Overview
Macrium Reflect takes a sector level image of a disk or a partition, which is a different thing from copying files. The image contains the boot record, the partition layout, the hidden recovery partitions and everything else needed to put a machine back exactly as it was, rather than putting the documents back onto a fresh installation and spending a weekend reinstalling applications.
Backup sets are built from a full image with incremental or differential images layered on top, and the retention rules prune old sets automatically so a destination drive does not silently fill. Images can be mounted as a drive letter, so a single file can be pulled out of last week's backup without restoring anything. Verification reads the image back and confirms it is intact, which is the step people skip and then regret.
The rescue media is the part that makes it a recovery tool rather than a backup tool. Build a bootable drive, boot a dead machine from it, and restore an image onto bare metal. The recovery environment includes network drivers so an image on a network share is reachable, and the restore can go onto different hardware, with a redeploy pass that fixes the driver set for the new machine. Three configurations ship here, covering workstations, servers and servers with database aware backup.
What it does well
Sector level imaging
A complete image including boot records, partition layout and hidden partitions, so a restore returns a working machine rather than a pile of files.
Incremental sets with retention
Full images with incrementals or differentials layered on, and automatic pruning so the destination drive does not fill unnoticed.
Mount an image
Attach any image as a drive letter and pull individual files out of it without restoring the whole thing.
Bootable rescue media
A recovery environment with network drivers that restores onto bare metal, including onto different hardware with a driver redeploy pass.
Scheduled jobs
Backup definitions run on a schedule with logging, email style reporting to a local log and a run on event option.
Changes in this build
- Faster incremental comparison on very large volumes.
- Rescue media builder updated with a current driver set for recent storage controllers.
- Image verification made significantly quicker on network destinations.
- Retention rule editor rebuilt with a clearer preview of what will be pruned.
- Fixed a rare failure imaging volumes with a heavily fragmented change journal.
What is in the package
- Macrium Reflect installer, 64-bit
- Workstation, Server and Server Plus configurations
- Rescue media builder with driver injection
- Scheduled job templates and retention presets
- Multilingual interface files, 11 languages
System requirements
| Processor | Intel or AMD 64-bit |
| Memory | 4 GB minimum, 8 GB for large imaging jobs |
| Graphics | Any GPU with a current driver |
| Storage | 1 GB for the install, plus a destination drive larger than the source data |
| Display | 1280 x 768 minimum |
| System | Windows 7 through Windows 11, 64-bit |
Installation
- Extract the archive to a local folder.
- Run setup and choose the configuration you need at the prompt.
- Apply the included configuration step before first launch.
- Build the rescue media immediately, before you need it.
- Create a first full image and let the verification pass run to completion.
Before you start
Build and test the rescue media on the day you install, not on the day the disk fails.
Store images on a separate physical drive, an image on the disk it protects is not a backup.
Verification adds time to every job and is worth every minute of it.
Questions about this title
Can I restore to different hardware?
Yes, the redeploy pass in the recovery environment fixes the driver set for the new machine.
Can I get one file out of a backup?
Yes, mount the image as a drive letter and copy it out.
What do the Server editions add?
Server handles server operating systems, and Server Plus adds database aware backup for live databases.
Does the rescue media include network drivers?
Yes, so images on a network share are reachable from a dead machine.
About this listing
This entry was checked on a clean install of Windows 7 / 8 / 10 / 11 (64-bit) before it was published, and it is rechecked whenever the package is rebuilt. The figures on this page come from the site index rather than from the publisher, so the download count is what people here have actually pulled.
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