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Create a Recovery Drive in Windows 8
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Regardless of whether you are creating a Recovery Drive using a USB flash drive or on an optical disc, it is important to remember that a Recovery Drive is bit specific. In other words, if you create a Recovery Drive in a 64-bit version of Windows 8, you can’t use that drive to boot up and repair a 32-bit version of Windows 8. Likewise, you can’t use a 32-bit Recovery Drive in a 64-bit system.
To begin with, you need to know that the USB flash drive you choose to use will become a dedicated Recovery Drive - you won’t be able to use it for anything else. In its base configuration, the contents of the Recovery Drive will require about 256MB of space. However, if you choose to include the OEM recovery partition, you’ll need more space. Thus, if you are creating a basic Recovery Drive, you can use a 1GB USB flash drive. (If you have a smaller sized drive, from the old days, you could use it as well.) If you are going to add OEM recovery partition, you’ll want at least a 16GB USB flash drive.
To launch the USB flash drive version of the Recovery tool, use the [Windows] + W keystroke to access the Search Settings page, type Recovery Drive in the text box, and click Create a recovery drive, as illustrated in Figure A. You’ll then encounter a UAC, as shown in Figure B and will need to click Yes to continue. As you can see in the UAC dialog box, the program name is shown here as Recovery Media Creator.
Using a USB Flash Drive
To begin with, you need to know that the USB flash drive you choose to use will become a dedicated Recovery Drive - you won’t be able to use it for anything else. In its base configuration, the contents of the Recovery Drive will require about 256MB of space. However, if you choose to include the OEM recovery partition, you’ll need more space. Thus, if you are creating a basic Recovery Drive, you can use a 1GB USB flash drive. (If you have a smaller sized drive, from the old days, you could use it as well.) If you are going to add OEM recovery partition, you’ll want at least a 16GB USB flash drive.
To launch the USB flash drive version of the Recovery tool, use the [Windows] + W keystroke to access the Search Settings page, type Recovery Drive in the text box, and click Create a recovery drive, as illustrated in Figure A. You’ll then encounter a UAC, as shown in Figure B and will need to click Yes to continue. As you can see in the UAC dialog box, the program name is shown here as Recovery Media Creator.
Figure A
Accessing the Recovery Drive tool from the Start screen is easy.
Figure B
When you launch the Recovery Drive tool, you’ll encounter a UAC.
In a moment, you’ll see the first screen in the Recovery Drive wizard, as shown in Figure C. If your computer came with an OEM recovery partition, the Copy the recovery partition check box will be enabled allowing you to include the contents of the recovery partition on the recovery USB flash drive. (If you select this option, you’ll need a sufficiently large capacity USB flash drive.) To continue, click Next.
Figure C
If your computer came with an OEM recovery partition, the Copy the recovery partition check box will be enabled.
In the next screen of the Recovery Drive wizard, you’ll be prompted to select your USB drive. If the drive isn’t already connected to your system, you can insert it now. When you do, Windows 8 will rescan the system and display your drive. Now, as you can see in Figure D, since I am only creating a basic Recovery Drive, the wizard informs me that the drive will only need to hold at least 256MB and that everything currently on the drive will be deleted. Remember, this will become a dedicated Recovery Drive. Once you select your USB flash drive, click Next.
Figure D
The USB flash drive you choose to use will become a dedicated Recovery Drive.
In the next screen, as shown in Figure E, you are once again warned that the contents of the drive will be deleted. To continue, click the Create button.
Figure E
You are again warned that everything on the drive will be deleted.
When you do, Windows 8 will format the drive and the begin copying files to the drive, as shown inFigure F. If you are creating a basic Recovery Disk, the process will just take a few minutes. If you are including a recovery partition, go get yourself a cup of coffee - it could take as long as an hour.
Figure F
If you are including a recovery partition, the creation process can take up to an hour to complete.
When the process is complete, Windows 8 will open the drive so that you can see the contents, as shown in Figure G. You can then close the Recovery Drive wizard by clicking the Finish button.
Figure G
When the process is complete, you will see the contents of the drive in file Explorer.
If you included a recovery partition on the USB flash drive, when the process is complete, you’ll be prompted to delete the recovery partition from the hard disk to free up space, as shown in Figure H. If you delete the recovery partition, you’ll then have to use Disk Management to extend your system partition into the newly freed up space.
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