'HELP' Problem with Macrium Reflect free version

G'day all,

I a friend of mind got a major problem with Macrium Reflect free version backup software when he plug his usb WD My Passport Essential 500 GB the Macrium Reflect can read the usb drive from normal start up in W7, he created a Linux Rescue CD first before he start his complete backup directly to his usb WD My Passport everything when find. 6 months later when he inserted his usb WD My Passport into his PC and add the Linux Rescue CD into his DVD bootable drive, suddenly when he boot into Linux Rescue CD his usb WD My Passport was not recognisable cannot read his usb from Linux Rescue CD only showing his HD readable drive.

He using W7 Pro OS and please keep in mind I have no experience using W7 yet so please bare with me as I'm helping him on the problem, how do I get the Macrium Reflect free version when he created a Linux Rescue CD and how to I get it to read his usb WD My Passport at bootable Linux Rescue CD any ideas what went wrong

Thank you.

 

None of the solutions are really ideal. If he does not care about re-installing the OS, he could install Macrium Free on another computer and mount the image. Then transfer the required files to a external drive. Then reinstall the OS. Another option would be to purchase Macrium for $40 and then download the Rescue CD which is based on WinPE. That would have a much better chance of seeing the external hard drive. Option 3 would be to create a BARTPE disk using a XP install CD and then adding the Macrium Plug-in. You would then boot the BARTPE CD and run Macrium. One more thing. Windows 7 has a built in image backup solution that is just as good as Macrium Free.

If you decide to do BARTPE, I recommend that you use UBCD4 Windows (based on BARTPE) which already includes USB and Mass Storage Support.

Creating an Image Backup inside of Windows 7

 

you could create your own winpe disc also and add macrium to it ...you dont have to use theirs if you know how to create one yourself.. now are you reinstalling a fresh copy of win7? if so why not just reinstall win7 then install macrium and simply browse the image and copy back the stuff he needs? my imaging programs are one of the first things i install after a fresh install of win7 to do this very thing. if you are not installing a fresh copy you will need to as said either create a winpe or bartpe disc. im surprised the macrium linux cant see the wd drive though, it sounds stupid but can i ask did you try a different usb port? if this is a desktop avoid using the usb port on the front which in some cases doesnt power stuff right and sometimes causes issues ive seen this many times. i recc always using the rear ports to plug the wd drive into. if this is a laptop try simply using a different port.

lastly are you using the latest version on the linux boot disk i know they have been fixing a lot of things over the last few releases just some thoughts again worth a shot to mention

 

You should always check to make sure a recover cd finds your hardware! #1 problem IMO.

I used the bartPE plugin that macrium makes and easily put it into my bartPE image (XP based). If I want to restore an image of win7, I can still use bartPE as the recover OS, as it does not care what OS is on the harddrives or images.

I also used the macrium plugin with the Win7RescuePE project. I like this PE better than bartPE in some respects, and I think it was fairly easy to create.

You must remember that if you create the macrium plugin, and you store it on a flash drive or dvd or somewhere on a hdd in the computer, all you have to do is boot into a PE, then browse to where the plugin is located, and execute it. The plugin does not have to reside within the PE for it to work, but your PE has to find the plugin and the image files.

HTH.

Sul.

 

I used nearly the same PE setup as you. But, back when I used Macrium, I remember the plugin having an issue with 64-bit versions of Windows. That made it impossible for me to use Macrium, so watch out for that.

 

i had no issues with macrium and 64 bit now..

 

no issues with macrium here too, but have full version. Try to use other available USB ports! Also WD SmartWare software installed on WD could be a problem...

 

yup had that issue on a laptop i ended up trying all three usb ports and i had to use the one in the back of a toshiba laptop since the other two kept failing the restore, but it was not just macrium that failed so did shadow protect also except with that one port

 

I'm not getting much luck solving his problem to allow the bootable Linux Rescue CD read his Passport USB drive using the free version of Macrium Reflect, only answer I can see what going on behind the Macrium Reflect is get the full version comes with Windows PE 2.0 Rescue CD because the BartPE Rescue CD option doesn't work. In mean time he may have to used either the latest EASEUS Todo Backup Home 2.5, Paragon Backup & Recovery 2011 (Advanced) Free which hasn't been tested yet. I think he far better off using the W7 build-in backup without all the major problems. I've already checked Macrium forum a lot of people are experiencing all kind of problems with Macrium connection to the USB, problems are causing different motherboard drivers related to USB connection and also drivers are related to all kinds of backup Passport product that won't communicate well the Macrium Reflect free version.

Unless someone has already done this test to confirmed Paragon Backup & Recovery 2011 (Advanced) Free and EASEUS Todo Backup Home which can be able to boot from Rescue CD and should be able to read the USB backup drive.

Edit: I have a WD Passport Essential SE 750GB comes with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 and Macrium Reflect with Linux Rescue CD it doesn't communicate and read the WD Passport Essential SE, however my old ATIH v10.0.4942 backup software and my ATIH Rescue CD can read the WD Passport Essential SE 750GB so no problem with mind software when I tested on my PC it just Macrium Reflect screwing up.

 

The problem is likely the passport drive. I have one, and while I have not formatted it yet, I may one day. I have read other programs having issues with the way passports work by default. It is not just a raw drive, which is the problem.

But that being said, I can access my passport via my Win7RescuePE just fine, as long as it is plugged into the box BEFORE I boot into the PE.

I don't think the issue lies with macrium. I have many friends who now use macrium, and some of them restore USB thumb drives or USB hdds without issue by simply using the isolinux recover CD. Granted some devices are not realized by the isolinux drivers, but I am actually quite suprised at how many systems it works with regarding USB.

Sul.

 

The first thing I did to my passport drive (actually a rebranded HP) was to delete the partition, create a new one and reformat to get rid of the backup software. Unfortunately, you cannot get rid of the virtual drive it creates because it is part of the firmware. The BartPE disk I created does see it though. I also disabled the virtual drive in device manager so when I plug it in, it is only seen it as a plain drive. I understand that you can get rid of the WD passport virtual drive with a firmware update and some software that basically hides it.

 

I'll double check to make sure his WD firmware driver is fully up to date and try again, I'll be seeing him again on Friday to do another test again with Macrium Reflect with a new Linux Rescue CD along with the latest WD firmware driver thanks

I hope this will work otherwise I'm going nuts

 

Here is the link regarding disabling the Smartware VCD on the drive. Hopefully, after it is disabled the Macrium Boot CD will see it.

How to remove (disable / hide) WD SmartWare Virtual CD (VCD) for Windows or Mac OSX on a WD My Book or WD My Passport

 

Thank you very much tgell for this link I was having trouble trying to find it, and I've created a PDF and printed out when I see him on Friday to check his problem further as discuss

 

Re: [SOLVED] 'HELP' Problem with Macrium Reflect free version

Finally solved his problem with his new WD My Passport Essential 500 GB to allow USB2/3 to communicate Macrium Reflect free version, problem was I had to get rid of the WD passport virtual drive with a firmware update and some software that basically hides it thanks too tgell for helping me out.

'WARNING' For those who have the latest WD Passport Essential comes with WD SmartWare make sure you download the latest WD driver for your current Passport backup USB drive, and disabling the Smartware VCD on the drive then create another Macrium Reflect Linux Rescue CD everything went back to normal.