SOLVED!! Create bootable USB restore drive

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echan101
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2018 10:51 pm

SOLVED!! Create bootable USB restore drive

Post by echan101 »

I've looked through the FAQs and knowledge base, and it seems like there's no automagic way to create a bootable USB drive with a restore image on it. Is this possible while doing a backup?

Basically instead of creating a bootable restore DVD, can you create a bootable USB drive through normal menu options?
Last edited by echan101 on Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TeraByte Support(PP)
Posts: 1644
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am

Re: Create bootable USB restore drive

Post by TeraByte Support(PP) »

There's no automated way to do that. You would need to make the USB drive bootable to whichever boot media you use (e.g. TBWinRE, IFL GUI, etc.) and then save the images to it normally. Keep in mind that if you use MakeDisk on the USB drive that the contents would be lost -- generally better to set it up when empty or do it manually.
tas3086
Posts: 317
Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2012 6:15 pm

Re: Create bootable USB restore drive

Post by tas3086 »

Paul, A long time ago I installed BIBM on a USB drive. I think that you can do it today, and If so, you could boot from it. then:
Run Maintenance mode partition work to create a data partition to store restore data. Then run Image under BIBM maintenance mode to do a backup of the real OS to the USB drive. It would be extremely slow. Or better, copy an existing backup to the USB Data partition. You would just have to do this part of the process once.

Updating BIBM and Image to the latest level would not destroy the data partition. The only time you would need to boot the USB drive would be to either update BIBM and Image, or to do a restore in maintenance mode.

Might be a semi automated way of doing it easily, with just using Terabyte products. And, If all goes well, it should be bootable under Legacy(BIBM) or UEFI(BIU) BIOS's. Scripting would also be available to do additional automation.
echan101
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2018 10:51 pm

Re: Create bootable USB restore drive

Post by echan101 »

TeraByte Support(PP) wrote:
> There's no automated way to do that. You would need to make the USB drive
> bootable to whichever boot media you use (e.g. TBWinRE, IFL GUI, etc.) and
> then save the images to it normally. Keep in mind that if you use MakeDisk
> on the USB drive that the contents would be lost -- generally better to set
> it up when empty or do it manually.
Thanks for that, I have tried this and it's working. Is it possible to only include the restore portion (not backup) when using MakeDisk, so I can create external OEM recovery USB sticks (for use with the OEM Recovery Media License).
TeraByte Support(PP)
Posts: 1644
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am

Re: Create bootable USB restore drive

Post by TeraByte Support(PP) »

MakeDisk doesn't support that. You would need to create the restore version media for whichever imaging program you're using. IFL supports creating that type of USB media using the makeHDD or iflbuild scripts. TBWinRE/PE would require replacing the applicable files in the build and removing what you don't want or can't use (could be done manually or scripted when building). IFD/IFU would likely be simple file copies to replace and maybe a few other tweaks.
echan101
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2018 10:51 pm

Re: Create bootable USB restore drive

Post by echan101 »

I found the information for iflbuild here:
https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto ... m#section6

But I may need to restore to a Bitlocker partition which requires Windows.
Could you point me to the instructions for customising TBWinPE?

I've read through https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto ... torial.htm but there's nothing about which program to add to only provide the restore application.
Last edited by echan101 on Sat Sep 26, 2020 2:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
echan101
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2018 10:51 pm

Re: Create bootable USB restore drive

Post by echan101 »

On the same topic, I figured out how to make a recovery using IFD makedisk, by editing makedisk.cfg. Simply remove the following lines from makedisk.cfg:

add0=IMAGE.EXE <-- Delete this line
add1=CDBOOT.INS
add2=CDBOOT.F35
add3=LICENSE.TXT
del0=tbirest.exe <-- Delete this line
var0=tbos.str
tbos.str_item0={0|IMAGE.EXE} <-- Delete this line
TeraByte Support(PP)
Posts: 1644
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am

Re: Create bootable USB restore drive

Post by TeraByte Support(PP) »

For TBWinRE, if you don't have the restore-only version of IFW you would need to contact support to get it. As part of the build process you would replace the imagew.exe files with the appropriate tbirest.exe file (rename it to imagew.exe; in the case of x64 you would replace both imagew.exe and imagew64.exe with tbirest64.exe) and remove the IFW license info from ifw.ini (if present). You may also need/want to remove other files from the build depending on what's included. These changes can be done manually by pausing the build and making the changes or you can use the BuildScript to automate the procedure. Automating the changes is usually best since you will likely end up creating the build multiple times. Note that you should verify the changes are correct in the final build (tbirest.exe used, no license info, etc.).

If you haven’t already read through it, this KB article has information that may be helpful:
https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=615

For example, for x64 build using BuildScript.cmd (assuming tbirest64.exe in build folder, removing cdboot files, removing license info, removing TBOSDT). Note that there are multiple methods to remove the license info, with several being shown in the script below (you would only use one method). Generally, you would likely use a custom ini file (ifw_tbirest.ini in the example here) with the appropriate options set and no license and copy it into the build because options set in the installed system may not be what you want in your retore build.

:: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
:: Add script commands after this line

:: copy in tbirest64.exe
copy "%TBWinPE_BuildPath%\tbirest64.exe" "%TBWinPE_MountPath%\Program Files\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite\imagew.exe"
copy "%TBWinPE_BuildPath%\tbirest64.exe" "%TBWinPE_MountPath%\Program Files\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite\imagew64.exe"

:: remove cdboot files
rd /s /q "%TBWinPE_MountPath%\Program Files\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite\cdboot"
del "%TBWinPE_MountPath%\Program Files\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite\cdboot.*"

:: remove license from ifw.ini
"%TBWinPE_BuildPath%\tbutil.exe" -iniwrite "%TBWinPE_MountPath%\Program Files\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite\ifw.ini" -s License -k ProductKey
"%TBWinPE_BuildPath%\tbutil.exe" -iniwrite "%TBWinPE_MountPath%\Program Files\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite\ifw.ini" -s License -k User

:: remove ifw.ini file (default options will be used)
del "%TBWinPE_MountPath%\Program Files\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite\ifw.ini"

:: copy in custom ifw.ini file (no license, custom options)
copy "%TBWinPE_BuildPath%\ifw_tbirest.ini" "%TBWinPE_MountPath%\Program Files\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite\ifw.ini"

:: remove TBOSDT
rd /s /q "%TBWinPE_MountPath%\Program Files\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite\TeraByte OSD Tool Suite Pro"
echan101
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2018 10:51 pm

Re: Create bootable USB restore drive

Post by echan101 »

This is awesome, and it worked perfectly for me. Thank you very much! Would you consider adding it to your Knowledge Base or your Scripts Forum?
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