Macrium Reflect

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by Stigg, Nov 23, 2013.

  1. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Twenty seconds in relation to a lifetime is... well, not something that particularly bothers me much :rolleyes: (I might scratch an itch during that time)

    BUT... those 2-delays you mention should be configurable (On/OFF)... they serve very little purpose since they got to that point because you really wanted to do that restore anyway (very hard to do by accident)
     
  2. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    WinPE is a different OS, it cannot even be installed inside Windows 7, let alone be launched from Windows 7. Are you sure you are reading the problem correctly? Try to completely uninstall Macrium from Windows 7 and reinstall it. It should correct any installation related problem.

    A dual OS system should not effect the installation of Macrium inside each OS either, just do not install the boot menu option in both OS at the same time.
     
  3. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    Sanya, I never encounter these wait times. My system partition restore starts immediately after I make the final click, and when the restore process is done, I close the Macrium window, and this initiates are reboot instantaneously.
     
  4. jura0001

    jura0001 Registered Member

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    Hm, you seem to misunderstand my description of the issue.
    I did not try to install Windows PE within Windows 7! ;-)

    My problem with Macrium Reflect in Windows 7 is:
    Macrium Reflect does not launch its normal Windows XP/7/8 GUI, instead it starts with the GUI of the rescue environment! That means, the interface of Macrium Reflect (reflect.exe) I get to see in Windows 7(!) is the same as the interface one sees when booting with a rescue medium (Windows PE). - And this is wrong! While in Windows 7 (and NOT in the rescue environment booting from a rescue CD), the program should launch its regular full-featured desktop GUI (which is similar but not identical to the WinPE based GUI).

    So, in my own Windows 7 system, Macrium Reflect launches the wrong program interface - instead of starting with the full-featured desktop windows GUI, it simply launches the more limited GUI which is also used on the rescue CD (Windows PE based).

    On the other hand:
    When I click "reflect.exe" in Windows XP (remember, I have 2 installations of Macrium Reflect, one in XP, the other one in Windows 7), the program starts correctly, showing me the full-featured GUI (not the simpler GUI of the Windows PE rescue environment).

    Nothing helped so far!
    Countless repair installations, uninstallations, reinstallations, cleaning the registry by removing any reference to Macrium etc.

    As I said before:
    The Macrium installations in XP and 7 are independent of each other and located in different folders. So yes, this has nothing to do with the issue.


    I suspect an MSI/windows installer problem in Windows 7 or a problem with the .net version(s) I use in Windows 7. But I am unable to find out which are the precise pre-requisites for a successful installation of Macrium in Windows (7 etc.).


    The only possible hint I have is some entry in the installation log (reflect_install.log) in Windows 7:

    "
    DEBUG: Error 2826: Control RadioButtonGroupID on dialog EmailRegistrationDlg extends beyond the boundaries of the dialog to the right by 140 pixels
    The installer has encountered an unexpected error installing this package. This may indicate a problem with this package. The error code is 2826. The arguments are: EmailRegistrationDlg, RadioButtonGroupID, to the right
    "

    This is an error message that cannot be found in my reflect_install.log for the windows XP installation!


    More ideas?
     
  5. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    What you are describing is not possible! I have never encountered a situation where the rescue environment GUI of Macrium opens inside Windows 7! I am at a loss to offer further suggestions. Perhaps someone else here can have a go at this unique problem.

    One thing I can suggest is that perhaps your msi package is corrupted. To fix this go inside your "Windows\Installer\" folder and delete the "Reflect_setupv6**.msi" from there. Of course you have to do this after you have completely removed Macrium from inside Windows 7 first. Reinstall Macrium again. It will recreate this .msi file. Macrium is actually installed on your computer from this .msi installation file and not the .exe that you execute. Hopefully this will resolve your issue.

    I will give your problem some more thought to figure out what may be causing this strange behavior.
     
  6. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Hi Jura001! First, a basic question... are both your OSes installed in the same partition or do they inhabit separate partitions?
     
  7. SanyaIV

    SanyaIV Registered Member

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    When doing lots of restores the 20 seconds each time adds up.
    Do you start the restore from Reflect inside Windows or do you manually reboot and enter the recovery media?
     
  8. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Raza, if you initiate the RESTORE from within Windows (not from the Rescue Media), the script that's passed on to the Rescue Media (Local BOOT or separate physical Rescue Media) contains the Windows DELAYs that Sanya is talking about. They give you the ability to ABORT the process if you suddenly change your mind.
     
  9. jura0001

    jura0001 Registered Member

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    Of course, it is possible!
    Since in my running windows 7 system Macrium Reflect opens its rescue GUI (the same as in Windows PE when booting from a rescue CD), it is proven by reality that it is possible. The GUI is the rescue GUI; for instance, the menu entry "other tasks" only has three submenu entries: keyboard config, network config, screen resolution. And this is where the rescue GUI differs from the regular Windows GUI, among other differences. - Anyway, the .exe is the same; somehow it seems to "think" it is run in a PE environment when in fact it is run in Windows 7; so it misidentifies my Windows 7 ultimate, for whatever reason...

    Didn't produce a better result. But thanks.


    @TheRollbackFrog

    Yes, sure, Windows 7 and X each have their own partition. Macrium is installed for each system separately. In XP it launches its full-featured GUI, in Windows 7 it launches (the same .exe!) its rescue GUI. And the rescue GUI works! It lacks some minor features, like locking the currently running system which means that I can't backup it from inside Windows - in contrast to XP where it is, of course, possible because the full-featured program works there.

    Maybe, I will do a test, just for the fun of it and restore a very old Windows 7 backup image that I made with Acronis years ago - perhaps, Macrium will install differently in that case...?

    I suspect a conflict somewhere between Macrium and one of my installed programs and/or the specific .net version installed or whatever...


    Best regards
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2015
  10. jura0001

    jura0001 Registered Member

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    Just to avoid any confusion, I'd like to add this:

    - I am not saying that the whole Windows PE rescue environment starts inside Windows 7! Which, indeed, seems to be impossible.
    - I am only speaking of the GUI of the program reflect.exe; obviously, there are 2 versions of the GUI that are started by the same .exe depending on an internal switch that is triggered by the environment it detects
    - the program GUI I get in Windows 7 (not so in XP!) is the exact same GUI as the rescue GUI of Reflect, with the same functions, the same look, the same restrictions etc.

    Hopefully, this helped somewhat more to understand my scenario.
     
  11. jura0001

    jura0001 Registered Member

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    I also show you a screenshot of my Windows 7 desktop with Macrium Reflect Free running; look at the title bar (...Windows PE); also look at the submenus of "other tasks".
     

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  12. jura0001

    jura0001 Registered Member

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  13. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    jura, this unfortunately is a issue that only Macrium's official support people can resolve. I doubt anybody here knows what causes Macrium to launch a PE version instead of the full version. The only solution I can suggest for this issue is a complete removal of Macrium from your system and a new installation, but since you have already tried it and it did not solve your problem, so there is nothing more that we here can do about this problem.

    Can you give me some information about your setup?

    Which version of Windows 7 are you using? Does your Windows installation have any problems?

    For the dual boot system, did you install XP over a system with Windows 7, or Windows 7 over an XP system? The recommended process is to install the later OS over an older OS. There probably is something with your Windows 7 that is causing Macrium to recognize it as a WinPE environment.

    Did you download the Macrium free directly from Macrium Website? There might be something wrong with you installation exe.
     
  14. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    I see. No, I do not initiate the restore from inside Macrium? I use a combination of EasyBCD and iReboot to restart into Macrium RE and initiate a restore from inside there. I did not know Macrium has introduced this feature, which looks similar to Paragon's method of restoring your system partition.

    By the way, have you people tried to uncheck the option present in Macrium Settings > Advanced > Advanced Backup Options > Display backup notification delay, to resolve this issue?
     
  15. jura0001

    jura0001 Registered Member

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    Raza, since I installed the trial version of Macrium Reflect (after uninstalling the free version), I opened a support ticket (I had read that Macrium offers support even to trial users!). Hopefully, they are willing and able to help me. I really like the program otherwise.

    Windows XP SP3 was the first system; later I installed, separately, Windows 7 ultimate (in the meantime with SP1) on a different partition of the same hard disk.
    None of the systems was installed over the other one.
    I have two independent Windows installations.
    Windows 7 runs quite well on my really old system - no problems I am aware of. And all the latest updates from Windows Update are installed.

    Authentic exe directly from Macrium.

    Next step for me will be - temporarily - restoring an old Acronis backup image and see what will happen when installing Macrium. If the real, regular GUI appears, it is likely that a software installed in my current system (but absent in that old backup image) conflicts with Macrium.

    Thanks for your efforts to help.
     
  16. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    Talking to Macrium support will be your best option, because this is something technical that only they can resolve.

    Have you tried removing your XP Macrium completely and installing Macrium only in Windows 7?

    Also, did you ever create a recovery media from either Windows? Please check your WinXP Macrium and see if the XP Macrium stored its recovery WinPE on the partition where Windows 7 is installed, and the Win 7 Macrium is getting confused because of it.
     
  17. SanyaIV

    SanyaIV Registered Member

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    Already disabled.
     
  18. jura0001

    jura0001 Registered Member

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    Kind of, yes.
    Because my first time Macrium installation was in Windows 7 (not in XP).
    I was puzzled by the Macrium program interface, because I wanted to create a rescue CD and could not find any menu entry (like "other tasks: create rescue media").

    It took me quite some time to realize that the interface I saw was not the normal program interface.

    It was only then that I installed Macrium in XP, too. Immediately after installation, I was greeted by the real, full interface of Reflect. - In XP, I was able to create a rescue CD. And the rescue environment that XP created on its own partition is in the "boot" folder. The Windows 7 partition was not touched by XP.

    My issue with Macrium in Windows 7 appears to be a rare case. So yes, I guess, only Macrium support could help me. By the way, the same problem with the wrong GUI happened when I restored an old Acronis image of Windows 7 (from 2012!). Strange.


    Thanks, jura
     
  19. jura0001

    jura0001 Registered Member

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    The answer by Macrium support is a joke:

    "Thanks for contacting us.

    I'm afraid that it not possible to launch the rescue media from within Windows. If your computer is booting straight into the rescue media please remove all CD/DVD's and USB sticks from your computer before you boot. "


    Why can't people read!?

    I never said that I launch Windows PE from within Windows 7 (which is impossible); I clearly said that Macrium Reflect launches its Windows PE version ****of the program GUI****, no more, no less.

    Disappointing to be forced to explain to Macrium Support what their own program is able to do, that the same exe can launch two different GUI versions etc. :-(

    Well, I wrote them back and with screenshots - waiting for their next answer...

    Regards
     
  20. jura0001

    jura0001 Registered Member

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    Okay, I got another reply from Macrium support:
    "From looking at the information you have supplied I can see Reflect is installing to your system drive which is X.

    I can see this from your log.

    "Product: X:\Windows\Installer\reflect_setupv6.0.753-x86-10.msi "

    Unfortunately drive X is reserved for WindowsPE use, Reflect detects this and launches the appropriate version of Reflect.exe, installing Reflect to drive X is a rare occurrence and an unsupported configuration."

    So if this is the reason, it is disappointing. Over the years, I installed so many softwares, and never did it occur that a program wouldn't work because I have this unusual configuration.

    Competitors like AOMEI work flawlessly (as far as I can see) for me.

    The only reason I would prefer Macrium is the fact that it enables me to even mount Linux images (thanks to Ext2FsD which makes Linux ext3 partitions usable in Windows). - AOMEI Backupper can mount Windows images, but not such Linux images (I have Linux partitions on my disk, too).

    As I understand the Mail I got from Macrium support, running Windows in X: automatically triggers the Windows PE GUI of reflect.exe even though the system is NOT Windows PE, but Windows 7 Ultimate. :-(

    I would change the Windows 7 drive letter for a test - but it is pointless because it breaks Windows...


    Thanks, jura
     
  21. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    So you assigned your Windows 7 partition the letter "X"? This was a very odd decision and I have to say that I agree with Macrium support on this that they do not or did not expect a Windows installation on partition X. The letter X is used by many sotwares to represent a temp partition like a RAM drive, or a temp boot drive for booting WinPE. If you have not experienced a problem with other softwares till now then you are very lucky.

    I do not know if there is a way to change the partition letter after a Windows installation; most probably you will need to reinstall a fresh copy of windows on a partition with a different letter.
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2015
  22. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    jura,

    Interesting issue. Can you post a screenshot of Disk Management as this will give us a better understanding of your system. There is a way of changing drive letters so the OS still boots.

    Edit... As a test I just changed the drive letter of my Win10 partition from C: to K:
    Win10 still boots and now my programs are in K:\Program Files instead of C:\Program Files. All references to C: have been changed to K: in the registry and new Junction Points were created. There were over 17000 changes.
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2015
  23. jura0001

    jura0001 Registered Member

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    My Windows 7 is on X: for "historical" reasons. It is a very old machine.
    I started with Windows 2000 on C:
    Later, I installed on this very computer Windows XP, but on its own partition. So I now had a dual-boot system. XP installed on J:
    Ultimately, I also installed Windows 7 and it was installed on X: (I had no clue about that being potentially problematic...).

    So, there are 3 Windows systems on my computer, which seems crazy, but often it was useful when restoring one system from the other!
    Moreover, I have Linux on this PC.


    Macrium Support was fully correct - it is the letter X: that caused reflect.exe to launch its Windows PE GUI version!

    In the end, I was just too curious. ;-)

    I used a disk management tool and changed the drive letter of my Windows 7 partition from X: to P:
    I also used a registry search and replace tool and changed all instances of x: to p:
    After the system booted up (yes, it really did!!), I could log into my regular Windows 7 user account (worked, too) and now had a tough task: Restoring all broken junctions, like "documents and settings" etc.

    Basically, most things work alright.
    And, indeed, Macrium Reflect no longer launches its restricted WinPE GUI, but the full-featured regular one! And it works!

    But some Windows issues remain, like Internet Explorer no longer opening and Windows Update being dysfunctional.

    For these reasons and the fear of getting more issues with such a kind of "hacked" system (due to the drive letter change), I will restore a recent backup image (made by AOMEI Backupper) and, sadly, return to drive letter X:

    I am currently not in the mood to do a fresh install of Windows 7.
    But interesting to read, Brian, that the drive letter change worked so well in Windows 10!

    Regards, Jura
     
  24. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Jura,

    Nice work. What you have decided to do makes sense.

    With your next computer I suggest getting away from the Microsoft multi-boot system. If you use a third party boot manager you can have independent OS. Each Windows OS will be C: drive when it boots and you can hide each OS from the others. You can have up to 200 OS (Windows and Linux) on the drive if you want to. Not that you would.
     
  25. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    I tried something similar on my Windows 7 system some years ago, but the result was not good. Most of the OS worked fine but there were problems. Some third party software also had issues. I therefore reformatted and reinstalled a fresh Windows 7 OS.

    Maybe they have made changes to Win 10 to overcome those shortcomings.
     
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