MVP Tool - CUSTOM ATI WINPE BUILDER

Thanks.  There were five files.  I assume that  builder 111 is the newest version.  I might to use this version.  I already downloaded Windows ADK for Windows 10, version 1703.   I am ready to start to create Advanced PE-based flash drive.  Then where to find step-by-step protocol for creating  advanced PE flash drive.?

My memory is fuzzy now.  About 6-7 years ago, I made Mustang PE bootable flash drive.  Then, I got to pay for getting plugins from Mustang.   The Mustang PE flash drive  worked nicely.   Now, I forgot how to create mustang or  MVP advanced PE flash drive.  

I recommend the latest version 11.1. Extract the contents to the root of your C: drive. Then review the read me's included. Its pretty straight forward. Creation of a flash drive and an .ISO file is all included.

The key advice here is to ensure that you run the MVP_ATIPEBuilder.exe program as Administrator then read and respond to the various prompts which as presented.  The tool / script assumes that you have already installed the Windows ADK needed for creating WinPE media.

Hi, Thanks for your advice.   I followed your instruction to create  MVP Tool - CUSTOM ATI WINPE BUILDER in CD and also flashdrive.  I was able to make it successfully.  But I could not boot my computer with the CD  and flashdrive..   What I see is that under UEFI boot, it did not detect  CD disk drive and flashdrive port.   My impression is that to use this tool, I should  rely on Legacy boot.   Is that correct?  I am not comfortable on the use oft the Legacy boot.   My question is how to boot under UEFI booting mode.

The reason is that my computer got BIOS error when I hit Legacy boot a month ago (when I tried to restore a tib with  2017 rescue flash drive).  So BIOS error was corrected by a repair shop.   Because of this experience, I am very hesitated to use Legacy boot.  

Jorge, if your Windows normally boots in UEFI mode, then you should be booting the CD or flashdrive in the same way.

See webpage: Check if your PC uses UEFI or BIOS

My computer came with windows 10.  Last week, I installed Windows ADK for Windows 10, version 1703.   My windows version is v. 1703 too.   I wonder this causes the problem. 

A few minutes ago, I tried 2017 bootable Sandisk flash drive (not PE-based).   My computer sees the Sandisk flashdrive (32 gb, v. 3.0) under UEFI mode.  Then, I replaced it with the CUSTOM ATI WINPE BUILDER  flash drive (SanDisk 32gb, v. 3.0).   My computer did not see Sandisk flash drive under UEFI mode.

I will repeat it again tomorrow.  Now, I heading to gym.

I'd recommend doing a full format of the flash drive instead of just a quick one. That will ensure the bootloader gets updated. There will be an upcoming release with the launch of 2018 that addresses a known issue in the USB build on some systems due to a change in the ADK handling of bootable media creation which should help too.

Jorge,

There are some questions here:

1. Does Windows see the SanDisk 32gb, v. 3.0 as a removable disk? This is important. Some SanDisk flash drives are classified as fixed disk and won't work for WinPE. You need to run Windows Disk Management and look at the SanDisk drive. It should say "Removable" on the left under the Disk number.

2. How are you attempting to boot the WinPE flash drive? Are you entering the bios to change the boot order or are you pressing a function key to see a one time boot override option?

Hi, Mustang,  Glad to see your famous name.   A long time ago (I do not recall when), when you released mustang PE builder program, , I used it.  It worked beautifully then.

Now, I am having trouble.  My computer ran very well yesterday.  I tried to re-check flash drives this morning.  I now found that my computer did not detect  E-drive (CD-rom drive) and F-drive (flash drives) under UEFI boot menu.    However, when I looked at Disk Management, they were there.    Disk managment sees these drives but UEFI did not detect them (after hitting F12).  I am confused.   Something happened overnight. 

I will repost once this issue is resolved.  But I am not confident whether I could resolve this problem today or not.  Thanks for your comment.

I eventually fixed the problem.  Again, I confirmed that UEFI boot menu does not detect CD-ROM drive (containing PE builder based CD disk) nor PE builder based flash drive.   But I have no problem booting with 2017 rescue flash drive and simple PE-based rescue flash drive.   Again, these are listed under Disk Management.   I wonder whether  my computer does not see booting script in CD disk and flash drive. 

What was the fix?  Did you try a full format of the USB flash drive as recommended above, first, before rebuilding the media?  Some systems absolutely refuse to boot UEFI CD's (not all). if the system is not detecting the USB drive as bootable in UEFI mode though, I'd encourage you to still do a FULL (not quick) format of the flash drive and then rebuild the media with the MVP tool and try again.  DISM (part of the Windows ADK) is being used to build the bootable rescue media.  If it can't overwrite the existing bootloader (for whatever reason), it wont' be bootable.  Doing a full format first should alleviate that issue.  We've had others report that they've used the USB drives with other media builders (Linux versions, Rufus, etc) and that prevents DISM from making the necessary update... hence the full format first to ensure it has a blank slate to work with.

There isn't a computer I haven't been able to boot my media on yet and I work in IT with a revolving door of different (new and old) systems.  I will say, I do have TWO older HP's (one is a Z workstation and the other is a DC5800 small form factor) which BOTH absolutely refuse to boot any USB 3.0 flash drives - I have to use usb 2.0 on them even though it should be backward compatible and revert to USB 2.0 in a 2.0 slot.  Go figure...  

Is there a Validate function in the WinRE recovery medium?  I assume it must be there, but I'm too blind to see it.

I want to make sure the 2017 Recovery tool can restore using a 2018-created backup but I'd rather not do an actual restore to find out.  (I assume ATI 2018 would not have created an inc file for a full backup created under ATI 2017 if there was an incompatibility, but I'd like to verify this.)

Patrick, the option is still present but found in the Recovery menu option.  The image below was from the 2017 Rescue Media but is still the same in 2018.

Thanks.  I'll give that a try.

Update:  I don't see that in my recovery medium environment, but you are showing ATI 2017-NG.  I'm not on NG.  Worse, I apparently was on ATI 2016 when I build my recovery medium for my "test" PC.  (Actually, I don't think that can possibly be the case,  for whatever reason the WinRE system contains ATI 2016.)

I brought up the WinRE recovery medium I built for/on another PC around the same time and it has ATI 2017.  But I still don't see a Validate function.

Steve's screenshot is very clear. You need to first select the Recovery tab on the left, browse for a backup and then right click the backup to see the validate option. If you start with the Home tab, select Recover Disks and right click the backup, you won't see the validate option.

I tested TI 2017 (not NG) WinPE recovery media and it was able to validate a backup made with TI 2018.

I thought I had followed Steve's directions but I obviously had not. 

I got the 2017 WinPE (RE) recovery medium to validate a backup chain consisting of a full and 3 increments created by ATI2017 plus once increment created by ATI 2018.  That reassures me that I can upgrade to 2018 on my other 2 PCs and, if the need arises, use the 2017 recovery media (with wireless support) until the 2018 Builder is available.

12.1 is out - supports Acronis 2018 and the new Acronis Revive application.  We've updated the USB builder to use the most current version of MakeWinPEMedia.cmd regardless of the ADK installed on the local system.  Change log will be updated soon with more details.  Works great though, so give it a try with 2018!

You already know it works so my saying "It works!" doesn't add much to the discussion ... except to let you know you've got a satisfied customer. :-)   I'm currently validating an FTP backup (taken under ATI 2017) across a wireless connection.  I'm not using any new ATI 2018 functionality (and am not sure what new functionality is usable in the WinRE environment) but the display shows it's using ATI 2018.

One note of personal use - perhaps not useful to anybody else.  I have mapped network drives but tell the builder I do not.  Instead, I put the mapping commands in the Extra folder.  That way the WinRE system doesn't wait 60 seconds for the network to be available.  I can execute the command when I know things are ready.  The down side, of course, is remembering 6 months from now that command is in Extra.

A question: I'm using ADK and WinRE 10.0.14393 because that's what I downloaded last time I used the Builder.  Is there any reason I should redo the build using a more current level?

Patrick,

Glad it all works for you. There's no need to use a newer ADK.

Mr. Smith,  you advised me to use MVP ATIPE a few months ago.  Today,  I successfully created Advanced MVP_ATIPEBuilder (12.1) on a flash drive a while ago.   It worked great.  My question is how to add other programs like IE, PDF reader, Screen Captures, and others.  I failed to find the procedure in MVP_User_Guides_and_How-To's.  Thanks.
 
 
 

Jorge, there are already tools included with the MVP PE Builder that provide a web browser, screen capture and PDF reader.  Other tools would need to be added to the Extra folder you can find in the builder folder, but please read the Read_Me.txt file that you will find there.

This worked for me on the Dell XPS13-9360, win10-64. I bought Trueimage 2018 for making the backups.

Thanks for the great work!

The only issue worth a mention is that network drives are not accessible (although curiously internet access works ok) but I vaguely recall that has been a problem with various Trueimage versions over the years. But having to copy the .tib file onto a USB drive is no big deal, which worked, and most likely a USB-attached hard drive (which are dirt cheap now, 1-4TB) will also work.

Peter said: " The only issue worth a mention is that network drives are not accessible ".

That is not universally the case.  Are you referring to access from Windows or access from ATI?  I have no trouble accessing my NAS drives from the custom built recovery system, but I have had the recovery ATI not be able to access a mapped drive.

For that reason (and for the 30 second pause introduced into the initialization when automatic mapping is included) I do not include automatic drive mapping in the build (as allowed by the build process),  but I have no trouble mapping them after initialization.  I put a mapping script in the Extra folder for that purpose.

It was within both Trueimage 2018 and from the browser (windows explorer) which is provided with the boot media package.

I accept that I may not have tried all the options e.g. entering the IP of the NAS drive (a Synology DS218). However none of the 10 or so devices on the network showed up so I suspect it was a network enumeration issue.

It really isn't a problem because it is dead easy to plug in a USB drive and these go up to 4TB and cost peanuts :)

I know nothing about the two "Explorer" tools included the build ( Explorer++ and whatever the other one is).  I could not get them to access my NAS drives directly (specifying the UNC path) but I could use NET USE to map the drives and them access them by drive letter.

Maybe those tools don't accept UNC path specifications.

I didn't try UNC pathnames. I just did a browse of NETWORK :)

As near as I can tell the Explorer tools (which aren't  Windows Explorer) don't handle UNC path names.  But you can invoke the Windows command window and map the drives using the Net USE command.  Then you can use the Explorer tools using the mapped drive letter.

It's really funny... Acronis Tech Support are still telling me TI 2018 will work on the XPS13, implying it will build the correct RAID boot media etc.

I got another email from TI saying categorically TI 2018 will create bootable rescue media for the XPS13-9360.

So I started up TI 2018 on it and of the options it offers, did the winPE option. It went away for a bit and then said "unable to create bootable media, Failed to copy the product files". That was with a 16GB flash stick.

Same for the "auto" mode which created winRE media.

So I am back to the rescue media created with the script described in this thread, which works! I used an 8GB flash stick for that.

It gets more interesting.

The XPS13-9360, if supplied with win10 *PRO*, comes with the SSD encrypted with Bitlocker.

So if you boot to any boot media, no backup or restore operations are possible. TI 2018 just says you need to disable Bitlocker.

There is as usual a load of stuff online about it. But running the bitlocker .exe under win10 does nothing; the executable (under windows\system32) does not run. 

There is nothing in the BIOS about Bitlocker.

So it looks like the only way is to

1) With a working computer, install TI (almost any version will do which recognises the various partitions) and do an image backup

2) To restore, you need to delete the encrypted partition and create a new one... obviously.

Another way is to disable bitlocker, with e.g.

https://windowsreport.com/disable-bitlocker-windows-8/

Open up the command prompt (as Administrator) and enter

cd \windows\system32
manage-bde -off c:

and then you get

Decryption is now in progress. The command

manage-bde -status

tells you how far it got.

It takes a long time... better have a power supply connected :)

Peter, if your XPS comes encrypted with BitLocker then none of the standard Acronis Rescue Media will be able to see the encrypted drive as there is no BitLocker support included.  This is a long-standing / well known situation that is described in KB 56619: Acronis True Image: compatibility with BitLocker

However, the MVP Custom ATIPE Builder script can create WinPE rescue media that includes BitLocker support, but you would still need to create a BitLocker Recovery key from within Windows using the BitLocker control panel options, then run a small batch file from the rescue media to unlock the encrypted drive.

BitLockerUnlock.BAT

rem Unlock BitLocker protected drive from WinPE
manage-bde -unlock d: -rk BitLockerRecoveryKey.txt

The above batch script would need to be modified to reflect the correct drive letter, and your recovery key would need to be located in a text file using the name given.

The alternative would be to suspend BitLocker in Windows before attempting to boot from the rescue media.

Steve, I think the best way (for me at least) is to disable Bitlocker in win10 permanently, and then do the backup in the usual way (either with an installed version of TI or by booting from the TI rescue media).

The only point of bitlocker is in case the laptop is lost or stolen and somebody extracts the hard drive from it and accesses the data. I've been peripherally involved with HD encryption for about 25 years (starting with a product called Safeboot, and it wasn't the first one) and it is just a recipe to lose your data.

I was also concerned that if you make a backup of a computer which is running the Bitlocker service (which I have also now disabled under Administrative Tools / Services) then when you restore that backup, onto a clean HD obviously, you will end up with a copy of Windows which, once booted, will try to access the HD as an encrypted HD, regardless of whether it was actually encrypted.

Peter, as per the KB document I referenced above, any backup created from Windows of an encrypted drive will result in an unencrypted backup .tib image unless you use the option in ATI to encrypt with a password.  When such a backup image is restored, the drive will also be unencrypted after the recovery finishes and you would need to reenable BitLocker if you want that level of drive protection.

Thanks for the clarification Steve.

Can I ask whether the need to disable Bitlocker (before doing a backup) also applies to when one is running the MVP script to build the boot media?

I suspect the answer is No...

Peter, no need to disable BitLocker when running the MVP builder script.

I can confirm that the MVP script generated boot flashstick (generated on a laptop with Bitlocker running) boots the XPS13-9360 fine and e.g. its File Explorer can access the laptop's HD, after Bitlocker was disabled on the laptop.

                       ------------------
                      [Adding True Image.]
                       ------------------

'BatchSubstitute.bat' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'BatchSubstitute.bat' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

I have TrueImage 2019 installed and when I run MVPTIBuilder 18.2, this is what I get. It also does not successfully boot in to the GUI interface. Luckily I have a flash drive with Acronis 2018 built with MVPTI Builder that works.

Is there something that's broke here that can be fixed or simply wait for the new version that works with 2019?

Issue above reported as resolved by a reboot in forum topic: MVP TI Buider v182 and Acronis TrueImage 2019 by Aaron.

I realize that ATI was only released just a few days ago, but it was automatically downloaded to and installed on my computer. I recall advice that the rescue disk should be re-created whenever there is a new version. I always use your advanced MVP tool and I am wondering if the current version will work on ATI 2019. If not, any idea when the tool will be updated?

Thanks,

Bob

Bob, the MVP tool works fine with all current versions of ATI 2019, including the latest 14690 build.  I updated my own 'survival' drive using the MVP tool the other day.

Hi all:

I just discovered the Custom ATI WinPE Builder tool and it is superb !!! Congratulations and thanks to the developers and to all who support it.

I run Windows 10.0.17763 and ATI 2018 on a computer with UK English language interface (en-gb) and French Swiss keyboard. I guess this corresponds to InputLocale:0x0809:0x0000100c

In Windows 10 Language settings I can verify that the only keyboard installed is Swiss French i.e. no additional English or United Kingdom keyboard is installed.

When I run MVP_ATIPEBuilder_v182 with option Build from ADK, I am prompted to pick my own system's language (en-gb).

However in the generated recovery program I get an English keyboard, not the expected Swiss French one.

Here is my question:

What additional step should I take for creating the recovery environment with the right keyboard?

It's been awhile, maybe couple of years, since I've used Acronis.  I've have Acronis 2019, subscription version.

I was just wondering if the Acronis Survival Kit will create a bootable USB media that's equivalent to what the MVP ATI WINPE tool does?

All I want is to be able to recovery my systems ( laptops ) if the internal drive simply dies or is severely corrupted, so I'll always be creating full disk backups and if need arises restoring one of those images to original disk or new disk.  On rare occassions I may perform cloning where the original drive is placed in a USB enclosure and the new target drive placed inside the laptop...

Only drives I use in my laptops are the Samsung 1TB EVOs NVMe PCIe M.2 SSDs 

Misc:

I use Samsung T5 Portable SSD 1TB USB 3.1 to store & save my full backups images because it's fast ( ~350 to 400MB/s, though it's spec'ed at 540 MB/s reads & writes ).

I'm thinking of getting a second Samsung T5 either 1TB or 2TB and then use Acronis Survival Kit to store bootable media on T5 and add multiple full backups over time on the T5.   Goal being I could then boot from T5 to perform complete system restores and have ability to select which full backup image to use as they'll all be saved on the same T5 and laptops are able to see & boot from the T5, plus it's fast...

S G, the acid test here is whether any of the standard Acronis Rescue Media / Survival Kit can boot your laptop and is able to see your Samsung 1TB EVOs NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD - if yes, then you are all set up to go.

If the standard media cannot see your SSD then you can use the MVP Custom ATI PE tool to create new media with any additional device drivers or RAID support that may be needed, then test that this media works correctly.

Once you have working media, then you can use the MVP tool to replace the version of media on your Survival Kit drive as follows:

In Windows Disk Management, find the 2GB FAT32 media partition on the Survival Kit drive and allocate a Windows drive letter to that partition, i.e. S:

Run the MVP tool and when asked if you want to create a USB stick for the media, say yes and give it the new drive letter, i.e. S: for the Survival Kit media partition.  The partition will be formatted and the MVP rescue media written to it.

Thanks Steve...

Side note...

I just discovered the enclosure's below:

QNINE NVMe, PCIe, M.2 SSD Enclosure

SHINESTAR NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD Enclosure

If I get satisfactory stability, speed, durability and overall performance, then I'll use one or both of these enclosures with Samsung 970 EVO or 970 EVO Plus to possibly replace Samsung T5 as speeds are at least twice as fast as the Samsung T5 which is spec'd for ~540, but typically gets ~350MB/s to 400MB/s...

One thing very good about Samsung T5 is it's extremely portable, very stable, doesn't get hot under heavy use and is durable ( can be dropped ) and still continue working...

We've added a how-to video tutorial to the stickies now - for those wanting to know how it works or what it does, please check it out.

How To Tutorial: MVP Tool - CUSTOM ATI WINPE BUILDER

Hi

I have a BIOS mode only z600 

I cannot boot MVP - it starts - windows logo spinning dots

Same USB stick works in other PC's

Stick built on same PC has same problem

Stick built on different has same problem

I created a multiboot AIO stick - win10PE recovery wim file works fine  - just MVP never boots

Acronis ISO works fine from AIO

Acronis ISO works fine from bootable USB

I don't know how to get any logs to find out what is going on

I tried booting in to logging mode from winPE to create NTBTLOG.txt - but I can't find it anywhere 

Any ideas where I can try to diagnose?

Regards

I would full format the drive with diskpart (clean) then initialize with disk manager and build again.

Also, what is your OS and (run winver from command prompt) and are you using an insider build of Windows 10? Insider builds have broken winre. 

Are you building with winre or adk? What version of adk?

Did you include all local system drivers at build too? If so, try not doing that and just use the default custom ones provided in the tool. It could be hanging on a driver or taking a long time to load them all up. You typically don't need all system drivers in winpe. If you let it sit for 10-20 minutes and it finally boots, it's likely the system drivers.

What is your chipset? AMD or Intel?

Hi All;

Long time IT guy here, but completely new to Acronis. Believe it or not, up until quite recently I was still using DOS based Ghost for my imaging/restoring.

(Yes, I know it is 2019. Yes, I know how old and obsolete DOS/Ghost are. Yes, I know I should have gotten around to learning a new product a long time ago. Anyway...)

I spent the last week testing most of the big players (Acronis, EaseUS, Macrium) and have decided Acronis is the best fit for us. Now I need to learn it well so I can go to the suits above me and convince them we need to purchase this product. So I have been testing and playing... Didn't take me long to find this MVP tool and decide we need to make it our default way of creating our recovery media.

Now my problem... I learn best by doing. So I have been been making, breaking, and restoring several machines. All is well with that. But I would really like to try out adding custom drivers to the recovery media boot, and Universal Restore as well. Trouble is I have not been able to find any hardware around my tech room that does NOT work right out of the box. Everything boots up just fine with the default TI recovery USB as well as with the MVP version, so I can't test having to "fix" any missing driver issues. Every image I make (Win 10 1809) and then restore from one set of oddball hardware to another just boots up and Windows sorts out any driver issues on it's own.

So until I come across some oddball RAID or NVMe controller and can figure out solutions on my own, I have a question.

It seems that if I intend to restore a golden image to a machine that does not have a compatible mass storage driver, I will need to address that in two ways. One, I will need to add the driver to ATI/MVP so I can boot the recovery media and allow WinPE to "see" the drive I intend to restore my image to. Two, I will need to "inject" these same drivers into my my freshly recovered target system for it to boot up on its own. Am I understanding that part correctly?

If so, can I use the same extracted drivers for both tasks? Specifically, just drop them in the proper folder for MVP to add them during recovery media creation, then later point Universal Restore to the same files for injection into my recovered image?

Thank you in advance for any confirmations or clarifications!

A very important question to which I do not know the answer. It is only a problem if the driver relates to the boot drive; if you can boot the system into Windows you can then add the driver. I can think of a work around; you recover to a drive attached to a standard controller, you then boot the system, add the necessary driver, create a backup, then recover to the "problematic" drive. 

Ian

Update: Seniors moment. Universal restore will allow the injection of the required drivers. I have never needed to use it so cannot give any first hand knowledge. Try the ATI user guide.

Just realised we are discussing ATI 2019 in the 2017 forum - this topic is sticky in all ATI forums which can be confusing!