How to Create a Windows 8 Recovery Drive [Easy, 10 Min] GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Software & Apps > Windows 43 43 people found this article helpful
How to Create a Windows 8 Recovery Drive
By Tim Fisher Tim Fisher Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability Emporia State University Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on February 3, 2022 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Windows The Ultimate Laptop Buying Guide What to Know
Open Control Panel and select System and Security. Choose Action Center > Recovery. Select Create a recovery drive.Connect a flash drive. Check the box next to Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive > Next.Choose the flash drive and select Next. Select Create to begin the Recovery Drive creation process. When done, choose Finish. This article explains how to create a Windows 8 Recovery Drive.
How to Create a Windows 8 Recovery Drive
A Windows 8 Recovery Drive gives you access to Advanced Startup Options, a menu full of advanced repair and troubleshooting tools such as Command Prompt, System Restore, Refresh Your PC, Rest Your PC, Automatic Repair, and more. After you create a Recovery Drive on a flash drive, you can boot from it if Windows 8 no longer starts properly. Considering its value, one of the first things a new Windows 8 user should do is create a Recovery Drive. If you didn't and need one now, you can make one from any working copy of Windows 8, including from another computer. Here's how: Open Control Panel and select System and Security. Windows includes a tool to create a Recovery Drive and most easily accessible from the Control Panel. You won't find this link if your Control Panel view is set to Large icons or Small icons. In your case, just select Recovery and then move on to Step 4. Choose Action Center at the top. Select Recovery, located at the bottom of the window. Select Create a recovery drive. Select Yes if you're prompted with a User Account Control question about the Recovery Media Creator program. You should now see the Recovery Drive window. Connect the flash drive that you plan on using as the Windows 8 Recovery Drive, assuming it's not already connected. An empty flash drive or one that you're okay with erasing, with at least 500 MB of capacity, will be required. Also, a Recovery Drive is the Windows 8 equivalent of a System Repair Disc from Windows 7. See Step 8 below if you're interested in creating a System Repair Disc for Windows 8. You should also disconnect any other external drives if only to avoid confusion in later steps. Check the Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive checkbox if it's available. This option is usually available on computers that had Windows 8 preinstalled when purchased. If you installed Windows yourself, this option probably isn't available, which likely isn't an issue since you probably still have the original Windows disc, ISO image, or flash drive that you used when you installed it. Something to consider, if you do choose this option, is that you'll need a much larger flash drive than the recommended 500 MB+. A 16 GB or greater capacity drive will probably be more than enough, but you'll be told how much if your flash drive is too small. Select Next, and wait while setup searches for drives available to be used as a Recovery Drive. When one or more drives show up, choose the one that corresponds to the flash drive you want to use, and then select Next. If no flash drive is found, but you do have a disc drive, you'll see a Create a system repair disc with a CD or DVD instead link at the bottom of the window. Select that if you'd like to complete that process. (This process is also possible for Windows 7, but with a couple of additional steps. It's nearly the same as Windows 8.) Select Create to begin the Recovery Drive creation process. Please take note of the warning on this screen: Everything on the drive will be deleted. If you have any personal files on this drive, make sure you've backed up the files. Wait while Windows creates the Recovery Drive, which involves formatting and then copying the necessary files to it. This process could take anywhere from a few to several minutes. Select Finish on the completion screen, which, if everything worked as expected, says The recovery drive is ready. Label and Store the Recovery Drive
You're not done yet! The most important two steps are yet to come. Label the flash drive. Something like Windows 8 Recovery Drive should make pretty obvious what this drive is for. The last thing you want to do is toss an unlabeled flash drive in your drawer that has four other ones in there, too, which brings up a vital point: Store the flash drive somewhere safe. You'll need to know what you did with it when the time comes to use it! Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Access Advanced Startup Options in Windows 11/10/8 How to Use the Format Command to Write Zeros to a Hard Drive How to Use Bootsect /nt60 to Update the VBC to BOOTMGR Install Windows 8/8.1 From USB [Full Walkthrough] How to use a System Repair Disc to Format the C Drive How to Clean Install Windows 8 or 8.1 [Walkthrough] How Do I Create a Windows Password Reset Disk? How to Create a Password in Windows How to Start Windows 8 or 8.1 in Safe Mode How Do I Reset My Windows Password? How to Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disc How to Map a Network Drive in Windows 11 How to Reset a Windows 8 Password How Do I Start Windows in Safe Mode? How to Clean Install Windows 8 Pro Upgrade How to Fix a Computer That Won't Start in Safe Mode Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies