthly backup cycle

Administrator — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:41:02 GMT

In this article, we look at using VBScript to handle a monthly backup cycle. I’ll show you how to generate a template VBScript source file and modify a couple of lines to enable selective execution of the XML definition files created in the previous tutorials.

So far we’ve created image definitions and scheduled these to run in a weekly backup cycle. We’ve also used the disk space management option to ensure that our backup disk doesn’t overflow. But, what if you want to schedule your images using a monthly calendar cycle? Say you want to run a full image on the first Monday of every month and an incremental image for all other weekdays. How do you do that?

Macrium Reflect uses the standard Windows Scheduler to schedule all backups and images. This has the advantage of being a very well tried and tested scheduler, plus it reduces valuable program overhead by using an existing, running service. However, while the Windows Scheduler is great for repeating weekly pattern of days, it can’t handle monthly exclusions very well. In our above example we can schedule the full image to run on the first Monday of each month without a problem, but the incremental images would have to be scheduled for every weekday. This means that on the first Monday of each month you’d run both the full and incremental images. This isn’t a very elegant solution; so what do we do?

The answer is VBScript. With VBScript we have total flexibility to do anything we want. We can also reduce the number of tasks to schedule to just one.

If you’re unfamiliar with VBScript source, it can look rather daunting. The syntax seems unnecessarily complex and verbose. However, one thing to remember is that in most cases you can just copy existing code examples and modify them slightly to make them work for you. Macrium Reflect generates a great working template for you to modify, and I’ll show you a couple of simple code lines to add to achieve the scheduling scenario I’ve outlined above.

OK, let’s begin…

1. Start Reflect, click the ‘Backup Definition Files’ tab, select the ‘image of C’ example file and then click the ‘Generate VBScript’ button.

2. The VBScript generation dialog is shown. Modify the VBScript file name to ‘Monthly Schedule’, and then click OK.

This will generate a VBScript template file using the default options. The defaults will simply run the image and create a log file in the directory where the XML definition is stored. A VBScript source file can be scheduled in exactly the same way as an XML file, but first we’re going to modify it to run both the full and incremental images on the correct days.

3.Click the ‘VBScript files’ tab. You should see your new VBScript source file in the list of source files. If you select it with your left mouse you can see the automatically generated code in the lower half of the window.

Monthly
This view has the advantage of syntax highlighting. This means that keywords, conditions and certain variables are displayed different colors, making viewing the source (and potential errors) much easier.

4. Right click on the VBScript file and select ‘Edit’.

This will open the source file in the default editor, Notepad.exe. Make sure that Word Wrap is turned off. This makes editing the source code much easier.

Locate the following line of code:

ExitCode = Backup ("""C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect\reflect.exe"" -e -w <BACKUP_TYPE> ""C:\Users\Nick\Reflect\image of c.xml""")

And replace it with:

If Weekday(Date) = 2 AND Month(DateAdd("d", -7, Date)) <> Month(Date) Then
' Run the full image
ExitCode = Backup ("""C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect\reflect.exe"" -e -w -full ""C:\Users\Nick\Reflect\image of c.xml""")
Else
' Run the Incremental image
ExitCode = Backup ("""C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect\reflect.exe"" -e -w -inc ""C:\Users\Nick\Reflect\image of c.xml""")
End If
Note: Your XML file paths will be different to the paths above. We've replace the parameter '<BACKUP_TYPE>' with the type of backup we want to run. This could be either '-full, '-inc' or '-diff'

A quick summary of the functions used above:

The Date keyword is the current system date.

The Weekday function returns the day of the week as a number. 1 = Sunday, 2 = Monday etc.

DateAdd simply subtracts 7 days from the current date. The “d” means that we are subtracting (or adding) days. The other possibilities are, “yyyy” - Year, “q” – Quarter, “m” – Month, “y” - Day of year, “w” – Weekday, “ww” - Week of year, “h” – Hour, “n” – Minute, “s” – Second.

The Month function returns the month (1-12) of the DateAdd result and compares this with the current month using the ‘<>’ not equal to operator.
So, if the current day is Monday and the Monday of last week is a different month, then this must be the first Monday of the current month. As you can see, the code then simply executes the XML definition file for the full image otherwise an incremental XML is executed.
When you’ve made the changes, save the file and close Notepad.

5. All that remains is to schedule the VBScript file to run every weekday.

Right click on the VBScript file in the list and select ‘Schedule’. You’ve been through this wizard before, so I won’t go over it again. You could of course, select only weekdays or every day, but the important thing to understand is that whatever you choose, it’s the VBScript code that decides whether to run the full or incremental image not the scheduler.
Note: When you schedule this script it doesn't matter whether you select 'Full', 'Incremental' or 'Differential' in the schedule dialog, it's the script that determines which type to run.

You’ve done it! VBScript code that modifies the running order of your images. VBScript gives you complete flexibility for any situation you can think of.

Variations...

1. How to run the Full backup on the 1st day of every month and increments on every other.

Change the execution condition in step 4 above to the following:

If Day(Date) = 1 Then
' Run the full image
ExitCode = Backup ("""C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect\reflect.exe"" -e -w -full ""C:\Users\Nick\Reflect\image of c.xml""")
Else
' Run the Incremental image
ExitCode = Backup ("""C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect\reflect.exe"" -e -w -inc ""C:\Users\Nick\Reflect\image of c.xml""")
End If

2. How about running the full backup at a different time to the incremental backups.

For example: The full backup at 01:00 and the remaining increments at 09:00. For this you'll need to create two scheduled tasks.

1. First create create the full backup scheduled task by right clicking on the XML backup definition file and scheduling to run a 'Full' on the 1st of each month at 01:00
2. Then modify the VBScript as below and schedule it at 09:00 every day.
If Day(Date) <> 1 Then
' Run the Incremental image
ExitCode = Backup ("""C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect\reflect.exe"" -e -w -inc ""C:\Users\Nick\Reflect\image of c.xml""")
End If
In the above example on the first day of each month nothing will happen when this VBScript is executed but the scheduled full backup will occur at 01:00. On other days of the month incremental backups will occur at the scheduled time, 09:00,

This is just a very small example of the power of VBScript. If you want to delve further into VBScript, have a look at the options in the generator. It generates separate functions for each option and provides some handy comments to help you understand the code.

An excellent reference of VBScript functions can be found at http://www.w3schools.com/VBscript/vbscript_ref_functions.asp . Here you’ll find, not just the date functions introduced in this article, but every function available to you.

Restoring to dissimilar hardware - What is Macrium Redeploy?

Administrator — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:12:10 GMT

There are many good reasons to image a computer hard drive. It will provide protection against

Accidental deletion of files
Corruption of files, file system or windows system due to software bug
Hard disk corruption or failure
Theft of computer

In the case of lost files or a failed, corrupted hard drive, an image restore will get you up and running again.

Unfortunately, if you need to buy a new computer, the situation is rather more complex. Windows is optimised to boot as quickly as possible and this is achieved by only loading drivers for your system. This means, however, that if you try to boot an installation of windows on new hardware, you are likely to encounter the dreaded blue screen of death (or BSOD).

You can also encounter this issue, if you are moving your system to a virtual machine, from a virtual machine or changing your storage configuration, such as switching to a RAID setup.

As this is a situation commonly encountered by our customers, we have developed a tool call ReDeploy. It is designed make the complex process of getting windows running on new hardware as easy and intuitive as possible.

You can read about it in more detail here

http://kb.macrium.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50126.aspx

The benefits of differential and incremental backup

Administrator — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:09:13 GMT

In the Free Edition of Macrium Reflect, you are only able to make full images of your disks and partitions. In creating a full image, the entire contents of the imaged file system are stored in the image file. Although this is a reliable way of backing up your PC, repeating the process is slow and subsequent images can fill your target media very quickly. However, in the paid versions of Macrium Reflect, it is possible to create differential and incremental images which are both quicker to execute than full images and create much smaller image files.

Differential Images

In order to create a differential image, a full image must first be created. The differential then stores only the changes that have been made to the imaged file system since the last full image. It is possible to take subsequent differentials, but only one differential and the full are required in order to fully restore the system. However, the longer the time between the full and the differential, the larger the differential image file will be and the longer it will take to create.

Advantages

Differential images created after the initial full Image are very quick because only file system changes since the full backup are saved.

The amount of disk space used by differential images is significantly less than that of full images

Only two image files are required to restore the system

Disadvantages

As the time since the last full image was taken increases, the size of the differential will grow as will the time it takes to create the differential image. In order to reduce this time, it is necessary to perform a full image occasionally to reduce the size of the subsequent differential images.

Incremental Images

Incremental images are similar to differential images in that they require a full backup to be made first. However, the main difference is that they only store file system changes since the last image, either full or incremental. The resultant backup set will therefore consist of a full image and a number of incremental images which must all be present in order to restore the system correctly.

Advantages

Incremental images have the same advantages as differential images, but since they only store the changes that were made since the last full or incremental. They are always small and very quick to make, especially if done frequently.
Disadvantages

The only disadvantage to using incremental images is that all files must be present in the image set. If any intermediate incremental images are missing, it will not be possible to restore the system to the latest backup.

Managing Differential and Incremental images in Macrium Reflect

It may appear to be quite an onerous task to maintain the backup sets. With this in mind, Macrium Reflect takes care of all the hard work for you. It is possible to schedule incremental or differential backups automatically. When restoring an image, you select which image you wish to restore and Macrium Reflect automatically select the required files in the image set as part of the restore process. The same is true for exploring an image. If you choose to explore an incremental image in an explorer window, Macrium Reflect will reconstruct all the files that have been backed up to that time.

Macrium Reflect also includes functionality that allows you to automatically delete image sets that have expired. For example, if you take a full image every month and then incremental images every day, you can configure Reflect to keep two full image sets (the equivalent of two months of backups) and delete any older files. As a result of this, your backup media will not end up becoming full of obsolete image files.

Driver load issues in WinPE

john.pendleton@macrium.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:42:15 GMT

This article covers some of the issues with drivers failing to load when booting WinPE.

Use drivers of the same architecture

Drivers, like any other form of software, have an architecture, either 32 bit (x86) or 64 bit (x64). When trying to load drivers in WinPE, it is essential to have drivers which match the architecture of your WinPE environment. For example, using 32 bit drivers on a 64 bit WinPE could cause load failures.

Drivers not located on accessible disk

Normally, when booting from a RAID controller, be it array or single drive configuration, drivers will need to be loaded in order to access that device. However, as the device will not be visible to WinPE you cannot put drivers on any disk (fixed or optical) which is connected to that controller.

Solution 1 : Make drivers available on accessible media such as a usb device

In order to get round this chicken and egg problem, you will need to place drivers for the device onto a disk which is visible in WinPE, a good choice would be a USB2 pen drive for this.

The exceptions to this are nVidia RAID and Intel Matrix RAID, as WinPE has built in driver support for these devices.

The drivers folder can be copied to another disk using the following method whilst in Windows:

If you have a local non-RAID disk 'e:' then from a command prompt type:

xcopy /e c:\boot\macrium\drivers\* e:\boot\macrium\drivers

if 'e:' is a removable (flash) drive, then use the following command:

xcopy /e c:\boot\macrium\drivers\* e:\drivers

Note: The '/e' switch means recursive copy and is not to be confused with the drive letter 'e:'.

If 'e:' is present during the boot menu load then the drivers will be loaded.

Solution 2 : Add drivers to PE Image

This solution only works if you are have the Microsoft WAIK installed. It will be installed automatically if you create a v5 custom PE rescue CD. This solution is somewhat involved, but it will enable

First mount your wim, this will take a couple of minutes.

dism /mount-wim /wimfile:C:\boot\macrium\WAIKFiles\ISO\sources\boot.wim /index:1 /MountDir:C:\boot\macrium\WAIKFiles\mount

Then inject your driver. Modify the driver path to your inf file.
dism /image:C:\boot\macrium\WAIKFiles\mount /Add-Driver /driver:C:\boot\macrium\Drivers\Disk\VEN_1095_DEV_0242\adp3132.inf

Then unmount your your wim, this will take a couple of minutes.
dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\boot\macrium\WAIKFiles\mount /Commit

Driver location load order

Macrium Reflect will load drivers based on the existence of the file macrium.oem, the following locations will be checked in sequence and if the file macrium.oem is found then driver loading will commence from that point. Subsequent locations will not be checked for drivers.

Removeable media (such as USB pen drives). The file (macrium.oem) must reside in the Drivers folder on the root of the media.
CD=ROM/DVD-ROM drives. The file (macrium.oem) must reside on the Drivers folder on the root of the media.
Local fixed hard disks. The file must reside on the Boot\Macrium\Drivers folder on the root of the local hard disk.

Please note that in Windows, the drivers folder that's loaded when WinPE boots can be located in c:\Boot\Nacrium\Drivers. Once USB/CD-ROM/DVD-ROM rescue is created this folder will be \Drivers on the root of the respective rescue media.

Missing support files

On 64 bit WinPE systems, most drivers will require a supporting security catalog and in some instances, DLL files. If running a 64 bit Windows Vista system or later, Macrium Reflect will take care of this for you when building the rescue media. However, if on an XP or 2003 Server operating system you will need to make sure you provide a driver package that contains a security catalog and any supporting DLL files when using the Update Driver feature in the Create Rescue Media wizard.

Search Terms
Cannot see RAID array in WinPE
Drivers failed to load in WinPE
WinPE drivers
Driver load failed

v5: Command line arguments

jon.dittman@macrium.com — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:35:15 GMT

It is possible run reflect.exe from the command line or VB script. A number of command line arguments allow the user flexibility to perform a number of actions. There are three main usage areas as follows:

Running a backup
Mounting an image
Unmounting an image

Each topic is discussed in detail below.

Running a backup

Use the syntax as follows:

reflect.exe [-v | -e [-w] [-full | -inc | -diff] [xml filename] ]

Switches

-e
Execute the XML file. If no full / diff / inc qualifier is used, a full backup is performed by default.

-w If Reflect is busy then wait until available otherwise exit immediately

-v
Validate the XML file and exit

-full
Run a full backup

-diff
Run a differential backup

-inc Run an incremental backup

Examples

To validate an XML file:

    reflect.exe -v "c:\backup.xml"

To run a full backup using an XML file:

    reflect.exe -e "c:\backup.xml"

reflect.exe -e -full "c:\backup.xml"

To execute an XML file with wait if busy

    reflect.exe -e -w "c:\backup.xml"

To execute an XML file and create an incremental image

    reflect.exe -e -inc "c:\backup.xml"

Mounting an image

Use the syntax as follows:

    reflect.exe [Path To Image File] -b [-auto -drives [Drives[s]]  -pass [PASSWORD]]

Switches

-b Browse image

-auto Automatically assign drive letters.\tIf not specified then you will be prompted

-drives
A comma separated list of drive letters to use. If not specified\tthen the next available letters are used

-pass The password for protected image files

The image file name is the fully qualified path. If "LAST_FILE_CREATED" is specified then the last image created in the current Windows session is mounted.

Examples

To mount an image and prompt for a drive letter to use:

reflect.exe "D:\901DBF91346B9A81-00-00.mrimg" -b

To mount all partitions in an image using the next available drive letter(s):

    reflect.exe "D:\901DBF91346B9A81-00-00.mrimg" -b -auto

To mount all partitions for the last image created:

reflect.exe "LAST_FILE_CREATED" -b -auto

To mount all partitions in an image using drive letters j,k,l:

reflect.exe "D:\901DBF91346B9A81-00-00.mrimg" -b -auto -drives j,k,l

To mount all partitions in a password protected image using drive letters j,k,l:

    reflect.exe "D:\901DBF91346B9A81-00-00.mrimg" -b -auto -drives j,k,l -pass "PWD"

Unmounting an image

Use the syntax as follows:

reflect.exe [Drive Letter] -u

Switches

-u Unmount image

If a drive letter isn't specified then all mounted images are unmmounted

Examples

To unmount an image from drive letter 'j':

reflect.exe J -u

To umnount all mounted drives:

reflect.exe -u

Understanding Disk encryption and Macrium Reflect

john.pendleton@macrium.com — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:04:55 GMT

Disk encryption software is provided by Microsoft under the name Bitlocker. Various third party tools, such as TrueCrypt, McAfee SafeBoot and PGP Whole Disk Encryption offer similar functionality.

You can choose to encrypt your data in the following ways.
1) System disk/partition encryption
2) Data partition/disk encryption
3) File based virtual disk
The method you choose impacts on how you can image, backup and restore your system or files.

	System Disk/Data Partition Encryption	File based virtual disk
Windows/Reflect	Encrypted partitions are unencrypted on the fly, so applications, including Reflect will be presented will an unencrypted partition.	The mounted virtual disk will not be recognised as a disk by Reflect. However, the virtual disk file will be imaged correctly when the containing partition is imaged, or it is included in a file and folder backup. Note: You should unmount the virtual disk before the backup.
Image file contents	By default, unencrypted - use Reflect encryption. If this image is restored, the restored partitions will be unencrypted.	The virtual disk file is stored in its encrypted state. There is no need to use Reflect encryption.
Rescue CD	Encrypted partitions will be displayed unformatted. It is not possible to navigate the contents. They can be imaged, only in 'exact copy' mode. The fix boot problems and redeploy functions will not work.	It is not possible to mount virtual disk files with the rescue CD. However, they can be restored from a backup, if they become corrupted.
Booting off a restored system partition	If you restore a system partition using the rescue CD, it will be restored un-encrypted. This is likely to lead to a non-bootable system as the bootloader is configured for an encrypted partition. You can however use the Macrium CD to restore the Windows bootloader, meaning you will have a bootable unencrypted partition. If you wish to image an encrypted partition that will be bootable on restore, you must take the image using the rescue CD. This can only be do in 'exact copy' mode, so will be slower than a normal image and will result in a larger file.	n/a

Products we have tested with Reflect:

Product:	Reflect V5
PGP Whole Disk Encryption	Compatible
TrueCrypt system disk encryption	Compatible

How to add TrueCrypt features to the rescue environment

This enables you to mount truecrypt encrypted disks and volumes in the macrium rescue environment.

It does not allow you to restore to an encrypted system disk or encrypt a system disk after a Macrium restore.

Note: This requires 32bit Custom WAIK Rescue environment.

1) Configure Reflect to use a custom base wim (see here).

2) Run the truecrypt installer, picking the extract option. You can choose the extract location - in the following example, they are extracted to c:\TrueCrypt.

3) Mount the rescue environment wim. From a cmd window, type the following, ensuring you use the path to your custom wim. ...

dism /mount-wim /wimfile:C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\custom.wim /index:1 /MountDir:C:\boot\macrium\WAIKFiles\mount

4) Copy the the files. Type ...

xcopy /i c:\TrueCrypt "C:\boot\macrium\WAIKFiles\mount\Program Files\TrueCrypt"

5) Unmount the wim file. Type ...

dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\boot\macrium\WAIKFiles\mount /Commit

6) Build a CD and boot, or boot using the bootmgr Macrium Rescue Environment menu option.

To start TrueCrypt, type

"x:\program files\truecrypt\truecrypt.exe"

Select a file, or if disk/partition encryption is used select a device. Enter your password, (you may need to select the "mount partition using system encryption without pre-boot authentication"). Hit mount. The encrypted volume will appear as a new drive letter. Use PE Explorer to browse and copy files as required.

How to add Bitlocker features to the rescue environment

This enables you to mount bit locker encrypted disks in the macrium rescue environment.

It does not allow you to restore to an encrypted system disk or encrypt a system disk after a Macrium restore.

This solution only works if you are have the Microsoft WAIK installed. It will be installed automatically if you create a v5 custom PE rescue CD.

First configure Reflect to use a custom base wim (see here).

Then mount your wim, this will take a couple of minutes. Ensure you use the path to your custom wim.

dism /mount-wim /wimfile:C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\custom.wim /index:1 /MountDir:C:\boot\macrium\WAIKFiles\mount

Then add the wmi package to your wim.

dism /image:c:\winpe_x86\mount /add-package/packagepath:"c:\Program Files\WindowsAIK\Tools\PETools\x86\WinPE_FPs\WinPE-WMI.cab"

Then unmount your your wim, this will take a couple of minutes.

dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\boot\macrium\WAIKFiles\mount /Commit

With the wmi component added, a bitlocker volume can now be unlocked.

manage-bde -unlock e: -recoverypassword <key found in bk file>

Once unlocked, the partition appears in Reflect as a standard volume andcan be imaged and browsed as such. If an image is restored, the volume becomes a standard(un-encrypted) volume. It can be re-encrypted when you boot back into windows.

Manage-bde command line help, note not all the options work in the PE environment ...
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff829849%28v=ws.10%29.aspx

How to configure Reflect to use a custom base wim

If 32bit copy ...

C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\winpe.wim

C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\custom.wim

else if 64bit ...

C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\amd64\winpe.wim

C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\amd64\custom.wim

Then click rebuild in the rescue media wizard, setting the custom wim option, and its path to your new custom.wim.

Backup Aborted! - Unable to lock volume

Administrator — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:00:05 GMT

Error
Error: Backup aborted! - Unable to lock <volume>, Please reboot and retry

Description

This error can be generated during a backup operation when VSS fails to create a snapshot and the alternate Paramount Software snapshot driver fails to start. This issue can only occur on 32 bit XP and Vista based operating systems.

Solution

The following solutions are available:

Reboot the machine and attempt the backup again. It is possible that the machine was not rebooted after Macrium Reflect was installed. The alternate snapshot driver requires the machine to be rebooted before it can start successfully.
Reinstall the software, reboot the machine and attempt the backup again.

Ultimately it is advisable, and highly desirable, to get VSS working correctly on the computer that you are attempting to backup. Please see the VSS Errors Category for further assistance with getting VSS working.

Macrium Reflect Support, Updates and Upgrades

evan.tringham@macrium.com — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:15:08 GMT

Macrium Software takes customer support seriously and this article describes duration and nature of that support. The support for the current version 5 is the same as that for the previous version 4. There has been no downgrading of support, we pride ourselves on the support given.

There are 4 parts to this article, click on the appropriate link:

Support, Updates and Upgrades for v4 & v5 editions of Macrium Reflect
Clarifying the License Duration and Support for the different Macrium Products
How to contact Macrium Support
Links to other sources of Help

Support, Updates and Upgrades for v4 &v5 editions of Macrium Reflect

When you purchase the v4 Standard edition or v5 Standard/Professional/Server editions of Macrium Reflect, Macrium Support is provided free for one year or until a major release (for example 4.x to 5.x) whichever is the longer. You are guaranteed at least one year of free support. To maintain support after this time you are required to upgrade to the latest version of Macrium Reflect (currently version 5).

Macrium Support is by e-mail and support forum access. Many problems can be solved by finding solutions within the Forum, Knowledge base (KB)Tutorials, Help Tutorials and YouTube videos; these are instant solutions rather than wait for Macrium Support to respond (usually within 24 hours during weekdays). More on how to get support below.

Same version updates (4.x to 4.x or 5.x to 5.x) are free for life.

Major upgrades (for example 4.x to 5.x) are chargeable but with an upgrade discount.

Please note that e-mail Macrium Support is only available for the purchased editions and the full 30 day trial; also only those who purchase can post questions in the Forum.

The free edition is not supported although users do have access to view the Forum, Knowledge Base (KB) Tutorials, Help Tutorials and YouTube videos; but cannot post questions in the Forum.

Clarifying the License Duration and Support for the different Macrium Products

v4 Standard edition and v5 Standard/Professional/Server editions

Each Macrium Reflect license key, for v4 Standard edition or v5 Standard/Professional/Server editions, is for onecomputer. You may only transfer the license key to another computer for legitimate upgrade/replacement purposes.

When you purchase the v4 Standard edition or v5 Standard/Professional/Server editions you have the software licenses forlife, there is no annual fee to pay. The exception is when you upgrade, when your old edition is replaced by the upgradededition and your old license key becomes invalid having been replaced by the new upgrade license key. The supportassociated with these products is describedabovein the first part of this article.

Other Macrium Reflect License types: Technicians and Deployment licenses

These two license types run alongside v4 Standard edition and v5 Standard/Professional/Server editions. Theselicenses are mainly used by IT support departments of companies and IT organisations. The Technicians license lastsfor one year after which it can be renewed; and each Deployment license allows 10 deployments per license, you can purchaseadditional Deployment licenses.

Technicians License

Macrium Support for the Technicians license is available while the Technicians license is valid. This is normally 1 year from the date the Technicians license is purchased or renewed.

There are 2 versions of the Technicians license - Standard and Enterprise: both allow use on unlimited workstations but the Standard edition can only be used on up to 10 Servers whilst the Enterprise edition can be used on unlimited Servers.

A recent change to purchasing a Technicians license means you now get supplied a v5 Server edition of Macrium Reflect with the Technicians license. This Macrium Reflect server license supplied with the Technicians license is different from a normal Server license in that it includes 'upgrade protection'. As long as the technicians license is renewed annually then all future upgrades of this license are free (for example v5 to v6 etc..).
Deployment License

Support for the Deployment license is associated with the full license which is being used to deploy the backups. If you have a previous version of Macrium Reflect where support has expired it is strongly recommended that you upgrade. If you purchase a Deployment license where your associated full license support has expired then you will only get support within 30 days of the purchase date of the Deployment license.

For more information on Technicians and Deployment licenses see related links below.

How to contact Macrium Support

The first stage is to complete a support ticket. Click on this link for the ticket dialog. Complete the form by completing all required boxes. Complete the message box with detail of the reason or problem you are having together with any error messages. When requesting support please quote your latest valid license key where possible. You may also attach logs and error dialogs as necessary. Then click on 'Next'.

You can use the support ticket for Sales queries as well as Support queries by selecting within the Contact drop down menu.
In the next dialog, which appears, you normally will get some links to the 'Knowledge base' which may help with your problem. After looking at the links, if you don't find a solution in the returned links, you can either re-phrase your problem/query and click 'Search Again' or click on 'Send' to send your query to Macrium Support or close the browser window if you have the answer to your problem.

Links to other sources of Help:

For a link to the Knowledge Base where you may Search or use popular tags to get help and tutorials click here.
To go to the Macrium Reflect FORUM click here.
To go to the 'Help' tutorials click here, you can also access the Help tutorials when running Macrium Reflect from the 'Help' menu by selecting 'Help'.
To see a range of YouTube videos on using Macrium Reflect click here.

BAD_POOL_HEADER BSOD during backup on Windows XP or 2003

Administrator — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:27:07 GMT

If you are experiencing a Blue screen of death (BSOD) or a sudden reboot during a backup on Windows XP or 2003, then consider the following solution.This applies to any software that engages VSS, not just Macrium Refect.

A BSOD is the error message resulting from a kernel mode crash. These are typically caused by either faulty drivers or failing hardware. Unfortunately, Windows is often configured to reboot after crash so the BSOD message is hidden. If your machine suddenly and unexpectedly reboots, this is typically due to a kernel mode crash. You can either configure your machine not to reboot on a BSOD (see here [support.microsoft.com]) or use the free tool blue screen view [www.nirsoft.net] to display previous BSOD errors.

If the BSOD error is BAD_POOL_HEADER and you have during a backup the following solution might fix your issue.

1. Go to windows Device Manager ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307970 )
2. Click "view" and select "show hidden devices"
3. Scroll down to "storage volumes"
4. Click on the plus to expand.
5. Click on each one listed and right click and uninstall. You mayget a message indicating a reboot is required. Selectno until you do them all.
6. Reboot.
7. Wait till windows automatically reinstalls devices. You may get a prompt to reboot again.
8 Reboot.

Note that imaging your system involves the transfer of volumes of data much higher than you experience in normal system operation. This can reveal real latent hardware issues. If the above solution does not fix your issue, or you are receiving a different BSOD, then consider replacing your hardware or checking for loose / faulty leads or cooling issues such as loose heat sinks or faulty fans.

Anti-virus, Registry cleaners and uninstallers

Administrator — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:16:04 GMT

Introduction

By their very nature, anti-virus and registry cleaner software may interfere with the normal operation of legitimately installed applications. This article outlines some of the issues this causes with Macrium Reflect and provides some solutions.

Anti-virus software

Problems

Imaging

When imagining your disk, Macrium Reflect performs a number of actions that some anti-virus software may think of as being malicious. For example, when imaging or cloning your disk Macrium Reflect reads certain parts of the disk that are not generally accessed by every day applications. Reflect also writes very large files (the image file) which again is sometimes seen as being malicious by some anti-virus software. Specifically, it is often the case that imaging a drive will lock up or abort when 99% complete.

Performance

Anti-virus software is also sometimes responsible for significant degradation in the speed of imaging and restoration since the anti-virus process is constantly applying its rules to everything that Macrium Reflect and the other processes running on your PC are doing.

Downloading

When downloading a file onto your PC, before it has been written to your disk prior to execution, anti-virus software may exclusively lock file and scan it for viruses. Unfortunately, this may result in corruption of the download.

Solution

You should add the Macrium Reflect executable to the white list or trusted zone of your anti-virus software. The executable that runs Macrium Reflect is Reflect.exe and is generally located in C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect. We also recommend that you should exclude the scanning of .MRIMG and .MRBAK files.

Turning the security level to a lower setting or off completely may also have the desired effect. In testing we have found that with some products, the only way to proceed has been to remove the anti-virus software from the PC entirely.

It is perhaps an ironic paradox that in their pursuit of "total security" some anti-virus programs have started to exhibit virus-like behaviour by stopping applications performing legitimate actions and compromising your PC by corrupting the data they seek to protect and reducing its performance.

Registry Cleaners

Overview

The registry is a key component of Microsoft Windows and provides an indexed store of values. Any application running on Windows may use the registry although there are certain guidelines on it's correct use. Although most application vendors conform to these guidelines, there is a perceived belief that a large registry contributes to the slow running of a PC. To tackle this problem, there are products that claim to make your computer faster by cleaning the registry and removing data no longer in use. There is no way of determining if a value stored in the registry is in use so the cleaners make a best-guess based on studying commonly used Windows applications and how they affect the registry.

Problems

Since Macrium Reflect uses the registry, cleaners that are unaware of Macrium Reflect may see the keys it uses as reduntant and remove them accordingly. The result of doing so can cause unpredictable behaviour by Macrium Reflect, such as your key appearing to become expired and being unable to mount images.

Solution

We do not recommend the use of Registry Cleaners. The Windows registry is exceedingly complex and used by every aspect of your PC.

Uninstallers

We have had a number of issues where users have been unable to uninstall Macrium Reflect. This may be caused by software that deletes the files on your PC that Macrium uses to safely uninstall itself. If these files are removed, it no longer becomes possible to uninstall Reflect. Generally these files reside in folder 'c:\windows\installer' with extension '.msi'. Deleting any files from this folder should be avoided as this will likely cause future problems when upgrading or uninstalling.

Solution

We do not recommend the use of uninstaller programs. Windows provides an entirely adequate framework for installing and uninstalling software and problems in this area are inevitably caused by the applications being installed, not by Windows. If you have issues uninstalling Macrium Reflect please contact support.

Backup aborted! - Write operation failed - The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error

Administrator — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:02:19 GMT

Error
Error: Backup aborted! - Write operation failed - The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error

Description

This error is generated by the Windows operating system and isalways caused by I/O (Input/Output) throughput issues with either thedisk or the controller that it is attached to. This issue can arisefrom either a backup or restore operation.

Ensure external disks are optimized for performance

External disks can be configured either for Performance or for Quick Removal. When configured for Quick Removal, Windows will disable write caching to the disk thereby slowing down throughput. All writes will go direct to the disk and throughput IO collisions can occur. It is recommended that external disks are configured for Performance when you encounter the 1117 error code. Follow these steps to configure the disk:

Click Start, click Run, type devmgmt.msc, and then click OK.

Expand 'Disk Drives'. Right-click the device, and then click Properties

Click the Policies tab.

Click Optimize for performance, and then click OK.

Restart the computer

After restarting your computer we recommend trying another backup to see if this has resolved your issue.

Enable Write Caching

You make also want to enable write caching, This solution is used exclusively for backup operations.

Take the menu option Other Tasks > Edit Defaults
Select the Advanced category along the top toolbar.
Select the Advanced Backup Options
Ensure the option 'Enable file write caching' has a check against it.
Click Ok to save the Macrium Reflect defaults.

Please try another backup when the above steps have been performed.

How to run an elevated command prompt

chris.bamford@macrium.com — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:50:35 GMT

Description

When trouble shooting, Macrium Support may request that commands be run in an MS-DOS command prompt under elevated mode. Elevated mode is where a program is run under Windows using Administrator privileges. It is not enough to already be a member of the Administrators group, even when a member of this group commands still need to be elevated to gain privileges.

Under Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, there is no concept of elevated command prompts, on these platforms running a command prompt with Administrator privileges will achieve the same effect. Elevated mode was a restriction introduced by Windows Vista User Access Control.

Windows XP & Windows Server 2003

If you are already a member of the Administrators group (or a group with administrator privileges) then you do not need to follow these steps, you can simply run a command prompt.

To run an Administrator command prompt under Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 operating systems (see sample screenshot below):

Click Start
Select All Programs
Select Accessories
Highlight Command Prompt
Right Click
From the popup menu click Run As

After clicking Run As the a further dialog will be shown (see screenshot below), perform the following actions on this dialog:

Select the radio button 'The following user'
Select the Administrator user from the list of available user names
Enter the password for the selected administrator user
Click Ok to launch the elevated command prompt

Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 Family

To run an elevated command prompt under Windows Vista, Windows 7 and the Windows Server 2008 family of operating systems (see sample screenshot below):

Click Start
In the search box type in cmd
Right click cmd.exe in the search results list
Click 'Run as administrator' from the popup menu
If you are not an administrator of the computer a dialog box will be shown prompting for the administrator password

'SPSearch4 VSS Writer' is in failed state! (Result Code: 0x8000ffff)

Administrator — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:10:42 GMT

Error

ERROR: Selected writer 'SPSearch4 VSS Writer' is in failed state!
Backup aborted! - Failed To Create Volume Snapshot. Result Code: 0x8000ffff

Description

There has recently been a number of issues with Sharepoint 2010 and Macrium Reflect. This issue occurs if you are sunning Sharepoint 2010 on Windows SBS 2011 and have Sharepoint SP1 installed (KB2510766). To remedy this issue you will need to use the psconfig (powershell configurator) utility which will be installed on your server.

Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) was recently released through Microsoft Update. On a default installation, Windows SBS 2011 Standard administrators should be able to see it in the SBS Console and would need to approve it for installation before it is offered for installation on the server.

Since SharePoint Foundation 2010, patching SharePoint is a two-step process. The updated binaries are first installed and then PSCONFIG must be completed to update the SharePoint databases.

Solution

Check your Windows event log it may contain one of the following errors with regard to Sharepoint:

The Following errors may be found in the server application log:

Log Name: Application
Source: Microsoft-SharePoint Products-SharePoint Foundation Search
Event ID: 70
Task Category: Gatherer
Level: Error
User: CONTOSO\spsearch
Computer: CONTOSO-SERVER.contoso.local
Description:
The mount operation for the gatherer application 37ad8233-57f1-47b1-873e-6a91d0f1bc36 has failed because the schema version of the search administration database is less than the minimum backwards compatibility schema version supported for this gatherer application. The database might not have been upgraded.
Log Name: Application

Source: Microsoft-Windows-Backup
Event ID: 521
Level: Error
User: SYSTEM
Description:
The backup operation that started at '?2011?-?07?-?06T02:12:07.198000000Z' has failed because the Volume Shadow Copy Service operation to create a shadow copy of the volumes being backed up failed with following error code '2155348129'. Please review the event details for a solution, and then rerun the backup operation once the issue is resolved.

You can also run the following commands to determine if you need to complete the update process with PSCONFIG:

Launch an elevated (Run as Administrator) SharePoint 2010 Management shell from start, All Programs, Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products, SharePoint 2010 Management Shell.
Once the shell opens, type the following command followed by enter:

(get-spserver $env:computername).NeedsUpgrade

If the result of this command is 'True', then you need to complete the steps below. If the result is False then no further action is needed, if you are encountering similar events the cause will most likely not be resolved by the following steps. To complete the SharePoint service pack process you need to follow the same steps that were previously posted on the Official SBS Blog regarding the necessity to complete PSCONFIG after a SharePoint update. Here are the steps from the article:

In order to update the SharePoint databases, you must manually run the PSconfig utility. To run the utility:

1. Open an Administrative command prompt.
2. Change directory to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\BIN
3. Run PSConfig.exe -cmd upgrade -inplace b2b -force -cmd applicationcontent -install -cmd installfeatures

Note: The Companyweb site will be inaccessible while the command is running. It is best to run the command after business hours. The amount of time the command takes to run will vary on the size of the database and the speed of the machine. On a reference machine with 8 logical processors, 32GB of RAM and a 2GB content database, the command took approximately 5 minutes to execute.

Original source: http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2011/07/06/potential-issues-after-installing-sharepoint-foundation-2010-sp1.aspx

Error Code 1117 - I/O error

Administrator — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:49:23 GMT

Error
Error: Backup aborted! -Unable to read from disk - Error Code 1117 - The request could not beperformed because of an I/O device error.

Description

Error code 1117 is generated by the Windows operating system and is always caused by I/O (Input/Ouput) throughput issues with either the disk or the controller that it is attached to.

Check the disk for possible errors

Perform the steps below fo each volume that you are trying to either create an image of or include in a file & folder backup:

Run an elevated MS-DOS command prompt.
Click 'Start' > 'All Programs' > 'Accessories' > 'Command Prompt' (For Vista/7 right click and select 'Run as Administrator')
At the command prompt type:
>chkdsk <volume drive letter> /r /f

If you receive the message 'Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the net time your system restarts?' press 'Y' then enter.

Your entire file system will be checked for errors and this may take some time to complete.

v5: How to recover your PC using the Linux Rescue CD

john.pendleton@macrium.com — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:27:55 GMT

The linux CD is a compact and efficient rescue environment to restore all Windowsoperating systems. It will only enable your to restore your imaged partitionsto exactly the same size and position as they were at the time the imagewas created.

If you require more flexible imaging and restore options or your hardware is notsupported then use the Windows PE rescue environment. Note, RAID systems and disks attached via usb3 interfacesare not supported in this rescue environment.

It operates as a wizard, guiding you through locating an image, selecting what to restore and where to restore it to.

Image location

First a Macrium image file must be located.

Navigate to the folder that contains the image to be restored in the left hand pane. Possible locations are network attached disks, CDs or DVDs, internal hard disks or those attached via USB or eSata.
The backup list shows all backup images in the selected folder and the pane below shows the partitions included in the image.
Highlight particular backup image that you want to restore, the contents of which will be revealed in the lower right pane. If you have an incremental/differential set, chose the last image in the set, unless you wish to restore to an earlier point in time.
In the case that your images are multi-part images – typical for images stored on a FAT formatted device such as a USB hard disk or on CD/DVD recordable media, locate the last image in the set.
Note that the drive letters presented in the left pane may be different from those that Windows uses. If you wish to eject a CD, double click on the CD icon.

If your image resides on a network attached disk, your network interface will require configuration. Normally this will be automatic. However, if your are having difficult creating a map to a network share, you can use the network settings button to confirm that the network is detected and configured correctly.

Select a network adaptor from the list and view or change the IP addressand network parameters if incorrect.

Note: if there are no adaptors listed, then the Linux rescue disk doeshave support for your network adaptor. In this case, consider a windows PE rescue disk.

The "Set" button applies any configuration changes, and "Get address" attempts to acquires a new address via DHCP. This will have been attempted at boot time, but may need to be invoked manually, for example where a network lead was not connected at boot time.

The Linux CD supports restoration from network attached storage suchas a shared folder on another computer or network attached disk. Networkbrowsing is not implemented, so you need to know the network name or IPaddress of the computer or NAS device that you wish to connect to.

Once you have located the image, you can proceed to next page.

Partition selection

You are now prompted to chose which disk to restore using the drop downlist and then which partitions to restore. By default all partitions includedin the image will be selected.

Image files can contain images of multiple disks, each containing oneor more partitions.

Note, you can only restore one disk at a time; you can restart the wizard once the restore has completed, should you wish to restore multiple disks.

Once, you have chosen what you wish to restore, you can proceed to the next page.

Target disk selection

You are presented with a list of disks attached to your system, excludingthe one containing the image file. Select the disk you wish to restoreyour image to. If the source image file resides on a locally attached disk, this disk will be omitted from the list. If the selected image is from a disk attached

Note that any partitions existing on this disk that overlapthe partition(s) you are restoring will be lost.

Restore

You are presented with a summary of the restore operation that you haveconfigured.

The verify option, will confirm that the image file has suffered no corruption since it was created. As this reads and confirms every byte in the file, it can take as long as the restore itself. Without this step, if any errors are encountered, you will receive a warning with the option to stop or continue with the restore.

If you are happy to proceed, click Restore.

In the case that you have selected a multi-part image on a differentdisk such as a CD or DVD, you will be prompted to insert the disk containingthe first and then subsequent image files as they are required.

v5: How to use Macrium ReDeploy

evan.tringham@macrium.com — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:05:18 GMT

What is Macrium Redeploy?

There are a variety of scenarios where you might need to move a windows installation to anew machine. Some examples are listed below:

Migrating to a new machine due to hardware failure or planned upgrade such as a new motherboard etc.
Moving between a physical and a virtual machine (P2V / V2P ).
Changing a non-raid to a raid installation or legacy SATA to AHCI SATA

There are various aspects of the windows boot processes that will typically causea boot failure after significant changes to the hardware. The purpose of ReDeploy isto attempt to overcome these issues enabling a Windows installation to run on new hardware.

The discovery of hardware and association with a matching device drivers is atime consuming process. It must be undertaken when windows is being installed butthen is skipped during a normal windows boot to make the boot delay acceptable.

Early in the boot process, the boot loader loads the windows kernel (the coreof the operating system) and selected “critical” drivers required to get windowsup and running. If the new hardware configuration requires a new driver to readthe disk containing the operating system then windows will fail to boot.

Once the kernel and the critical drivers are loaded, the kernel is started. Thekernel and its associated HAL need to match the motherboard for best enabling. A driveris optionally loaded to handle specific cpu features. Again, for a stable system,this driver needs to match the hardware – in this case, the cpu model.

ReDeploy is designed to detect changes to these critical system features,locate relevant drivers and inject them into your windows operating system toenable it to boot.

You will need to run ReDeploy from the Windows PE Reflect rescue CD. Thisallows the new hardware to be detected and the configuration of the windowssystem modified to enable it to boot.

ReDeploy is designed make the complex process of getting an offline windows operatingsystem running as easy and intuitive as possible. What it will not do is install thecomplete driver set for the new hardware. You will be able to complete the driver installationfor devices such as network and graphics adaptors once your windows installation hasbooted on your new hardware.

Note: Image deployment to multiple PCs requires a deployment license for each PC deployed. Please see here for information on purchasing deployment licenses.

If you deploy an image to a different PC then you should make sure your installed software, including Windows and Macrium Reflect is suitably licensed for the new PC.

Platform support

If you need to transfer a Windows Server install to new hardware, you need Reflect v5 Serveredition for ReDeploy. Alternatively, if you have a non-server (workstation) install, then useReDeploy which is included with v5 Professional edition or the Server edition:

	Workstation	Server
v5 Professional	x
v5 Server	x	x

The Standard edition of Macrium Reflect v5 does not contain ReDeploy, neither do any of the 30 day trial editions.

Using Macrium ReDeploy

Note: ReDeploy will modify an existing offline operating system to work with new hardware. You should restore your system image to the PC being deployed before running ReDeploy. There is no need to reboot your PC after restoring an Image and before you run ReDeploy.

Boot the target PC with the Windows PE rescue CD or USB equivalent. (At bottom of this tutorial is a link to a video on creating a Windows PE rescue CD).
Take the ReDeploy Restored Image to new hardware option.
If you have a multi-boot system, then you will be presented with a list of operating systems, select the operating system to be redeployed. Click on 'Next'.
The following dialog will ask you to specify driver locations for your mass storage devices (such as RAID card). If you haven't already done so, please insert a driver disk for the hardware you are going to boot from. This will typically be the motherboard or RAID card driver CD, click on Add to add driver locations. You can also specify additional paths such as network folders, click on 'Map Drive' to add a network share. Then Click on 'Next'

Note: ReDeploy will first search through any user specified driver locations. If none are specified or no matching drivers are found then removable devices such as CD's and floppy drives are searched. ReDeploy will also search through Windows' database of drivers.
ReDeploy will now seek drivers for all discovered mass storage devices and a list will be displayed with details to the right. Click 'Next'

ReDeploy will now seek drivers for all discovered mass storage devices and a list will be displayed with details to the right.

For each mass storage device, there are three possibilities:
- The driver is already installed. It might still need to be enabled at boot – this will be done automatically.
- The driver has been located, either from a CD, user specified path or from the Windows database. This driver will be installed on completion of ReDeploy.
- No matching driver has been located.
If no driver has been located or you wish to override the displayed driver, then the 'locate driver' button can be used to manually specify an .inf file.

Note: If you have multiple mass storage interfaces in your system, then you only need to locate drivers for the hardware that contains the windows system and active partitions.
The options on the next dialog maybe left at the defaulted values. If you have trouble booting then these options can help resolve issues. Click Next. For more information about the options please see below:
1. Disable reboot on system stop
  Set this option to stop automatic rebooting if a BSOD occurs while Windows is loading or running. If this option is not set and Windows generates a BSOD, there will be no time to note the BSOD error codes.
2. Display boot drivers as they load
  Set this option to show which drivers are being loaded as Windows loads. Once Windows is loading and running without issue this option can be reverted using the Windows MSCONFIG utility. You can use the Pause/Break key to freeze the list as it scrolls past, use space to un-pause.
3. Enable boot logging
  Set this option to enable logging of drivers being loaded by Windows as it loads. The resulting log file 'ntblog.txt' can be found in the windows folder. Once Windows is loading and running without issue this option can be reverted using the Windows MSCONFIG utility.
4. Disable CPU Driver
  Set this option to disable CPU drivers. This may be useful if you see BSOD's in the selected Hardware Abstraction Layer drivers or system lockup on entering standby or shutdown.
5. Set Hardware Abstraction Layer
  Set this option to choose which Hardware Abstraction Layer is to be used in the selected Windows operating system. The recommended HAL for this machine will be the one initially selected. If you have the incorrect HAL configured, your Windows installation will typically be unstable and you will often see random BSOD's or lock ups after Windows has booted. In particular, if you are redeploying from or to Virtual Box with APIC unchecked (the default) or very old physical hardware, the you will need to set a new HAL.
6. Allow Windows to detect Hardware Abstraction Layer
  Set this option to allow Windows to determine the best Hardware Abstraction Layer to use at boot time. For Vista, use this in preference to the “Set Hardware Abstraction Layer” option. This is a Vista and later only option.
7. Enable SATA AHCI
  Set this option to enable support for generic SATA AHCI hardware. You will typically also need to enable an option in your BIOS for your mass storage hardware to operate in this mode. This is a Vista and later only option.
You will be presented with a list of actions that will be performed and clicking Finish will apply these options to the target operating system. A log file 'ReDeploy.log' will be saved to the drive containing the operating system redeployed.

After clicking 'Finish' to inject drivers and apply your settings you get a confirmation dialog, and you can reboot your OS which should now be compatible with your new hardware!

Note: Make sure there is a tick in the checkbox against 'Check for unsupported devices eachtime the rescue media loads' before you burn the Windows PE rescue CD, this will enable you to add additional drivers when you boot on new hardware.

Search Terms
How do I use ReDeploy
Can I restore an image to a different PC
Moving Windows to different hardware

v5: Using VBScript to delete Differential Backups

evan.tringham@macrium.com — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:21:14 GMT

This article shows you how to use VBScript to delete differential Images in a backup set. This enablesyou to retain a specified number of recent differential Images, this tutorial also applies to differential file and folder backups.

In the following example we will generate a VBScript source file that creates a differential backup (Image or file and folder)and then delete differentials in the same set retaining the '4' most recent differential images.

* Note: You should only run this script on differential backupsets *.

1. Generate VBScript file

Select 'Backup Definition Files' tab, then Right click on your Backup Definition File,and select 'Generate a VBScript File'.

2. VBScript Defaults

In the next dialog accept the defaults and click on 'OK', although you can make the File Name more descriptive of the drives/folders being backed up if needed.

3. Prepare to edit VBScript in Notepad

Select the VBScript tab, right click on the new VBScriptlist entry and select 'Edit'. Notepad will open.

4. Edit the File in Notepad

It is strongly suggested you do not select Word Wrap inNotepad, it is easier to edit without selecting Word Wrap

All the following code inGreen willneed to be copied to Notepad as per the instructions given:

After the line:
ExitCode = Backup ("""C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect\Reflect.exe"" -e -w <BACKUP_TYPE> ""PATH TO XML file""")

Copy and paste the following code:

Note: The number '4' above is the number of recent differential files you want to keep in the backup set,you can change this number

Example of Paste as indicated in following dialog:

At the very *end* of the file in notepad copy and paste the following code:

5. Save and review VBScript

Save the file in notepad: File > Save and close notepad.

You can run VBScript files just like XML filesand you can schedule the VBScript file to run by right clicking on the VBScript file: Select 'Run Now' or 'Schedule' (more detail in step 6 if needed). If you have previously scheduled XML files running the Differential, this XML scheduling can now be deleted if it is to be replaced by the scheduled VBScript file; make sure you only delete an XML file under the Scheduled Backups tab and not under the Backup Definition Files tab.

6. How to run VBScript files on an 'ad hoc' basis and when Scheduled

If you want to run backups while retaining a limited number of Differentials you must nowrun the VBScript and not XML definition files. The following two examples aim to get you started with this.

6a. To run a single ('ad hoc') Differential backup:

Select the 'VBScript Files' tab and right click the VBScript file name, you wish to run, and fromthe 'Run Now' option select Differential. The Differential backup should now run:

6b. To Schedule a VBScript file to run daily, weekly or monthly at a day and time you choose:

Select the 'VBScript Files' tab and right click the VBScript file name, you wish to schedule, and select 'Schedule'
In the next dialog seen, make sure you only select Differential for your VBScript backup. The password which you may need to enter is your normal Windows login in password, the 'Task Name' should be a description of the partitions being backed up. Then click on 'Next'.
The next dialog asks when you would like the backup to be scheduled: daily, weekly, monthly etc. to select which days the differentials should run select 'Weekly'. Click 'Next'.
To set the controls to ensure that the backup is run every week at 1800 hours set 'Every 1 week' and 18:00. In this demonstration it runs 6 days a week, the checkbox at the botton entitled 'If missed then run at start-up' was also selected. The Start date will be the current date unless you change it. Click 'Next'.
A summary of the details is shown. Click 'Finish'

You will note that the details of this task have been addedto the main pain of the application under the 'Scheduled Backups' tab.

* Remember: You should only run this script on differential backups*.

Search Terms
How do I delete differential images
Keep recent differentials

v5: Imaging disks with bad sectors

Administrator — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:29:26 GMT

This article explains how to image and recover a disk that has developed bad sectors. A disk that has bad sectors is permanently damaged and, if the bad sectors were in use by the file system, it is very likely that the data contained in the damaged area is unrecoverable.

This may be a sign that your hard drive is coming to the end of its life, though, it is still possible to manage the situation and create an Image whichcan be restored or used to mount and copy files and folders.

For more information on bad sectors please see this Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_sector

Detecting bad sectors

If a bad sector is encountered during image creation then you will receive the following error in your backup log:
Backup aborted! Unable to read from disk - Error Code 23 - Data error (cyclic redundancy check)
Note: This is considered a fatal condition because your data cannot be read and the image will abort.
The first step should be to run 'chkdsk' on the problem drive to reallocate file system clusters to undamaged disk sectors.

Run chkdsk so bad sectors are not within the file system

Run 'chkdsk c: /r' from a command prompt. Replace 'c:' with the appropriate drive letter.

Note: The '/r' switch is important and will cause the entire file system to be checked for bad sectors. This will require a reboot to complete and may take some time.

To open a command prompt click 'Start' > 'All Programs' > 'Accessories' and select 'Command Prompt'. In Vista/7 right click and select 'Run as Administrator'.
Enter 'Y' if you receive the 'schedule this volume..' message.
The above will map out any bad sectors in use by the file system. After doing this immediately create an Image of your drive. This will ensure that all file system clusters are located on good sectors. It's important to realize that you have already lost data if clusters are relocated, as the data contained in them is unrecoverable. You should consider replacing your disk.
Note: If you still receive 'Error Code 23' in your log after running chkdsk then run chkdsk repeatedly until an image can be created without error.
A list of bad clusters is stored in the file system and is copied when you create an Image and when you restore the Image. After restoring an Image to a new disk, if you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, then run 'chkdsk c: /b'which will re-evaluate all the bad clusters restored on your drive andremove non-faulty clusters from the list. If you are running Windows XPthen if you boot into the Windows PE rescue CD you can run the samecommand from there. /b only works with NTFS volumes.

Force Macrium Reflect to ignore bad sectors

If you are unable to successfully reallocate file system clusters by running chkdsk then you can force Macrium Reflect to continue on Error 23.
Take the 'Other tasks' > 'Edit defaults' > 'Advanced' option and select 'Ignore bad sectors', click 'OK'. Images will now complete:

Note: The bad sectors will be reported in the Image log, e.g:

Read Error: Bad sector found in cluster 2353222
Read Error: Bad sector found in cluster 2353223

VSS Errors - Summary

Administrator — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:11:13 GMT

Macrium Reflect uses the Windows Volume Shadow Services (VSS) to take snapshots of the file system prior to taking images and backing up files. As a result of this, Macrium Reflect is not supported on Windows operating systems prior to Windows XP SP1 and Server 2003 since they do not incorporate this service.

Use the table below to see possible solutions to common VSS errors:

VSS Error	Description
0x8000fff	Backup aborted! - Failed To Create Volume Snapshot
0x80042306	Volume Shadow Copy Error
0x8004230f	Backup aborted! - Failed To Create Volume Snapshot
0x80042318	Failed to Create Volume Snapshot
0x8004231f	Failed to Create Volume Snapshot
0x80042301	Failed to Create Volume snapshot
0x80042317	Failed to Create Volume Snapshot
0x80000ffff	Event log writer in failed state
0x800423f3	Selected writer 'WMI Writer' is in failed state!

Macrium Reflect Feature Comparison Chart

evan.tringham@macrium.com — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:20:46 GMT

Macrium Reflect Feature Comparison

Feature	Standard	Pro	Server
Disk Imaging
Disk Cloning
Access images in Windows Explorer
Schedule backups
Linux Rescue CD
Windows PE 3 Rescue Media (RAID support)
XP / Vista / 7 and WHS compatibility
File and Folder backup
Email notification of backup status
Differential and Incremental backups
Disk Space Management
Backup scripting
Recovery from Windows boot menu
Password protection and encryption
Support for GPT and dynamic disks*
Restore to dissimilar hardware with ReDeploy
Windows Server 2003/2008/2011 compatibility
Windows Server cross-hardware restore
Integrated Windows event logging

*To identify if you require dynamic or GPT disk support, read this.

VSS Error: 0x80042317: Failed to Create Volume Snapshot

jon.dittman@macrium.com — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:01:17 GMT

Error

0x80042317: Failed to Create Volume Snapshot

Description

Error 0x80042317 is a Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy error and indicates that there are too many snapshots on your system.

Solution

A reboot may resolve the problem. If not, to delete all of the existingvolume shadow copy snapshots, type 'vssadmin delete shadows /all' from acommand prompt. You will need to run the command prompt as anadministrator in Vista/7.

It seems that your images are failing to verify due to a problem readingyour backup disk. Please run 'chkdsk m: /r /f' from a command prompt.This will scan the disk for errors and may take some time to complete.If drive 'M:' is formatted using FAT32 then you might want to considerre-formatting using NTFS. NTFS is a more robust file system.

VSS Error: 0x80042301 - Failed to create volume snapshot

Administrator — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:13:42 GMT

Error

Backup aborted! - Failed to create volume snapshot error. Result Code: 0x80042301

Description

The windows snapshot component VSS will fail if a disk with a non standard sector size is attached to your system, even if this disk is either being backed up or used to store the image files. This can be an internal disk or one connected by USB or eSata. These disks are fortunately rare, and are typically found only in sizes of 1TB or above.

Error reporting in V5 Reflect

The extended VSS error information will be reported as below for version 5. See image, note the result code may be different, but the extended error will always be ...

ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->BackupComplete(&pAsync)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x80042301
- Error text: VSS_E_BAD_STATE

Error reporting in V4 Reflect

You will see the following error, note the result code may be different.

To get the extended VSS information, you need to run the backup from a VBScript file? Right on your XML definition andselect 'Generate VBScript'. Accept the defaults and run the VBScriptsource. To run VBScript, click the VBSCript tab, right click on the fileand select 'Execute'. Once run, a detailed log file will be created inthe same directory as the VBScript source. The log file name will be'log-<date>-<time>.txt'. Open the log file with notepad or similar and search for the following text as before ...

ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->BackupComplete(&pAsync)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x80042301
- Error text: VSS_E_BAD_STATE

Identification of disks with a non standard sector size

Run 'System Information' ('All Programs' > 'Accessories' > 'System Tools' > 'System Information').
Expand the Components->Storage->Disks node, and scroll down the list of disks, looking for any that have a Bytes/Sector value not equal to 512.

Solution

Unfortunately, until Microsoft fix this issue, the only option is to remove this disk from your system. Read this
Article for general information regarding Microsoft support for non-standard sector sizes.

Note: Some Western Digital disks can be formatted for "Windows Vista Compatibility" using the supplied software. This enables 512e in the firmware and adds support for VSS.

v5: v4 Upgrade FAQ

john.pendleton@macrium.com — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:01:03 GMT

This FAQ covers some of the commonly encountered queries regarding transitioning from Macrium Reflect v4 to v5.

Will I need to recreate my v4 backup XML definition files?

v4 xml files are compatible with v5. Note that v4 incremental/differential xml files are not editable in v5; they are not required as you don't need separate full/inc xml files in v5.

Can Version 5 be installed over 4? Will both 4 and 5 be on the hard drive? Should 4 be uninstalled first?

Versions 4 and 5 will not exist on your system at the same time. The version 5 installer will uninstall version 4, as part of the install process.

Does Windows PE need to be reinstalled and new rescue CDs made? Will the old Rescue CDs still work?

The version 4 winPe rescue CD will restore images created with Reflect v5. However, the v5 rescue environment has many new features and is based on the newly released WinPE3.1.Windows PE is installed at the same time as the application if you have paid for a version 5 license. Due to licensing restrictions from Microsoft, if you have taken the free upgrade option available to those purchasing v4 within the last 3 months, then you get the new winPE 3.1 rescue environment using our automated WAIK download and build feature.
You can read more about the different v5 rescue CD's here.

Can you restore an image taken with v4 to different hardware?

Yes, but note that you need v5 professional or servers edition to restore v4/v5 server OS's to new hardware.

Why can’t I change the install location?

For update installs, the facility to change install location is disabled as your scheduled tasks will fail as they reference the reflect program folder.
If you do wish to change the install location
1) Remove any scheduled tasks.
2) Uninstall Reflect.
3) Install, note now you can change the install location.
4) Setup your scheduled tasks.

After purchasing an upgrade, can I continue to use my 4.2 license on another computer?

The v5 upgrade is discounted on the basis that you are upgrading your license. Therefore you still are only licensed to use reflect on a single computer. Your v4 license key will be revoked as part of the upgrade process.

Do I need the professional edition?

If you wish to restore a windows image to new hardware, you need the proedition. Also, if you have dynamic or gpt disks, professional isrequired. Read here to identify dynamic or gpt disks.

v5: Works on Windows 8 dev preview

john.pendleton@macrium.com — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:41:53 GMT

Macrium reflect has been tested on Windows 8 developer preview.

It appears to function correctly, with regard to imaging, restoring and adding a rescue boot menu item.

Please note that it has not been through our rigorous testing program, so we do not yet officially support it on this platform. Also, Windows 8 is still in flux, so you may have a different experience on later releases.

v5: How to uninstall, removing all traces of Macrium Reflect

Administrator — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:27:54 GMT

By default, un-installing Macrium reflect will leave any user generated log files and backup definitions in place. This is by design and follows the standard installer design, however, if you wish to remove all traces of Macrium Reflect on your machine, use the following sequence:

1. Open control panel -> Program files, locate Macrium Reflect and right click.

2. Select the Change option. And then click on Remove.

3. Check "Remove all user generated files and log files" and click on Remove

-e	Execute the XML file. If no full / diff / inc qualifier is used, a full backup is performed by default.
-w	If Reflect is busy then wait until available otherwise exit immediately
-v	Validate the XML file and exit
-full	Run a full backup
-diff	Run a differential backup
-inc	Run an incremental backup

-b	Browse image
-auto	Automatically assign drive letters.\tIf not specified then you will be prompted
-drives	A comma separated list of drive letters to use. If not specified\tthen the next available letters are used
-pass	The password for protected image files

Macrium KB

v5: How to use VBScript to create a monthly backup cycle

Restoring to dissimilar hardware - What is Macrium Redeploy?

The benefits of differential and incremental backup

Driver load issues in WinPE

Use drivers of the same architecture

Drivers not located on accessible disk

Solution 1 : Make drivers available on accessible media such as a usb device

Solution 2 : Add drivers to PE Image

Driver location load order

Missing support files

v5: Command line arguments

Running a backup

Switches

Examples

Mounting an image

Switches

Examples

Unmounting an image

Switches

Examples

Understanding Disk encryption and Macrium Reflect

How to add TrueCrypt features to the rescue environment

How to add Bitlocker features to the rescue environment

How to configure Reflect to use a custom base wim

Backup Aborted! - Unable to lock volume

Macrium Reflect Support, Updates and Upgrades

Support, Updates and Upgrades for v4 &v5 editions of Macrium Reflect

Clarifying the License Duration and Support for the different Macrium Products

v4 Standard edition and v5 Standard/Professional/Server editions

Other Macrium Reflect License types: Technicians and Deployment licenses

Technicians License

Deployment License

How to contact Macrium Support

Links to other sources of Help:

BAD_POOL_HEADER BSOD during backup on Windows XP or 2003

Anti-virus, Registry cleaners and uninstallers

Introduction

Anti-virus software

Registry Cleaners

Uninstallers

Backup aborted! - Write operation failed - The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error

How to run an elevated command prompt

Description

Windows XP & Windows Server 2003

Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 Family

'SPSearch4 VSS Writer' is in failed state! (Result Code: 0x8000ffff)

Error Code 1117 - I/O error

v5: How to recover your PC using the Linux Rescue CD

Image location

Partition selection

Target disk selection

Restore

v5: How to use Macrium ReDeploy

What is Macrium Redeploy?

Platform support

Using Macrium ReDeploy

v5: Using VBScript to delete Differential Backups

*** Note: You should only run this script on *differential* backupsets ***.

1. Generate VBScript file

2. VBScript Defaults

3. Prepare to edit VBScript in Notepad

4. Edit the File in Notepad

6. How to run VBScript files on an 'ad hoc' basis and when Scheduled

6a. To run a single ('ad hoc') Differential backup:

6b. To Schedule a VBScript file to run daily, weekly or monthly at a day and time you choose:

*** Remember: You should only run this script on *differential* backups***.

v5: Imaging disks with bad sectors

Detecting bad sectors

Run chkdsk so bad sectors are not within the file system

Force Macrium Reflect to ignore bad sectors

VSS Errors - Summary

Macrium Reflect Feature Comparison Chart

Macrium Reflect Feature Comparison

VSS Error: 0x80042317: Failed to Create Volume Snapshot

Error

Description

Solution

VSS Error: 0x80042301 - Failed to create volume snapshot

Error

* Note: You should only run this script on differential backupsets *.

* Remember: You should only run this script on differential backups*.