Windows 10 Full Backup

My AIO is 1 TB and around 80 GB GB of used space.
Is a 1 TB external drive adequate to make a full backup clone or image ?

 

Yes as the used space is small, however as in the future this will increase I would recommend using an external hard drive which is double the internal drive capacity - in your case a 2TB drive to hold several backups.
I use Macrium & have a 6TB external drive for the images (laptop has a 2TB drive) & can fill up with backups.

 

Thank you, that is fine. I only want to use the external drive for a single clone of my C drive and to do further backups say each month, where future backups over-write the previous backup
using Macrium Reflect. I believe that in this case a 1 TB (the same as my PC) external drive should be adequate - do you agree ?

 

You’d need to dedicate the drive to cloning, you cannot store any other backups on a cloned drive.
I have a 2TB drive purely for cloning the entire internal drive + the drive I’ve mentioned for image backups.

 

Question ?
I installed Macrium Reflect and find i is enabled for startup and runs all the time.
Why is this ? What purpose does it serve ?
Can I disable the MR startup ?

 

Did you choose to add their recovery option to the boot menu?
Where is it showing that it’s running all the time? Perhaps it’s creating it’s first (full) image.

 

I think I did add the recovery option to the boot menu.
CCleaner and Winpatrol show MR on the startup list as being enabled.

 

That’s most likely why it’s running at startup.

 

Did I do the right thing ? Will it affect my clone and recovery ?
I intend to do the cloning next week after I install Windows version 2004.

 

PS - MR is listed on my Windows startup apps as - Macrium Reflect UI Watcher

 

Yes that’s fine. If the PC won’t boot into Windows then you can select the Macrium boot to recover the image backup. I created their boot USB.
Yes that’s listed on my PC (running MR pro).

 

A million thanks for all the help you have given me, nobody else cares much.
I am brand new to MR, never done backup before and have been doing my homework on MR to make sure i do it right on the night.
I have looked at this video umpteen times - https://www.macrium.com/cloning-a-disk-using-macrium-reflect-7

 

You’re very welcome.
Are you using the free or paid version? Just curious as there isn’t that much difference.

Macrium has been so beneficial to me.
If you need any advice on cloning &/or creating an image just post back.
More on cloning: https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Cloning+a+disk
There’s also the knowledgebase:
https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/

 

You are so kind and informative Virginia.
When I first opened MR after installation it created a replica of my C drive - the top image.
For my actual clone do I click "backup" and then "refresh" to get the latest copy of my C drive and over-write that previous top image before a start cloning ?

 

My avatar is NOT a self portrait.

 

A clone is an exact replica of the original drive, it will overwrite the image as you cannot store a clone on the same drive as an image.
If you only have one external drive so have to choose I would create images rather than a clone.
I have create a clone.xml file which I just click ‘run’ when I want to clone. I’ll have to double-check on how to set up a clone.

Neither is my avatar. I currently don’t have a cat on top of my head.
I adore cats & have 2.

 

It’s simple: Just click on the ‘Clone this Disk’.

 

@ Virginia
That is super.
Just a point - on my C drive image below (created on installation) at the top left under "create a backup" in blue is "refresh".
Will clicking "refresh" create a NEW image of my C drive "x" weeks from now to over-write the previous old image shown ?

https://i.imgur.com/aB3fUer.jpg

 

No it will just refresh the screen. If you connect or disconnect a drive then it’ll not show these changes until you click refresh.

 

I've used Macrium for years - great program The two main things with imaging are the time it can take and the disk space required. I deal with both by removing all my personal stuff to a data partition/drive, so I can image the system in a few minutes and use other backup solutions to backup my data.

 

Thank you again Virginia - but then HOW do I create a current image of my hard drive in one months time to create periodic clones ? Surely I will not have to uninstall MR and reinstall every time I want to do a new clone.

 

No, you can create a backup.xml file which can be set to automatically run every so often.
I’ll sort you out a set of instructions with screenshots.
Clones are different to images & have to be run manually. You can still create a .xml file which you can click on to run it.

 

Here’re the screenshots.
Click on Create backup, then image this drive.



Then Choose the backup destination - either Folder (mine is on an external hard drive ‘I’).
You can then name the image or leave it as named & click next.




From the Select a template drop-down menu choose from the options, I have Grandfather (Full), Father (Differential) & Son (incremental) backups as I have the paid version, your options will be Grandfather & Father.
Then click next.


You can leave the settings as shown or click on each entry & choose edit schedule to change date &/or time of the backup.
Then click finish which will save as a backup.xml file.



The backup will then run automatically at the date & time chosen.

 

Do you get an option to boot into MR when you first start the computer? If not then you do not at present have the means to restore any image you may have created, which rather limits its usefulness ;-) You then have two options - either add the recovery to the boot menu and test that it works, or create rescue media on a flash drive from within the program and test that you can boot to it, and see both the drive containing the image and the drive to which it is to be restored..

 

A million thanks Virginia and others for all this informative and generous help - I have now completed my first clone successfully.
No other Forum gave me anywhere near this kind of help -I did get many provocative remarks instead of help.
I will check the boot-up issue later.

 

On the crest of my wave, my I ask another question -
In the event of PC failure, I get a blue screen with Widows options listed for recovery.
If I then plug in my external drive with the MR clone on it, will an MR option be added to these options ?

 

No, that isn't how it works. Read my #24 again. In the event of an unrecoverable error you have to boot the computer using either of the two methods I described and restore your image. If you have a clone rather than an image you need to remove your hard drive and replace it with the clone.

I strongly recommend you start imaging and forget about cloning.

 

Thank you so much for your comments.
See -https://www.macrium.com/restoring-a-system-image-with-macrium-reflect
In the event of PC failure - a blue screen - the system has not yet booted. This video infers that the external drive is connected and the MR clone selected.
A panel shortly comes up asking to "Build rescue media boot" - Windows menu boot option - I would expect that this places MR on the boot option next to Windows 10.
Obviously MR is then selected and the boot restore process continued.

 

You are not listening. The video is showing how to restore an IMAGE but you are talking about a CLONE. Sorry but I've been doing this stuff for years and know it backwards. Whether you want to believe or not is up to you. I'll leave it to Goddess Bastet.

 

You will either have to add Macrium’s boot options to Windows &/or create their boot media on a USB.
I boot via a USB.
Once Macrium has been added to Windows boot you’ll see a choice when booting - Windows or Macrium, when you wish to restore an image you can choose Macrium with the recovery drive plugged in.
You cannot recover using a cloned drive as these are intended to just be swapped with the problems drive. You can only recover with a disk image.
Please note a clone is totally different to an image. Please ensure you are referring to the correct choice otherwise the restore will fail when you need it.

 

Thank you Virginia -
I do not want a schedule. I want to refresh the clone/image manually at selected periods, perhaps monthly. My external drive is unplugged once the clone/image is done.
If I create an image with MR instead of a clone, you are saying that recovery is assured ?
See - https://www.macrium.com/restoring-a-system-image-with-macrium-reflect
In this procedure a panel pops up "Build rescue media boot menu" -
https://i.imgur.com/96VH3zN.jpg
Is this the necessary step to ensure that MR is included in the Windows boot ?

 

PS - this image shows the contents of my clone - exactly the same as my C drive.
A BOOT is shown second on the list - is this what is needed for recovery boot ?
https://i.imgur.com/RueHVW3.jpg

 

Yes I have a boot folder, I believe it is Windows boot information.
A clone is the exact copy of the drive.
You click Yes to create the rescue media then choose to add Macrium to the boot menu of the PC. When you then boot the computer it should offer the options of either Windows or Macrium.
Note that you cannot restore a clone so you should image the PC rather than clone.
If there’s a problem with the PC will you be swapping the PC’s drive with the cloned drive? If yes then the clone is fine & you can just clone the drive using the ‘clone this drive’ option.
If a problem occurs & you’re looking to boot the PC & restore a backup via the Macrium boot media then you need to image the PC by choosing image this drive.

 

Virginia - silly question - why do MR offer cloning when it cannot be restored ? Does not make sense to me.

 

With a clone you’re meant to swap the cloned drive with the problematic one so requires removing the non-working internal drive & replacing it with the cloned drive.
This is for when the drive has failed & you cannot restore Windows. It saves having to reinstall Windows then recovering from an image.
Of the two an image is a much better choice of the two.

 

Does the clone restore not swap the existing C drive then ? I thought that was the meaning of restore.

I recently had a Widows failure, would not boot at all and I had to restore my system using the factory restore on drive D - Windows version 1903.
It worked, but I had a tremendous time recovering all my files, bookmarks and passwords. I am now on Windows version 1909 with 20H2 update as optional.
My system is back to normal now.

 

No, you’re meant to swap the problem hard drive with the cloned hard drive.
Should the hard drive fail then you can recover via the Macrium image.
https://forum.macrium.com/Topic28455.aspx This thread is about restoring a clone & apparently it can be done.

 

Virginia -
What I will do is wait until i shut down Windows then see if MR appears on the boot up.
If not, I will do an image backup and again see if MR appears on the boot up.

 

PS - I sincerely hope that all this is a waste of time and I never have to use MR restore.

 

It’s better to have a backup & not use it than to not have a backup & wish you had one imo.
Have you added the recovery option to Windows boot? If not then you’ll need to do that first. I use the USB option.
I’ve found it so beneficial. A user can have problems after an update, after a failed driver install or even a corrupt driver, with Macrium you can be back up & running within 20 minutes or less if rapid delta restore is available.

 

Some updated screencaps:

 

Brilliant Virginia

 

@ Virginia -
I successfully built the boot menu as per your post.
My Windows is 1909, the build job said 1903 ?

 

When you created the media did you see the word ‘Build’ - same as is shown on my screenshot? If you clicked on this then it would update the recovery build. It should if it’s the first time.
As long as the PC boots to the recovery environment then I wouldn’t worry.

 

Virginia - I would logically conclude that the restore of a clone follows the same exact procedure as an image, since the two choices aim at the same net result - to return the hard drive back to a previous point in time.
I am having trouble ascertaining that my restore is properly set up. I gave the clone a file name as requested but am being told "file nor found". I will play around with it, no great urgency.
I thank you immensely for all the help you have given me.

 

If you need any further advice let me know.
I know the image should appear under restore tab but I’ve never used Clone to restore.
You can also leave the Clone with the default name which may be better for you.

 

Thank you Virginia - I have done the clone perfect, but cannot come to grips whether my restore is OK since I cannot actually use it. All the web links are a bit thin on the ground concerning cloning.
The MR option does not appear on a restart - don't know about shutdown - I do not shutdown very often.

 

Did you add MR boot options to start via the method I posted via screenshots?
It should appear on restart afaik.
You may be better with creating an image & seeing if this appears under restore tab.

 

I will try an image. MR boot options ? I did install this but as it said Windows 1903 instead of 1909 I deleted them