Safety measures to start / boot / repair Win 10?

Then you have to figure out what action broke the OS after that and make sure to stop that action before it occurs again. It could have been a program you installed - or more of a problem, a Windows update.

A few days ago it happened after or during a Win 10 update, do not know the cause, could not find out.

I notice your 5TB external hard drive looks like it is about completely full. Are you getting a second external hard drive?

Yes, I now have a 8TB WD drive for backups only. From time to time I move files to other external drives from that 5TB drive when it is almost completely full.

There is a fairly easy way to create a small FAT32 partition on the external hard drive, then you copy the files and folders from the rescue USB flash drive to the FAT32 partition on the hard drive and now you can both boot the computer from the external hard drive right into the imaging program (Macrium Reflect), and restore the image from it - eliminating the need to keep the rescue USB flash drive.

That is very good, I will do it like that (unless one has to do a backup of the drive before making a partition, does one have to do one?). The drive is formated with exFAT.

Restoring an image when your PC is unbootable.

You boot from the Macrium rescue disk you created and run Macrium.

Your images should be on a separate external storage medium.

Using the Macrium program you select the image which you previously created on the separate external storage medium and restore that to your internal disk. That replaces the relevant partition, assuming the disk and image are sound.

Using Images as a backup
Yes you can mount images and copy files from them.
However, if you have an unbootable PC or unresolvable error it is extremely unlikely this will help you fix that.

Alright, I understand.

it appears you did not choose to verify your backup image.

Yes, that is right, I didn't. I will do it from now on. Thank you. Edit: Beyond belief, but I cannot find the verify option, neither on my screenshots nor in the program, where can I find it?

There are several imaging programs with free versions. The simplest to use is Aomei Backupper
Best Free Backup Software for Windows 10, Windows 8.1/8, Windows 7, Vista, XP

Paid versions have more features.
O&O are doing a giveaway of DiskImage 11 professional at the moment.

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Thank you very much for the links, the O&O giveaway, I will try them out.

A few hours ago my Notebook didn't boot anymore (the same failure like a few days ago). I plugged in the rescue USB-Stick, it booted to the Reflect GUI and I let it recover the last image. The problem kept staying, the Notebook didn't boot, the same behaviour like it was before. There was shown autochk not existing, skipping AUTOCHECK. So I had to reset the computer. Now I have lost the files / edits / changes done after the last backup / image (if I had reset the computer without the backup I would have the complete changes / files). Is there a way to recover the changes I made since Reflect did the last image?

I thought, this means the OS is backed up and not my own files located in another folder than Windows is:


How could I back up the OS only (and / or restore)?

I started a new thread here about the autoshk: Notebook doesn't boot, error: autochk not existing, skipping AUTOCHECK - Windows 10 Forums

Alright, thank you very much!

The option you selected backs up all the partitions that are required for Windows to run.

And obviously other files, e.g. my own ones.

But what partition was that folder in?

The same partition, C:, there is only one.

If your files were in a folder that was in the same partition as Windows (on C: drive), then the files get backed up and restored along with Windows because Macrium Free only does entire partition imaging

Alright, but it absoultely does not make any sense for me, when it says back up Windows I would think it means to back up Win and nothing else. Why doesn't it say back up (entire dive) C:? Very senseless for me.

Many thanks again

Enter said:

Alright, thank you very much!


And obviously other files, e.g. my own ones.


The same partition, C:, there is only one.


Alright, but it absoultely does not make any sense for me, when it says back up Windows I would think it means to back up Win and nothing else. Why doesn't it say back up (entire dive) C:? Very senseless for me.

Many thanks again

This is the actual wording. In the case of just one OS, UEFI, there would be 3 very small partitions and the main C: partition. 4 in total.

Thank you for the clarification. I will try to do it correctly the next time.

I don't see a choice to "backup Windows".

Are the screenshots visible for you above?

This is the actual wording.

Yes, I understand, it just does not make any sense for me.