Now, I don't know how this might play out, but there may be a license registration issue with trying to install Reflect on another computer.  The current license would be linked to the PC that needs a backup restored to it.  So, installing Reflect on another PC might be problematic unless you install the 30 day free trial/Free Edition to create new Rescue Media.  There might not be an issue installing the paid Reflect 7 on another PC, but there most likely would be a refusal by the registration server to install the paid Reflect 7 on another PC since the old license was not unregistered from the old PC that needs restoring on.


So, you might best be off installing the Free Edition/30 day free trial of Reflect 7 on another PC to create Rescue Media on.

My brother was able to restore his computer. He wasn’t able to get the Rescue media from his laptop to work but found something that worked. I should start by saying that this problem with the blank screen after log on to Windows started right after he accidentally upgraded to Reflect 8. He saw the pop-up message saying there was a new Reflect available and thought it was an “Update”. It apparently said New Version, because it installed Reflect 8. After the install, he rebooted his computer and that’s when he got the black screen after putting in his password on the login screen. It may not have been caused by the Reflect 8 installation and may have been just a coincidence that the problem started at that time. There are so many things that can cause this behavior.

It took several days to get it fixed but he learned a valuable lesson, “Read the manual so you know a little about the program and be sure to “MAKE A RESCUE MEDIA”! Lol.

A big Thank You to all of you who have tried to help. You folks are great.



Here is what he did to restore his computer:

Screen turns black after entering pin at Windows 10 sign in screen.

Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open File Manager.

Select “Task Manager”

Select “File” at the top left corner of window.

Click on “Run new task”

Type “C:” then press “enter”

This should open “File Explorer”

Navigate to C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect\

Double click on ReflectBin.exe

This will open Macrium Reflect where you can restore a backup file

I wouldn't think updating Reflect from Version 7 to Version 8 would produce an unbootable PC.  Now, I suppose it's possible if CBT was part of the installation that something might go wonky and prevent Windows from starting.  But not the PC from starting.  And even CBT is a bit of a stretch for causing Windows not to start.  I would say it's some kind of Windows Update that came in at the same time that was causing the problem.  And it's just coincidence the two were together.


Anyway, as long you get it working, really who cares what the problem was, right?  It's always been my philosophy that if you find a solution, finding the cause of the problem is secondary.

Well, he ran into another problem.  He was able to restore the last Full Image he made but when he tried to restore the Differential backup, he ran into a problem.  He gets to the Image Restore Tab, and a list of his Full Image and Differential backups are listed.  There is only one Differential backup that was made after his last Full Image, so he selects that.  He gets the message about PE Boot Up and after it starts the restore process, it stops and he gets a message saying it can't find the correct file to restore.  It wants FAC4D85#20BECC08-00-00.mrinmg and a screen displays showing "Search for missing image file" that shows a Windows File Explorer type display with a list: System, This PC, Libraries, Seagate (L, Seagate (M, etc.  The problem is there is no FAC4D85#20BECC08-00-00.mrimg anywhere in his Seagate External HD and that is not the Differential file he is trying to restore anyway. The Differential backup he is trying to restore is listed as FAC4D85E20BECC08-11-11.mrimg (dated 11/14/2021).  The Full Image he restored is listed as 9A6F83F8290EBEC7-00-00.mrimg (dated 11/8/2021).
What is he doing wrong and why is it asking for a backup file he doesn't have and doesn't want to restore?

...He was able to restore the last Full Image he made but when he tried to restore the Differential backup, he ran into a problem...

When restoring, a user does not need to start by restoring the Full and then any Differentials and/or Incrementals throughout the entire chain.  He/she would just start the restore by selecting the Differantial or Incremental at the point in time the restore should be made to.  Reflect will figure out what needs to be done back to and including the parent Full.  If a user only has one Full and 1 Differential, then the complete restore will be completed by simply selecting the Differential.  Simply put, to perform a restore, you just choose the backup corresponding to the time you want to return to and Reflect will do the rest.

This is not the complete answer you're looking for but I thought I'd add this to the discussion.

I suspect that he no longer has the matching full backup that matches the differential.   In my experience, this condition is a major drawback of manually deleting backup files using Windows File Explorer.  The safest way to delete backup files is to use the Existing Backups tab of MR version 8.  It will show you dependencies among the files.  It also eliminates using modified or created date/times from File Explorer to determine the sequencing of the files.   A further benefit -- if you have Macrium Image Guardian(MIG) protecting the backup files from malicious software, you won't have to temporarily disable MIG when deleting files via Reflect.

Here's a sample from one of my laptops viewing backups on an external share; the actions in the bar above the list will do the right thing for whichever backup SET or partial SET you select.  You can see the consequences of any action.  

By the way, I choose to not have any retention set for anything except 3 fulls, taken once a month.   When a full is deleted, either manually or because the retention policy has been exceeded, all the dependent (weekly) differential and incremental (unscheduled, but manually initiated via New action from this screen whenever I'm about to do something that might need to be backed out).  


L.W. (Dan) Danz, Overland Park KS
Reflect v8.1.7784+ on Windows 11 Home 23H2 22631.2715+  

First I would like to ask if it is possible to mount or open just a Differential so that files can be copied from it?  If that is possible, he can get the half dozen reports he wrote since the Full Image and start with a new Backup Set, doing it more correctly this time.  

capair45, thank you for that information.  This is the first time my brother has attempted a restore (I haven't had to do one yet) and is still learning.  I'm learning a great deal trying to help him, thanks to this forum.

Dan, thank you for your information.  It may very well be that he erased the Full Image that matches the Differential but what I find curious is that the Full Image he is using was made on the 8th, the only Differential (FAC4D85E20BECC08-11-11.mrimg) he has was made on the 14th (about a week later, which is normal).  So, it appears as if that Differential could be the first one made after the Full Image of the 8th.  I'm also curious as to why Reflect is trying to find a file named "FAC4D85E20BECC08-00-00.mrimg" which has the naming sequence of a Differential backup and appears to be the first Differential in a series because of the ....-00-00.mrmgh.  If the retention rules for the Differentials were to keep three, wouldn't the first Differential have been deleted some time ago?  I am not at all familiar with how Reflect works so maybe it keeps the first Differential.

If the parent Full backup is missing, as may be the case here, the Differential is pretty much useless without it.  But, one way to check is to see if the Differential will mount as a virtual drive.  Try double clicking on the Differential file in File Explorer.  If the Differential is complete with its parent Full, then it will mount like an ordinary drive in Windows.  You can then navigate to that drive in File Explorer and find and copy the necessary report files from it.

Thank you.  Just what I needed to know.  He tried mounting the Differential several ways but it would not mount.  It appears he has lost his Full backup.  Well at least he was able to restore his computer to a point where he only lost a few files and not his whole computer.  I've learned a lot from these posts and will be changing the way I do my backups.  The information was very valuable.

One possibility that may have happened is the Full is present, but the Differential is either incomplete due to a deleted file or a file that may have become corrupted.  The Full appears to be complete and not corrupt because it was restorable, but the Differential either had a file deleted from its chain, renamed, or it exists but became corrupted on disc somehow.