Windows 8 recovery drive. Create a recovery USB drive

Restoring the Windows 8 system may be required when critical errors occur in the PC. So that the user does not have to completely reinstall the OS, special tools are provided that allow you to restore the computer even without deleting files and changing general system settings. In this article, you will learn how to start recovery of a computer or laptop on Win 8 in different ways.

Below are two scenarios for the development of events: with a working operating system and with a faulty one. In the first case, you can restore from the Windows 8 interface without a disk or flash drive, and in the second, you will need bootable media to copy system files. All methods are shown below:

• rollback from a restore point;
• using Refresh your PC;
• reset to factory settings on a laptop;
• recovery using a boot disk or flash drive.

Let's consider each of the methods in detail. All instructions are fully working and suitable for any builds of Windows 8 32/64 Bit.

System restore point

This method allows you to roll back the OS to a certain state. You must do the following:

1. Open File Explorer using the icon on the taskbar.

1. In the left directory, find the item "This PC" and right-click on it to select "Properties" from the menu.

1. In the window that opens, click on the "System Protection" button.

1. In the selected tab, click on the "Restore" button.

1. On the first screen, click on "Next".

1. From the list, select a checkpoint according to the date when the state of the computer was stable and working. Click Next.

1. To start the procedure, click the "Finish" button.

Now you know how to use a checkpoint to roll back the OS state.

Create a checkpoint

If you don't have checkpoints set up automatically, you can do it manually. This option is useful in case of problems with the OS in the future:

1. Open the Properties window again and click on System Protection.

1. Next, click on the "Create" button marked in the screenshot.

1. Enter a name and click Create.

1. Wait until the end of the procedure. After it, the current OS configuration will be saved as a checkpoint. You can easily restore this state in the event of a Windows 8 malfunction using the above instructions.

Rollback through "Options"

Windows 8 first introduced the Refresh Your PC tool. With it, the user can roll back the state of the OS to the required one. You can save applications and settings, reset your PC to factory settings, completely reinstall the system, or launch a safe environment and perform the necessary actions through it.

First you need to open "Computer Settings":

1. Right-click on the "Start" icon and select "Find".

1. In the search bar, enter the query "computer settings" and open the appropriate application.

1. In the list of partitions, select Update and Recovery.

1. Go to the "Recovery" subsection. Here are tools that allow you to restore the original state of the OS or start safe mode.

The first option (1) allows you to restore Windows 8 to factory settings without losing personal files, music, photos, etc. Using the second item (2), you can call up a menu for completely reinstalling the OS and returning it to the factory preset settings. This will remove all personal files and installed applications. By clicking on the button in the third paragraph (3), you can call up a safe environment and continue settings through it. The first two options allow you to roll back the system from under the Windows 8 interface.

It is worth dwelling on the secure environment in more detail, since advanced functionality awaits you there.

Click on the "Restart now" button and wait - on the screen you will see how the menu starts with the choice of action. Click on Diagnostics.

As you can see, here you can perform all the same operations as in the Windows 8 interface. However, the diagnostic menu can come in handy if the OS does not boot. Click on the "Advanced options" button to go to advanced functionality. With it, you can:

• roll back the OS to a checkpoint;
• use a wim image for recovery;
• roll back the system through the command line.

Let's consider all the possibilities in more detail. We dealt with the first point above - the procedure is no different from running in running Windows 8.

By clicking on "System Image Recovery", you launch a program to automatically unpack a pre-created wim archive. It should contain the entire OS with personal settings and programs. You can connect a disk or flash drive to your computer to unpack a third-party wim image. This way you get a complete system.

"Command line" allows you to run the rollback procedure using simple commands. Click on the appropriate button to launch the application. Now enter the command "rstrui.exe" and press Enter to run. After that, you will get access to the menu with restoring the PC through the checkpoint.

You can launch this menu through bootable media if the installed OS does not work correctly and does not start. Let's consider such a situation.

Performing the procedure using a flash drive

To perform the procedure in this way will require some preparation. First, you need to create bootable media. To do this, you need to visit the official Microsoft website, where the Windows 8 web installer is located and download it to another computer. The bootloader will download the OS files and create the boot drive automatically.

Secondly, you need to make settings through the BIOS. To do this, when starting the PC, press the button responsible for entering the BIOS menu (it is indicated on the initial screen for turning on the computer). Go to the "Boot" menu and set the bootable USB flash drive to the first place in the boot priority. To save the settings, press F10 and restart the PC again.

Now, when you turn it on, you will see the installer menu. Here you will find the possibility of uninstalling, reinstalling the system, formatting the hard drive. The creators also highlighted the recovery function in a separate menu:

1. Select the desired item and start the procedure.

Rollback on a laptop with a preinstalled operating system

Notebook manufacturers that sell devices with pre-installed software provide the ability to roll back using proprietary utilities and tools. Part of the hard drive space is allocated for recovery, so in a couple of steps you can start the procedure for returning the PC to its original settings.

This applies to laptops from Asus, Lenovo, Acer, HP, and more. Consider the procedure using the Acer Iconia tab w5100 as an example. By default, this company uses the keyboard shortcut Alt + F10 , which must be pressed on the initial boot screen with the Acer logo.

You will see the "Acer eRecovery Management" menu. Select the marked item.

After that, wait until the end of the procedure. During the process, the laptop may restart several times. You can cancel the recovery process only by restarting the PC. After the end of the rollback, you will receive a device with factory settings.

The names of the utilities and how to access them differ depending on the manufacturer of the laptop, but using this example, you can easily restore Windows 8 on any device.

Conclusion

Using the described methods, you can return the working or original state of Windows 8 in almost any situation. Use checkpoints to restore your computer to its previous state. The Refresh Your PC functionality is useful when you roll back your PC to factory settings. A safe environment is useful if Windows 8 does not start - the necessary tools can be opened through a bootable USB flash drive.

Video

Below you can watch a training video that clearly shows all the steps in this article. Together with the video instruction, you will be able to understand the difficulties and restore your computer without outside help.

Or buying a new G8 computer, the first step is to create a system recovery disk so that you can boot the computer and access the recovery utilities if something goes wrong.

Since the time of creating such a disc, the process has changed a little, and USB drives are now supported along with optical media.

To find a utility for , enter the keyword "recovery" on the initial screen and select the "Settings" filter. The desired option in the search results is displayed under the name “Create a system recovery drive” (Create a recovery drive).

The Windows 8 Recovery Media Creator is a wizard that runs on the desktop interface.

Click Next. You will be prompted to connect a USB drive or select from a list of available drives. If you prefer to use an optical disc (CD-RW or a recordable DVD), click the Create a system repair disk with a CD or DVD link (in Windows 7 this was the only option available). I'll assume that you're using a USB stick, because that's a major new feature in Windows 8.

After selecting the drive, click "Next". The wizard will warn you that all data from the disk will be deleted during the formatting process. Click "Create". The wizard will prepare and format the drive, and then copy the utilities and other files needed to start the recovery environment to it.

And... done! If the computer does not start, you can boot it from the created disk and bring up the recovery environment, which has several useful tools available.

Note that there are other ways to get to these tools, and the recovery disk is more of a useful precaution for a rainy day. If you have a Windows 8 installation disc, you can also use it to launch the recovery utilities - just select the "Repair your computer" option on the "Install Now" screen. And if Windows does boot, recovery utilities can be found under Computer Settings | General | Advanced startup options” (PC Settings | General | Advanced Startup).

In this article, I will tell you how to create a recovery disk with the Windows 8 operating system. It can come in handy in several cases: if your computer crashes and becomes unstable, if your computer or laptop does not start at all, if you need to enter safe mode.

On a computer or laptop, move the mouse cursor to the upper right corner and select "Search" in the side pop-up panel.

Enter a phrase in the search field "Recovery Disk".

The search results will be displayed on the left. Click on the icon "Creating a recovery drive".

Now we need a disk or flash drive with a capacity of at least 256 MB. Insert the selected device into the computer.

The recovery disk is created using the wizard. In the next window, click "Next". If you bought a computer or laptop with pre-installed Windows 8, then the device has a recovery partition. In this case, the field "Copy recovery partition from computer to recovery drive" will be active. If you wish, you can check the box in it, then the files from this partition will be copied to the disk or flash drive. Just keep in mind that you will need more free space on a removable device. For example, a flash drive will need to take at least 16 GB.

Select the flash drive connected to the computer. If you want to create a CD, then do not connect a USB flash drive, but insert a disk into the drive, then there will be an item below "Create a system repair disc on CD or DVD instead". Click "Next".

The wizard will warn you that all data from the device will be deleted. If important files are stored on the flash drive, it is better to interrupt the creation of the disk and copy all the files to a safe place. Click "Create".

Wait until the wizard finishes the formatting process and copies all the necessary data to the USB flash drive.

This completes the process, and the recovery disk with the Windows 8 operating system is ready.

If you have problems with the operation of the operating system, then using the recovery disk, you can restore the working state of Windows 8. To do this, you will need to change the boot priority in BIOSto boot from a USB flash drive or disk, and then select the desired menu options.

I also wrote about how to change the boot priority in the BIOS in the article installing Windows 8. Follow the link and read more about it.

With the help of the created recovery disk, you can also enter safe mode. For many users, this will be very useful, since in Windows 8, it is not always possible to do this by pressing F8 or Shift + F8 as usual.

If the computer does not start Windows 8 at all, then you can create a recovery disk on a friend's computer, with the operating system we need installed. In this case, the disk or flash drive from which you installed the operating system can also help.

While everyone understands that to keep your PC running smoothly, you just need to keep your OS running and healthy, sometimes the only way out is to restore Windows 8.1.

The recovery disc is a USB flash drive that contains all the tools you need to repair your system. It usually includes: Startup Repair, Updates, Reset and System Restore.

To create a recovery drive, open the control panel, and click on the "Recovery" section (control panel in the large or small icons view, this section is not in the category view). The top parameter of the window that opens is responsible for creating the recovery disk we need. Click on it and go directly to creating a disc.

Clue. If you have a factory-preconfigured recovery partition on your computer, you can check the box to copy the recovery partition. True, this significantly increases the size of the recovery drive, and is only suitable for USB flash drives with a capacity of at least 32 GB, but it provides a valuable additional option for a Windows 8.1 emergency rescue.

After creating the disk, you can start your computer from it and access the recovery options. However, don't forget that USB booting must be enabled in your motherboard's UEFI or firmware.

Attention. If you are using Windows RT for a tablet, such as the Microsoft Surface, you must create a recovery disk containing the system backup image. There is no other way to reinstall Windows RT other than from a recovery disk, so if an accident occurs, your only option is to return the computer to the manufacturer for re-imaging, which is unrealistic in our reality. To create a recovery disk with a full Windows RT system image, you only need a 4 GB USB flash drive.

Backup and restore Windows 8.1.

Since the days of Windows XP, it has been commonplace to completely reinstall the operating system and all software when problems arise with the OS. There are now several other ways to secure your installed copy of Windows and restore it in the event of a crisis.

Note. Windows 8 includes a full system image backup tool, Windows 7 has options to restore files. In Windows 8.1, this functionality has been removed. An alternative to these features in Windows 8.1 is its own recovery option.

Repair Windows 8.1 using the Quick Repair option.

With Windows 8.1, Microsoft introduced a new way to create a backup image that is so simple that anyone can use it. This new recovery option creates a backup copy of the operating system that can be easily launched from the computer options or by inserting a recovery disc from the OS startup options.

There is one important difference between the old system backup image and the new restore option. Even if you create your own custom recovery image, which will restore all installed desktop programs in case of emergency, you will not be able to save their settings. This means that software such as Microsoft Outlook will be restored, but your email accounts will have to be set up again. Likewise with all other desktop applications.

However, most users need not worry, Windows 8.1 synchronizes most of its settings, including for desktop applications, and the same Microsoft Office 2013 can synchronize its settings between different computers.

The easiest way to access the recovery option is in the computer settings by selecting update and recovery there, and then clicking recovery in the left navigation panel.

The restore option is the first option at the top of the screen, by the way, here is an explanation of what will be done. When you're ready to restore your computer, click the START button. The process is fully automated.

Windows 8.1 will explain to you what will be done during the recovery process and ask you to confirm this operation. Clicking on the OK button will start the action itself, which can take from 15 to 60 minutes, which directly depends on your created custom recovery image.

You can also restore your computer while starting Windows 8.1. There are several ways to do this:

1. If your computer fails to start three times, the repair process starts when it boots up. If the computer cannot be repaired, it offers additional options, including recovery.
2. Starting the computer with a recovery disk; note that you may need to access boot options. You also need to boot from a USB flash drive.
3. Starting a computer with a Windows 8.1 installation DVD. On the settings screen, instead of the system repair options, click the repair your computer link.

Create a custom recovery image in Windows 8.1.

As mentioned above, you can create a custom recovery image. You may need to do this because, by default, this feature will update your copy of Windows 8.1, keeping files and applications intact, but will kill all desktop applications.

Creating a custom recovery image will take a snapshot of the computer, complete with all desktop software.

Note. Keep in mind that restoring from a custom recovery image resets all desktop software settings, so you'll have to reconfigure them, unless their settings are automatically synced between computers.

To create a custom recovery image, follow these steps:

1. Click Windows + X by opening this administration menu.
2. Select and run Command Prompt (Administrator).
3. Enter recimg -CreateImage C:\Folder, where C:\Folder is the location where you want to save the backup. This location can also be on another hard disk partition or on another drive. You can add additional fault tolerance to recovery image creation.

The Windows 8 recovery disc contains a powerful set of tools for diagnosing and restoring the operating system. It can help if you experience crashes in Windows.

If you haven't created a system repair disc yet, you can do so on your computer or any other computer with a working copy of Windows 8 installed.

The recovery disc can be burned to a flash drive or CD/DVD media.

And now everything is in order:

Note: Using this instruction, you can create a recovery disc for both Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 (USB stick only).

If in the control panel you have selected the view view not by category, but by small or large icons, then click on the item " Recovery” and you can go directly to point 5.

3. In the menu that opens, click the topmost link " Support Center».

4. At the bottom of the "Action Center" window, click on " Recovery».

6. Connect the flash drive to your computer. A system recovery disc will be written to it.

7. If desired, check the box " Copy the recovery partition from the computer to the recovery drive" and press Further. This item is usually available on computers with pre-installed Windows 8. But keep in mind that choosing this item will require several times more free space on the flash drive.

8. In the next window, select the USB drive that you plan to use as a recovery disk from the list and click the button Further.

If you do not have a flash drive, you can burn the recovery disc to CD / DVD media.

9. After that, a warning will appear that all data on the flash drive will be deleted. If there is no valuable information on your flash drive or you have made a backup copy, press the button " Create».

That's all. The process of creating a Windows 8 recovery disc is complete. For a freshly installed 64-bit version of Windows 8, the size of the data on the flash drive was 225 MB.