can't restore macrium reflect image

[shmu26]

I created a system image using reflect 6.
I cannot restore it using reflect 5.
Is that normal? I mean, did they change the file format, or something?

 

[boosted1g]

Its possible there is something different in the format.
Have you tried installing reflect 6?

 

[shmu26]

my system was unbootable at that moment in life, I couldn't install anything, so I just used an older image, made with reflect 5.
I'm just wondering if that is normal, or if something else went wrong over here.

 

[boosted1g]

Images should be backwards compatible (so an macrium 5 image should be viewable on 6).

Are you attempting to load it with recovery disk or do you have the PC's OS drive inserted into another PC or what is the situation?

 

[shmu26]

Images should be backwards compatible (so an macrium 5 image should be viewable on 6).

Are you attempting to load it with recovery disk or do you have the PC's OS drive inserted into another PC or what is the situation?

thanks, no need to actually troubleshoot the situation, as I already worked around it by using an older image.
yes, my images do seem to be backwards compatible.
my situation was that I upgraded to windows 10, and also installed the new macrium reflect, and I made an image, and then my system got borked, and I had trouble restoring the new image using my old flash drive with reflect 5 on it.
so I used an older image.

 

[jsmithepa]

If they actually changed the format I would be very unhappy. Like the cleaner interface of 6.

 

[shmu26]

I really should have asked this on the macrium forum, but I am on the free version right now, and you can't join the forum without a valid license key.

 

[Hawkeye22]

Images should be backwards compatible (so an macrium 5 image should be viewable on 6).

Are you attempting to load it with recovery disk or do you have the PC's OS drive inserted into another PC or what is the situation?

thanks, no need to actually troubleshoot the situation, as I already worked around it by using an older image.
yes, my images do seem to be backwards compatible.
my situation was that I upgraded to windows 10, and also installed the new macrium reflect, and I made an image, and then my system got borked, and I had trouble restoring the new image using my old flash drive with reflect 5 on it.
so I used an older image.

It soumds like you tried to read a reflect 6 image with reflect 5.

It makes sense that reflect 5 wouldn't be able to read a version of 6's backup. Most times software is backward compatible, not forward compatible. 😉 That's why everytime I upgrade reflect, I create a new rescue disk. The new rescue disk can then read any new backups and the older backups.

 

[shmu26]

Images should be backwards compatible (so an macrium 5 image should be viewable on 6).

Are you attempting to load it with recovery disk or do you have the PC's OS drive inserted into another PC or what is the situation?

thanks, no need to actually troubleshoot the situation, as I already worked around it by using an older image.
yes, my images do seem to be backwards compatible.
my situation was that I upgraded to windows 10, and also installed the new macrium reflect, and I made an image, and then my system got borked, and I had trouble restoring the new image using my old flash drive with reflect 5 on it.
so I used an older image.

It soumds like you tried to read a reflect 6 image with reflect 5.

It makes sense that reflect 5 wouldn't be able to read a version of 6's backup. Most times software is backward compatible, not forward compatible. 😉 That's why everytime I upgrade reflect, I create a new rescue disk. The new rescue disk can then read any new backups and the older backups.

I learned the hard way. now I put the new rescue media on my flash drive, and also enabled the pre-OS option.

the free reflect does not allow incremental images, but it does allow differential, which is also pretty good.

 

[shmu26]

"the free reflect does not allow incremental images"

I discovered that the backup plans are stored in plain old text files, located in "my documents" by default, and you can edit them pretty easily, and thus make them do incremental backup, or whatever else you might want.
It even says at the top of the text file that you may edit them!!
free and legal, would you believe it?

(another thing you can do is download a trial edition of the paid version, and create various backup plans, as you wish.
When you revert to the free edition, the backup plans stay with you, unless you go out of your way to delete them.

 

[shmu26]

"When you revert to the free edition, the backup plans stay with you, unless you go out of your way to delete them"
I discovered that this is not true. The backup plan stays, but it will not run on the free edition, if it is incremental!

I used to use this trick with EaseUs ToDo Backup, and it worked very nicely. I am not sure that it still works, though. It's been a couple years.