MRAuto.exe is a utility that simplifies Image backup and restore by directly running from the command line and automatically generating backup and restore definition xml files:
- No xml definition required to start an Image backup or restore
- Runs completely in the background with no user interface
- Handles the most common backup and restore scenarios with simple command line arguments
- MRAuto.exe system restore tasks will automatically boot into the Macrium Rescue media to complete the restore process
MRAuto.exe can be found in the Macrium Reflect installation folder. Typically, 'C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect'
Note: This utility is not available with Macrium Free.
Usage
MRAuto.exe requires administrative privilege to run. To see the help information, please open a command prompt as Administrator and run mrauto.exe. The options are case-insensitive and can be used in short for '-' or long form '–'.
The exit status code can be obtained from %ERRORLEVEL% in the command prompt. A return value 0 means success, and all other values indicate a failure.
Example: Typing 'echo %ERRORLEVEL%' once MrAuto.exe completed displays the exit status code.
For Restore tasks requiring booting into Rescue media, the status code can be queried via 'mrauto --status' command once the restore is complete and booted back into Windows.
C:\Users\User\Downloads>mrauto.exe
Macrium Reflect Auto - Backup/Restore Automation utility.
mrauto.exe -[b][r][s][l] <storage location> [backup name] <drive letters/disk numbers> [-t][-u][-p][-i][-e] [--stealth][--quiet]
-b | --backup Creates a backup.
-r | --restore Restores a backup.
-s | --status Displays status of the last auto restore.
-l | --list Lists backups in the storage location by time.
Lists disks/partitions in the image or system.
-f | --filter Filter backup list by wildcard match. Used in --list option.
-t | --type Backup type - Full/Diff/Inc.
-u | --user Network user name - Domain\User or User
-p | --password Network password.
-i | --imagepwd Image password for Backup/Restore/List.
-e | --encryption AES encryption level for Backups. 0 - none, 1 - 128 bit, 2 - 192 bit, 3 - 256 bit
-n | --nowarning Suppress overwrite confirmation during Restore.
-v | --verify Verify image file after Backup or before Restore.
-w | --wait Wait for in progress Backup/Restore job to finish.
--retention Apply Reflect Default Retention Rules.
--stealth Suppress backup notifications.
--quiet Suppress the Reflect console output.
-h | --help Show options.
C:\Users\User\Downloads>mrauto.exe -h
Options:
-h [ --help ]
-b [ --backup ] arg Creates a backup.
-r [ --restore ] arg Restores a backup.
-s [ --status ] Displays status of the last auto
restore.
-f [ --filter ] [=arg(=*.mrimg)] (=*) Filter backup list by wildcard match.
-l [ --list ] arg Lists backups/disks/partitions.
-t [ --type ] arg (=Full) Backup type - Full/Diff/Inc
-u [ --user ] arg Network User Name.
-p [ --password ] arg Network Password.
-i [ --imagepwd ] arg Image Password
-e [ --encryption ] arg (=0) AES Encryption Level. 0 - none, 1 - 128
bit, 2 - 192 bit, 3 - 256 bit
-n [ --nowarning ] Suppress overwrite confirmation during
Restore.
-v [ --verify ] Verify image file after Backup or
before Restore.
-w [ --wait ] Wait for in progress Backup/Restore job
to finish.
--retention Apply Reflect Default Retention Rules.
--stealth Stealth Mode - Suppresses backup
notifications.
--quiet quiet Log - Suppress Reflect output.
Backup
Backup and Restore supports source Partition selections by using Drive Letters, or Disk and Partition number combinations separated with the : (colon) character
Mixing Drive Letters and Disk numbers in a single operation is not allowed, however, mixing of Disk number and Disk and Partition number combination is allowed.
Example: mrauto.exe -b <backup location> 1,2:1,2:3
The above example will backup all partitions contained in Disk 1 and Partition 1 and 3 from Disk 2.
To see available disks and partitions in the system please run 'mrauto.exe -l '
The --stealth option will suppress all Backup notifications. Customers wanting to suppress progress output may specify --quiet option. With the --quiet option, no output from Reflect will be shown and customers may only be able to find exit status via %ERRORLEVEL%
When backup location is a network share, please make sure the share is added in the Network Share Settings page of Reflect Defaults and Settings options or specify user name & password via options -u and -p.
C:\Users\User\Downloads>mrauto.exe -b
usage: mrauto.exe -b <backup location> [image name] <{vol1,vol2}|{disk1,disk2}|{disk1:par1,disk2:par2}>
[-t full/diff/inc] [-u user] [-p pass] [-i imagepass] [-e 0/1/2/3]
[--verify][--wait] [--retention][--stealth][--quiet]
example: mrauto.exe -b D:\Backups C: -u User -p Pass --stealth
mrauto.exe -b D:\Backups Test C,D,E -t inc --wait
mrauto.exe -b D:\Backups Test D --verify --retention --quiet
mrauto.exe -b \\Share\Backups Test 1:1,2:2 -i ImagePass -e 1
mrauto.exe -b D:\Backups Test 1,2
For more information type 'mrauto.exe -h'
The following example is an incremental backup of all the partitions within Disk 7 and Disk 8
The target folder 'E:\Backups' is searched for an existing backup set that contains all partitions for Disks 7 and 8. If found, then an Incremental Image is run, otherwise a Full Image is run
Validating XML
--------------
XML File Name - C:\ProgramData\Macrium\Reflect\mrauto_backup.xml
Please wait. Initializing partition information...
Validation status - Ok
Imaging Summary
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Backup Definition File: C:\ProgramData\Macrium\Reflect\mrauto_backup.xml
Auto Verify: N
Verify File System: Y
Maximum File Size: Automatic
Compression: Medium
Password: N
Intelligent Copy: Y
Power Saving: N
Email On Success: N
Email On Warning: N
Email On Failure: N
Total Selected: 6.23 GB
Current Time: 27/04/2022 15:04:13
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retention Rules
Rules will be applied to all matching backup sets in the destination folder
Incremental: Retain 10 incremental backups
Create a Synthetic Full backup if possible.
Incremental Backups: 0 found
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Image ID - E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Destination
Backup Type: Incremental
File Name: Append to recent backup in directory 'E:\backups\'
E:\backups\E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-01-01.mrimg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operation 1 of 5
Hard Disk: 7
Drive Letter: N/A
File System: Unformatted
Label:
Size: 16.0 MB
Free: 0 B
Used: 16.0 MB
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operation 2 of 5
Hard Disk: 7
Drive Letter: F
Volume: \??\Volume{43484bb0-7c58-4c4c-9244-d3a28cba8d73}
File System: NTFS
CBT: Y
Label: New Volume
Size: 61.39 GB
Free: 58.23 GB
Used: 3.16 GB
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operation 3 of 5
Hard Disk: 7
Drive Letter: G
Volume: \??\Volume{1bfe6d7e-9ac5-4c17-acf6-cc587d6aa4ff}
File System: NTFS
CBT: Y
Label: New Volume
Size: 58.59 GB
Free: 55.59 GB
Used: 3.00 GB
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operation 4 of 5
Hard Disk: 8
Drive Letter: N/A
File System: Unformatted
Label:
Size: 16.0 MB
Free: 0 B
Used: 16.0 MB
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operation 5 of 5
Hard Disk: 8
Drive Letter: H
Volume: \??\Volume{8353e3d1-6974-455b-9355-afd27af623f2}
File System: NTFS
CBT: Y
Label: New Volume
Size: 9.98 GB
Free: 9.95 GB
Used: 37.8 MB
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starting Image - Wednesday, 27 April 2022 15:04
Initializing
Write Method: Using Direct Disk I/O
Destination Drive: vms (E:) - Free Space 649.22 GB
Image Guardian: Protected
Creating Volume Snapshot - Please Wait
Volume Snapshots Created
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Verifying
F:\ \??\Volume{43484bb0-7c58-4c4c-9244-d3a28cba8d73}
G:\ \??\Volume{1bfe6d7e-9ac5-4c17-acf6-cc587d6aa4ff}
H:\ \??\Volume{8353e3d1-6974-455b-9355-afd27af623f2}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saving Partition - <NO NAME>
Reading File System Bitmap
Saving Partition
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saving Partition - New Volume (F:)
Reading File System Bitmap
CBT Init Success
Searching for NTFS meta data
Looking for changes
Saving Partition
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saving Partition - New Volume (G:)
Reading File System Bitmap
CBT Init Success
Searching for NTFS meta data
Looking for changes
Saving Partition
Overall Progress: 65%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saving Partition - <NO NAME>
Reading File System Bitmap
Saving Partition
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saving Partition - New Volume (H:)
Reading File System Bitmap
CBT Init Success
Searching for NTFS meta data
Looking for changes
Saving Partition
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saving Index
New File: 711 KB E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-01-01.mrimg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Image Completed Successfully in 00:00:32
I/O Performance: Read 3.2 Gb/s - Write 25.0 Gb/s
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trial Edition
This Trial License will expire in 809 days
Premium features will not function after 14 July 2024
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Image Completed Successfully in 00:00:32
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Restore
Like the Backup command, mixing drive letters and disk numbers in a single operation is not allowed. To see the drive letters or disk numbers contained within an image, please run 'mrauto.exe -l <full image path>'
By default, without specifying target disk, the Restore operation will try to locate the source disk in the system by matching disk signature. The operation will fail when the source disk is not found, as will be the case when the image of a disk from different computer is used to Restore to another computer. The optional 'target disk' parameter can be used here to specify any Disk on the target PC large enough to accommodate the restored partitions.
When the image file location is of a network share, credential information to access the file needs to be supplied via --user and --password options. Similarly, --imagepwd is required for encrypted images.
C:\Users\User\Downloads>mrauto.exe -r
usage: mrauto.exe -r <{[location] [image file]} | {full image path}>[?{vol1,vol2}|{disk1,disk2}|{disk1:par1,disk2:par2}]
[target disk] [-u user] [-p pass] [-i imagepass] [--verify][--wait][--nowarning][--quiet]
example: mrauto.exe -r D:\Backups Test-00-00.mrimg
mrauto.exe -r \\Share\Backups\Test-00-00.mrimg -u User -p Pass -i ImagePass --quiet
mrauto.exe -r D:\Backups\Test-00-00.mrimg?C,D,E
mrauto.exe -r D:\Backups\Test-00-00.mrimg?1:1,1:2
mrauto.exe -r D:\Backups\Test-00-00.mrimg 1 --wait
mrauto.exe -r D:\Backups\Test-00-00.mrimg --verify
mrauto.exe -r D:\Backups\Test-00-00.mrimg?1:2 1
NOTE: Restoring multiple disks within an image are not supported.
Only multiple partitions in the same disk are supported.
For more information type 'mrauto.exe -h'
The ? (Question mark) character following the file name indicates the Disk, or Disk and partition combination list to be restored. If omitted, then all partitions in the image are restored.
The next parameter is the 'target disk' Disk number to be restored to, and if omitted then the original disk is used as the restore target,
The following command shows Restoring of all the partitions within disk 7 from the image produced by earlier incremental backup.
Please note the backup image contains Partitions from 2 disks. Without specifying source disk qualifier via ? will result in error.
WARNING: The following drives will be overwritten.
Disk# 7 GPT Msft Virtual Disk 1.0 120.00 GB
Partition# 1 Unformatted Microsoft reserved partition 16.0 MB
Partition# 2 (F:) New Volume NTFS Basic data partition 61.39 GB
Partition# 3 (G:) New Volume NTFS Basic data partition 58.59 GB
All target volume data will be overwritten.
Type 'YES' to proceed or 'NO' to cancel: YES
Image ID - D03C0ED2C8CD8635
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dismounting drives
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starting Restore - 28 April 2022 10:11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Image File: E:\backups\E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-01-01.mrimg
Image ID: E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8
Date: 27 April 2022
Time: 15:04
Image Type: Incremental
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source Disk: Disk 7 GPT [5880D634-1C23-497F-B422-F156B0C58F91] - Msft Virtual Disk 1.0 <120.00 GB>
Geometry: 15665\63\512
Destination Disk: Disk 7 GPT [5880D634-1C23-497F-B422-F156B0C58F91] - Msft Virtual Disk 1.0 <120.00 GB>
Verify: N
Delta: Y
SSD Trim: Y
Power Saving: N
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operation 1 of 3
Restore Partition: 1 - <NO NAME>
Unformatted 16.0 MB / 16.0 MB
Drive Letter: Auto
Start Sector: 34
End Sector: 32,767
Partition Type: Primary
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processing: E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-00-00.mrimg
Processing: E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-01-01.mrimg
Restore completed successfully
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operation 2 of 3
Restore Partition: 2 - New Volume (F:)
NTFS 94.6 MB / 61.39 GB
Drive Letter: F:
Start Sector: 32,768
End Sector: 128,774,143
Partition Type: Primary
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking for changes
Processing: E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-00-00.mrimg
Processing: E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-01-01.mrimg
Restore completed successfully
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operation 3 of 3
Restore Partition: 3 - New Volume (G:)
NTFS 94.4 MB / 58.59 GB
Drive Letter: G:
Start Sector: 128,774,144
End Sector: 251,654,143
Partition Type: Primary
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking for changes
Processing: E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-00-00.mrimg
Processing: E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-01-01.mrimg
Restore completed successfully
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UpdateGPTMountedDevices - No modified GUID
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trial Edition
This Trial License will expire in 808 days
Premium features will not function after 14 July 2024
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Restore completed in 00:00:05
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I/O Performance: Read 2.8 Gb/s - Write 2.8 Gb/s
C:\Users\User\Downloads>mrauto.exe -s
Loading log files... Found 53 file(s)
Looking for Auto Restore logs... Found.
Loading status from - C:\ProgramData\Macrium\Reflect\0D5D4C4B78A5D325_Restore27-01-2022 3.58 PM.html
File ID: 0D5D4C4B78A5D325
Date: 01/27/22 03:58:11 PM
Status: 0
Completion: Restore completed in 00:09:41
List
List command 'mrauto.exe -l .' lists all the disks and partitions in the system.
List command 'mrauto.exe -l <image file path>' lists all the disks and partitions within the image.
List command 'mrauto.exe -l <image files folder>' lists all the files inside the folder. Optional wildcard filter can be used to narrow the search.
usage: mrauto.exe -l <[backup file folder] | [full image path] | [.]>
[-u user] [-p pass] [-i imagepass] [-f filter]
example: mrauto.exe -l D:\Backups -f *.mrimg
mrauto.exe -l D:\Backups\Test.mrimg
mrauto.exe -l \\Share\Backups\Test.mrimg -u User -p Pass
mrauto.exe -l D:\Backups\Test.mrimg -i ImagePass
mrauto.exe -l .
For more information type 'mrauto.exe -h'
To display all the Disks and Partitions in the system
List of available Disks and Partitions.
Disk# and Partition# are 1 based index as shown in Macrium Reflect.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk# 3 GPT GIGABYTE GP-GSM2NE8128GNTD E8TM14.2 119.24 GB
Partition# 1 Recovery NTFS Primary 529.0 MB
Partition# 2 NO NAME FAT32 (LBA) Primary 96.0 MB
Partition# 3 Unformatted Primary 16.0 MB
Partition# 4 (C:) NTFS Primary 118.61 GB
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk# 5 GPT Msft Storage Space 0.1 2.04 TB
Partition# 1 Unformatted Primary 16.0 MB
Partition# 2 (D:) source NTFS Primary 2.04 TB
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk# 6 GPT Msft Storage Space 0.1 2.04 TB
Partition# 1 Unformatted Primary 16.0 MB
Partition# 2 (E:) vms NTFS Primary 2.04 TB
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk# 7 GPT Msft Virtual Disk 1.0 120.00 GB
Partition# 1 Unformatted Primary 16.0 MB
Partition# 2 (F:) New Volume NTFS Primary 61.39 GB
Partition# 3 (G:) New Volume NTFS Primary 58.59 GB
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk# 8 GPT Msft Virtual Disk 1.0 10.00 GB
Partition# 1 Unformatted Primary 16.0 MB
Partition# 2 (H:) New Volume NTFS Primary 9.98 GB
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To display all the Disk and Partitions within an image
List of available Disks and Partitions.
Disk# and Partition# are 1 based index as shown in Macrium Reflect.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk# 7 GPT Msft Virtual Disk 1.0 120.00 GB
Partition# 1 Unformatted Microsoft reserved partition 16.0 MB
Partition# 2 (F:) New Volume NTFS Basic data partition 61.39 GB
Partition# 3 (G:) New Volume NTFS Basic data partition 58.59 GB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk# 8 GPT Msft Virtual Disk 1.0 10.00 GB
Partition# 1 Unformatted Microsoft reserved partition 16.0 MB
Partition# 2 (H:) New Volume NTFS Basic data partition 9.98 GB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To list all the Image files in a folder
Please note: The file timestamp displayed will be file creation time which will closely match with the timestamp displayed in Reflect Image View.
Files in e:\backups\
Date Time Size Name
04/27/22 01:04:49 PM 1.59 GB E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-01-01.mrimg
04/27/22 01:03:25 PM 1.59 GB E02EA1FC9A1CD6C8-00-00.mrimg
04/27/22 12:58:04 PM 1.59 GB 4FCBB35A521D555B-00-00.mrimg
04/26/22 01:49:58 PM 1.59 GB 419D32F43C8A6298-00-00.mrimg
04/26/22 01:41:34 PM 1.59 GB 73C293B952CE7D34-00-00.mrimg
04/26/22 11:52:40 AM 1.59 GB 07FD4877C90882A5-01-01.mrimg
04/26/22 10:37:18 AM 1.59 GB 07FD4877C90882A5-00-00.mrimg
04/26/22 10:36:04 AM 1.59 GB E9409BE794895ADA-00-00.mrimg
04/26/22 10:24:13 AM 1.59 GB 8CF0C6124033EDFC-00-00.mrimg
04/26/22 10:09:21 AM 1.59 GB 763A365DA69E70DC-00-00.mrimg
02/07/22 01:38:37 PM 1.59 GB AA2F8B962177BDC3-00-00.mrimg
02/07/22 01:36:26 PM 1.59 GB 4F53CA5C9CA9A598-00-00.mrimg
02/07/22 01:12:32 PM 1.59 GB 558DAD3FFE927DB9-00-00.mrimg
02/07/22 11:49:49 AM 1.59 GB 1124B60125507DE3-00-00.mrimg
02/07/22 09:46:50 AM 1.59 GB 4C778FC2604DE0BE-00-00.mrimg
02/07/22 09:45:32 AM 1.59 GB F1BD730CD26E7825-00-00.mrimg
02/07/22 09:41:41 AM 1.59 GB DFAB222D71EA26EB-00-00.mrimg
02/07/22 08:42:29 AM 1.59 GB 8ED28DC0E3AF7125-00-00.mrimg
12/23/21 02:25:31 PM 1.59 GB B6C9027CE9437759-00-00.mrimg
12/23/21 02:22:05 PM 1.59 GB 1AA0B3EC53CBB5F2-00-00.mrimg
12/23/21 02:21:27 PM 1.59 GB 8645F7F2632987F2-00-00.mrimg
12/23/21 02:18:57 PM 1.59 GB 41635A975C322178-00-00.mrimg
09/21/21 06:58:54 AM 1.59 GB FB100B49F0500FBF-00-00.mrimg
03/30/21 04:43:10 PM 1.59 GB EE2540934C564797-00-00.mrimg
03/11/21 10:40:00 PM 1.59 GB 3419F9772B775950-00-00.mrimg
03/10/21 11:41:13 AM 1.59 GB 1F447DE7946F5057-00-00.mrimg
03/01/21 09:23:37 AM 1.59 GB 9C6CB6F17254AD9C-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 01:43:58 PM 1.59 GB D229B88F827AC3AD-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 01:42:38 PM 1.59 GB EAADD7754877037B-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 01:35:47 PM 1.59 GB D6E24E254D10032E-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 01:34:05 PM 1.59 GB 98383A860C39CCAC-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 12:23:02 PM 1.59 GB 7D7EEC0422B8756A-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 12:19:31 PM 1.59 GB 532D15FB120E516E-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 12:16:43 PM 1.59 GB 951DBB1F129078BD-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 12:15:30 PM 1.59 GB 90412B2CA36517DE-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 12:10:53 PM 1.59 GB 933F63F80389C9C5-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 11:58:29 AM 1.59 GB 82A90008F7838E24-00-00.mrimg
02/23/21 11:55:45 AM 1.59 GB 5FCD2575DC64F73B-00-00.mrimg
10/27/20 04:43:47 PM 1.59 GB B5A9A1506FBA3E92-00-00.mrimg
10/19/20 12:49:41 PM 1.59 GB 85551032D0C05DE1-02-02.mrimg
10/19/20 12:46:46 PM 1.59 GB 85551032D0C05DE1-01-01.mrimg
10/19/20 12:42:41 PM 1.59 GB 85551032D0C05DE1-00-00.mrimg
42 File(s) 66.93 GB Total size