- Creating ISO/USB Rescue Media
Overview
Rescue media is a method to boot a computer into a recovery environment so that computers can still be recovered even when they are unable to boot into Windows normally. The rescue media is based on a lightweight version of Windows called the Windows Preinstallation Environment, or WinPE.
SiteBackup rescue media has a significant advantage over rescue media created by Standalone Macrium Reflect, in that SiteBackup rescue media can be created entirely reactively after a disaster has occurred.
Creating Rescue Media
Rescue media can be created and managed on the 'Rescue Media' page of SiteBackup. Two types of rescue media can be created in Macrium SiteBackup:
Creating ISO/USB Rescue Media
When rescue media is created in SiteBackup, it is created as an ISO file that is stored on the SiteBackup server.
The created ISOs can be viewed, managed, and downloaded in the 'Builds' table of the rescue media page. The first time that this page is accessed, the 'Builds' table will be empty:
To create a rescue media ISO, select '+ New'. In the window that opens, select the type of rescue media that will be created:
Agent Rescue Media - SiteBackup can create rescue media that is custom-built for a particular agent to minimize the manual configuration required to restore it. Agent rescue media will be based on the right version of Windows PE for the target agent and contain copies of hardware drivers for devices that the SiteBackup Agent detects as being unsupported by Windows PE. These devices can then be used in the rescue environment even if they are not supported in Windows PE by default. An up-to-date database of drivers is stored on the SiteBackup server, enabling rescue media to be created reactively, even after the computer has experienced a disaster.
Agent network configurations are also stored in the rescue media so that the backup repository can be easily accessed through the rescue environment.
Generic Rescue Media - SiteBackup can also create generic rescue media that does not target any single agent. Generic rescue media will include all compatible drivers for the chosen PE version. Such rescue media will be appropriate for use on agents with common hardware configurations.
Network settings for all agents are stored in generic rescue media. Appropriate network settings are selected when an agent boots from the rescue media.
Note: that network configuration selection is determined by MAC address so network settings may not be configured automatically if agent hardware has changed.
Universal Rescue Media - Universal rescue media contain all versions of generic rescue media on a single bootable disk. This can be used to restore groups of computers which run different versions of Windows without creating the necessary generic rescue media individually. The universal rescue media will include all compatible drivers with the selected Windows PE version(s).
The rescue media creation progress can be viewed in the 'Builds' table:
The progress can also be viewed using the 'Activity' widget on the SiteManager Platform 'Dashboard' page:
The rescue media ISOs can be downloaded using the 'Download' button in the 'Actions' column:
The rescue media ISOs can also be found on the SiteBackup server at the following path:
C:\ProgramData\Macrium\SiteManager\RescueMedia\media
This path can be configured on the 'Rescue Media' page of the SiteManager Platform settings.
These ISOs can then, optionally, be mounted onto a USB drive using the 'Rescue USB Tool'.
Creating PXE Rescue Media
PXE booting, also called network booting, is a convenient way to boot computers into the rescue environment without the use of a USB drive and can be especially useful when needing to perform ad hoc recovery without the need to create a rescue media USB.
PXE booting is made up of two components, a TFTP server that provides the boot files, and the DHCP server which enables endpoints to discover the bootable options stored on the TFTP server.
If the PXE rescue media has not been created, a quick help guide is displayed:
Selecting 'Build' will open a window, where the WinPE version(s) of rescue media can be selected:
The progress of the PXE rescue media creation can be viewed on the 'Rescue Media' page:
The progress can also be viewed using the 'Activity' widget on the SiteManager Platform 'Dashboard' page:
Once the PXE network boot components have been created, the option to enable the in-box TFTP server will be displayed:
TFTP Server - When the 'TFTP Server' option is enabled, the PXE boot files will be made available on port 69 of the SiteBackup server. The environment's DHCP server can then be configured to server these PXE files to booting endpoints.
Proxy-DHCP - When the 'Proxy-DHCP' option is selected, the SiteBackup server will respond to DHCP queries from computers with PXE information. The assigning of IP addresses is then handled by the DHCP server. This option should only be used if the PXE boot options have not been configured on the DHCP server. This option is perfect for times when PXE options cannot be configured on the DHCP server, for example when a SOHO router is acting as the DHCP server and may not allow PXE options to be configured.
Adapter - This option enables you to select which network adapter is used to respond to DHCP queries. When 'Auto' is selected, SiteBackup will reply on all adapters.
Once the DHCP options have been configured on the DHCP server, or the proxy-DHCP option has been enabled, computers can boot using the rescue media, which is stored on the SiteBackup server, over the network.
Rescue USB Tool
Rescue media can be loaded onto USB flash drives to create rescue USB sticks. However, some third-party flashing tools are incompatible with Macrium rescue media images. Therefore, Macrium has developed a tool to create rescue USB sticks from rescue media images created by SiteBackup. This tool can be downloaded at the bottom of the 'Rescue Media' page:
The tool can also be found on the SiteBackup server, at the following path:
C:\Program Files\Macrium\SiteManager
This tool has a command line or GUI interface:
Command Line Support
The command line interface supports the following commands:
|
Command
|
Shortcut
|
Description
|
|---|---|---|
| --help | -h |
Prints help and copyright information |
| --list-devices | -l |
Lists USB devices suitable for use as rescue sticks |
| --create | -c |
Creates the rescue USB stick. Takes the path to the iso file (-i) and a device number (-d) as mandatory arguments. -f and -q are optional arguments to suppress the confirmation prompt and progress output respectively. |
USB rescue stick creation begins by listing compatible USB devices with the --list-devices command. The tool will search for suitable devices and print their details in the console. This will display device numbers which are used to specify which device this tool should target.
The rescue USB stick will be created with the --create command. The path to the iso file containing the rescue media image and the target device number can respectively be used as the --iso and --device arguments to --create. A confirmation prompt may appear to confirm the selection because this process overwrites data already on the USB stick.
The optional parameters --force and --quiet are intended for use in non-interactive environments and are implied if the tool output is redirected into a file.
GUI Support
Alternatively, the 'Rescue USB Builder' can be launched with a GUI by double-clicking on the 'RescueUsbBuilder_x64.exe' file. Browse can be used to select the rescue media ISO that will be mounted onto the USB drive. The USB drive that will be used for the rescue media creation can be selected with the checkbox next to the relevant USB drive:
Managing Rescue Media
Managing Rescue Media ISOs
Rescue media ISOs that have been created can be viewed in the 'Builds' table on the 'Rescue Media' page of SiteBackup. The ISOs in this table can be expanded for additional information:
There are several action buttons available:
| Button | Description |
| Download | This button will download the rescue media ISO to via the browser that is being used to access the SiteManager Platform. |
| Copy Path | Copy path will copy the local path to the selected rescue media ISO. |
| Rebuild | This button can be used to rebuild and update rescue media. If SiteBackup updates, or driver changes cause the rescue media to become 'Out of date', this button can be used to update the rescue media. |
| Delete | This button can be used to delete rescue media. |
Managing PXE Rescue Media
The PXE rescue media can be managed in the 'PXE' section of the 'Rescue Media' page. Once the PXE rescue media has been created, there are several action buttons that can be clicked:
| Button | Description |
| Copy Path | 'Copy Path' will copy the local path to the PXE rescue media files. This can assist when using SiteBackup rescue media with a third-party PXE solution. |
| Rebuild | This button can be used to rebuild and update rescue media. If SiteBackup updates, or driver changes cause the PXE rescue media to become 'Out of date', this button can be used to update the rescue media. |
| Delete | This button can be used to delete the PXE rescue media. |