- Overview
- Selecting an Image to Restore
- Restoring Data Images within Windows
- Restoring Over System Partitions within Windows
Overview
Macrium Reflect can restore images from directly within Windows using the installed Macrium Reflect application. The steps that are required vary depending on the destination of the restore. If the restore will not overwrite any in-use system partitions, the restore can be performed entirely within Windows as described below. If the restore will require in-use system partitions to be overwritten, for example restoring the currently booted operating system to an earlier point in time, then the restore must be performed from within the rescue environment, described here.
Selecting an Image to Restore
First, select the image that will be restored on the 'Existing Backups' tab of Macrium Reflect. Macrium Reflect will search recent backup locations for image files and display them on the 'Existing Backups' tab. If the backup that will be restored is not visible, additional paths can be searched by using the 'Edit' button:
In the window that opens, enter the path to the image and then select 'Add to list'.
After selecting 'OK' any images found in the path will be displayed in the 'Existing Backups' tab.
Alternatively, image files can be found using Windows Explorer by selecting 'Browse for an image file...':
In the Explorer window that opens, navigate to where the image file(s) are located, select the image that will be restored then select 'Open':
The image and any other images that are part of the same backup set will be loaded into the 'Existing Backups' tab.
Next, select the image that will be restored, then select 'Restore':
When restoring incremental and differential images, only the image that you want to restore needs to be selected. Macrium Reflect will automatically handle previous backups in the set, meaning that images can be restored in a single pass.
The Restore Wizard
In the window that opens, the currently selected source disk contained in the image and the currently selected destination disk will be displayed.
The 'Copy Partitions' option can be used to move the selected partitions (indicated by the checkbox on each partition) to the destination disk. Alternatively, partitions can be dragged from the source to the destination, this enables partitions to be reordered on the destination.
The following options can be selected on this page of the wizard:
| Option | Description | |
| Select a different source disk... |
If the disk image contains multiple disks, this option enables a different source disk to be selected. Note: When restoring multiple disks, disks must be restored one at a time. |
|
| Select a different target disk... | If the system where the restore is being performed contains multiple disks, this option can be used to change the disk that will be used as a destination for this restore. | |
| Copy Partitions | Shrink or extend to fill the target disk | If the destination disk is a different size from the source disk, selecting 'Copy Partitions' will display this option. Selecting this option will automatically resize partitions to use all unpartitioned space on a larger disk, or fit a smaller disk. |
| Exact partition offset and length | If the destination disk is a different size from the source disk, selecting 'Copy Partitions' will display this option. This option will copy the partitions to the same location on the destination disk, they will also retain their original size. | |
| Erase Disk | Erases any partitions that are located on the destination disk in the wizard. The disk will not actually be erased until the restore starts. | |
| Delete Partition | Deletes the selected partition on the destination disk in the wizard. The partition will not actually be deleted until the restore starts. | |
| Undo | Undo the last activity. | |
| Float Left | This moves the partition to the left-most unpartitioned space on the destination disk. | |
| Float Right | This moves the partition to the right-most unpartitioned space on the destination disk. | |
| Fill Space | Expand the partition to use all unpartitioned space to the right of the partition. | |
| Layout | Opens the 'Partition Properties' window for more granular control over partition properties. | |
More information about modifying the destination partition properties can be found in this article.
Once you are happy with the layout and properties of the partitions on the destination disk, select 'Next':
The final page of the restore wizard contains a summary of the restore that will be performed:
The 'Advanced Options' button can be used to specify advanced options for the restore, more information about the available options can be found here.
Selecting 'Finish' will start the restore. What happens next will depend on if partitions, and what partitions, are going to be overwritten during the restore.
Restoring Data Images within Windows
When a restore will not overwrite system partitions, for example when restoring data partitions back to their original location or restoring system partitions to a new location (shown in the example below), the restore can be performed entirely within Windows.
After selecting 'Finish' on the final page of the wizard, Reflect Monitor will open and display the progress of the restore.
Once the restore has been completed, the destination disk can be viewed on the 'Local Disks' tab under the 'Create Backups' page:
Restoring Over System Partitions within Windows
When a restore will overwrite in-use system partitions (shown in the example below), the restore cannot be performed within Windows.
Selecting 'Finish' on the final page of the restore wizard will display a message since Macrium Reflect has detected it is not possible to perform the restore while booted in Windows.
If the Windows boot menu rescue media option has not yet been created, the following message will be displayed, indicating that the boot menu rescue media option will be created automatically. More information about the Windows boot menu rescue media can be found here.
If the Windows boot menu rescue media option has already been created or has just been created by selecting 'Yes' in the previous window, the following message will be displayed:
The following options can be changed in this window:
| Option | Description |
| Automatic boot |
When selected, the next time that the system boots, it will automatically boot into Windows PE, and the restore will be performed. If this option is left unchecked, the system must be booted into Windows PE manually. |
| After Restore |
This option changes the default behavior once the restore has been completed. By default, the computer will restart once the restore has been performed.
|
| Run from Windows PE | Selecting this option will automatically start the restore the next time that the system boots into Windows PE. |
| Cancel | Selecting this button will cancel the restore. |
If 'Run from Windows PE' is selected, an additional window will be displayed prompting for a system restart:
When the system boots into Windows PE, whether automatically or manually, the restore will start automatically:
Once the restore has been completed, the system will restart, shutdown, or stay booted in Windows PE depending on the option that was selected in the 'Unable to lock drive' window:
