The Macrium Reflect rescue media is used when a version of Macrium Reflect can not be accessed to perform a restore, including scenarios like Windows failing to boot and bare metal restores. As a result, the rescue media is extremely important. We strongly recommend creating rescue media as soon as Macrium Reflect has been installed; in the event of a disaster, having rescue media will make the recovery process much easier.

Launching the Macrium Rescue Media Builder

Rescue media can be created using the 'Rescue' button on the quick actions menu at the top of Macrium Reflect or by selecting the 'Create Rescue Media...' option in the 'Other Tasks' menu on the top bezel:

Both of these options will open the 'Macrium Rescue Media Builder'.

Exploring the Macrium Rescue Media Builder

The main interface of the Macrium Rescue Media Builder contains three sections:

Rescue Media Settings

The rescue media settings show the settings included in the WIM and the status of the WIM. The WIM is the Windows image that is used when creating the Macrium rescue media. Once the WIM has been built, it will not require rebuilding unless the settings displayed here (selected Windows PE/RE version, Macrium Reflect version, etc) change. This enables new rescue media to be easily created without having to build a new WIM each time.

The settings displayed here are listed below:

Setting	Description
Windows PE/RE	This shows the version of Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) or Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), or WIM, that is being used to create rescue media. Read more about changing the WIM here.
Macrium Reflect	This shows the version of Macrium Reflect that is included in the rescue media.
Status	This area shows the status of the WIM that has been created. If the WIM needs rebuilding, this will be indicated along with the reason for the rebuild: OK - No rebuild is required. A later version of Macrium Reflect is available and needs to be added to the build. A later version of Windows RE is available. A Windows update can cause the installed version of Windows RE to be updated. Any 'Advanced' settings that have changed since the rescue media was last built. A 'Custom WIM' file has changed since the last build. The '\Boot\Macrium\Drivers' subfolder contains new or changed driver files. Note: It is important to note that it is not always necessary to recreate existing rescue media when the WIM is rebuilt. We recommend checking the release notes for messages indicating that a rebuild of rescue media is recommended.

WIM Rebuild Override

Press the 'CTRL' key to display the WIM rebuild override. This displays an additional option that is the opposite of the current behavior of the 'Build' button.

'Force WIM Rebuild' - If none of the changes to settings, drivers, or Macrium Reflect version shown in the table above have taken place, the default behavior would be to create rescue media without a WIM build. In this case, the WIM rebuild override will force a rebuild of the WIM.

'Skip WIM Rebuild' - If changes to settings, drivers, or Macrium Reflect version, shown in the table above, have taken place, the default behavior would be to rebuild the WIM and then create rescue media. In this case, the WIM rebuild override will skip the WIM rebuild and create rescue media with the current WIM.

Overriding the default WIM rebuild behavior may be useful to create rescue media without updating to a later release of Macrium Reflect or forcing a WIM rebuild to troubleshoot corrupt or non-booting rescue media.

Select Device

The 'Select Device' section of the Rescue Media Builder will show the available storage devices that can be used to create rescue media. The available options are shown below:

Storage Device	Description
Windows Boot Menu	This option can be used to add an entry for the rescue media to the Windows Boot Menu, displayed when Windows starts. If the Windows Boot Menu option has been created, this can be used to remove or update the boot menu entry. Note: We recommend creating an "external" rescue media in addition to the Windows Boot Menu option, as this will reside on an internal drive and can be rendered unbootable by drive failure.
USB Flash Drive	This option creates the rescue environment on an external USB flash drive. At least one partition is required on the drive with enough space for the rescue media files or the disk should be empty of partitions and large enough for a new partition to accommodate the rescue media files to be created.
USB HDD	This option creates the rescue environment on an external USB-connected HDD. At least one partition is required on the drive with enough space for the rescue media files or the disk should be empty of partitions and large enough for a new partition to accommodate the rescue media files to be created.
CD/DVD Burner	This option will burn the rescue media directly onto a CD/DVD.
ISO File	This option will create an ISO file that can be burned to optical media using third-party software or used to boot virtual machines.

Note: USB flash/HDD media will be created non-destructively. The rescue media files will be added to an existing partition or a new partition will be created for the files. Read more about this here.

Selected Device Options

The bottom of this page shows the available options for the selected device. These options will change depending on the device that has been selected:

Windows Boot Menu

ISO Rescue Media

Windows Boot Menu Options

Selecting 'Windows Boot Menu' will display the following options:

Option	Description
No Boot Menu	This option is displayed when the Windows Boot Menu recovery option has not been created.
Add boot menu	This option is displayed when the Windows Boot Menu recovery option has not been created, selecting this option will add a rescue media boot option to the Windows Boot Menu.
Remove boot menu	This option is displayed when a Windows Boot Menu recovery option exists, selecting this option and then 'Remove' will remove the recovery option from the Windows Boot Menu.
Current boot menu	This option displays the currently created Windows Boot Menu recovery option. By default, this option will present a greyed-out 'Build' button, however, can be used with the 'WIM Rebuild Override' option to recreate the boot menu recovery option.

USB Rescue Media Options

Selecting either 'Removable USB Flash Drive' or ' Removable USB Hard Drive' will offer the following options:

Option	Description
Check for devices missing drivers on boot	Scan for mass storage and network controllers that do not have driver support and show a dialog to assist with adding and loading drivers.
Enable Multiboot (MBR/UEFI)	Enables USB media to boot on both legacy BIOS and UEFI systems.

ISO, CD/DVD Rescue Media Options

Selecting 'ISO File' or 'CD/DVD Burner' device will offer the following options:

Option	Description
Check for devices missing drivers on boot	Scan for mass storage and network controllers that do not have driver support and show a dialog to assist with adding and loading drivers.
Prompt for key press to continue boot sequence	When selected, a prompt for a key press will be displayed during the boot sequence. If a key is not pressed, the system will continue to boot from a different device.

For the majority of use cases, the default settings selected by the Macrium Rescue Media Builder will be the best choice for the system where Macrium Reflect LTSC is installed. The 'Select Device' section of the rescue media builder shows the devices that are available to be used as rescue media. Most of the time, this will likely be a USB drive or CD/DVD.

Advanced

For most systems, the default settings selected by the Macrium Rescue Media Builder will be the best choice. However, in some use cases, additional advanced settings may need to be specified. The Macrium Rescue Media Builder advanced settings can be launched by selecting the 'Advanced' button at the bottom of the wizard:

In the 'Advanced Options' menu, there are four tabs:

- Choose Base WIM

- Options

- Devices and Drivers

- Rescue Media Volume

Choose Base WIM

The base WIM can be thought of as the operating system that is used when creating the rescue media. The Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) and the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) are two lightweight operating systems that can both be used when creating rescue media. Where possible, it is recommended that the default base WIM (usually WinRE) is used as this will enable the Macrium Rescue Media Builder to automatically harvest drivers from the booted operating system. When a different base WIM is used (especially a base WIM that is older than the currently booted operating system, there is no guarantee that the drivers in the currently booted operating system will be compatible with the base WIM. However, there are situations (e.g. building recovery media for a different computer) where a different base WIM may be desirable. The available options are shown below:

Base WIM

Description

WinRE

This is the default base WIM for Windows 7 and above. WinRE is installed with Windows, as a result, this option does not require any components to be downloaded from Microsoft. This option includes Wi-Fi and is the best option if available.

Note: This option is not available for Windows XP and Vista systems. This option is not available for later operating systems where WinRE cannot be located.

WinPE 11.0

(Based on Win 11)

Based on Windows 11. This option supports UEFI and secure boot, USB3.0, Hyper-V Gen 2 VMs, and Windows overlay file systems.

This is a good choice for Windows 11 systems if WinRE is not available.

Note: The WinPE 11.0 option is not available for systems running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008.

WinPE 10.0

(Based on Win 10)

Based on Windows 10. This option supports UEFI and secure boot, USB3.0. Hyper-V Gen 2 VMs and Windows overlay file systems.

This is a good choice for Windows 8, 8.1, 10, Server 2012, and Server 2012R2 systems if WinRE is unavailable.

Note: The WinPE 10.0 option is not available for systems running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008.

WinPE 5.0

(Based on Win 8.1)

Based on Windows 8.1. This option supports UEFI and secure boot, USB 3.0, and Hyper-V Gen 2 VMs.

This is a good choice for Windows 8, 8.1, and Server 2012 systems if WinRE is unavailable. This option can also be a good choice for older systems that require USB 3.0 support.

WinPE 4.0

(Based on Win 8)

This option is similar to WinPE 5.0 but is based on the Windows 8 kernel instead of Windows 8.1. This option includes This option includes USB 3.0.

This is a legacy option, we recommend using WinPE 5.0 or WinPE 10.0 unless PE5.0 features are required on Windows XP or Server 2003 systems.

WinPE 3.0

(Based on Win 7)

Based on Windows 7. This is the best option for Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Server 2003m Server 2008, and Server 2008R2 is WinRE is unavailable.

Note: This option does not include USB 3.0 support.

Note: If rescue media has already been created, the PE version that was used for the rescue media will be the default for future rescue media.

Options

The 'Options' page enables additional options to be specified for the rescue media.

Option	Description
Architecture	The CPU architecture of the system where the rescue media will be used, 32-bit or 64-bit. The correct architecture is selected by default for the system where the rescue media is being created. This option should only be changed when creating rescue media to be used on a different system.
Add BitLocker Support	This adds the components to run managebde.exe to the rescue media, enabling BitLocker encrypted drives to be unlocked while booted using the rescue media.
Automatically unlock BitLocker Volumes	When enabled, BitLocker encrypted drives will be automatically unlocked when the rescue media is booted. Read more about this option here.
Add iSCSI Support	When enabled, iSCSI volumes can be accessed in the rescue media, enabling restores and clones from and to iSCSI volumes.
Enable legacy EFI screen resolution support	This option can be selected if the rescue media is experiencing a very low screen resolution (lower than 1024x768). Some UEFI and BIOS implementations are incompatible with the WinPE 10.0 graphics output. Selecting this option will cause the WinPE 5.0 microcode to be used instead of the WinPE 10.0 microcode.
Enable legacy SMB v1 support	This option adds legacy SMBv1 support to the rescue media. This may be necessary when accessing legacy storage that does not support higher versions of SMB. Note: SMBv1 is deprecated and offers limited security and features. This option should only be used for supporting legacy storage destinations.
Add WiFi Support	This option is only available when WinRE 10 is being used as the base WIM as WinPE does not support Wi-Fi. Selecting this option will add Wi-Fi support to the rescue media, enabling access to network resources using Wi-Fi.
Copy profiles to automatically connect to WiFi	When selected, if possible, a Wi-Fi connection will be automatically established when the rescue media is booted, using Wi-Fi profiles copied from the operating system where the rescue media is created. Wi-Fi profiles are encrypted to prevent unauthorized access.

Two advanced options are displayed at the bottom of this page:

Option

Description

Custom base WIM

A preprepared customized WIM can be specified instead of the base WIMs described here.

This is an advanced option not covered in this documentation or supported by Macrium Support.

Use IP address and DNS settings from this PC

When selected, IP address and DNS settings will be copied to the rescue media. When a static IP address has been configured, this will enable the rescue media to access network resources. For systems that are using DHCP IP addresses, this option is not necessary.

Devices and Drivers

We can think of the rescue media as a lightweight operating system that contains a version of Macrium Reflect. As such, the rescue media requires the necessary device drivers to be able to communicate with the system's hardware. For example, if the rescue media did not have the correct network interface card (NIC) driver, network shares would not be accessible from within the rescue media, and images could not be restored from those network shares.

This page of the 'Advanced Options' will display the hardware devices that have been found on the system where the rescue media is being created and the status of the device support in the rescue media.

The status column can display the following statuses:

Status Message	Description
Device Detected	The device has no drivers and will not function in the rescue media. If this device is required for recovery, necessary drivers should be added.
Device support in WinPE	The device has a supporting driver in the rescue media. Generally, no action is required.
Compatible device support in WinPE	The device has a compatible driver in the rescue media. Generally, no action is required.
Driver already present in Drivers folder	A driver has previously been added to the rescue media for this device.
Copy host driver/Inject host driver	For Windows Vista and later operating systems, if a device is found without driver support, the operating system will be scanned for compatible drivers. If a compatible driver is found, it will be added to the rescue media. Note: If no compatible device driver is found, the 'Device Detected' message will be displayed and a driver will need to be added manually.

Driver Override

By default, the Macrium Rescue Media Builder will attempt to use the most up-to-date and appropriate device driver for the hardware, in the rescue media. There are edge cases where this driver may not be the most appropriate choice and it's necessary to override the default behavior. For example, the host USB driver might not function correctly in Windows PE, or the host driver might be a better choice than the WinPE/WinRE driver that's selected by default.

The 'Override' dropdown menu lets you override the default driver choice. The selected override is displayed in the 'Override' column in the device list.

Note: The 'Override' column in the device table will only be displayed when at least one override has been specified.

To specify a driver override, select the device in the device table and then select the 'Override' button.

The following options can be specified and will be displayed in the 'Override' column:

Override Column Message	Description
Use supplied driver	A driver has been supplied by selecting 'Locate a driver...' in the override menu.
Use host driver	'Use host driver' in the override menu has been selected. The driver discovered on the host Windows system will always be used, even if a more up-to-date driver is found in Windows PE.
Use WinPE driver	'Use WinPE driver' in the override menu has been selected. The Windows PE driver will always be used, even if a more up-to-date driver is found on the host Windows system.
Do not copy drivers	'Do not copy drivers' in the override menu has been selected. This override is only available if there's no compatible device support in WinPE/WinRE and prevents any driver from being used to enable the device in WinPE/WinRE

For more information on managing drivers in the rescue media, see this article.

Rescue Media Volume

By default, the Macrium Rescue Media Builder will store rescue media files on the C:\ drive. This drive can be changed to a more preferred drive, this can be especially useful when a drive is low on storage space.

Note: This option is not available in Windows XP.

The drive that is being used to store the rescue media files can be changed by selecting a drive in the table using the checkbox shown next to each drive. If rescue media files already exist, they will be copied to the new drive in the following path:

%Drive%\boot\macrium