Macrium Reflect
Version 8.1.8854 · Paramount Software · Windows 7 / 8 / 10 / 11 (64-bit) · ranked #165 in the library
Takes a sector accurate image of a whole disk while the system is running, keeps a chain of incrementals behind it, and restores that image to bare metal from rescue media when the machine will not start.
Read the installation section below before you start. The order of the steps matters on this release.
About this release
Overview
Macrium Reflect images disks rather than copying files. The image is a block level snapshot of the partition including the boot record, the system reserved partition, the recovery partition and every installed application in its registered state, taken through the volume shadow copy service so the machine stays usable while it runs. Restoring that image puts the machine back exactly as it was, which is a different proposition from reinstalling and then copying documents back.
The backup chain is where it earns its keep day to day. A full image is taken once, then incrementals capture only the blocks that changed, which on a normal workstation is a few minutes and a few gigabytes rather than an hour and the whole drive. Retention rules consolidate and purge old images automatically so the destination does not fill, and the whole schedule is defined once and left alone. Rapid Delta Restore does the reverse trick, restoring only the blocks that differ between the current disk and the image, which turns a full restore into a short operation instead of a long one.
This package covers the Workstation, Server and Server Plus editions from one installer, with the edition selected during setup. Workstation covers desktop systems, Server adds imaging of server operating systems and their volumes, and Server Plus adds the database aware backup for mail and database servers where a block level image alone is not enough. The WinPE rescue media builder is present in all of them and produces a bootable ISO or USB stick that carries the restore engine plus network and storage drivers for the machine it was built on.
What it does
Feature breakdown
Live block level imaging
Images a running system through volume shadow copy, capturing the boot structures and every partition needed to make the restored disk start on its own.
Incremental and differential chains
Full image once, then only changed blocks, with retention rules that consolidate and purge old files so the destination stays within a set size.
Rapid Delta Restore and Delta Clone
Restores or clones only the blocks that differ from the target, cutting a full disk operation down to the size of the actual difference.
Disk cloning
Copy a whole disk to another one, including to a smaller SSD where the partitions are resized during the clone rather than afterwards.
WinPE rescue media
Builds a bootable rescue environment with the storage and network drivers for the machine, so a dead system can be restored from an image on a network share.
Image mounting and file recovery
Mount any image as a drive letter and pull individual files out of it without performing a restore.
Changed in this build
Version 8.1.8854
- Faster incremental scans on very large volumes with many small files.
- Rescue media builder updated with a newer WinPE base and a broader driver set for recent storage controllers.
- Improved handling of destinations on network shares that drop and reconnect mid-backup.
- Retention rule processing rewritten so consolidation no longer requires a full pass over the image chain.
- Clearer reporting when a scheduled job is skipped because the destination was not available.
Installation
Follow these in order
- Go offline before starting.
- Extract the archive to a local drive.
- Disable real time protection.
- Run the installer as administrator and choose the edition you want from the selection screen.
- Complete the install and reboot so the volume shadow copy components register properly.
- Open Reflect, build the rescue media before doing anything else, then re-enable protection.
Release notes
From whoever packed it
- Build the rescue media on the day you install it. An image you cannot boot to restore is not a backup.
- Keep the destination on a different physical disk from the source. An image sitting on the drive it protects is lost with that drive.
- Leave automatic updates off. An update reverts the activated state and the scheduled jobs stop running silently.
System requirements
Minimum and recommended
| Operating system | Windows 7 through Windows 11, and the matching server releases for the server editions |
|---|---|
| Processor | Any 64-bit x64 processor |
| Memory | 2 GB minimum, 4 GB or more recommended for large volumes |
| Storage | 1 GB for the application plus a destination large enough for the image chain |
| Media | A USB stick of 1 GB or larger, or a blank disc, for the rescue environment |
Questions about this release
Answered before you ask
- Can I restore to different hardware?
- Yes, the redeploy option in the rescue environment injects drivers for the new machine during the restore.
- How much space does the chain need?
- Roughly the size of the used space in the full image plus the accumulated changes. Retention rules cap it at whatever you set.
- Does it back up individual files as well?
- Yes, file and folder backup jobs exist alongside imaging, though the image is what gets a dead machine running again.
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