How To Backup Windows 10 The Safe Way With Macrium Reflect

Introduction

You might be wondering why I am writing a Windows how to guide on a blog about Linux.

This tutorial is part of a much larger guide which will show users how to dual boot Windows 10 and Ubuntu.

As such it is important for Windows users to be able to back up their operating system and know they can get back to their original starting point if something goes wrong or if they decide they don't want Linux after all.

Download Macrium Reflect

Download Macrium Reflect from http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx.

Macrium Reflect is a great tool for making a backup of your Windows operating system.

Whilst not 100% required for installing Ubuntu I can’t impress upon you the importance of taking a good backup in case something goes wrong.

It may cost you money if you do not backup your computer and for whatever reason you are unable to boot into Windows.

There is a free version of Macrium available and all this will cost you is a little bit of time.

Click on the download link above and when the above page appears click on the green download button.

Another web page will appear for download.com which is a common site used for installing Windows free, trial and shareware.

Click on the green Download Now button.

A dialog window will open and you can now choose where to download the Reflect installer into. 

When you have chosen the location click “Save”.

The downloaded file is quite small at just a few megabytes (4). 

Double click on the downloaded file. The above dialog window will be displayed.

All you need to do here is click the “Download” button at the bottom of the window. 

The full installer will be downloaded. This is a little bit larger. (Around 45 megabytes).

Install Macrium Reflect

The installer will automatically start once the download has completed. 

The first screen is a welcome screen.

Click “Next” to start.

The first screen is a simple welcome message. Click “Next” to continue.

You will be asked to accept a license agreement. 

Click “Next” to continue. 

(After reading the license of course).

A license key screen will appear. Click “Next” to continue.

You will now be asked to register your copy of Macrium. 

If you wish to do so enter your name and email address otherwise click the “No” radio button.

Click “Next” to continue.

You now have the option to customise your setup but to be honest you can simply click “Next” as there are no other options for the free version.

You are finally ready to install Macrium. Click “Install”.

Macrium Reflect will now be installed. Click “Finish”.

Backup Windows 10 With Macrium Reflect

To start Macrium Reflect start typing the words into the search box in the bottom left corner. 

Macrium Reflect will appear as the only option. Click on the link.

You will be asked to register your copy of Macrium. 

It is up to you whether you do or not. Either fill in the form and click “Register” or choose one of the reminder options or indeed the “Do not remind me” option.

The main Macrium interface will load and you will be able to see all of the available partitions.

If you are using a UEFI based machine you are likely to have more partitions than a computer with a standard BIOS.

The image above shows the disk layout on my computer which used to run Windows 8 (UEFI) and the image below shows the disk layout on my computer which used to run Windows 7 (standard BIOS with MBR).

At this point you will need an external hard drive or a lot of blank DVDs. I obviously recommend an external hard drive.

Insert the external hard drive into your computer using the USB cable.

Make sure that all of the partitions have a check in the box and click the “Image this disk” option.

You will be asked to choose a destination for the system image. 

By clicking on the button with three dots you can choose the location where the system image is to be created. It is a good idea to choose either a network drive or an external hard drive.

If you haven’t got an external hard drive you can click on the CD/DVD Burner option. You will need to have enough blank DVDs to cover all the data you are currently using on your main hard drive.

When you have chosen the location you wish to backup to click “Next”.

A template will appear so that you can backup using this method at regular intervals. 

You don’t really need to do anything here apart from clicking “Next”.

A screen will appear showing which partitions are to be backed up and how much space is required for each partition.

Click “Finish” to create the backup.

A message will appear asking whether you want to run the backup now or save the settings until later.

Click “OK” to continue.

Add A Macrium Boot Menu Option

This step is useful for two purposes:

• If your computer won't boot into Windows or Ubuntu, for whatever reason, you can get to a recovery menu to restore your system image
• On UEFI based computers you can get instant access to the UEFI boot screens without having to hold down the shift key within Windows.

From the main Macrium Reflect window click on other tasks and choose the “Add a boot menu option to start the Reflect recovery environment” option.

An option will appear with options for no menu, PE 3.1, PE 4.0 and PE 5.0.  PE 3.1 is for Windows 7, PE 4.0 is for Windows 8 and PE 5.0 is for Windows 8.1. It doesn’t really matter which one you choose though.

The most suitable option for Windows 10 users is PE 5.0.

A screen will appear for preparing the Windows PE image. Accept the recommended option and click Finish.

Next time you reboot Windows 10 you will have an option to boot Windows 10 or the Macrium Reflect recovery program. This is very useful.

How To Create A Recovery USB Or DVD

To make sure that you really have access to the Macrium recovery disk you created earlier you should also create either a recovery DVD, a USB drive or add a recovery partition to your external hard drive.

From the main Macrium interface click on “Create bootable rescue media”.

A wizard will start with information about the PE environment that will be used within the Macrium recovery environment. 

You can click the “Change PE version” if you want to choose a version more suitable to your current operating system but being that you are using Windows 10 you should probably stick with version 5.

Click “Next” to continue.

A list of drivers will appear. Generally you can just click “Next” at this screen.

You will now have an option to choose whether to create a bootable DVD or USB drive. Choose the relevant option and click “Next”. (you will need to insert a blank USB drive or DVD).

Macrium will now display a message telling you that it is either about to create a USB drive or DVD. Click “Continue” to create the rescue media.

You should now try booting into both the Macrium menu option and the Macrium rescue disk to make sure they boot correctly.

Summary

Whilst you don't necessarily have to backup your computer before dual booting with another operating system it is a very good idea to do so and Macrium provides a very good option.