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Windows PE 10 

Macrium Reflect v6.1 now includes Windows PE 10 support when building rescue media. Windows PE 10 is now the default Windows PE option for new Macrium Reflect installs on Windows 8, 8.1, 10, Server 2012 or Server 2012R2. Windows PE 10 is a requirement if your system uses Windows 8.1 WIMBoot technology or if your system is a Windows 10 'Compact Install'. Both of these installation types are rare but may be used on Windows Tablet PCs with limited disk space.

Note: If you are currently using Windows PE 5.0 then you do not need to change to PE 10 unless your system is using WIMBoot or a Windows 10 Compact install. Macrium Reflect will prompt you to create PE 10 when starting the rescue media wizard if this is the case.
 Click here to show how to enable PE 10 support..

Take 'Other Tasks' > 'Create Rescue Media..' and click the 'Change PE Version' button in the Rescue Media wizard...

You can change the version of Windows PE by choosing from the options in this dialog

What version of Windows PE should I choose?

You should choose a version of Windows PE that can access your System drive and also your backup location. The default option selects the Windows PE version that is the best match for your Windows operating system. This enables the rescue media wizard to automatically copy any required drivers for Network, USB or SATA controllers. However, versions of Windows PE that are more recent than your Windows OS may already contain compatible drivers and also offer additional support for USB 3.0.

 

PE versionDescription
Windows PE 3.1

Based on Windows 7. This is the best option for Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Server 2003, Server 2008, 2008R2 operating systems. USB 3.0 support is not included.

Note: Some very early Windows XP systems may not meet the minimum requirements to boot Windows PE.

Windows PE 4.0

Based on Windows 8. Similar to Windows PE 5.0, but based on the Windows 8.0 kernel.

This is a legacy option that is provided if you have used previous versions of Macrium Reflect before PE 5.0 was included. Includes support for USB 3.0. We recommend that you use PE 5.0/10 unless your require PE 5.0 features on Windows XP or Server 2003.

Windows PE 5.0

Based on Windows 8.1. Supports UEFI / secure boot, USB 3.0 and HyperV Generation 2 virtual machines.

This is a good choice for Windows 8/8.1 or Windows Server 2012 systems. You may also consider this for older systems requiring default USB3 support. 

Note: The Windows PE 5.0 download option is not available if you are running Windows XP or Server 2003.
Windows PE 10.0

Based on Windows 10. Supports UEFI / secure boot, USB 3.0, HyperV Gen 2 VMs and Windows overlay file systems.

This is the best choice for Win 8, 8.1, 10, Server 2012, 2012R2 systems. Windows PE 10 is a requirement if your system uses Windows 8.1 WIMBoot technology or if your system is a Windows 10 'Compact Install'. Both of these installation types are rare but may be used on Windows Tablet PCs with limited disk space.

Note: The Windows PE 10.0 download option is not available if you are running Windows XP, Vista or Server 2003/2008



Delta Incremental Indexes


Delta Incremental indexes provides a more efficient way of saving incremental backup files by optimizing the size of the index saved with each incremental.

Without 'Delta Indexes', each Incremental backup contains a full index at the end of the file that describes where all the data for the entire backup is at the time of the Incremental. This includes a reference to the physical backup file and the offset in the file to retrieve the data. The Full index can be as large as 100MB for each partition in the backup. This overhead is present regardless of the amount of data backed up by the Incremental. Delta indexes only contain a list of changed blocks in the incremental itself. 

Please ensure that you are using Rescue Media created with Macrium Reflect v6.1 if Delta Indexing is enabled. 
Click the 'Rebuild' button on the final Rescue Media Wizard page. See:  Creating rescue media for more information.

 Click here to show how to enable Delta Incremental Indexes...

Take 'Other Tasks' >'Edit Defaults' > 'Advanced' > 'Advanced Incrementals'...

 


Advantages of Full indexes:

Incrementals are self describingNo additional backup files are required to be loaded other than the most recent Incremental when appending to an existing backup set. This enables backup sets to be 'split' over multiple locations; useful if you want to archive part of a backup set.
Mounting incremental backups is fastBecause the entire index is available when the Incremental file is opened the backup set can be mounted and browsed in Windows Explorer very quickly.
See: Browsing Macrium Reflect images and backups in Windows Explorer 

Disadvantages of Full indexes:

Increases the size of Incremental backupsWhen running Incremental backups on a data set where very little has changed the overhead of the Full index may be greater than the size of the data that's backed up.
Consolidation causes subsequent Incrementals to be updatedIf your backup 'Retention Rules' invoke a 'Synthetic Full' or 'Incremental Merge' then indexes contained in more recent Incrementals are updated to reflect the consolidation. Without updating the Index would become 'stale'. This file change can cause excessive file copying when synchronizing consolidated backup sets to an archive location. See: Backup Folder Synchronization for more information on this.

 

Advantages of Delta indexes

Decreases the size of Incremental backupsThe Incremental file index contains only a list of the changed data blocks in the incremental. This means that Incremental backups with only a few changes are optimized for backup file size. This is most apparent when performing frequent Incremental backups.
Later Incrementals are unaffected by ConsolidationBecause the Incremental index only contains references to itself there is no need to update the Incremental backup file when earlier backups in the same set are consolidated. This overcomes the issue with Backup Folder Synchronization  caused by Full indexes.

Disadvantages of Delta Incremental

Incrementals depend on all previous backupsA backup set cannot be appended to unless all previous files in the set are available in the same folder as the most recent Incremental. Partial archiving of a backup set is not possible.
Mounting incremental backups may be slowerBecause the Full Index has to be constructed when the Incremental file is opened, this can lead to a delay of a few seconds when browsing images and backups in Windows Explorer.

 


 

Note: A backup set can contain a mixture of Incremental backups with Full and Delta Indexes. If Delta Indexing is enabled mid backup set, then only Incrementals created after enabling will contain delta indexes.

Please ensure that you are using Rescue Media created with Macrium Reflect v6.1 if Delta Indexing is enabled. 
Click the 'Rebuild' button on the final Rescue Media Wizard page. See:  Creating rescue media for more information.


German Language Support

Macrium Reflect Home, Workstation, Server and Server Plus now includes German language support. Macrium Reflect Free edition German language support will be coming soon.

 

 Click here to show how to change the user interface language...

If your Windows language is set to a German locale then new installs will be prompted to choose a language in the installer.

To change the language for an existing installation, press the key Ctrl + Shift + L at the same time:


Reflect will then automatically re-start with the changed language. 


Destination drive letter discovery using Volume GUID path

When saving a backup definition XML file you can now optionally save the Volume GUID path instead of the drive letter for the backup destination drive. This enables Macrium Reflect to handle drive letter changes caused by inconsistent Windows drive letter assignments. Typically this can happen if you are using multiple external USB drives.

The volume GUID path uses the format \\?\Volume{GUID}\Folder\  where GUID is a globally unique identifier for the volume such as: 'e862fd21-bb78-4f82-8e79-30325125c9c2'
 Click here to show how to enable Volume GUID paths...

Take 'Other Tasks' >'Edit Defaults' > 'Advanced' > 'Destination Drive Discovery'...

OptionDescription
Use assigned drive letter (default)

The drive letter in the destination path is used exclusively to locate the backup target path.
The destination path is saved in the format '<DRIVE LETTER>:\Folder\'

This enables multiple backup drives to be used in rotation if Windows assigns the same drive letter for each drive.

Use volume GUID path

The unique volume identifier associated with the backup drive is saved in the backup definition file and used to locate the destination path.
The destination path is saved in the format '\\?\Volume{GUID}\Folder\'

This enables Windows to assign a different letter to the same drive and the new letter will be automatically chosen as the backup destination.

Note: If 'Use volume GUID path' is selected you must edit/re-save existing backup definitions to reflect the change in the XML file. 


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