Windows 10: System Image Problem

No problem all, I am in the process of doing clean install at this time. Still I wonder why I have had this problem in the first place. I've never had this problem before, but I guess there's always a first time. I still would like direction on where to go to be able to recover some of the file that went along with the programs on that drive. An example, AutoCAD save there license info with the program.

--
Nick

 

Ok Nick,

Let Windows Update bring the machine up-to-date

Install your favorite software using current install media. Discs are stale the moment they leave the mfgr. Vist the vendor site and download the current release.

Licenses are going to be difficult since the image refused to install. You can try a few things, such as adding the image VHD to a virtual machine, but I'm not sure that would work. You could pull the data out of the image and hunt for the license information - you have plenty of room.

But wait, don't you have the licences on the original discs or packaging? Sure would let me breath a sigh of relief.

Once you get all software, Windows and 3rd party, up-to-date (as much as possible sans licenses) - make a backup of disk 0 using Macrium Reflect Free.
Macrium Reflect Free

Macrium Reflect KnowledgeBase - KnowledgeBase - Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase

Then try to restore the System image from inside Win10
Advanced Startup Options - Boot to in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

With any luck, it will work this time.
You can run Belarc advisor to audit the install, including keys
Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit, for software, hardware and security configuration information on your computer. Software license management, IT asset management, cyber security audits, and more.

Save the HTML report to an external drive

In either case, I think the Clean install will provide a better experience.

You could restore the Macrium backup and finish installing the software that you could not locate the license information.

These are choices you have to make. Whether you want to try to restore the image one last time or try to figure out how to get licenses for 3rd party software out of the image. If I get to vote - I'd try the image restore one last time since you have Macrium backup and can also try the other option.

 

Thought of another scenario using the HP Pavillion disk
It depends on what you have on that drive - if it's just the HP recovery media, then this might work out better

Once the Clean install is done - disconnect the drive (disk 0) either physically or thought BIOS
Connect the HP Pavillion drive

Connect the drive with your System image on it
Try restoring the image to the HP Pavillion drive
Select create partitions option in the restore

Something to think about - there are a few things that need to be answered before proceeding.
Is the HP recovery the only thing on that drive
Was Win10 originally on the machine
Were you able to select the Create partitions in previous attempts
Are there other System images that you could try to restore

Question to self: Should the HP pavillion disk be pre allocated with 450 MB SysRes and 580 GB Windows parts

I've never had this much difficulty with a system image restore, so I'm shot gunning a lot of options.
Thanks for everything you're doing - I'm sure it's a bit frustrating.

Bill
.

 

Bill,

[EDITED by Moderator]I will continue this thread and ask pertinent questions, but I need to speak one on one.

--
Nick

 

Please remove your personal eMail from the post. You can PM me (click on - select Private Message)

 

Hi,

On behalf of the forum community, may I ask if TS is willing to post back describing how his problem was resolved ?

TIA, *Wink

 

The issue is not resolved yet - there are still some things that need to be done.

• Win10 was clean installed to get a running Windows system
  The System image is still not restored.
  Nick suspects it might be a bad image. I'm not fully convinced yet.
  That's why I wrote post# 48 - a nth attempt to put the image on some disk.
  
  
• There is licensed software that needs to be installed on the machine
  Nick hasn't said whether the keys are anywhere other than the System image (packaging)
  I know the System image VHD can be mounted
  - What I don't know is:
  -- how the keys can be extracted from the registry
  -- if the keys are encoded
  -- how many software packages need a key or what they are
  
  
• Data needs to be retrieved from the System image (which is where this thread really started).
  Due to the Clean install - there is more data to be retrieved than the original eMail backups.
  This can be done from the mounted System image VHD, if it is not a bad image (I think the SysRes part is what is causing the restore to fail, not the Windows part)

I suggested that Nick start a new thread for the restoration part of this issue, mainly due to the length of my posts *Wink
A new thread would untangle the attempts to restore the image from getting the data and more members might offer help.
Both threads should point to each other for continuity.

Bill
.

 

Ok, the clean install is updating Windows right now,so I'm writing using my phone, laptop is too slow.

The original install was a free upgrade from a lined copy of 8.1. So the keys are stored at MS. I created a flash drive that houses the install package of 10, with some vitals, so I can access the keys. I can also boot to the flash drive. I guess that keys, you talk about, are the registration keys?

Now as far as restoring the image to another disk would be impossible for me to do, I don't have another SATA disk, and I can't go out and buy one. The drive that the image is on does have other files on it.
--
Nick

 

I'm referring to the 3rd software keys, such as Adobe. They would be in the registry in the System Image. You might also should have them either on the original packaging or in an email if the install media for that 3rd party software was a digital download instead of a physical disc.

I was thinking of using the HP Pavillion disk - I rarely ask members to spend their hard earned cash *Wink
I don't know what is on that disk though ... there is only about 1 GB free. You probably have other data on it and that means you cannot use it for the Restore. If it only contained the HP Recovery partition (Win8.1 as originally installed on the box), then you could use it.




After looking at the screen shot you posted, I don't think this is worth the effort (moving data off of that drive to one of your other external drives). It was an alternative idea ... thinking out loud. There is no guarantee that the Restore would work any better on that drive than the drive you've already tried. So consider this a non-option.

Bill

 

Hi,

OK, so far so good then. Thanks for taking the effort, both of you. *Smile

Some free disk space is going to be needed for the full back up before the old system image can be launched though.

Keeping me fingers crossed, *Wink

 

The saved emails are in there also. I guess I relied too much on a system image.

The HP Pavillion disk is a partition and it's 15 GB, but when there is the Vista restore saved there, there is only 1 GB free.

You know, the only thing that I can't replace and need are the saved emails, I lost them and that's why I did the system restore in the first place.

 

Thanks, I was focusing on both the licenses and your data. If it's only data, that makes it a lot easier.

Let Windows catch up with the updates. There shouldn't be too many because of cumulative updates, but it might take some time and the system will probably restart a few times.

When the system is up-to-date, you can try to retrieve the eMail archive from the System Image. I think you will be able to get them.
I'll post steps for that later ... one step at a time *Wink

What eMail client do you use? That will help me understand what needs to be salvaged from the System image.

I will be off the forum for a few hours, will check your thread later tonight.

Thanks,

Bill
.

 

I use Microsoft Office Outlook
--
Nick

 

Thanks Nick.

Your PM mailbox is full, we'll talk on Fri as planned. We should return to your thread for that session (PMs don't allow screen shots or file to be uploaded)

To bring anyone else up to date.
Nick clean installed Win10 on disk 0 - fully updated
made a Macrium backup
tried unsuccessfully to restore the System image
restore the Macrium

These were things discussed earlier in Nick's thread - so far all is going according to plan
... except for actually restoring the image *Sad

We'll pick it up from there unless, while I sleep, Nick reports that he successfully restored the image some other way .

 

A few preliminary pieces of information

• Hyper-V
  This prepares the way to use a Virtual Machine (VM) to use the VHD in the System Image.
  
  • Check virtualization in the firmware (BIOS or UEFI)
    Boot to firmware and locate virtualization
    Open the Processor submenu
    -> Processor settings menu might be deeper on the menu under Chipset, Advanced CPU Configuration or Northbridge.
    If Intel Virtualization Technology (aka Intel VT-x) is enabled, exit out of BIOS without saving changes
    Otherwise, enable VT-x, exit BIOS saving changes
    
  • If you have Win10 Pro (Hyper-V is not available on Win10 Home)
    Is Hyper-V enabled in Turn Windows Features on or off - to find out
    Press WinKey (
    
    )+X to open the Windows Quick Access menu
    Select Programs and Features (Pgms&Feats) -> top menu pick
    Select Turn Windows Features on or off in the left pane
    Place a tick mark in the Hyper-V check box if it is not already selected
    
    
    -> If it will not turn on or is inactive (grayed out), then your hardware might not support Virtual machines or it is not enabled in BIOS
    
    If Hyper-V was already enabled, Cancel out of Pgms&Feats
    If you enabled Hyper-V, OK out of Pgms&Feats
    A system restart might be required
    
  • If you have Win10 Home - you can use Macrium Reflect VM.
    I'm not well-versed in Macrium virtual machines, so I'll have to look for instructions
  
  
• I'd also like to see your Disk Management
  
  • Download dmDskmgr-vg.zip (contains dmDskmgr-vg.mmc)
    
    
  • Open the compressed folder, dmDskmgr-vg.zip
    Double click dmDskmgr-vg.mmc to launch it
    Press the Open button if prompted Do you want to open this file?
    Answer yes to the User Account Control prompt
    
  • Press Alt+PrtScn to grab a snapshot of just the Disk Management window
    Open Paint and Ctrl+V to paste it, then save the image
    
    
  • Attach the image to a new post
  
  
• Create a new folder named sysimgUsers on your C: drive
  Answer Yes to the UAC if prompted
  
  Mount the System Image VHD
  Copy your old User profile in the System image VHD to C:\sysimgUsers
  -> after copy example C:\sysimgUsers\Nick
  
  Press WinKey (
  
  )+X to open the Windows Quick Access menu
  Select Command Prompt (Admin)
  Enter the following commands
  cd C:\sysimgUsers
  dir /a /s > %TEMP%\dmOutput.txt
  exit
  Attach dmOutput.txt to a post.
  See: Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Ten Forums - Windows 10 Forums
  
  You can paste this string into the open file box of the upload dialog and press upload:
  %TEMP%\dmOutput.txt
  
  or press browse and put %TEMP% in the location field then select dmOutput.txt in the list of files in %TEMP%
  
  Note: %TEMP% (User Environment Variable) is a shorthand way of getting to C:\Users\Nick\AppData\Local\Temp