Macrium Reflect rescue media questions

So i'm a hobbyist system builder for friends a family and often i'm also their go-to guy for troubleshooting. Now, im using MR Home to do my own system backups but i've yet to make a rescue media (yeah go figure). So the question is

1. Since i'm hobbyist builder. Should i build a PE or RE usb drive, (most built systems now run on W10, an old one runs on XP!!!)
2. Should i use the boot menu option it offers and what should i choose (for my own system this is). PE or RE?

The question isn't how to build one, i know where the option is in MR. The question is WHICH option should i use for the usb rescue media and which one should i set as a boot menu option

Ch3vr0n said:

The question isn't how to build one, i know where the option is in MR. The question is WHICH option should i use for the usb rescue media and which one should i set as a boot menu option

As a long time macrium user, It depends, and I know you don't like. But If your XP system will boot from a USB ? then use a USB device for recovery media. USB booting is much faster than booting from a CD. If all of your systems can boot from USB except for the XP system, I would still use USB for all of them and then make a special ISO and burn it to a CD for use on the XP system. Now what to use PE vs RE ? I would recommend that you use PE to match your systems unless you need Wireless connection to a NAS box where the backup images are stored. If not don't use RE.

The last question would be "Can 1 single usb be used for all W10 systems", again it depends. If there are no special drivers needed to access the backup media which contains your backup images, then Yes 1 USB could be used on all systems Via PE 10. I have 3 different systems and I use 3 different usb's. Each has their own requirements. So you need to evaluate your universe and make the necessary decisions.

If you have any problems, we all here will be happy to help out.

I almost forgot the most important point, for the XP system, Maybe somebody else that has a XP environment will chime in. I assume a PE5 will work ???????

The base wim doesn't have to be the same for boot menu as the ISO you put on USB key. You can change them separately.

You can make WADK PE 10 for your boot menu and a PE 3.1 version for your ISO to put on USB.

AFAIK the RE version is only meant to save you downloading 1GB of PE files but isn't as generally applicable.

For XP you need PE 3.1 (according to Installing Macrium Reflect - KnowledgeBase - Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase if I understand it right)

For all other Windows versions PE 10 is better than RE as it will support UEFI/secure boot etc.