Windows 10: using Macrium, ransomware threat, move from Windows 7 to Windows 10

Im relatively new with posting on forumsIm not sure whether or not this post should be 2-3 separate posts and possibly even to different forums so please bear with the convoluted situation Ive gotten myself into:
I run Windows 7 Pro on Dell XPS (pre-2014 model, Version 6.1, build 7610 Service Pack 1) and Im in the process of transitioning over to Windows 10 Pro (build 10.0.18363.418) on Dell XPS (7390 model). W7 machine only updated to Dec 2017 (group B).
Last week I got a Malwarebytes RTP detection alert and that it had blocked a ransomware (?) threat. I then made a backup image of all local drives on W7 laptop using Macrium Reflect Free Edition v5.2.6544, mistakenly with a non-bootable flash drive. My questions / concerns:
1. Is the backup image at all usable, for future restore or cloning? all drives including the OS or just the DATA partition?
2. Is there a chance for the image already made to be corrupted / infected by the blocked threat?
3. If I do have to make a backup image with a bootable flash drive, please give me instructions to do this. Also, is there a free edition of v7.2, which would allow me to do backups / cloning similar to older versions? Is there time limit to the free edition?
4. What can I do to ensure a clean image of the DATA partition on W7 machine to transfer / clone to DATA partition in W10 machine? Or should this question be posted to sevensforum?
5. What do I do to remove the threat on W7, as Ive also got various alerts from WinPatrol of Windows Error Report Service (WERFAULT.exe) being stopped from running at Startup (but when checked, it showed manual start), then later another alert of Windows Error Report Service being added to run at Startup and when that was rejected, an caution message of along the line of possible malware..stating that the rejection failed and another component of the program is still trying to run the service at Startup to take control of computers Startup. Unfortunately, I didnt save any screenshots of WinPatrol alerts and is having trouble figuring out where to find the WinPatrol log files etc for more details of these alerts. Or should this question be posted to sevensforum?

:)

 

Say goodbye to ransomware with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

Yes, ransomware will be a thing of the past with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update thanks to something called "Controlled Folder Access" in Windows Defender.

Windows 10 will hide your important files from ransomware soon | The Verge

These are protections for your files against ransomware at the kernel and Windows Defender level. Rest easy, your files are safe.

About damn time Microsoft!

 

using Macrium, ransomware threat, move from Windows 7 to Windows 10

1) Yes, the backup may be usable with some possible exceptions. You first need to determine if there is a REAL ransomeware threat. You may want to check with Malwarebytes regarding the positive detection you received. If it did successfully block the threat, then you should be good.

Even if you do have an infection, data files (not executables) should be no problem to restore. Remember that you can always mount a backup as if it was a drive and then simply copy files from it to another drive. This holds true for all partitions that you have backed up, not just the OS partition.

2) If the original partition was corrupted and you made an image backup of that partition, then that corruption will be present in the image as well. Again, note that you should still be able to recover data files.

3) To restore an image, you don't need bootable media unless you plan to restore the OS drive and related partitions. In that case you will need to have a bootable Macrium Reflect drive (thumb drive, CD, DVD, etc.) but the drive that you backed up your data to does not itself have to be bootable. You can always boot from a Macrium boot disk and then access the backups that are located on other drives or network locations. The free version does not have any time limit, only fewer capabilities than the paid version.

4) If your data partition is just that - data only, you do not need to do anything special. It would basically be just like taking that data disk and plugging it into a Windows 10 system. Windows 10 has no problem reading and writing disk that were previously used with Windows 7.

5) Forgive me for not being familiar with the particular malware / antivirus programs you are using, but when they detect a threat, do they not tell you whether they themselves were able to neutralize the threat and if not do they offer advice how how to remove the threat?

Another possible solution would be to simply start clean: Perform a clean install of Windows 10, followed by installation of your programs, then finally restore all your data files from your backup images.

 

Say goodbye to ransomware with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

lol