Macrium viBoot - Create Virtual Machine using Macrium Image  

Silky said:

In viBoot, can you clarify the following: In the menu, does Save update the Macrium backup image from which I created the virtual machine or just the VM itself?

Saving viBoot VM means a new Macrium Reflect backup image will be created. The image used to create the viBoot VM will remain intact. Notice that the viBoot VM must be shut down before saving it as Reflect image.

Silky said:

When I boot an image with viBoot, I now have internet on the virtual machine, but can't figure out how to "connect" to the host machine for transferring files. So if I do some testing on the VM, download some software, how can I transfer that to the host PC?

One problem with viBoot is, that as the mounted image (the VM) has the same PC name than your host, networking between viBoot VM and host is not recommended.

The best method to move files from image to host is to switch the VM to enhanced mode (see tutorial), which allows bidirectional Copy & Paste between host and viBoot VM.

Another method is to first save the viBoot VM as new Reflect image (full, differential or incremental), then copy files from that mounted image to host.

See this Macrium support article for mounting a Reflect image: Browsing Macrium Reflect images and backups in Windows Explorer - KnowledgeBase - Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase

Silky said:

What do Pause and Reset do? Is a Checkpoint similar to a restore point? Can you point me to some references where I can understand these functions before I mess anything up?

Pausing the VM suspends it and frees the RAM it is using back to host. When started again, it resumes as it was when paused.

Reset is exactly the same than resetting a physical computer.

Hyper-V Checkpoints are almost the same than restore points on physical computers. See Part Four in this tutorial: Hyper-V - Optimizing Virtual Machines

Silky said:

My Macrium backups are set to "Incremental Forever". It's the first time I've used this scheme having converted from the free version of Macrium to the licensed home version a couple of weeks ago. When I create the virtual machine from last nights backup image, and several previous backups, I'm getting BSOD's (stop code followed by startup repair). Earlier backups, for example, 12/29, I can create a virtual machine and boot it. But any images after that give me the BSOD.

I tested this quite extensively tonight. Two times out of three when mounting a Reflect image made after 29-DEC-2019, I get the same than you, Windows crashes. About one try out of three, it works well.

No images created on 29-DEC-2019 or earlier will cause BSOD.

I've contacted Macrium Support about this clear bug:

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Kari

Kari said:

Reset is exactly the same than resetting a physical computer.

I don't want to appear too ignorant, but the truth is hard to hide (smile) I want to be clear about what resetting a physical computer means. Does that mean rolling it back to a point in time (say from a restore point or backup image), or does it mean resetting it to the state I purchased it in (OEM software/utilities still installed), or does it mean a fresh clean install of windows 10, and I better get drivers myself?

In other words, when I choose reset, be it for a VM or a physical computer (like in Win PE), what do I end up with?

Kari said:

I tested this quite extensively tonight. Two times out of three when mounting a Reflect image made after 29-DEC-2019, I get the same than you, Windows crashes. About one try out of three, it works well.

No images created on 29-DEC-2019 or earlier will cause BSOD.

I've contacted Macrium Support about this clear bug:

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Kari

For whatever it may be worth, I just ran a full backup saving the image to a completely separate external drive. I created a VM from that and it worked as expected. I'm now less confident about my ability to restore in the event of a disaster.

Other than that, I'll be studying what you replied with above and we'll go from there. Thanks ever so much for your kind and prompt help.

Silky said:

In other words, when I choose reset, be it for a VM or a physical computer (like in Win PE), what do I end up with?

Reset should only be used when a VM or computer freezes and cannot be shut down or restarted, when mouse ad keyboard are not working and you have no other way to get it functional again.

Some, in fact most desktop computers have a Reset button for this. On laptops, reset is done by pressing and holding down the power button for a few seconds, until it restarts. On a Hyper-V VM, it's done by selecting Reset from Action menu, or by clicking the Reset button in toolbar.

Reset powers off the machine, then immediately restarts it. All unsaved changes in all open apps at the moment of reset will be lost. Reset can in some cases damage the hard disk and cause loss of data, in case there were ongoing read or write operations at the moment of reset.

Repeating myself, but this is important: Reset should only be used when you have no other way to get a frozen computer or virtual machine shut down or restarted.

Kari

Silky said:

If I set up using local devices and resources in Hyper-V as illustrated by Shawn Brink in this tutorial, will those devices and resources be available when I start the VM from viBoot? Would that be a way to copy/move/access host machine drives (for example)?

Yes.

Silky said:

Are there considerations I should be aware of?

No, as long as the requirements are met. Quote from Brink's tutorial:

   Note

To be able to use a computer's local resources on a virtual machine:

• The Hyper-V host (ex: your PC) must have Enhanced session mode policy and Enhanced session mode settings turned on.
• The Hyper-V virtual machine (guest) must have Remote Desktop Services enabled and run Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 as the guest operating system.
• Enhanced session mode isn't available for generation 1 (unless Windows 10 Pro, Education, or Enterprise) virtual machines or for virtual machines that run non-Windows operating systems.

Kari

@Silky, I am working with Macrium Support and their developer team to find the reason for some post December 29 images causing the host computer to BSOD when a Reflect image is mounted as viBoot VM.

I have given them detailed information about my setup, which is a bit unconventional. I use Sysprep to relocate the Users folder and all its subfolders (all user profiles) to another disk, away from Windows system disk (tutorial).

To eliminate this as the culprit, please could you tell if you have the default setup, user profiles in folder C:\Users, or if you have relocated the Users folder to another partition or drive?

Kari

Silky said:

I didn't even know you could do that. So the answer is that I have the default setup.

Thanks!