Question about Macrium Reflect Rescue Media

Hi. I hope this doesn't sound dumb but I created a Macrium Rescue Media on a USB stick and also on the Boot menu. Am I correct in assuming that there is no problem with doing this as now I would have the option of using the USB stick in the event that I can't boot into Windows or I can use the Boot menu option to do the same thing in the event that the USB device becomes faulty or lost. Guess I'm looking for some reassurance. Thanks.
Mark

I am pretty sure you still need the USB key handy. Selecting the Boot menu option simply tells your computer what boot media to look for, you still have to have said media plugged in for it to find.

Sounds right to me. Are you making a system image on an external disc? Why not try booting from usb and boot menu option to verify that they work.

Mcd73165 said:

Hi. I hope this doesn't sound dumb but I created a Macrium Rescue Media on a USB stick and also on the Boot menu. Am I correct in assuming that there is no problem with doing this as now I would have the option of using the USB stick in the event that I can't boot into Windows or I can use the Boot menu option to do the same thing in the event that the USB device becomes faulty or lost. Guess I'm looking for some reassurance. Thanks.

Yes, you can boot from the rescue media usb and have Macrium running so that you can do a restore. It will be identical to what you see if you choose Macrium on the boot menu. Either can be used to restore a Macrium image. For reassurance, you should test that you can boot from each.

yu gnomi said:

I am pretty sure you still need the USB key handy. Selecting the Boot menu option simply tells your computer what boot media to look for, you still have to have said media plugged in for it to find.

That is incorrect. When you add Macrium to the boot menu it creates a C:\Boot folder and copies the rescue media boot files there. When you select Macrium on the boot menu it boots from the C:\Boot folder.

The rescue media usb is handy if your hard drive is so corrupt you can't boot from it at all. If you can boot from the Macrium boot menu option you can use it to restore an image to the hard drive. If you can't then use the USB.

Bree said:

That is incorrect. When you add Macrium to the boot menu it creates a C:\Boot folder and copies the rescue media boot files there. When you select Macrium on the boot menu it boots from the C:\Boot folder.

Noted. I'll admit I have only been relying on the USB option, I never explored the Boot menu option.

yu gnomi said:

Noted. I'll admit I have only been relying on the USB option, I never explored the Boot menu option.

When you boot from the boot menu option it loads the rescue media into memory and runs it from a RAM drive. This allows you to restore to the partition that contained the boot option, as none of the files will be in use. It is identical in operation to booting from the USB.

Thank you. That does sound nifty, but I would want to keep the key around as well. Just in case.

I will probably set that up on my PC sometime in the next couple of days.

yu gnomi said:

Thank you. That does sound nifty, but I would want to keep the key around as well. Just in case.

I have both. The boot menu option boots up far faster than a usb, but the usb is a useful backstop in case the drive fails badly and you can't boot from it.

yu gnomi said:

Thank you. That does sound nifty, but I would want to keep the key around as well.

It's a good idea to have both options available.
@Mcd73165 I think you have your answer.