Creating the boot media for image-based recovery

A new Windows bare metal .iso image and bootable CD should always be created after an agent upgrade to utilize new product features.

Once you have added the Windows server to the Unitrends system, use this procedure to create a bare metal .iso. For details on adding the Windows server, see About adding clients.

See the following for details on creating the boot media:

To create the Windows bare metal boot media

1

Log in to the Windows server and launch the Bare Metal Media program.

From the Start Menu, select All Programs > Unitrends Agent, then right-click Bare Metal Media and select Run as Administrator.

2

Enter the following in the Unitrends System Settings fields:

•

System Name - The hostname of the Unitrends system to which this Windows client is registered.

•

System IP - IP of the Unitrends system.

•

Select a device in the Select a backup device list. If you are storing backups on the default device, select D2DBackups.

3

Review the Client Settings. These are populated by default, and will be the network settings that your server will have after the restore process.

Note:  If performing a bare metal restore as part of a test, consider changing the Client IP to a free IP address so as not to affect your production server. See Considerations for bare metal test restores for details.

4

If necessary, check the DHCP checkbox. This will cause the client to reach out to a DHCP server and grab an available address upon booting from the bare metal CD. Leave the firewall and resolve client IPs boxes unchecked. These features are deprecated and should not be used.

5

Review the path in the Save Windows Bare Metal ISO to area. If desired, you can change this path to save to a different location. The default location is C:\PCBP_BM\WinBm.dir\cdrom_images.

6

Review the Save Windows Bare Metal ISO as area to see the name of the .iso that will be created. If desired, you can modify the .iso file name.

7

Click Create ISO.

8

On the Continue page, check for the message All tests are successful, then click Yes to continue.

If you do not see a success message, modify settings as required before clicking Create ISO.

9

Do one of the following:

For...	Procedure
WinPE 2.0	The system creates the .iso. Proceed to step 10. Note: The option to insert 3rd party drivers does not exist on WinPE 2.0 machines. You will have the ability to inject drivers at the time of the restore.
WinPE 1.5	You are asked if you would like to insert additional drivers: • Click Yes to inject drivers. Browse to your driver(s), select them in the box on the right, and click Add. Be certain to check the Mass storage device checkbox if drivers are being added for a mass storage device. Click Continue to proceed with the .iso creation process. • Click No if you do not wish to inject drivers. The .iso creation process continues.

10

Once created, the Success page displays.

•

If this is a physical client, burn the .iso to CD. For an example of this procedure, see Additional notes for burning bare metal Boot CDs on Windows OS.

•

For virtual clients, be sure to store the .iso image in a safe place.

Additional notes for burning bare metal Boot CDs on Windows OS

Here we are using Nero5 software as an example. Other programs can be used but you need to refer to the documentation for the burner you are using to walk you through the process of creating a bootable CD from an .iso image, which is not the same as burning an .iso image to a CD. Please note the distinction.

To burn the .iso to disk

1

Start up the Nero5 software, press Multi session and select No Multi session.

2

Go to the ISO section and select the following:

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ISO Level 2 for File/Directory name length

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Mode 2 for Format

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ASCII for Character Set

•

Check the Allow pathdepth of more than 8 directories box

•

Check the Allow more than 255 characters in path box

3

Press Burn and change the Write Method to disk-At-Once.

4

Select the image.

5

Make sure the Write Method still has disk-At-Once.

6

Write the CD.