Running TBWinRE/TBWinPE on UEFI without a Boot Disk

Mr.X,

/boottbwr is enabled by default and no scripts or command lines or boot media are needed to do an IFW restore of the OS partition.
Make sure you have a backup image of the OS after installing IFW 3.48. I just did this procedure and restored an image containing IFW 3.47. So I had to reinstall IFW 3.48.

Start IFW, run through the restore screens, click Start.
You will then see an Error windows showing "Unable to obtain a lock on drive C:". Click Reboot. You can now go and have dinner. When you return, your computer will be in restored Windows.

 

/boottbwr

 

The first time I did this it took a minute to create the boot WIM. Subsequent efforts only needed 8 seconds to create the WIM.
This is because Winre.wim in the RE partition has been modified by the first effort.

 

Automatic restore as some of us wanted, is working now. Great!
But, I don't like IFW to create the wim precisely every time I require to restore my system image.

Is there a way to create the wim right after installing IFW and manually?
Just like we do in Macrium Reflect.

Thing is I don't configure my drives this way. Only one partition for Windows OS, so every time I need to restore, IFW takes a long time to create it. You know, all those mount save unmount operations.

My computers are old and kinda slow.

 

This is for a UEFI system. Do you have RE and ESP partitions?

The WIM is created during the first restore and this can take minutes. But subsequent restores don't need to create the WIM as it's already there. I mentioned 8 seconds before the reboot happens.

 

I understand this scenario, it needs at least three partitions to work. Hence IFW creates the WIM once.

No. Bios MBR with only one partition. Hence the WIM has to be created every time an automatic restore operation is executed.

Yes, it happens when the WIM is not located in the Windows partition but the RE partition.

That's why I asked is there a way to create the boot media (WIM) manually right after installing IFW to include it in the backup?

 

Wait, reading this once again, do you mean the WIM file is re-created every time one invokes an automatic restore operation regardless it was created the very first time during the first restore operation?
If so, I don't get it. Why IFW would behave that way? Not practical imho.

 

The IFW winre.wim is created on the first restore. Not with subsequent restores. Creating the scripts etc takes 8 seconds. Actually it's created just prior to the first reboot. If your image contains the old winre.wim you will be back to square one and have to build a new winre.wim next time. My winre.wim is in the RE partition and doesn't get wiped with the first OS restore.

I'll ask about your situation with having winre.wim in the OS partition.

 

No bright ideas for your single partition system at this stage.

 

This worked. Set up a restore. At the reboot do a power shutdown. Startup and use TeraByte Explorer to copy winre.wim to a flash drive. Restart and let the restore happen. In Windows use TeraByte Explorer to copy winre.wim from the UFD to the OS partition. Create an image. Now it will work.

It's far easier if you have a RE partition.

 

Thank you for detailed explanations.

Too much hassle doing the winre.wim copy procedure. Anyway I'm going to try for testing purposes.

I think Terabyte should give the option to create the winre.wim file manually at will not only automatically prior a restore operation.

Why? I can imagine quickly two scenarios:
1. Old slow hardware. It could take 15 min. maybe more for IFW to create the wim file prior to restore. This is not good in case of an emergency where time is critical.

2. Failing OS. Creating a wim file that requires mount - edit - save - unmount operations under a failing Windows prior a restore operation, impossible to achieve. Remember, perhaps I don't have physical access to such machine and I'm working remotely via internet.

Also, being able to create the wim file at will resolves the problem of having a RE partition or not.

 

See PM on /build.