My computer went into BSOD boot loop with Phase1 Initialization Failed after clicking "Use host driver" and then "Do not copy drivers" and then clicking OK in that order in Rescue Media Builder advanced menu and then rebooting.  When I clicked "Use host driver" and then "Do not copy drivers" and then clicked OK it deleted the entire C:\Windows\Inf folder and I can no longer boot Windows after reboot and I had to clean install Windows since I did not have a previous backup of Windows at that moment.  I had to reinstall Windows and then reinstall Macrium Reflect but it registered OK because it's on the same computer.  This is a serious issue that needs to be fixed.  I need the attention of Macrium Support to look into this issue.  In the meantime, please do not click "Use host driver" and then "Do not copy drivers" before clicking OK as this will delete the C:\Windows\Inf folder as soon as OK is clicked and then render the computer unbootable on the next reboot.  This is a serious bug that needs to be fixed because it can brick the computer and will require either reinstalling Windows or booting from rescue media and restoring from most recent Macrium image.

Hi @Keith Weisshar, 

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, we are looking into this to see if this is an issue within the software or the user machine. To make sure the steps I have to replicate this are correct can you please confirm the following:

1. Launch rescue media builder and open advanced
2. Set any driver to use the host (without clicking okay) and then select do not copy driver and then click ok.
3. Restart
4. Machine BSODs

Update:
This has been replicated and we are investigating with the developers

Kind Regards

Joe A

Macrium Support Team

See our reviews on

When I checked the INF folder between step 2 and step 3 in post #2 it was missing.  I made a full backup after clean installing Windows and then replicated the issue and it happens again and I had to restore from that backup created before I replicated this issue.

Hi @Keith Weisshar, 

This is what we also found during our testing, 

From our findings so far, this only seems to happen when you select use host drivers and then do not copy drivers.

I have made the developers aware of this issue and they are looking into it.

Kind Regards

Joe A

Macrium Support Team

See our reviews on

Hi @Keith Weisshar, 

An update on this situation,

We've both fixed the underlying issue and taken steps to ensure the Advanced Drivers dialogue can't do anything like this again.

The fix for this will be available in the next update of the software.

Kind Regards

Joe A

Macrium Support Team

See our reviews on

"It deleted the entire C:\Windows\Inf folder and I can no longer boot Windows after reboot"

"This is a serious bug that needs to be fixed because it can brick the computer and will require either reinstalling Windows or booting from rescue media and restoring from most recent Macrium image."

Wow, that is serious. I was about to experiment with different settings today and came across this post. Thanks for the heads up.

"The fix for this will be available in the next update of the software."

Presumably the update will be available very soon considering the seriousness of this issue?

+x

 

Phillipus - 8 September 2023 9:23 AM

Presumably the update will be available very soon considering the seriousness of this issue?

This would be welcome because when the error occurs it is too late.
So Macrium where is an update

Am I missing something here???

While this issue may be serious, it seems it can be easily avoided by not doing the one thing that will cause it.  Unless one creates rescue media frequently, it should not be encountered very often.  More importantly: don't request host drivers be copied then not copy them.  Now that the cause of the issue has been determined, a little attention to what one is doing should prevent the issue until a new version is released.  So what is the urgency?

+x

 

Drac144 - 8 September 2023 6:03 PM

Am I missing something here???

While this issue may be serious, it seems it can be easily avoided by not doing the one thing that will cause it.  Unless one creates rescue media frequently, it should not be encountered very often.  More importantly: don't request host drivers be copied then not copy them.  Now that the cause of the issue has been determined, a little attention to what one is doing should prevent the issue until a new version is released.  So what is the urgency?

Yes, you are missing something here:

"It deleted the entire C:\Windows\Inf folder and I can no longer boot Windows after reboot"

To destroy a user's data is not a good look for a company who's slogan is "It's our business to protect your data".

You say "it can be easily avoided by not doing the one thing that will cause it". Not every user reads this forum and this post, so it's possible that some users may end up with their Windows installations destroyed by using Macrium software. This is not good. It happened to @Keith Weisshar and it could happen again to others.

I look forward to a new version of the software with the fix released sooner rather than later.

Phillipus,

Thank you for the clarification.  As you say, a program created to protect one's computer content should not destroy it. 

Having acknowledged that point, it still seems that in all the time V8 has been available (I don't know how long this error has been in Reflect so I will not assume it was in previous versions) it has never come up before (to my knowledge).  So while the error is serious the probability of it happening seems rather low.  That, I think, does somewhat reduce the urgency of a fix.  Of course it did not happen to me.  Had it happened to me, I MIGHT have a different perception of its urgency.