Today's thoughts on backup and Macrium Reflect

I'll second your computer repair man. Don't dare upgrade to Windows 11 without a full backup of your boot drive with Macrium Reflect or some equivalent programs. Most of us here won't even install the monthly Windows 10 updates without making a Macrium backup first.

Shortly someone will come along and tell you Windows 11 is the best thing since sliced bread ...... not everyone agrees and I've seen several people on reddit roll back to Windows 10 from 11 only to have Windows 11 get downloaded and installed against their desire - so they basically get trapped into having Windows 11 and they don't have a Macrium or similar image backup to escape Windows 11 madness.

If you have some specific questions about making a Macrium Reflect image backup, please post them. Doing this How to Upload and Post Screenshots and Files at Ten Forums will make it easier for us and you in many cases.

Judy in Texas said:

I selected Macrium Reflect for my backup and restore software, but I must say my experience using it has been rocky.

I used the MR tutorial, which I struggled with because (as F14 Tomcat later told me) the tutorial contains images from a mix of versions, possibly none of the the current version. Not being current is o.k. *if the tutorial is dated or says which version it is for*, but a mix?

I stumbled across the actual means of creating recovery media. The program now is nothing like the tutorial, which is too bad because the prompts and texts in the tutorial would have been so welcome if they had been in the actual software. I never learned what the check mark to the right side of each disk on the backup menu was for, but I hope it was o.k. to uncheck it. I have no idea what the mystery disks are that were listed for possible backup but I unchecked them all, fixing all of my attention on the disks to be backed up (C and D) and the one to back up to (L).

I put a couple of comments on the tutorial pages, and learned from the responses that there may be a review of the newest version of the software on the W11 forum. Hey folks, many of us are still here. (My computer repair man told me just today "Don't go to Windows 11. Trouble." He is a man of few words.

Also from those comments I learned from Denis that Microsoft no longer recommends its backup and restore tools. Folks, can we please have a note to that effect at the head of each page of the tutorials for that?

My backup seems to be chugging along (it says it has done C and is on D) so it is a good day. However, once before I went from backup software to just periodically copying my most-changed folders to my backup drive, and I had hoped the backup process was less fraught now.

Unfortunately, the tutorial author @Kari has been very ill, and has been unable to update the tutorial, although he plans to do so, when he can. You can still read the help tutorials on the Macrium website but they are a bit heavy going. Once you understand the principles, running V8 is pretty easy (and actually a bit easier).

Judy,

Have you tried any of the YouTube Macrium Tutorials? If you find one and have a specific question, let us know. v7 and v8 aren't that much different - they basic concepts are the same.

I would suggest the KISS approach. Make a MR Rescue media, then learn how to make a full image backup of your boot drive (all partitions). Just stay with the default settings as much as possible and skip all the scheduling stuff for now.

Judy in Texas said:

Also from those comments I learned from Denis that Microsoft no longer recommends its backup and restore tools. Folks, can we please have a note to that effect at the head of each page of the tutorials for that?

Already done.
Use Windows Backup or Macrum Reflect?

But do note that the warning only applies to its system imaging capability. You can consider it for its folder backing up capabilities if you wish.

Denis

I've never used a Macrium tutorial and became expert in Reflect just by using it and experimenting with the features.

Judy in Texas said:

I am so sorry the author has been ill. Would it be possible to put a note above the tutorial noting that it is out of date and contains a mix of screens from various versions? I agree that the Macrium tutorials are a bit heavy going.

Hi Judy,
You are free to ask @Brink, the site moderator, to implement suggestions like this. He will see this since I'm including his name in this reply to you.

In general the screens and concepts are similar enough between version that people can connect the dots.