Backup Partitions

Overview

On a typical Windows system, disks are split up into partitions and most of these partitions are represented by a particular driver letter. In this page, we show you how to:

Using the procedure presented here, you can either run a backup immediately or create a backup definition file and schedule the backup.

To create a disk or partition backup

  1. From the menu, select the Backup tab, then click Image local drives circled in red.



    You can also image just one disk by selecting the Image this disk... link circled in green.

    You can also just image one partition by selecting the Actions... button underneath the partition you wish to image and then selecting Image this partition only...

  2. The Disk Image dialog appears with all partitions selected by default.

  3. Select and de-select partitions. If you have multiple disks, use the scroll bar to view them.

    Macrium Reflect™
    indicates system partitions by displaying the operating system logo, for example the Windows flag , in the top left corner of the partition on the partition diagram.

    In Windows 7 in order to create a backup that contains the whole system, you need to select the MSR partition, usually the volume with no drive letter at the beginning of the boot disk. This partition contains the Partition Boot Sector (PBS) and without it, Windows 7, cannot start.

  4. Choose a backup destination from the options available, either:

    - Select Folder and browse for a folder by clicking the browse button.

    OR

    - Select CD/DVD Burner and place a blank disk in the drive.

  5. Click Alternative Locations to specify a list of possible target folders. See Alternative Locations for further reading.

  6. We recommend that you leave the filename as the image name. However, if you would prefer a different filename, deselect Use the Image ID as the filename, and type a name in the Backup filename box.

  7. Click Next.

    The Imaging Summary appears giving details of the operations for each partition.

  8. To change settings such as disk space management, email notification, password protection, encryption, compression, image splitting, and image verification, click Advanced Options.

  9. Click Finish.

    If you have chosen CD/DVD burner you are prompted to insert a disk.

    The Backup Save Options dialog appears.



    To run this backup immediately, select Run this backup now.
    To save this backup as a backup definition file, select Save this backup as an XML Backup Definition File and type a name in the filename box.

    Once saved, the definition appears in the Macrium Reflect main window on the Backup Definition Files tab. You can use the backup definition file to re-run the full backup, run the backup in incremental or differential mode, or schedule the backup.
    We recommend that you accept the default folder. However, if you want to select a different folder, click the browse button.

  10. Click OK.

    If you selected Run this backup now, the backup runs while the Create Backup Wizard dialog displays the progress.

  11. If required, adjust the priority of the backup task compared with other windows processes by dragging the slider. Please note that this is not likely to impact significantly on imagine speed as this is generally I/O bound and limited by hard drive performance.
    You can also change the shutdown options, enabling Reflect to shutdown, hibernate or suspend once the backup is complete.

    When backup is complete click OK.

  12. When the backup task is complete you can view the log in the Log tab of the Macrium Reflect main window. When the backup has been completed it is possible to review the logs.