How to fix Windows becoming unresponsive when creating a disk image with Macrium Reflect This article takes through the steps required to repair a broken Windows XP COM+ installation. This may cause problems with Microsoft Volume Shadow copy Service (VSS) and cause your PC to become unresponsive during disk image creation. Only use this fix if you are running Windows XP and you are experiencing the problem outlined below. The problem When creating a disk image with Windows XP, Macrium Reflect hangs (and your PC may become unresponsive) during the initial phase 'Analysing file system on volume C'.  The only way to close Macrium Reflect is to end 'reflect.exe' in Task Manager or to shut-down your PC. The cause The most likely cause of this problem is a corrupt COM+ database. COM+ provides a layer of interoperability between different areas of Windows. Microsoft Volume Shadow copy Service (VSS) uses COM+ and can become unstable if the COM+ database is corrupt or some of the installed COM+ files are not registered correctly.  Note: Macrium Reflect does not install or modify the COM+ installation or database. Any problems you have with COM+ are pre-existing or have been caused by other software registering or installing COM+ components. The solution Download 'ComFix.exe' from here: http://updates.macrium.com/reflect/utilities/comfix.exe Close all open programs and run ComFix.exe Select 'OK' to reboot your PC and the COM+ repair will begin when Windows restarts. Your PC will restart, a restore point will be created and COM+ installation/repair will begin. The Microsoft VSS components will also be re-registered. After a further automatic reboot, Windows will be repaired and disk images should be able to be created without a problem. If you receive further VSS errors in the Windows Event Viewer or in the Reflect log Window then please see here. Resources http://www.microsoft.com/com/default.mspx http://www.macrium.com/blog/2008/09/26/HowToTroubleshootMicrosoftVolumeShadowCopyServiceVSSErrors.aspx

How to fix error "Failed To Create Volume Snapshot. 0x8004230f " This article takes you through the steps to resolve a Microsoft Volume Shadow copy Service (VSS) problem. The solution involves editing the system registry. If you receive the following error at the end of your image log then it's likely that Macrium Reflect has a conflict with other imaging  software on your PC: Backup aborted! - Failed To Create Volume Snapshot. Result Code: 0x8004230f    This error often occurs if a product called 'ShadowProtect' from 'StorageCraft' is or has been installed on your PC. To fix this problem please take the following steps: If ShadowProtect is installed on your PC then you must uninstall it if you want to use Macrium Reflect. Remove the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Providers\{24602736-bed9-4619-91b0-243447c6409c} This key can be left behind after uninstalling ShadowProtect and will cause a VSS error when Reflect creates a shadow copy. Restart Windows.  For help on editing the registry please see here: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/regedit_overview.mspx?mfr=true http://support.microsoft.com/kb/136393

How to fix common boot problems using the Windows PE 2.0 'Fix Boot Problems' option The Macrium Reflect Windows PE 2.0 rescue CD includes an option to 'Fix Boot Problems. This article takes you through the steps and options available to recover a non-booting Windows implementation. Note: All references to Windows XP in this article also apply to Windows Server 2003. References to Windows Vista also apply to Windows Server 2008 There can be be many reasons why your PC won't boot into Windows. Fortunately, you can usually recover your system if the boot process is corrupt by taking an option provided in the Windows PE 2.0 rescue environment called 'Fix Boot Problems'.   Start your PC with the Windows PE 2.0 rescue CD and click the 'Fix Boot Problems' button. Your system is then scanned for installed Windows operating systems. Note: In a multi-boot environment you will see multiple Windows installations.  Add: Click this button to add a Windows installation that hasn't been detected. Edit: Click this  button to edit the name of your Windows Installation. The name appears on the boot menu for multi-boot environments. Note: If you just have a single Windows installation then you don't have to worry about editing the O/S name as you won't see a boot menu. Ignore: Click this button not to include the O/S in the Windows boot menu. Search: Click this button to rescan your drives. Click 'Next' to continue.   The next page shows disk and partitions on the disks. Windows can only start if the system partition (usually drive 'C') is marked as the 'Active' partition. You can choose which partition is 'active' by selecting it with a check mark.   Click 'Next' to continue. The final wizard page shows the options available to correct the boot process. i) Reset the boot disk ID: The Disk ID is used by XP and Vista to allocate and remember driver letters and partitions. It forms part of a unique identifier that Windows stores in the registry along with the offset from the beginning of the disk for the partition.  If you restore the system partition (Drive C:) to a different position on your disk then Windows can get driver letters 'mixed up'. If drive 'C' is now in a location where drive 'D' used to be then Windows may fail to boot. If you reset the Disk ID then Windows will re-allocate drive letter assignments and will correctly set drive 'C' to be the active partition.   Note: if your O/S is Vista then you must rebuild the BCD  (last option) if you reset the Disk ID. ii) Replace the Master Boot Record: The Master Boot Record (MBR) is the first part of the boot process and is a small program on the first 512 bytes of the disk. You need to replace this if your MBR has become corrupted, perhaps with a virus.  It's also possible that your PC shipped with a non-standard MBR that doesn't work correctly with a new disk. In this case, replacing with the standard Windows MBR will allow your PC to boot. iii) Replace the partition boot sector code: The partition boot sector code is the second part of the boot process and is a small program that is added to the front of a partition when you format a file system. If this code has been damaged, perhaps due to a virus, then replacing it will allow Windows to boot normally. iv) Rebuild the BCD and BOOT.INI files: These files perform the last part of the boot process and tell Windows where to find the operating system, the '\windows\system32' folder. XP uses the boot.ini file and if you restore your system partition to a different partition number then this file needs to be rebuilt. e.g, your original disk had a recovery partition as the first partition on disk and your system partition (drive c:) as the second. You restore to a new disk but don't restore the recovery partition as this is no-longer required. The system partition has now moved from partition 2 to partition 1. In this case you may need to rebuild the boot.ini file to reflect this change. Vista uses something called the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) as a replacement for the boot.ini. It isn't concerned with the numbering of the system partition but is dependant on the exact offset from the beginning of the disk and the Disk ID. If you have moved your system partition to a different position or reset the Disk ID then you need to rebuild the BCD. If your PC won't boot and you are unsure which option to select then selecting every option will usually resolve the problem.     Example boot errors  O/S:   Vista Error: File: \Windows\system32\winload.exe            Status: 0xc000000e This indicates that the Vista Boot Configuration Data (BCD) is invalid. Take the option to Rebuild the BCD and BOOT.INI files O/S:   XP Error: <Windows root>\system32\hal.dll is missing or corrupt This indicates that the XP boot.ini file is invalid. Take the option to Rebuild the BCD and BOOT.INI files   O/S:   XP Error: NTLDR is missing The most probable cause for this error is that your system partition isn't the 'Active' partition. If you have a multi partitioned disk then you must set the partition that contains XP as the 'Active' partition. Select the system partition as the active partition in step 2 above.   O/S:   Any Error: Boot failure - This is a typical message but different PCs may have a different message     This indicates that your Master Boot Record is missing or corrupt. Take the option to Replace the Master Boot Record

How to use RoboRestore to restore a disk image This article will take you through the steps to use RoboRestore to restore a disk image.  RoboRestore is a free utility that works with image files created with both Macrium Reflect free and full editions.  RoboRestore uses Microsoft's Robocopy utilty to copy files from a disk image to an existing file system. The existing file system can be any size greater than the used space of the partition saved in the disk image. This effectively overcomes the issue with a normal disk image restore that prevents restoring to a smaller partition than the original. Do I need to use RoboRestore? No. In most cases you can use the normal disk image restore wizard. A tutorial for restoring with the Linux CD can be found here: http://www.macrium.com/blog/2008/06/21/HowToRecoverYourPCUsingTheLinuxRescueCDPartI.aspx  http://www.macrium.com/blog/2008/06/30/HowToRecoverYourPCUsingTheLinuxRescueCDPartII.aspx RoboRestore  provides an alternative method of restoring a disk image by copying the files in the image to an existing file system. Use RoboRestore if you want to restore to a disk that is smaller than the original. You can also use RoboRestore if your image file is corrupt and cannot be restored normally. Files can normally be copied from a corrupt image but the integrity of the restored files cannot be guaranteed. What's Microsoft Robocopy? Robocopy, or "Robust File Copy", is a command line utility to copy files and folders and includes all NTFS file permissions and alternative data streams. Robocopy is included with Windows Server 2003, Server 2008, Vista and Windows 7. XP users need to follow the instructions in step 2 below.  How do I use it? RoboRestore is very simple to use and only has a few options. Preparation Download 'roborestore.zip' and save it to any folder on your PC. Unzip 'roborestore.exe' to the same directory. 32 Bit - Download 64 Bit - Download If want to run RoboRestore from BartPE or Windows PE 2.0 then make sure the folder will be accessible once the rescue disc boots. If necessary copy it to a USB thumb drive. If you are using Windows XP or BartPE then you also need to download and install the 'Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools'. Once installed, copy the file 'robocopy.exe' from folder 'C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools' to the same folder as 'roborestore.exe'. Using it Double click 'roborestore.exe' or use a command prompt in BartPE or Windows PE to run the program by entering the full path name. The following dialog is displayed: Click the '...' button and select your image file. Note: You cannot use RoboRestore for disk images that span multiple DVD's. If you have multiple DVD's then first copy all the DVD files to a single folder on a local/network drive. If you have multiple partitions saved in the image file then select the partition you want to restore. In the above example we are restoring an image of drive 'H:'. Select the destination in the drop down list. If you are running from within Windows then you cannot select drive 'C:\'. In this case please start your PC with either the BartPE or Windows PE 2.0 rescue CD and run RoboRestore from within that environment. Format destination before copy: This option enables you to create a clean destination drive before the copy. If you don't format the destination then existing folders and files, not in the backup, will remain unchanged. Make destination bootable: Select this option if you are restoring an image of your Windows System drive (Drive C:). Click the 'Advanced' button to refine the operations executed when this option is selected. Note: By default the Disk identifier is transferred from the original disk to the destination disk. Windows will not boot properly if two disks are attached with the same Disk Identifier. If you select this option and you are cloning your current system, then disconnect one of the disks before booting.  Run Robocopy: Select this option to run robocopy when the 'Start' button is clicked. Once selected you can modify the parameters for the command and choose to hide the output of robocopy if you wish. Only modify the robocopy command line options if you know what you are doing. Note: Do not modify <SRC > and <DST>  tags . These are automatically replaced with the source and destination of the restore when robocopy is run. For more information on the available command line options please see here. Click the 'Start' button and the restore will begin. The restore process may be significantly slower than a regular disk image restore, but be patient and wait for the completion message. A full log will be created in ' \roborestore.txt' FAQ I've restored Windows XP but it won't boot. Make sure your 'boot.ini' file is correct for the restored system.      a) Use the 'Fix Boot Problems' with Windows PE 2.0     b) Or, use the XP recovery console and run 'bootcfg /rebuild'. I've restored Windows Vista but it won't boot. The Boot Configuration Database (BCD) may be invalid.     a) Use the Vista 'Startup Recovery' option with your Vista installation DVD     b) Or, use the 'Fix Boot Problems' with Windows PE 2.0 Can I restore to the same drive that contains the image file? Yes, but don't attempt to format the drive first! Why are there several 'skipped' directories and files shown in the log file? The following files and folders are excluded from the robocopy command line and they will appear as 'Skipped' if they exist in your image: Junction points: Junction points are pointers to other directories and robocopy doesn't create or follow these junctions. When robocopy has finished the junction points are automatically created by RoboRestore. Vista makes extensive use of junction points for directories such as 'C:\Documents and Settings' and many others. These are provided for backward compatibility with Windows XP.  'pagefile.sys' and 'hiberfil.sys': These files are created when Windows boots and it isn't necessary to copy these files from the image. System Volume Information: This is a hidden system folder in the root of the volume and contains restore point information. The destination has already created this folder when the volume was formatted.    What are the 'Extras' reported in the copy summary? These are files and folders that exist in the destination that weren't in the image file. For a newly formatted destination these refer to files in the system folder '\System Volume Information'. This is normal and expected. Resources Robocopy reference -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robocopy Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools - http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9d467a69-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&displaylang=en How to create a BartPE Rescue CD for Macrium Reflect - http://www.macrium.com/blog/2008/09/22/HowToCreateABartPERescueCDForMacriumReflect.aspx Vista Startup recovery - http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/5c59f8c1-b0d1-4f1a-af55-74f3922f3f351033.mspx XP Recovery Console - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058 Windows PE 2.0 Recovery Environment - http://www.macrium.com/blog/2009/07/27/HowToFixCommonBootProblemsUsingTheWindowsPE20FixBootProblemsOption.aspx Master Boot Record - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_boot_record Junction Points - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS_junction_point