(Macrium Reflect) What WIM version should i use to make my rescue med?

TraceL · 24 Apr 2019

I'm trying to upgrade Windows 10 from Windows 7. However, I'm scared that my drivers will not be compatible with Windows 10. So, I backed up my boot drive with Macrium Reflect.

People said that I have to use the Rescue Media to restore my backup image if my drivers happen to be incompatible with Windows 10. However, I don't know which WIM should I use.

(Macrium Reflect) What WIM version should i use to make my rescue med?-1556097449673.jpg

Should I use Windows RE because my backup image is Windows 7? or should I use Windows PE 10 because my OS would be Windows 10 when I try to restore my Windows 7 backup?

dalchina · 24 Apr 2019

It's commendable that you are using disk imaging. Very wise.

Think of it this way. You're creating an image of Windows 7. Should you need to restore it, all that is in play is your BIOS and the boot disk when booting your PC, and your external storage containing your image file. Windows 10 is then irrelevant.

my drivers happen to be incompatible with Windows 10.

Note that if Win 10 installs, then you have 10 days in which you can 'go back to the previous build'.

I guess you mean you are uncertain as to whether Win 10 drivers compatible with your hardware are available.
Assuming your PC is not supported by your manufacturer for Win 10, like 1000s of others, you are, strictly speaking, taking the risk of running it out of spec.

I did that with an HP laptop which came with Vista. I upgraded to Win 8, not supported, and normal boot was ok. But the laptop rapidly overheated in Safe Mode. I.e. you might see unexpected side-effects. Another some see is stutter.

And even if Win 10 works fine with the current build, there may be a 6 monthly build subsequently which proves problematic.

Considering the upgrade, you may prefer to attempt the upgrade initially without accepting updates. Why? The first update will be very large, and that simplifies the process considerably. You can do the update later, after creating another disk image.

Bree · 24 Apr 2019

TraceL said:

Should I use Windows RE because my backup image is Windows 7? or should I use Windows PE 10 because my OS would be Windows 10 when I try to restore my Windows 7 backup?

You are making this rescue media on the machine running Windows 7 with Macrium installed. You already know that W7 drivers work on this machine, so I would make the Windows RE media.

RE is the default for two reasons. The first is that to make the PE media you require a large download from Microsoft, while RE uses a copy of the machine's existing recovery environment. The second is that if you use WiFi then the RE media (if built in Windows 10) will connect to your WiFi automatically when you boot from it. This can be useful if the image you want to restore is on a network drive.

But it doesn't really matter which you choose. Both RE and PE 10 media should be able to restore an image, regardless of what OS the image contains or what OS is on the machine you are restoring to.