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"Create Image" function dialog will fail to create an Advanced method boot media on Win 11 24H2 (April 2025 Updated) OS, if UAC is enabled in OS (Error: oocode:CENgine::AssembleBootableImage:CreateSpecificWindowsImage:Result=General) 

"Create Image" Boot Media Fails on Windows 11 24H2

Problem

The "Create Image" dialog fails when you try to create an Advanced method boot media on Windows 11 24H2 (April 2025 update).

Error message:

Error: oocode:CENgine::AssembleBootableImage:CreateSpecificWindowsImage:Result=General

The process may run for 4-10 minutes before failing.

Affected Setup:

  • Windows 11 24H2 (April 2025 update)
  • NovaBACKUP client version 21.2.404 or later
  • User Account Control (UAC) is enabled in Windows (this is the default)
  • Creating Advanced method boot media (not Simple mode)

Root Cause

Windows 11 with UAC enabled blocks the NovaBACKUP Disaster Recovery (DR) service from accessing the necessary resources to create Advanced boot media.

Solution: Disable UAC (Recommended)

⚠️ Important: You must reboot your computer after making this change.

Step 1: Open PowerShell as Administrator

  1. Right-click on Windows PowerShell
  2. Select Run as administrator

Do NOT use Command Prompt—the commands won't work there.

Step 2: Check Current UAC Status

Run this command to see if UAC is currently enabled:

Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" -Name "EnableLUA"

Expected result: You'll see EnableLUA with a value of 1 (enabled).

Step 3: Disable UAC

Run this command:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" -Name "EnableLUA" -Value 0

A popup may appear saying "You must restart your computer to turn off User Account Control."

Step 4: Reboot Your Computer

Restart your computer for the change to take effect.

Step 5: Create Your Boot Media

After reboot, try creating the Advanced boot media again. The "Create Image" function should now complete successfully.

Alternative Solutions

Option 1: Use a Different Computer

You don't need to build the Advanced boot media on the same computer where you'll use it.

How it works:

  1. Install the same NovaBACKUP client version on a different computer (Windows 10, Windows 11, Server 2019, or Server 2022 - all 64-bit)
  2. Install the same Windows ADK and Win PE addon version
  3. Create the boot media there instead
  4. Use the resulting boot media on your original computer

Advantage: Simple and keeps your original computer unchanged.

Note: You must manually supply any device drivers needed for your specific hardware during the boot media creation process.

Option 2: Change Service Account Permissions

If you can't disable UAC, you can change how the NovaBACKUP services run:

  1. Open Services (services.msc)
  2. Find "Disaster Recovery Imaging" (drdiag) and "NovaBACKUP Backup/Copy Engine" (nsService)
  3. Right-click each and select Properties
  4. Click the Log On tab
  5. Change the account to a local or domain Administrator user
  6. Restart both services

⚠️ Important Limitations:

  • The "Run As" feature for jobs will stop working
  • This setting resets to default after software updates or repairs
  • DR (Image Backup) functions may experience issues
  • We do NOT recommend this approach long-term

Re-enabling UAC (Optional)

If you need to re-enable UAC for security reasons, you can reverse the change:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" -Name "EnableLUA" -Value 1

Note: Re-enabling UAC will bring back the boot media creation failure.

Related Issues

A similar UAC issue exists on Windows Server 2025 that affects the Backup tab plugins (separate KB article available).