Can't Restore from any of my System Images


  1. Posts : 4
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
       #1

    Can't Restore from any of my System Images


    I have seen many similar problems on the forum but none are exactly the same so I hope I am best posting afresh.

    I have just done a fresh install of Win 10 Pro 64bit and I made three system images and a restore disk as I progressed though my installation.

    I now find I want to restore back to a previous state as I have been having some issues with one application. However, I cannot get Backup&Restore to recognise any of my system images and the same is true if I boot from my restore CD.

    I have the 3 images of my NAS and I copied one to my old internal SSD which is still installed and visible in Win10. The NAS is on my network and B&R won't recognise any of the images and when booting from the restore disk I get a network error when it tries to access the NAS. neither will see the image on the old but still installed SSD either.

    I was able to do a restore to an earlier point, but I will now have to reinstall everything again if I cannot understand why the system images are not recognised, this used to work perfectly in Win7.

    I really need to get this working for my future backups and my peace of mind.

    Thanks Dave.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 38
    7, 10
       #2

    Make sure the folder named "WindowsImageBackup" is still in the root of the USB drive where it was originally created. Like g:\WindowsImageBackup. Same with the computer image, make sure it's still the system name of the PC, the way it was originally created. If you rename a folder the image (and other images on the same drive) will not be found. So the full path will be like g:\WindowsImageBackup\your-pc


    Make sure you haven't added any other folders in the "WindowsImageBackup" folder unless they are disk images of other computers. Any other folder (like an empty folder) that is alphabetically ahead of a Windows Image Folder will prevent all alphabetically trailing System Images from being found.


    If you have multiple system images on one USB drive and rename the mediaID file on any of the images, then all images alphabetically trailing the one with the renamed mediaID file will not be found.


    It could also just be that your USB is failing. If this is the case, you'll want to use a disk imager like Acronis True Image, Drive Cloner, or Macrium Reflect to backup the USB. You might also want to replace System Images with the aforementioned programs as it's much more durable.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 4
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Hi and thanks for the reply.

    One problem is, I did not used a USB drive !

    The 3 images were originally sent directly to my NAS on my network paths \\F1-NAS\SHARE\THERMALTAKE-i5-W10-1, 2 and 3.

    When I could not get B&R or Restore to access my NAS, I copied the first one back to my internal SDD which is SATA, so no USBs involved !

    Inside each folder is the WindowsImageBackup folder untouched.

    However at some point I did rename my PC from the default name Windows gave it to Thermaltake-i5X, so do I need to look in each WIB folder to make sure the names are correct ? or maybe I need to change the computer name back to what it was originally, if I can find that ?

    Thanks I will try that tonight :)
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 38
    7, 10
       #4

    Interesting! If you can, try it with a USB. System Images are very fickle.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 11,247
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #5

    Hi there
    Not a solution for your current problem but I'd get a copy of FREE MACRIUM for next time. You can make a bootable USB stick too -- take images using that -- IMO they are FAST and always work on restore. Interface is simple, clean and easy to use -- even a Dummy like me can understand and use it. !!

    It will also save to NAS etc -- but my test system wasn't connected to the network so I just used a USB HDD. Windows was 40GB which saved as a 20GB image on the backup device with medium (default) compression selected and all other options at default as well.

    I imaged a test system yesterday to an external portable USB 3 HDD-- just over 6 Mins -- hardly a mega long time.

    Can't Restore from any of my System Images-macrium.png

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 4
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Hi and many thanks for the suggestion.
    My immediate problem was solved by HanginJang's suggestion of moving the WindowsImageBackup folder into the root directory of a USB HDD.
    However I will try Macrium as I would prefer to use my NAS both ways.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 4
    Win10 HOME
       #7

    Similar problem, but new computer.


    HanginJang said:
    Make sure the folder named "WindowsImageBackup" is still in the root of the USB drive where it was originally created. Like g:\WindowsImageBackup. Same with the computer image, make sure it's still the system name of the PC, the way it was originally created. If you rename a folder the image (and other images on the same drive) will not be found. So the full path will be like g:\WindowsImageBackup\your-pc


    Make sure you haven't added any other folders in the "WindowsImageBackup" folder unless they are disk images of other computers. Any other folder (like an empty folder) that is alphabetically ahead of a Windows Image Folder will prevent all alphabetically trailing System Images from being found.


    If you have multiple system images on one USB drive and rename the mediaID file on any of the images, then all images alphabetically trailing the one with the renamed mediaID file will not be found.


    It could also just be that your USB is failing. If this is the case, you'll want to use a disk imager like Acronis True Image, Drive Cloner, or Macrium Reflect to backup the USB. You might also want to replace System Images with the aforementioned programs as it's much more durable.
    I'm having the same problem, but it's getting a new computer, with a different system name, to see the WindowsImageBackup files. Should I change the name of this computer to the one in the folder? Or should I change the name on the folder to match the name of this machine?

    Thanks!
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 4
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #8

    I would not touch the file names in the backup folder.
    Change the computer name, that should be quite harmless, you can always rename it once the restore is complete.
    Note though that only try to restore data files not system files, the new computer won't like the old ones
      My Computer


 

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