This article explains how to install Macrium Reflect on a PC that isn't connected to the Internet. For information on installing on an Internet connected PC please see here.
Installing Macrium Reflect Offline
First, log in to your Macrium Account here on a computer that has an internet connection. If you have not already created a Macrium Account, learn more here. On the ‘Overview’ or ‘Downloads’ page, navigate to the product card for the Macrium Reflect version that will be installed offline. Select ‘Download’ then select the relevant architecture for the offline computer.
Once the download has been completed, move the installer to the offline computer and run the installer.
On the ‘License Key’ page of the installer, select the license that will be offline activated for this computer. The available license keys can be viewed on the ‘Licenses’ page of the Macrium account.
Enter the relevant license key on the offline computer. Since the computer will not be able to contact Macrium’s activation server, the next page will display the offline activation steps. Take note of the activation code on this page.
In the Macrium Account, select ‘Activate Licenses Offline’ next to the license key that was entered on the offline computer. In the window that opens, enter the offline activation code from the offline computer. Select ‘Offline Activate’ to offline activate the license.
An offline key will now have been created. This offline key can be copied to the clipboard or downloaded to a .txt file
Enter the offline key into the installer on the offline computer. The installation will now proceed as normal.
In the Macrium Account you will have a choice to ‘Finish’ which will close the popup down and return you to the previous page or you have the option to Activate Another license;
The following status will also be shown next to the license key that was offline activated on the ‘Licenses’ page:
The offline key can be viewed at any time by selecting the three dots and then selecting ‘View Offline Key’.
Creating rescue media on offline computers
The rescue media is a bootable environment that can be used to restore images in the event that Macrium Reflect installed in Windows is inaccessible. This is important as it ensures that a system can be easily restored following a disaster.
By default, Windows 7 and above operating systems include Windows RE by default. This can be used as the base WIM for the rescue media without the need to download any components from Microsoft. As a result, the majority of systems will be capable of creating the rescue media without any internet connection by default. On systems older than Windows 7, or if Windows RE is not available, Windows PE rescue media will need to be created instead; to create Windows PE rescue media, the relevant components must be downloaded from Microsoft. As a result, these components will need to be downloaded on a computer that has an internet connection and then moved to the offline computer.
First, download the Macrium Reflect Download Agent on a computer that has an internet connection.
In the Macrium Reflect Download Agent, select ‘Options’ to change the components that will be downloaded.
In the window that opens, use the ‘Select Download Option’ dropdown to select the relevant Windows PE component. A summary of the components and the Windows operating systems they relate to is shown below:
PE Version | Description |
Windows PE 11.0 | Based on Windows 11. Supports UEFI / secure boot, USB 3.0, Hyper-V Gen 2 VMs, and Windows overlay file systems. This is a good choice for Windows 11 systems if Windows RE is unavailable. |
Windows PE 10.0 | Based on Windows 10. Supports UEFI / secure boot, USB 3.0, Hyper-V Gen 2 VMs, and Windows overlay file systems. This is a good choice for Win 8, 8.1, 10, Server 2012, and 2012R2 systems if Windows RE is unavailable. |
Windows PE 5.0 | Based on Windows 8.1. Supports UEFI / secure boot, USB 3.0, and Hyper-V Generation 2 virtual machines. This is a good choice for Windows 8/8.1 or Windows Server 2012 systems if Windows RE is unavailable. You may also consider this for older systems requiring default USB 3.0 support. |
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 3.1 | Based on Windows 7. This is the best option for Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Server 2003, Server 2008, 2008R2 operating systems if Windows RE is unavailable. |
Select ‘Download’ to download the specified components.
A .zip file will be downloaded from Microsoft that contains the relevant PE components. This file should be placed in the same folder as the Macrium Reflect installer before the installer is executed. Following this, rescue media can be created on the offline machine by following the steps in this article.
If Macrium Reflect was already installed prior to the PE components being downloaded, the following message will be displayed when attempting to create the rescue media:
Select ‘Browse’ then select the components that were downloaded previously.
How to identify the architecture of your target machine.
Run msinfo32 (type Windows Key + R and then type msinfo32) and note the system type.
x86-based PC indicates that the target machine is 32 bit and x64-based PC indicates a 64bit system.