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Macrium Reflect

Disk imaging that actually restores when it matters, with the Workstation, Server, and Server Plus feature sets present, plus rescue media building and bare metal recovery to different hardware.

Version 8.1.8854 648 MB Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit) Updated 1 week ago

Overview

What this release is

Backup software is only as good as its restore, and this is the tool that technicians reach for precisely because the restore works. An image taken while Windows is running captures a consistent snapshot of the entire disk, and that image can be put back onto a blank drive, mounted as a browsable volume to pull out a single file, or restored onto completely different hardware with the driver injection step handling the change.

The imaging engine is fast and sensible about space. Incremental images capture only changed blocks, differential images capture everything since the last full, and the retention rules prune old chains automatically so a backup drive does not silently fill up. Compression and encryption are applied during the write, and verification can run afterwards so a corrupted image is discovered immediately rather than during an emergency.

Rescue media is the part people skip and then regret. The builder produces bootable media containing the recovery environment with network support and the drivers for the machine it was built on, so a system that will not start can be booted from the media and restored from an image on a network share. There is also an option to install the recovery environment into the boot menu so no external media is needed at all.

The Server and Server Plus feature levels included here add live database awareness, so an image taken on a running server captures a consistent state rather than a half written one, plus the ability to restore individual items rather than an entire volume. Scheduling covers full, differential, and incremental chains with templates that cover the usual retention patterns without hand written rules.

Feature set

What you get

Live disk imaging

Full disk and partition images taken while the system runs, using a consistent snapshot rather than a rolling copy.

Bare metal restore

Put an image back onto different hardware, with the driver injection step handling the chipset and storage controller change.

Image mounting

Mount any image as a browsable drive letter to pull out individual files without a full restore.

Rescue media

Bootable recovery environment with network support and machine specific drivers, or installed directly into the boot menu.

Retention rules

Automatic pruning of full, differential, and incremental chains so a backup target does not silently fill.

Server features

Database aware snapshots on running servers plus granular item level restore rather than whole volume recovery.

Changes in this build

What changed

Imaging throughput improved on NVMe source drives
Rescue media builder updated with a newer recovery environment base
Retention engine rewritten with clearer chain visualisation
Restore to dissimilar hardware now detects storage controllers more reliably
Fixed the scheduled task that failed silently when the target drive was offline

Installation

How to install it

Disable real time protection before extracting, since the licence component is repacked during setup.
Extract to a short path and run the installer as administrator, which is required for the volume snapshot driver.
Choose the edition level during setup. All feature sets are present and can be changed later.
Build rescue media immediately after installing, before you need it, and test that the machine boots from it.
Skip the registration prompt. The full feature set is already available in the interface.

Hardware

System requirements

Processor	Intel or AMD, 64-bit, dual core or better
Memory	4 GB minimum, 8 GB recommended for large image sets
Graphics	Any adapter with the standard driver
Storage	1.5 GB for the application plus a separate target drive for images
Access	Administrator rights required for the snapshot driver
System	Windows 10 version 21H2 or newer, Windows 11 and Server releases supported

Package

Release information

Title	Macrium Reflect
Version	8.1.8854
Developer	Paramount Software
Category	System Utilities
Platform	Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit)
Package size	648 MB
Interface languages	Multilingual (10 interface languages)
Release identifier	BS-08188501
Listed	3 years ago
Last rebuilt	1 week ago
Total downloads	147,377

Questions

Before you start

Which edition does this package install?

All levels are present. The selector during setup decides which modules appear, and it can be changed afterwards.

Can an image be restored to a different computer?

Yes, using the dissimilar hardware option, which injects the storage and chipset drivers during the restore.

Is the rescue media included in the package?

The builder is included. The media itself is generated on your machine so it carries the correct drivers.

Does it back up to network shares?

Yes, including from the rescue environment, provided credentials are supplied to the scheduled task.