Question What Software is a good choice to generate an image of my had which copied on a new had is bootable?

[Hellmut1956]

I own a pc with an M.2 SSD Fraom Samsung 980 Pro with 2TB of memory. Recently this M.2 got damaged and was gone, the PC would not detect it anymore. I purchased a second M.2 from Samsung, 990 Pro, and had to reinstall my software on that M.2 from scratch. My PC runs W11 Pro, with 32GB of RAM, and The ASUS Maximus XIII Extreme with a 11700k CPU.

I would like to buy Software that can generate an image of the M.2, which in case I run into the same problem again could be solved by just copying the image onto the new M.2. I have purchased a 4TB external USB 3.1 HD onto which I want to store the mages generated. Ideally, I would cycle between 2 images and update on of the images by continues backups. Thanks for your support.
Hellmut

 

[USAFRet]

Macrium Reflect is widely recommended around here. I use it daily, as the basis for my entire backup routine.

 

[Hellmut1956]

I have downloaded Macrium Reflect and installed the version for personal use, 30 days trial, and have run a cycle to generate images and backup. I learned a lot of options and their meaning. I would like to ask how can I confirm that an image has been generated and that I could start my PC using that image on the backup HD. The many options make me question if I have set up the software in the right way to recover if my M.2 mass storage fails again.

 

[Lafong]

I would like to ask how can I confirm that an image has been generated and that I could start my PC using that image on the backup HD. The many options make me question if I have set up the software in the right way to recover if my M.2 mass storage fails again.

Your first task, if not already done, is to make "recovery media" from within Macrium so you can still boot your PC into the Macrium interface if and when your current drive is unbootable for whatever reason. All you need is a USB flash drive of 1 GB size or larger. Use Macrium menus to construct it and then confirm it will boot your PC. If it won't, keep trying. You need a way to get to Macrium if your drive is dead, so this is crucial.

Additionally:

Can you find a file that Macrium may have made that ends with the extension "mrimg" on any of your hard drives?

What happens if you double click it?

What size is it?

What was the occupied space on the drive that you made an image of?

Did you "verify" any image file you may have made? You can do that by menus if it did not occur automatically at the end of the imaging process.

How many partitions on the drive you intended to image?

How many of those partitions do you at least think were included in the image file you may have made?

You wouldn't "start" your PC from that image file. You would restore it to a known good drive. That is a formal process within Macrium. The image file isn't of much use to you until it is restored...........at which point the drive should be bootable and a replica of the drive as of the moment the image file was made.

If you want something that you can "start" your PC from directly, without any restoration process, you'd have to make a "clone" of your current drive to a second drive, also using Macrium. That's doable, but does not involve images.

If you want certainty that restoration will "work" when disaster strikes, you'd have to restore the image beforehand and find out. Might be worth doing if you have a spare drive to restore to. Or you can hope.

 

[Hellmut1956]

Thanks for your response and explanation. I have gone through the setting possibilities on the UI of Macrium. This made me aware of the options given in that I/F. It also made me aware that I am far from understanding what settings have to be selected to achieve my backup and restore goals. I went through all the options choosing what makes me believe would add to the functionality of the software. I was at he website of macrium and assumed that the "Macrium Reflect 8 Home" would be the version I will keep.

I also found a file Macrium viBoot for Hyper-V virtualization and Macrium Image Guardian and one that uses a virtualization tool vom Oracle. When trying to install this too I was asked if I had Python installed on my PC and that this would need additional software pore installed to run the Oracle tool I did select. I should look into the SDK to know how "packages" have to be installed so that they are available for Python and that viBoot could be installed. I did try to do as suggested but failed miserably.

How can I get it done properly?

I have about 800GB of used memory on my M.2 with 2TB, and 18TB available. I have done the first run running Macrium Reflect as downloaded from the site for a 30-day free trial by choosing my D-drive which is my 4TB external USB 3.1 HD- A file was generated there by Macrium Reflect.

 

[USAFRet]

Right now, the only 2 things you needs are that Image file that was created on your 4TB external, and a RescueUSB, created from Macrium.

Ignore all that VM stuff for now.


So, after creating that RescueUSB...

If/when you need to recover, you boot from that REscueUSB. That provides enough of an environment to recover that Image from the 4TB to whatever Internal drive you desire.
Either the existing SSD, or a replacement in case of physical death of the original.

 

[Hellmut1956]

Thanks, will do so

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks, will do so

After you create tat RescueUSB, just test it.

See if you can actually boot from it, and it shows what you expect.
Then, sash it away somewhere safe.

I have one stashed in the bottom of the PC case.
Can't lose it, can't accidentally overwrite it with something else.