Macrium Reflect Free Update v8.0.7783 Breaks Macrium Recovery

[Andavari]

 

Macrium Reflect Free Update v8.0.7783 Breaks Macrium Recovery

If you allow Macrium Reflect Free to update itself to version 8.0.7783, and also update the drive C:\ Boot Menu you need to test that your system can still boot successfully into the Macrium Recovery boot media.

On my system the update completely broke the ability to boot into Macrium Recovery.

How To Fix And Re-Create The Macrium Recovery Boot Media:
1. In Macrium Reflect Free uninstall the boot menu.
2. Open and delete everything inside of "C:\Boot" that's where Macrium Reflect Free downloads, installs, and stores the Microsoft Windows PE boot media files ("WIM file, etc.,").
3. Restart Windows.
4. In Macrium Reflect Free choose a Microsoft Windows PE boot media for it to download and install, and select for it to create the boot media on the C:\ drive.
5. It's now important to test that it actually works by booting into Macrium Recovery.

Optionally:
Create the boot media on an external USB drive, such as a USB Flash Drive. Or onto a USB HDD / USB SSD (that has a small first partition up to 2GB in size just for the boot media). Having it on a USB drive is another usable source to boot into Macrium Recovery. Test that it also works. Note: This would need to be made first and tested to see if it works, if it isn't made first it seems as though it's bypassed and the booting instead switches to the boot media already created and installed on drive C:\.

 

[hazelnut]

Just tested for you and my boot menu works okay with Macrium Free version 8.0.7783

I couldn't do the auto update from within Macrium itself as I had the HTTP error 403 which quite a few other users had too, so instead I just downloaded  the full setup and installed it over the top. All previous images were retained. 

64-bit:
https://download.macrium.com/reflect/v8/v8.0.7783/reflect_setup_free_x64.exe

 

 

 

[Andavari]

Thanks for posting the full offline installer link!

[nukecad]

Macrium R.E. booting OK here from the dual boot menu following the update.
(Updated OK on both my laptops with no 403 errors).

I already have a USB but am wondering if the changes in the update mean a new USB now needs to be. or should be, written as well.
I probably will when I get round to it. (I don't have the dual boot set on my second laptop so can do it from there).

[hazelnut]

16 minutes ago, nukecad said:

Macrium R.E. booting OK here from the dual boot menu following the update.
(Updated OK on both my laptops with no 403 errors).

I already have a USB but am wondering if the changes in the update mean a new USB now needs to be. or should be, written as well.
I probably will when I get round to it. (I don't have the dual boot set on my second laptop so can do it from there).

I  updated the usb as well.

The boot menu I use for restoring an image from a working Windows. The usb I use for restoring an image from an external drive  when Windows won't boot.

[Andavari]

Any drive that has the recovery media on it needs to be updated each time Macrium Reflect is updated. With the free version there aren't too many updates remaining though.

It will probably eventually stop working correctly with Windows due to becoming outdated. I will likely buy a license when that time arrives since I've been using it for free for a very long time (well over a decade), and the one and only hiccup I've ever had with it was what I posted as post 1 in this topic.

[nukecad]

I expect that most Macrium Free users will be buying a licence, eventually.

They do seem to have shot them in the foot a bit though as most seem to be waiting until Macrium 9 is released (whenever that is going to be) and will then get a one-time licence for 9.
Unless of course they also drop the one-time licence and go subscription only.

[Andavari]

2 hours ago, nukecad said:

I expect that most Macrium Free users will be buying a licence, eventually.

They've actually earned it when it comes to me, and the long time usage from before version 4. I can't count how many times something has broken Windows XP (from back in the day with messed up Windows updates, to extra buggy or malicious in my views uninstallers that wanted a reboot and deleted too much) and Macrium has always saved the day in under 10 minutes. On that old XP system the last OS install was at the beginning of 2009. It has even saved my Win10 laptop a number of times from buggy Intel iGPU drivers corrupting the Windows 10 install, and Windows updates rearing it's ugly bug infested head a couple of times, etc.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Andavari
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