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Macrium Reflect Created C:\boot !!
What is this C:\boot?
It contains one folder, macrium, that contains two folders, drivers and WA10Kfiles Drivers ahs three folders -- disk (empty), network and USB (empty) -- and two files -- Macrium.oem (empty) and SearchPaths.txt. WA10files has three folders -- fwfiles, media and mount (empty) -- and a file called DrisversHash.bin c:\boot takes up about 300MB. Do I need to keep it? Can I move it to another drive? |
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#2
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Macrium Reflect Created C:\boot !!
Cy Burnot wrote:
What is this C:\boot? It contains one folder, macrium, that contains two folders, drivers and WA10Kfiles Drivers ahs three folders -- disk (empty), network and USB (empty) -- and two files -- Macrium.oem (empty) and SearchPaths.txt. WA10files has three folders -- fwfiles, media and mount (empty) -- and a file called DrisversHash.bin c:\boot takes up about 300MB. Do I need to keep it? Can I move it to another drive? Best guess. http://www.macrium.com/webhelp/Windows_Boot_Menu.asp The folder would be intended for supporting an additional item in a Windows Boot Manager menu. It's effectively the Macrium boot CD, but stored in C:\boot instead, and needing a hook in the boot menu, for a user to be able to use it. Paul |
#3
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Macrium Reflect Created C:\boot !!
Cy Burnot wrote:
What is this C:\boot? It contains one folder, macrium, that contains two folders, drivers and WA10Kfiles Drivers ahs three folders -- disk (empty), network and USB (empty) -- and two files -- Macrium.oem (empty) and SearchPaths.txt. WA10files has three folders -- fwfiles, media and mount (empty) -- and a file called DrisversHash.bin c:\boot takes up about 300MB. Do I need to keep it? Can I move it to another drive? Did you configure Macrium Reflect to provide a boot-time recovery option? Some backup programs usurp the boot code in the MBR. This has the advantage of loading the program from outside any partition. You can resize or even delete partitions but the MBR boot code will still be there. The MBR is not in any partition, especially because it contains the partition tables to define the partitions. The first sector of the first track cannot be assigned to any partition. The advantage of using a recovery program in the MBR's code area is that it is safe from partition or file corruption or deletion. The disadvantage is the MBR boot area is only 446 bytes in size (but there is a trick of using the rest of the first track because it also cannot be assigned to a partition). I have seen a rescue program (I think it was one of Powerquest's products) that used both the MBR boot section which loaded files in the OS partition to provided for a bigger program; however, those would be susceptible to partition or file corruption or deletion. Usurping the MBR boot code means the rescue program not only has to provide its functions but also the boot functions. Some boot programs instead use Microsoft's dual-boot scheme (where 'dual' was used incorrectly and should've been 'multi'). The BIOS loads the boot code in the MBR which then determines which partition is marked 'active' and loads the code in the boot sector of that partition. The boot sector code loads the rest of the OS in that partition. Back in Windows XP, the boot sector code would look in boot.ini see what OSes are listed in there. The info there pointed at the start of the OS or at an image file. For example, if you installed the Recovery Console for Windows then an entry is added in the boot.ini file and shown as a choice in a menu for the timeout configured. It pointed to \Cmdcons to a bootsect.dat file under there which was an image of Windows loaded when you selected Recovery Console. As of Windows Vista, Microsoft reeingeered the boot scheme and switch to using a database (BCD = Boot Configuration Data). Then EFI replaced BIOS and the scheme changed again. You never mentioned if your mobo uses BIOS or [u]EFI. Under Windows XP, the boot loader is NTLDR and the boot config data was in \boot.ini. Under Vista, and later, the boot loader is bootmgr and the boot config database is under c:\boot\bcd. Macrium also puts its boot config data under there but under \boot\macrium. A short tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...t-how-use.html and more info: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...=ws.10%29.aspx https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...=ws.10%29.aspx Even as an admin-level user, you may not see all or any files under there. Maybe if you changed permissions or ownership then you could see the files under there but I won't monkey with them. It's a protected path and for good reason. There are protected paths that not even admins are allowed to go so they won't show up when using the file system under Windows' control. Use the allocated tools (bcdedit, msconfig) to look at and modify the boot config (and possibly shoot yourself in your foot making changes). bcdedit, a console-mode command, lets you edit the BCD database but you'll have to do some reading to figure out how to use it. I never bothered digging that deep into this muck, plus I believe a multi-boot manager should NOT be within the OS partition or within any partition (the BCD is in the OS partition and defined in the registry there). msconfig still works but is more limited to only show the boot config data (the list of OSes) with the options to set one as the default and to delete. Load msconfig.exe and look at its Boot tab where is listed each OS configured with Microsoft's dual-boot scheme however employed in the OS. Macrium Reflect adds itself as another entry to the boot menu. Alas, because its rescue files are inside the OS partition, any damage, corruption, or deletion of that partition could mean you cannot load any OS listed in the boot menu, including Reflect, and why you should create the bootable rescue media for Reflect. So now that you know Reflect gets added into the boot menu using Microsoft boot scheme, where does the loader get the image to boot? Reflect doesn't create another [hidden] partition from which it loads. It resides in the same partition as the OS. For the Recovery Console, a ..dat image file is stored in the partition and the boot entry points to that. To see the active entries in the BCD database, in an admin-level console shell (cmd.exe run as admin), run (with no parameters): bcdedit Each OS loader gets listed in a section. Some of the info is what is recorded in the registry under: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\BCD00000000 For me, Reflect's identifier is d103951b-7c0f-11e5-bc3b-001167d1ba49 and listed under: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\BCD00000000\Objects\{d103951b-7c0f-11e5-bc3b-001167d1ba49} winload.exe is the loader for the OS image. I created a PE3 image so the boot.wim file gets loaded (into a ramdisk). The Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) provides a .wim image of Windows into which the rescue program gets added (and optionally with drivers you add). The modified PE image (boot.wim) gets loaded when you select Reflect in the boot menu. I haven't delved into this much but it looks to me that selecting the Reflect boot menu entry will use or put boot.wim under C:\boot\macrium\... to load into a ramdisk. Since Reflect's creation of the boot.wim image file including the Reflect rescue program, boot.wim loads its image into memory (ramdisk) where within Reflect runs. Also, if you need special drivers to support hardware for the Reflect rescue program to work (that you did not include when building the boot.wim PE image) then they get stored under C:\Boot\Macrium. See: http://www.macrium.com/webhelp/Adding_Drivers.asp Could be if you don't store special drivers under that path the C:\boot is a remnant folder when you have booted normally into Windows. But I wouldn't touch it. Since that article says you can copy or install files to a subfolder under the \Boot folder, looks like admins can go under there and see, create, modify, or delete files. That is, the \boot folder might be a remnant from prior use; however, I wouldn't delete it since, one, it will get reused if you ever boot to any of the alternate entries, like Reflect, in the boot menu and, two, deleting it might interfere with apps expecting it to be there rather than them creating it if not present. I used to use a payware version of Acronis True Image. Gave up on it when 5 out of 8 restores it whined about not finding its backup store in the hidden Acronis Secure Zone partition. Of the failed attempts, several would finally work after retrying the restore several time. Apparently it may take several attempts by ATI to access its specially enumerated partition type that is hidden (no drive letter). Nice program if its restores were more reliable. Uninstalling ATI left behind a C:\Bootwiz folder (https://kb.acronis.com/content/1583). Most uninstall programs are dirty (they leave crap behind). So it appears although ATI claimed it usurped the MBR boot section (you hit F11 after the POST screen but before any OS loader gets loaded) and that it ran from there, it still loaded an image stored within the OS partition. The 446-byte MBR boot section is way too small to store an image file for an OS to use under which the rescue program runs. My current computer uses BIOS, not UEFI. Bet you now know a lot more than you wanted to know. There is still a lot about Microsoft's boot scheme that I don't understand. It's still a lot of FM to me. |
#4
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Macrium Reflect Created C:\boot !!
VanguardLH wrote on 11/7/2015 3:04 PM:
Bet you now know a lot more than you wanted to know. My head is spinning! But I appreciate your detail and your thoughtfulness. |
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