Restoring a backup image is very simple using Macrium Reflect. If the image contains only data, it is a matter of restoring it back to its original location. For system images that contain boot data, the restoration algorithm will automatically reboot the system, launching Windows PE in its place, restoring the image and then rebooting as normal. In this tutorial, both methods will be covered.
This article is split into the following sections:
Restore a data image
This tutorial assumes that a backup image has already been taken of a disk.If you haven't already done this please see the following article: How to create a disk image.
1. On the main screen, select the 'Restore' tab as shown in red below.
Re-arranging Partitions
By default, partition(s) will be restored to their original locations. However, it is possible to restore to a different partition by using Drag & Drop. Simply drag the source partition to any available partition on the target disk.
Modifying the Restored Partition Properties
When restoring an image, by default, Macrium Reflect will attempt to locate the partitions in the image back to their original position on the disk. In the images below, I will attempt to restore a small partition to a new disk that is much larger. When you click to restore an image, you will be presented with the following dialog:Here, the Source is showing the location of the partition on the original disk. You now have two options. You can either restore the partition onto the new disk in exactly the same location by clicking the 'Copy selected partitions' link (see below)
or you can click and drag the source partition onto the destination disk. The partition will be located at the first available free area of the disk. In this case, this is at the beginning of the disk. Please note that if you already have established partitions on the target disk, you need to select each one and click the Delete Existing partition link before you can drag and resize partitions from the source. See below:
You can now modify the size of the target partition by clicking the link 'Restored Partition Properties'. This gives the following dialog.
There are a number of things you can do here:
You can modify the resultant drive letter by choosing one from the pull-down list.
You can modify and select the partition type i.e. Primary, Active, Logical
By clicking on the < > arrows above the disk view, you can click-and-drag the size of the partition as you wish
You can then fine tune the exact partition size, its free space and alignment by using the controls on the bottom left of the dialog
The Maximum Size button configures the partition to take the maximum available unallocated space on the disk, in this case about 1TB (the size of the disk)
The Minimum Size button configures the partition to take the minimum size which in this case is roughly the same as the amount of data on the disk i.e. 460MB
The Original Size button sets the partition to be exactly the same size as it was prior to backup
When you click OK, you can then follow the steps in the first part of this document to complete the restore.
Video Tutorial
Restoring a system image
This tutorial assumes you have a backup image of a system drive and this section of the tutorial should be used for restoring to your original hard drive.
Note: If you are restoring your system Image or whole hard drive Image (which includes system partitions) to a new Hard drive then don’t follow this tutorial. When restoring system Image to a new hard drive: remove old hard drive and install new hard drive then boot computer with Windows PE rescue media (CD or USB) (or use Linux rescue CD) and use the rescue media to restore. See separate Video/tutorial for details.
You should find that the files in the image have been successfully restored.
Video Tutorial