Restore large file from mounted image backup


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johnz
johnz
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I created a file backup from an NTFS file system with several files that were well over 4GB each.  Macrium Reflect automatically split the files up into 4GB chunks inside the backup file, with a numeric extension such as ~001 - ~227.  
When I mount this backup image, and drag/drop the file to restore a single file to a specific location, only the first chunk is restored.
I have to launch the full application, browse to the image, restore, select the file, and extract with full path to another location, then drag/drop again in explorer, to place the file into the desired location.
I'm not sure why, Macrium Reflect is splitting the file, but it would be more convenient to restore a single large file directly from the mounted volume, into the specific directory I drag/drop into, instead of the above procedure.





Drac144
Drac144
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What is the file system of the DESTINATION drive?  There are a couple of reasons the backup would be split. One is that the destination is a FAT style (or other) format which cannot handle larger files.  Another is if you specify the maximum file size for the backup.  In that case Reflect will split the backup so no file is larger than the specified maximum.

I specify that my backup files are no larger than 4 GB. I do this so I can save them to a DVD if I want, or to allow moving the backup to other drives in smaller pieces in case there is an issue (in that case I can restart the transfer at the file that failed rather than at the beginning).

I have never had a problem restoring a file even with the split.  I do not know the size of the largest file I have tried to restore, maybe your situation is different.  If so, please give more details.


johnz
johnz
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@Drac144, thank you for your response.
All file systems are NTFS.
Restoring the file worked fine, from the GUI application. And that was my issue, it's inconvenient to recover a single large file, since you have to navigate through many steps using the GUI.
I was attempting to restore from a mounted drive. Drag/Dropping the file from the mounted drive to another location using Explorer does NOT work. It only restores the first chunk.

My request seems to be a duplicate of this topic:
http://forum.macrium.com/Topic6815.aspx
This topic also links to an even earlier post from 2014, indicating this is a limitation of the virtual FAT32 container implemented by Reflect.

Due to the age of this issue, it does not seem to be a priority for Macrium to update the mounted volume support with a file system that supports larger files.

Drac144
Drac144
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Good point.  I do believe the mounting format within Windows Explorer may be the issue.
Seekforever
Seekforever
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I know I shouldn't be but I'm often surprised by the issues some have. I also know that not everybody works the same way and there is nothing that says my way of doing things is any better, it just suits me.

My surprise is the amount of restoring or concern about restoring that people do/have. I can't remember the last time I needed to get a data file from a backup device and my ratio of creating images of my C drive and restoring an image is well over 20:1.

Probably a reason is that I have enough storage on my system so I don't have to remove any data files for off-line storage to make room on my primary storage. Complementing this is my lack of interest in storing lots of large video files.

As far as the container file issue described in this thread goes, I don't backup any data files into containers. I prefer to keep the native, individual files and folders structure on a backup device so they are easily and directly handled by Windows Explorer. I use a different program that does this along with versioning and other backup features for my data files.

Different strokes, for different folks.

Drac144
Drac144
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Seekforever,
I am surprised by your 20:1 backup:restore ratio. Mine is more like 90:1. 

I agree that different people do things very differently from me.  I do not do a lot of experimentation, I do not download files from the net very often - other than updates of programs I have from trusted sites or data from trusted sites. So my system seldom needs to be restored in whole or in part.  Like you, I keep my photo collection on an external drive in native file/folder structure.  Of course I also back them up via Reflect and keep that backup offsite. 

I seldom need to do a restore of anything - but when I do, I am grateful that I have Reflect to get my system back to where it needs to be.


johnz
johnz
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@Seekforever

You are probably correct, I won't be restoring files that often. However, I just switched to Reflect and found this behavior confusing. I can drag/drop restore most files from the mounted drive, but then get this incorrect behavior with some files with no error messages.

If you look at the duplicate issue I linked to, user @dcb called it a "corruption" issue. It's hard to take a product seriously if it doesn't work as you would expect. The fact is myself, @dcb, and maybe others might have experienced this behavior and just assumed the product is buggy. At first I was alarmed and filed a support issue about it. I was given the instructions to follow the normal restore process through the Reflect application, and my file and confidence were restored. However, others might not take the time to understand this behavior and move on to one of the many other products. 



Edited 16 December 2016 8:48 PM by johnz
Seekforever
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@Drac144
Strictly a guess with a "well-over" to qualify it. Unlike many of you who schedule, I only image when I think I should such as a significant Windows update or installation of a new program or on the very rare occasion, experimentation. So my image creation count may be lower. I only image the Windows/boot partitions since I keep all important data files on a different partition which since the installation of my SSD for the OS is also a different device.

@johnz
Thanks for the clarifying information and thanks for reporting it as a problem to Macrium. Issues that are known to cause a problem should not look like they worked without an in-your- face (not buried in a log) error message or a "you can't do that" warning.
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