Aomei backupper fails creating restart instructions and fails to create working USB boot media

Mike163

I have a known good image of Win10pro OS that I have restored twice before but need to do so again. The image is a result of a repair-install after OneDrive disabled my laptop. The battle continues, and during this I disabled Windows Search service / Indexing to prevent multiple simultaneous access requests on files. I have what I need from C: backed up so now I just want to reset with the known good image. The image verified successfully: but my recover ideas have not worked. The installed AOMEI Backupper, presented with the recover image, fails when it tries to create a Restart routine. The error (4143) implicates changes to partition sizes, Boot, WinOS, WinRE, but all these are identical. Without Indexing running, file operations may take longer than AOMEI is prepared to wait. A USB Boot drive with backupper boots to the BU homepage but then does not respond to any actions: no mouse or keyboard control, just power off to escape. A makedisc.exe new creation USB from within the Backupper install directory behaved the same. I put ampe.iso in the directory but it was not picked up. I tried to create a boot USB containing ampe.iso using Rufus and got the warning 'UEFI bootloader has been revoked and will produce a BSOD'.

Mike163

Update: I put a new AOMEI backupper install on another Win10 computer and created a new USB boot media with the same result: hangs at the Home Screen.

aiArtisan

Thank you Mike, could you please reply with screenshots.

admin

@Mike163, Please confirm if you are using a Bluetooth Mouse or touch pad mouse. Please try to use USB mouse.
And, when you create the WinPE, please check if it checks "Download WinPE creating environment...". If yes, please try to download and install Windows ADK and Windows PE Addon. After that, please try to create WinPE with uncheck the option.

As for downloading and installing Windows ADK and Windows PE Addon, please refer to here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install

Mike163

@admin you solved the problem of no controls:I use the laptop in question with a BT mouse but the second computer was a USB mouse but maybe I was trying the touchpad.  Anyway, with a USB mouse the AOMEI BU USB boot drive works, I can move around.  Also, the AOMEI re-start boot works.  In both cases I arrive at a second issue: the laptop disk is no-longer enunerated so I don't see the C: partition on the internal drive that I want to recover.  I see the 2Tb backup drive and the .adi image, with partitions, and the 8Gb USB with BU boot image.  There are 5 visible and 2 hidden partitions on the internal SSD

From within Windows I get the expected 'Restart boot' but AOMEI doesn't remember the request and I thought it did?  No bother, I know the task: but both paths lead to the same lack of internal disk.  It starts looking good, as below, but comes in fresh with the reboot.  When I try to get to the same point, the internal disk is not detected or available as a selection: so I am faced with destination of the 2Tb backup or the 8Gb flash drive.  I think the USB boot is more likely to work because Windows Explorer hanging, or any Context Menu file operation hanging, is the issue I'm trying to solve.  Thanks for your help!  Mike

aiArtisan

"I don't see the C: partition on the internal drive that I want to recover"

Go to the manufacturer website for the disk that you cannot see. Download the driver from their website. Then make the BU USB again, and manually add that driver during USB creation process.

Before doing any operation on a disk that uses Bitlocker, you must print the 50-digit Bitlocker Recovery Key onto paper. If you restart, and Bitlocker requires the key and you don't have it, you could lose your data forever.

Mike163

@aiArtisan

It's not the driver: I've been using the laptop for 3 years.  It's a 1Tb NVMe using standard Windows drivers disk.sys, Eh.Stor.Class.sys and partmgr.sys.  Plus, this will be the 3rd time I've re-loaded the (verified) image from the same 2Tb onto the same internal 1Tb SSD.

It did occur to me after posting that I've seen this behaviour caused by Bitlocker.  Each visible partition has its own keys but if I (say) boot into safe mode, I only need to supply one manually to unlock the whole drive.  I have keys printed and saved on USB as text.  However, I don't recall needing to enter a key manually last time.  When I start the task from within Windows I assume ABU is smart enough to pick up the Bitlocker key it needs.  If ABU from USB asks me, I could supply a key: but it has yet to ask.

aiArtisan

"It's not the driver: I've been using the laptop for 3 years"

1) New Backupper version updates may change which drivers it loads or does not load into the USB. I am not talking about your Windows disk driver. I am only talking about the drivers Backupper chooses to include or not include in your USB. Please reply that you have manually included your disk driver in BU USB creation, that should only take you a few seconds to test that.

2) Please reply back that you have checked your manufacturer website for for a UEFI BIOS update. Checking Windows optional updates for UEFI BIOS updates is not enough, I have seen many times that there is a new UEFI BIOS bug fix directly from manufacturer website, but does not appear in Windows optional updates yet.

admin

@Mike163, Please try to recreate the WinPE bootable media. When you create the WinPE, please check if it checks "Download WinPE creating environment...". If yes, please try to download and install Windows ADK and Windows PE Addon. After that, please try to create WinPE with uncheck the option.

As for downloading and installing Windows ADK and Windows PE Addon, please refer to here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install
And, please also manually add the drivers of the disk during creating WinPE.

Mike163

@aiArtisan If I create a bootable USB on the same laptop on which I wish to use it, are you saying that ABU is not smart enough to include the drivers for the SSD that it is running from at the time?  I refer back to my previous statement: I have re-loaded this image from a laptop reboot twice already, and it saw the SSD.  Detecting a standard NVMe and then not picking up the stanard Windows drivers working at the time would seem remiss.  I haven't installed the latest/last Windows 10 Version 22H2, but that was true for the two previous reloads of the image.

HP Support Assistant checks for and updates drivers including BIOS.  I haven't got a log of all drivers from the previous successful recoveries because it wasn't necessary, as they worked.  I'm not keen to get into a finger pointing of whether it's MS Windows, HP, or AOMEI: I get enough of that in the day job.  It worked twice before.

@admin AIUI from your help files, the required WinPE environment is sourced from your servers? I have no desire to become a Windows SW developer, and ADK is a two-day download for me and may strangle my machine: but you folks are, so if your WinPE needs updating then please do so.

Please can we veer away from this being a disk driver problem, as boot USB from Neosmart, Windows RE recovery, Win10 repair, and AOMEI all boot up successfully.  Safe boot differs in that I must supply the bitlocker key, to get to either windows or cmd window.  That's where AOMEI goes blind to the internal disk.  How can I add the global Bitlocker key to the AOMEI USB drive?

Thanks, Mike

admin

@Mike163, We will optimize the downloaded WinPE creating environment in the next version.

Mike163

Thanks @admin.  I'll be happy to run a beta test and report.  Does AOMEI create a logfile that would help?

admin

@Mike163, Does AOMEI create a logfile that would help?---What mean?

Pikatou

Hello , I have the same problem. It's the 1st time that Aomei doesn't work when booting on a usb key. The screen is all black and I have to reboot the computer because it's stuck. So I went back to the previous version, v 7.3.3. I hope a solution will be found. Thank you for your help.

admin

@Pikatou, Could you explain your issue further?

Pikatou

@Administrateur  ,  I have a new installation problem now . 

admin

@Pikatou, Did you get the error when you create WinPE bootable media? When you create the WinPE, please check if it checks "Download WinPE creating environment...". If yes, please try to download and install Windows ADK and Windows PE Addon. After that, please try to create WinPE with uncheck the option.

As for downloading and installing Windows ADK and Windows PE Addon, please refer to here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install

Pikatou

@admin ,
Hello Thank you for your feedback. Indeed, everything is working again.