Trouble with Bootable WinPE Recovery Media

[IAmNotRalph]

I just bought B&R 11 (home) so I could make a bootable WinPE based CD. I created the CD with the "no network" option, and did not add anything to it. At first it seems to boot okay, loads a graphic with a semi-circle of different file formats, shows a dialog that something like "Paragon: initializing hardware", another dialog that says the network wasn't found, and a dialog that says:

Unable to start Express Launcher
ExpressLauncher.ini file is corrupted or missing

When I closed that dialog, and tried to right-click on the screen, the computer rebooted.

Was I supposed to add the Express Launcher from somewhere?

[wptski]

I don't have that Paragon product but HDM12S but you shouldn't have to include anything for it to boot up. I'd try from scratch again.

[IAmNotRalph]

Thanks. I tried recreating the media, using the "minimum" speed for writing in case there was some corruption in the first attempt. I no longer get a message about the Express Launcher, but I do get a dialog about the network, even though I chose the "no network" option when making the CD. The dialog says:

Configure Network
The network is not present or not started.
Cancel

The only thing I can do at that point is click on cancel, which closes the dialog and makes the computer restart.

Is a network required? I just want to want to back up and restore to a USB drive.

[wptski]

Originally Posted by IAmNotRalph

Thanks. I tried recreating the media, using the "minimum" speed for writing in case there was some corruption in the first attempt. I no longer get a message about the Express Launcher, but I do get a dialog about the network, even though I chose the "no network" option when making the CD. The dialog says:

Configure Network
The network is not present or not started.
Cancel

The only thing I can do at that point is click on cancel, which closes the dialog and makes the computer restart.

Is a network required? I just want to want to back up and restore to a USB drive.

I get the same message as you do too. You wouldn't need that for what you want to do.

[IAmNotRalph]

I tried the same CD with another computer (the one on which I created the CD, as opposed to the one I am trying to back up), and it worked fine. Is it necessary to create the WinPE-based backup CD on the computer you are going to use it on?

Another thought I had is that the computer I am backing up is old-- probably 12 years old. It runs Windows XP fine (though a bit slow), but is that too old for the Paragon software?

Thanks in advance.

[wptski]

Originally Posted by IAmNotRalph

I tried the same CD with another computer (the one on which I created the CD, as opposed to the one I am trying to back up), and it worked fine. Is it necessary to create the WinPE-based backup CD on the computer you are going to use it on?

Another thought I had is that the computer I am backing up is old-- probably 12 years old. It runs Windows XP fine (though a bit slow), but is that too old for the Paragon software?

Thanks in advance.

You mean by, "it worked fine" that you didn't receive the "network" message?

A 32-bit W7 WinPR disc or Windows Repair Disc won't boot up on a 64-bit machine which is similiar to a WinPE disc. So, I "think" they "may" have to be same 32 or 64-bit machine-wise. I'm no expert by any means with this stuff and might be wrong but I got ISO's for W7 32/64-bit and the 32-bit disc wouldn't boot up on my 64-bit machine.

[seekforever]

I don't think the issue is 32 vs 64 bit hardware. Most PCs purchased for the past few years are 64 bit machines in terms of the hardware and can run either 32 or 64 bit OS.

Most likely the WinPR disk won't boot up because it detects the wrong bit-size OS and knows it would make things worse.

Where the problem usually lies is in the drivers. A 64 bit version of the OS requires the 64 bit version of the drivers and the 32 bit drivers for the 32 OS.

Another problem is that 64 bit drivers are not available for all hardware especially older hardware and IMO there are a lot of buggy 64 bit drivers out there but with the wider adoption of 64 bit Windows the situation is getting a lot better now but you still read about various programs that croak under 64 bit Windows and are OK with 32 bit.

Unfortunately I do not know how Paragon incorporates the drivers into its WinPE disk when it is built or in other words is it more machine specific because it analyzes the hardware than the machine independent Linux that comes with the free version. It could be that the problem is the same as the typical Linux problem where the default driver complement is not well suited to the hardware and the proper driver needs to be loaded into WinPE.

My guess is the problem is a driver problem but that's what it is, a guess.

[whitestar_999]

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l.../hh824964.aspx

Windows PE doesn't support these cross-platform scenarios:
Installing a 64-bit Windows image on a 32-bit computer.

Deploying a 32-bit Windows image from a 64-bit preinstallation environment.

On Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), deploying a 64-bit version of Windows from a 32-bit version of Windows PE.

Using Windows PE boot files for an architecture that's different from the architecture of the computer that you're booting.
For example, an x64-based UEFI computer can boot only by using Windows PE x64-based boot files. An x86-based computer can boot only by using Windows PE x86-based boot files. This differs from BIOS. In BIOS, an x64-based computer can boot by using x86-based boot files.

may not be the reason but more than enough to create recovery cd on the pc on which it is intended to be used to avoid potential conflicts.

[Robin A.]

Originally Posted by seekforever

Unfortunately I do not know how Paragon incorporates the drivers into its WinPE disk when it is built ...

I suppose it uses the drivers that are in the WAIK. If this is the case, the WinPE is independent of the computer in which it is created.

[seekforever]

Originally Posted by Robin A.

I suppose it uses the drivers that are in the WAIK. If this is the case, the WinPE is independent of the computer in which it is created.

Makes sense which would make it independent but still has a risk of not having an ideal driver since I doubt the WAIK has every driver from day 1.

[wptski]

Originally Posted by seekforever

Makes sense which would make it independent but still has a risk of not having an ideal driver since I doubt the WAIK has every driver from day 1.

One installs Windows Updates monthly, do we know that this doesn't include driver updates? I for one don't pay much attention to what each one is.

[seekforever]

I have had Win updates update some drivers on my system, usually the video card drivers, but I don't see how it would affect the WAIK or anything that isn't actively running on the PC.

[wptski]

Originally Posted by seekforever

I have had Win updates update some drivers on my system, usually the video card drivers, but I don't see how it would affect the WAIK or anything that isn't actively running on the PC.

I've had Windows Updates for MS Office and it's not running.

[Robin A.]

I don´t think drivers are normally updated via Windows Update.

I don´t recall having ever seen drivers in the "important updates" group. In the "optional updates" group sometimes there are third-party drivers or drivers for MS hardware (mouse, keyboard), but not frequently.

Of course, WAIK doesn´t include updated drivers. That´s why the option to add drivers is included in the WinPE.

[IAmNotRalph]

Originally Posted by wptski

You mean by, "it worked fine" that you didn't receive the "network" message?

A 32-bit W7 WinPR disc or Windows Repair Disc won't boot up on a 64-bit machine which is similiar to a WinPE disc. So, I "think" they "may" have to be same 32 or 64-bit machine-wise. I'm no expert by any means with this stuff and might be wrong but I got ISO's for W7 32/64-bit and the 32-bit disc wouldn't boot up on my 64-bit machine.

No, I meant that the after dismissing the network message, the program started successfully on that system.

My old system is definitely 32-bit (circa 2000). I was concerned it might be infected, so before attempting a build of a boot media CD there I restored back to the factory settings, reinstalled the update to Windows XP, applied a zillion patches, installed Windows AIK (which required an install of MSMXL, and Virtual CloneDrive read the downloaded image), and finally the Boot Media Builder.

I then had the problem that Boot Media Builder refused to write to my CD-drive. It kept saying that I needed to insert a blank CD and click Next, which I did, the but Next button didn't seem to have any effect. So, instead of writing the CD directly, I made a .iso file, and installed ISO Recorder to record that onto my CD.

With the boot media CD finally in hand, I rebooted my system from it. I got the network message, dismissed it, and this time it looks like the B&R program tried to load-- but the windows were only partially drawn (they were mostly white, with no text, and few lines here and there). There was also a dialog with a button, but no text on either. Clicking on the button caused the program to exit and the machine to reboot.

I saw that the other replies were suggesting some issue with drivers. I looked at the option to add drivers in the Boot Media Builder, but it just pops up an open file dialog, and I have no idea what files to select.

I suppose I could install Backup and Recovery itself on the system and back up things that way, but my purpose was to back up the whole drive in case of a virus infection, and it seems unlikely that I could restore the drive if the program is running from the drive itself.

So, at this point I'm about ready to give up, uninstall the software, and ask for a refund, unless anyone has any good suggestions.

Thanks for earlier help and suggestions!