Windows 10: Macrium Reflect - Create a Rescue Partition

How to: Macrium Reflect - Create a Rescue Partition

This tutorial will show how to create a small Macrium Reflect Recovery Partition and add it to Windows 10 Boot Menu. In case of emergency, user can boot to Macrium Rescue environment and fix Windows boot issues, or restore a Reflect backup image.

Tutorial requires Macrium Reflect (any edition) being installed. Macrium Reflect Free download:

Download



1. Create Macrium Rescue ISO
1.1 Open Macrium Reflect. Select Create Rescue Media in Other Tasks menu, select ISO File, select location to save ISO file, click Build:



(Click screenshots to enlarge.)

1.2 Create a small partition (at least 1 GB, recommended 2 GB) on any internal HDD or SSD. If you do not have available space on any disk, you can shrink an existing partition and use the freed space (tutorial).

If you have more than one internal disks, it is recommended that you create the Rescue partition on a secondary disk, not the same disk where Windows is installed. Format the partition as NTFS.

Partition name and letter can be whatever you'd prefer.

1.3 Mount the Macrium Rescue ISO (right click ISO file, select Mount). In File Explorer, copy all content of mounted ISO to the new Macrium Rescue partition you created. In my case now, the mounted ISO got drive letter J: and small partition I created is drive R:




2. Add Macrium Rescue to Boot Menu
2.1 Copy the following batch code, paste it in Notepad or any other text or code editor:

@ECHO OFF
TITLE Add Macrium Rescue to Windows boot menu
:SETLETTER
CLS
ECHO.
ECHO ###################################################
ECHO #
ECHO # This batch file creates Macrium Rescue
ECHO # environment adding it to Windows boot menu.
ECHO #
ECHO ###################################################
ECHO.
bcdedit /create {ramdiskoptions} /d "Ramdisk"
bcdedit /set {ramdiskoptions} ramdisksdidevice partition=R:
bcdedit /set {ramdiskoptions} ramdisksdipath \boot\boot.sdi
for /f "tokens=2 delims={}" %%i in ('bcdedit.exe /create /d "Macrium Rescue" /application OSLOADER') do (set guid={%%i})
bcdedit /set %guid% device ramdisk=[R:]\sources\boot.wim,{ramdiskoptions}
bcdedit /set %guid% path \windows\system32\winload.efi
bcdedit /set %guid% osdevice ramdisk=[R:]\sources\boot.wim,{ramdiskoptions}
bcdedit /set %guid% systemroot \windows
bcdedit /set %guid% winpe yes
bcdedit /set %guid% detecthal yes
bcdedit /displayorder %guid% /addlast
ECHO.
ECHO Macrium Rescue added to Windows boot menu.
ECHO.
pause


2.2 Edit the batch file according to your needs:

• Three lines in blue font contain the drive letter for new Rescue partition, in my case R:
• Line in red font contains the label for boot menu entry, in my case Macrium Rescue
• Line in green font, winload.efi is for UEFI systems with GPT disks. Change it to winload.exe if your PC is a BIOS system with MBR disks

2.3 Save the batch file as Rescue.bat. Alternatively, you can download the batch file from my OneDrive. If downloading, remember to unblock the file before using it (tutorial):

Download

2.4 Open an elevated Command Prompt (tutorial), run the batch file. Alternatively, right click it and select Run as administrator. Macrium Rescue environment will be added to Windows Boot Menu:




2.5 You can now remove the drive letter from the recue partition to hide it.

2.6 You can now select to boot to Macrium Rescue from Windows Boot Menu:



That's it!

Kari


Related Tutorials

• How to Create and Restore a System Image Backup with Macrium Reflect
• How to Use Macrium Reflect Rescue Media to Fix Windows Boot Issues

:)

 

Macrium Reflect - Create a Rescue Partition  

Macrium already has that feature bulit in to it. Any reason to go thru the other steps? Or am I missing something?

 

Macrium Reflect - Create a Rescue Partition  

Done.

Did one over a year ago: Factory recovery - Create a Custom Recovery Partition

Let's make something clear. I never knew what Kyhi's rescue disk is before Martin mentioned it. I have seen the thread, but nothing in original post even remotely hints about it using similar script . Also, nothing in that original post hints about creating a rescue partition on internal HDD. Furthermore, it is not in Tutorials, not a tutorial. It's a sticky thread.

Usually, when making a tutorial, I search the Tutorials section to see that the tut I have on my mind does not exist. If not, I then write one. Last summer, writing the custom recovery partition tut, I could not find anything similar in Tutorials. There was no Custom Recovery Partition or Macrium Rescue Partition tutorials, so I wrote them, they both use the same script I have used from first days of Windows 10:




Checking the dates when Kyhi's rescue sticky and my Factory Recovery tutorial have been created:








You guys have something to complain, do it properly.

 

Macrium Reflect - Create a Rescue Partition  

That feature boots from files stored on C drive. If C drive gets corrupted, it will not work. The method shown is independent. Takes less space as well.

 

Macrium Reflect - Create a Rescue Partition  

It was only a joke, my dear friend. Absolutely no offence intended. I humbly apologise.

 

Macrium Reflect - Create a Rescue Partition  

Hi @Kari,

I suggest you add an optional final step to remove the drive letter (R in your case) so Macrium Partition is hidden from File Explorer, minimising risk of accidental overwriting or file deletion.

As a second observation, the tutorial you have created works for Windows 10 installers as well - maybe you would like to add a comment on that as well, or copy and make a second tutorial?

Cheers

M.