How do I update a Macrium Reflect Rescue Flash Drive?

You just use the same USB flash drive when creating new rescue media, the rescue media wizard will format it and write new files on it.

Or, some of the folders and files, which were not modified or changed between updates, of the new set
had the same date as the earlier set. That is quite common, in my experience anyhow.

Some of that depends on whether Macrium found a new WinPE or not. It's common for some of the dates to remain the same, or could change, as Roland said. You don't need to do anything special to the thumb, just let Macrium write what it needs to.

radiowaves said:

Thanks to all for the info. Going forward I will just run my USB rescue flash drive through the Create Rescue Media wizard without doing anything first to prepare it.

I have a related question. What is the purpose of the Rebuild button on the final wizard page? Does it have anything to do with creating a new rescue flash drive vs. updating an existing one?

It recreates all the WinPE files should they become damaged or corrupt for some reason, or some critical driver changes and you need a Rescue Media with the latest and greatest. Rarely used. Not something you need to do unless a situation points you to do it. Rarely used, just ignore it.

radiowaves said:

Thanks for the info Kari. Are you sure the rescue media wizard formats the USB flash drive? I tried updating that way after the last patch and some of the folders on the flash drive had old dates from when it was originally created. I wouldn’t think that would happen if it were formatted first.

It does not format the drive if an existing partition. It just adds or overwrites what it needs to.

radiowaves said:

Thanks f14tomcat. Useful info. I pressed the Rebuild button the last time through the wizard. Won’t be doing that again for no reason.

Another related question . . . After updating the rescue flash drive, is it necessary to test both the flash drive and the boot menu option to make sure they both work or is testing the flash drive enough?

I would test both just in case, as it would be a real PITA if either failed on demand.