Hello friends! If you read various computer forums on the Internet, you can find one unsolvable problem. This problem will also not be solved in any computer service and will be offered to simply reinstall the operating system again. The problem is that in Windows 7, 8.1, 10 there is a built-in backup tool for the operating system, but in some cases this tool may not find the backup image of Windows created (by itself) when restoring. As proof, I can give you my own article, written two years ago: "", if you read the comments on it, you will understand everything, or maybe you yourself found yourself in a similar situation and did not find a way out of it.
Any user of a personal computer sooner or later decides to back up his operating system, I must say, this is very convenient, you install an operating system on your computer (it is already installed on a new laptop from the store), then install all the necessary programs, then create a backup Windows image, if after a year the computer behaves unstable, you just restore Windows from a backup and that's it, so we come to the most important thing.
To create a backup copy of the operating system, many programs have been invented, both free and paid, for example: Paragon Hard Disk Manager 15 Professional, but many users prefer the operating system backup tool built into Windows, with which you can also create a backup copy of the OS and place it on a regular hard drive or USB portable hard drive. But it is not always possible to recover from this backup, and here's why.
- Note: Friends, in today's article I suggest using Acronis True Image Home 2014 to solve this problem, but not all users have this program, so I wrote two more articles, in the first I use the utility built into Windows, and in the second, the utility.
The point is in the special whimsy of the built-in Windows backup tool. If you created a backup with the built-in Windows backup tool, then after that it is undesirable to change the configuration of the hard disk (that is, divide it into additional partitions, change drive letters, etc.), it is also undesirable to touch the USB portable hard drive on which the backup is located, under no circumstances should you change the folder name ( WindowsImageBackup), which contains the system archive or move it. Often these conditions are not respected by users and when restoring them, the following message awaits them: "Windows cannot find an image on this computer."
Accordingly, the user is faced with the question of how then to restore... Despite the seeming hopelessness of the situation, there is still a way out, and this is what it is!
So, first, let's create a backup copy of the disk (C :) of a Lenovo G710 laptop with UEFI BIOS and Windows 8.1 installed from the store using the built-in backup tool.
Laptop disk management
In this window, we see that, in addition to the regular Disk 0 (1 TB volume), a USB portable hard drive is also connected to the laptop, also with a volume of 1 TB, it is on it (on section I :) and we will save a backup copy of the Windows 8.1 operating system ( Drive C :).
Launch remedy withCreating backup copies of files using the file history.
Click on the button System image backup.
In this window, the Windows 8.1 backup tool offers to save a system backup to a USB portable hard drive (section ( I:)).
The built-in backup tool automatically includes partitions in the backup backup:
1. A hidden encrypted (EFI) system partition (260 MB) without a letter containing the Windows 8.1 boot files.
2. Disk (C :) with Windows 8.1 installed.
If you turn the scroll wheel down, you will see
that the backup backup will include another hidden partition without a letter containing the Windows 8.1 recovery environment.
Note: In this screenshot, we see three partitions of the laptop hard drive that will be included in the backup archive.
We also see the section (I :) of the portable hard disk, where the archive will be saved.
In the "Confirmation of backup parameters" window, we check if we have configured everything correctly.
Click Archive and the archiving process will begin.
The process of creating a backup archive begins.
Archiving completed successfully.
After completing the archiving process, go to the USB portable hard drive, section (I :) and see a folder with the newly created backup archive called WindowsImageBackup, this is - Windows Backup Image.
We go to the archive WindowsImageBackup and find it the Backup folder, it is in this folder that there are three files with the VHDX extension, this format is used in various Microsoft virtualization solutions.
In simple words, the built-in backup tool converted the drive (C :) with installed Windows 8.1, as well as two hidden partitions - into files in the VHD X virtual hard disk format.
The very first file VHD X contains the Windows 8.1 operating system, this can be identified by the large file size. The other two VHDX files contain respectively two hidden partitions, the first with the recovery environment, and the second with system boot files (Esp.vhdx). You can also connect any virtual disk to« Disk management» and see its contents, moreover, you can even work with him.
Now imagine the situation, half a year has passed and your laptop for some reason stopped loading, you decided to restore the laptop from the previously created backup archive WindowsImageBackup using the built-in backup tool. We connected a USB portable hard drive to the laptop, then booted the laptop from the Windows 8.1 installation flash drive, entered the recovery environment, selected in the additional parameters« System image recovery» ,
and then you got this error
: "Windows cannot find the image on this computer»Friends, I want to tell you that there is no definite solution to this problem, and even if you remember that a month ago you transferred the folder with the WindowsImageBackup archive to another hard drive, and then put it back in place again, this will not help you. 99% of users in this case simply reinstall the operating system or return the laptop.
We will not reinstall Windows and will take such steps.
We find another computer.
We connect our portable USB hard drive to it. Go to the folder WindowsImageBackup, we find our virtual disk VHD X with Windows 8.1 files.
We will not touch the original, copy the file to another folder and assign it a different name, for example Windows 8.1.
In Disk Management, select Action ->Attach a virtual hard drive.
Overview.
Find our virtual disk Windows 8.1.vhdx, select it with the left mouse and click Open.
The virtual hard disk is attached in disk management and assigned the letter (H :).
Acronis True Image 2016
Beginning of work. System backup.
We uncheck the boxes everywhere and mark only our connected virtual hard disk (H :).
In point Destination, Local storage, indicate the USB portable hard drive to save the backup and press the button Archive.
A VHDX virtual disk backup in Acronis True Image 2016 TIB format is ready and is located in the G: \ My backups \ Windows8_OS (H) folder on a USB portable hard drive.
In Acronis True Image 2016, we create.
I want to restore the (C :) drive of a laptop from a backup we created.
Note: For the purity of the experiment, before the recovery process, I will completely remove the drive (C :) with Windows 8.1 installed from the laptop, and then recover from our backup using a bootable USB flash drive with the programAcronis. Naturally, you do not need to do this, well, if only suddenly someone wants to quickly remove Windows for themselves in the command line.
I connect a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 8.1 to the laptop and load the laptop from it
When the initial Windows 8.1 installation window appears, I press the combination Shift + F10 and a command prompt opens.
I enter the commands:
diskpart
lis dis (this command displays a list of all connected disks)
sel dis 0 (I choose Disk 0, since this is the main hard drive of the laptop, we are guided by the volume of the 1 TB disk))
lis par (I display a list of all partitions on Disk 0, we see that the fifth partition is just the disk (C :) with the Windows 8.1 operating system installed)
sel par 5 (choose section 5)
del par override (deleting section 5)
That's it, disk (C :) is deleted.
The laptop now boots with error 0xc0000034 because the (C :) drive has been removed.
To check, I will boot from the AOMEI PE Builder Live CD. We see instead of a disk (C :) unallocated space. Boot environment assigned letter(C :) to another section, but there is almost nothing on it either.
Connect a USB portable hard drive to the laptop and boot the laptop from an Acronis True Image bootable UEFI flash drive
We choose Recovery. Disks.
Overview... We need to find the backup we created, it is located on one of the partitions of the USB portable hard drive. Full path: G: \ My backups \ Windows8_OS (H), but since Acronis True Image confuses drive letters in the boot environment, the letter may not be G: rather different.
We reveal the item Computer.
We go to the Local Disk (L :), it fits in size to the section of the USB portable hard drive, on which the backup we created is located.
Go to the folder My backups.
Go to the Windows8_OS folder (H).
Marking the partition for recovery Windows8_OS (H).
We do not mark the MBR item, since the hard disk of our laptop has the style of GPT partitions and the UEFI interface is enabled in the BIOS.
Click on the button New storage.
We mark with the left mouse the unallocated space of 449.6 GB and press Accept.
Proceed.
The process of restoring the laptop from the backup we created begins.
We reboot the laptop and again an error occurs, which means inWe restore the crashed Windows 8.1 bootloader.
Recovering the Windows 8.1 bootloader
I connect a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 8.1 to the laptop and boot the laptop from it.
When the initial Windows 8.1 installation window appears, I press the Shift + F10 combination and a command prompt opens.
I enter the commands:
diskpart
list vol (this command displays a list of all partitions. We see that the partition with the Windows 8.1 operating system is assigned the letter C :)
exit (exit diskpart)
We enter a command that will completely overwrite the contents of the Windows 8.1 laptop boot store.
bcdboot.exe C: \ Windows
Upload files created successfully!
Restart the laptop and finally Windows 8.1 boots!
Today we will be discussing a Windows 8 feature called Refresh Your PC, which allows you to "reset" (or return) the system to its original state, in fact "softly" reinstall the system, without deleting user data. However, not everyone knows that this function allows you not only to return to the system "clean" system image, but also to the image created by the user, and containing the necessary set of programs and system settings. In this article, we'll talk about how Windows can create and manage custom Windows 8 recovery images.
First, let us remind you about the peculiarities of the function (in the Russian version of Win 8, the function is translated as "Updating the PC without deleting files"). So, at computer reset With Refresh Your PC, Windows keeps all user data and MetroApps by replacing directories Windows and Program Files to originals taken from the Windows 8 installation disc or from a previously created WIM system image. All third-party applications installed on the system (except MetroApps) are lost which is quite inconvenient considering how much time you could spend on installing and configuring them ...
If you installed Windows 8 yourself, then by default there is no such wim recovery image in the system, and when you try to perform Refresh, the system will ask you to insert the OS distribution kit. If the computer was purchased with a preinstalled OS, the system most likely contains a modified image containing specific drivers, system utilities, and programs installed by the vendor.
In Windows 8, you can replace the standard system recovery image with your own, which will contain the programs and settings necessary for a specific user.
So, your task is to customize the system to your liking: install and configure the necessary software and drivers, make the necessary changes to the system settings, install - in general, customize the system for yourself, and then create your own wim image of the system, to which you can always will roll back if it becomes necessary to reinstall the OS.
Note... The created wim image will not include custom data installed by Metro Apps and custom settings (when the Refresh your PC function is running, they are not affected). The image will contain only installed Windows desktop applications, system files, and settings.
To work with Windows 8 images used during system recovery using the Refresh Your PC function, there is a special console utility recimg.
Based on the current state of Windows 8, we will create our own recovery image, for which we will run the command:
Recimg / CreateImage C: \ RefreshImage \ Image1
The recimg / CreateImage command creates a new image containing the current state and automatically registers it as a base restore point when you next "reset" Windows 8 state using Refresh Your PC.
System image ( CustomRefresh.wim) will be saved to the C: \ RefreshImage \ directory (which can be changed to any other). If the directory is missing, the utility will create it automatically.
Windows 8 has the ability to support multiple custom recovery images. Using the same recimg / CreateImage command, create another image (which will be stored in a different directory), for example:
Recimg / CreateImage C: \ RefreshImages \ Image2
The utility will create a second image and re-designate it as the base image. If you need to set the first image as the base, use the command:
Recimg / SetCurrent C: \ RefreshImage \ Image1
To find out which image is currently being used as the base one, use the command:
Recimg / ShowCurrent
In the event that you need to unregister custom system images and return to the original one, run:
Recimg / deregister
This command disables the use of a custom recovery image, and if the system has a separate recovery partition created by the manufacturer, it will automatically be used for system recovery. If the section is missing, when you try to reset the state of the computer, the system will require you to supply the original distribution of Windows 8.
So, the native Windows 8 recovery image allows you to quickly return to your disposal a "clean" system, but containing the set of programs and drivers you need, without the need to reinstall.
Advice... It should be understood that the created wim image cannot be used as a quality, because does not contain user data (it will not work to extract user files from this wim image, they simply are not there). Its main task is to quickly reinstall the system while preserving user data.
This option will help you return the system to a state recorded at a certain point in time - a restore point. If the saving of such points is configured and enabled, then before installing updates, drivers and applications, the state of the system will be written to the hard disk.
Returning Windows to a restore point will preserve all personal files, but drivers and applications that appeared after creating a restore point will need to be reinstalled.
To start Windows Recovery, right-click on Start (Win + X) and go to Control Panel → System and Security → System → System Protection. Click "Restore" → "Next" and select the desired restore point.
Another option for the path: "Control Panel" → "All Control Panel Items" → "Recovery" → "Start System Restore".
If the restore point is not found, then system protection is disabled, and you will have to use other methods.
To avoid future troubles, enable the creation of restore points. To do this, in the same menu "System Protection" select the system drive, click "Configure" and enable the protection of the system drive.
2. Return the computer to its original state
If there are no restore points or going to them does not help, try resetting the system to its original state. You can roll back with saving files or completely delete everything and. Also, some computers - most often laptops - have an option to restore factory settings.
In Windows 8 and 10, you can start a factory reset by going to Settings → Update and Security → Reset your computer → Get started.
In Windows 7, for this you need to go to "Control Panel" → "System and Security" → "Backup and Restore" → "Restore system settings or computer" → "Advanced recovery methods" → "Return the computer to the state specified by the manufacturer."
3. Recover Windows using a disk
The recovery disc is useful, for example, to roll back to a saved point or return to its original state if Windows refuses. An ordinary USB flash drive, external hard drive or DVD is suitable for the role of such a disk.
The recovery disc must be burned in advance and kept in case of system failure. Under Control Panel → All Control Panel Items → Recovery, click Create Recovery Drive. In the menu that appears, check the "Back up system files to recovery drive" item, and you can use the USB drive not only to fix errors and rollback, but also to reinstall Windows.
To create a recovery DVD in Windows, go to Control Panel → System and Security → Backup and Restore → Create System Restore Disc. The same method works in newer versions of the system, only the name is different: "Backup and Restore (Windows 7)" instead of "Backup and Restore".
Boot the system from disk to fix the errors. In the recovery environment that opens, click "Troubleshoot". Run Revert to System Restore from Advanced Options → System Restore.
4. Restore Windows using a complete system image
Another option for restoring Windows is to roll back to the previously created system image. The image is written to a hard disk, DVD or network partition.
Unlike rollback or point-to-point recovery, using a full image retains all files, applications, settings, and drivers installed at the time it was created.
The most appropriate moment to create such an image may be a state when all the necessary applications are installed on the system, but there is nothing superfluous. This will allow you to continue working immediately after recovery.
To create a complete system image in the Control Panel, select Backup and Restore (Windows 7) → Create a system image. (In Windows 7: Control Panel → System and Security → Backup and Restore → Create a System Image.)
In the menu that appears, you can choose which of the available partitions and files to include in the system image and to which medium to write it.
With a complete system image at your disposal, you can quickly return Windows to the state you want. You can start image-based recovery when you restart your computer: Diagnostics → Advanced options → System image recovery.
Windows 8 and 8.1 operating systems allow you to create a bootable recovery disc using standard tools. It is a regular USB stick that boots into the Windows recovery environment (that is, the limited diagnostic mode), which allows you to repair the startup, file system, or fix other problems that prevent the operating system from loading or work with tangible problems.
A bootable disk for Windows is useful in that you can use it to start System Restore, update the system and reset the computer to its original - working - parameters.
It should be noted, however, that the disc or media cannot be used to install Windows. At the same time, the boot disk is very similar to the one used to restore Windows 7.
A recovery disc (USB) or a system recovery disc (for CD / DVD version, available in Windows 8 only) is for those who do not have an official Windows 8 / 8.1 boot disc.
I strongly recommend that you create a disk or flash drive for system recovery before getting into an unpleasant situation - if you cannot start Windows 8 or 8.1, you can easily and playfully return the OS to a working state using the prepared kit.
Please be aware that a 32-bit (x86) recovery disc can be used to repair Windows 8 / 8.1 32-bit. Accordingly, the 64-bit (x64) edition of the recovery disc only works with 64-bit Windows 8 / 8.1.
On a positive note, you can repair any edition of Microsoft Windows 8 / 8.1 from this disc as long as it is for the same hardware architecture (32-bit or 64-bit). One final note: don't try to use a Windows 8.1 recovery drive to reanimate Windows 8 and vice versa!
Requirements for creating a bootable Windows 8 / 8.1 disc or a system recovery disc
First, make sure you have a blank CD / DVD (this is a Windows 8 requirement only) or a USB drive with a minimum size of 256 MB (megabytes) of total disk space. Many OEM computers have strictly individual recovery partitions - they can require up to 32 gigabytes of disk space on the recovery drive.
The CD or DVD drive in Windows 8 must be really empty because the program will not be able to write data to rewritable media. You can erase the contents of a CD or DVD by opening My Computer (Windows Key + E), right-clicking on the CD / DVD drive emblem in the list, and choosing Erase This Disc.
A USB drive can be a simple portable flash drive or hard drive with a similar USB interface. Please note that this hard drive will be formatted and you will lose all files on it. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to do backup all important files! Be careful. If you delete valuable files, they will have to be restored (about reanimating the flash drive to the site).
After creating the recovery disc, you need to make sure that your computer is able to boot normally. Some older USB sticks do not support booting. Also, do not forget to check the boot order of the computer in the BIOS in order to make sure that booting from USB devices is enabled and is listed before booting hard drives.
If your computer is equipped with USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 or later interfaces, plug the recovery disc into a USB 2.0 port - this may solve some problems with the system booting.
Creating a bootable Windows recovery USB drive
To start creating a bootable disk, open the search settings with the Windows key + W and type "Recovery" in the search box. Click on "Create a recovery disc".
As expected, the User Account Control window appears. Click the Yes button to make sure you know what you are doing.
You will see the "Create a recovery drive" window. First, check the "Copy the contents of the recovery partition to disk" checkbox. Then plug in your USB drive, wait about 10 seconds and click Next.
If you cannot enable the "Copy the contents of the recovery partition to a recovery drive" option when creating a recovery drive in Windows 8 or 8.1, you need to copy the Windows instll.wim installer to your hard drive or SSD. Note that this will increase the default available space on the recovery drive from 256MB to 4GB, respectively.
If, when creating a Windows recovery disc, the message "We cannot create a recovery disc on this computer. Some required files are missing" appears, the winre.wim file or a system-reserved partition is missing.
Select the correct drive letter from the list, point to the USB flash drive in the window. Then click the Next button.
Windows will warn you that the entire contents of the selected drive will be cleared. Click the Create button to continue.
The process of formatting the disk and copying the files may take several minutes, depending on the speed of your USB drive. After the disc is ready, click the "Finish" button.
End of the process of creating a bootable USB flash drive windows 8
Now check that your device is actually capable of booting from the recovery drive: some older USB drives do not support booting. In this case, make a recovery disc on a newer flash drive and re-test the drive for bootability. Now open the flash drive in any file manager and make sure the contents match what you see in the screenshot below:
How to Create an Old School System Recovery CD / DVD in Windows 8
If you want to create a bootable system recovery CD or DVD (this is only possible in Windows 8), open the search for Windows Key + W settings, type "recovery" and click "File Recovery in Windows 7" (yes, it is glitch, in fact, the option has this name).
If you cannot find the item you are looking for, open a Command Prompt window (use Windows key + X), type sdclt.exe and press Enter to start the program.
On the left side of the Microsoft Windows 7 File Recovery window, click the Create System Recovery Drive button.
The Create System Restore Disc window opens. Select the desired successor and click the Create Disc button.
If you are inserting a non-blank CD or DVD, you will see an error dialog box like this: "System recovery disc was not created, no media in device (0xC0AA0202)". Click OK, insert a blank disc and the burning process will start automatically.
Right click on your CD or DVD drive, select the "Erase this disc" option.
It may take a few minutes for the system repair disc to be created. When the process is complete, specify a name for the disc and click the "Close" button.
Summary... I hope that this instruction helped you create a bootable USB flash drive for recovering Microsoft Windows 8. If you have any questions, ask them in the comments, I will definitely answer them (see below).
Answers to readers' questions
After restoring Windows 8, files and some programs are missing. How to return / restore them?
Answer... You should understand that restoring windows 8 from a disk or other media assumes that all installed programs will be removed, they will need to be reinstalled. However, if you installed Windows on a different drive, you can go to the user folder (Users - [username]) on the system drive used by the previous OS. Look for user files with application configuration files in the Application Data subdirectory; they can be copied to the current user folder. But the actual Windows applications will need to be installed from the installation files.
If you installed Windows 8 on the system drive by default and overwritten the old version of the OS, look for the Windows.old folder. It stores copies of previously installed programs.
Laptop crashed after uninstalling Windows 8. Before that, there was also no backup. And now, having returned something, I do not find some files: an office program, my notes, etc. Update center is not working. It is impossible to find deleted files, there is a default everywhere. How to restore windows 8 to normal as before?
Answer... It looks like you used a restore point a few days ago. However, the question is phrased in such a way that it is not clear what you wanted to ask. Let's try to answer the points.
1. The easiest way to install the office suite is to download the installation package from the developer's website.
2. Windows Update 8 Depends on Windows Update service. Start - Run - services.msc. Find the specified service, switch to the "Automatic" state, reboot the system.
3. To recover deleted files, use specialized programs, we have written about them many times.
If you restore the system via a usb flash drive (on Windows 8), will the system be restored to factory settings or by the time the recovery disk is created?
Answer... Burning Windows 8 to a USB flash drive is just a convenient reinstallation option without using a floppy drive.
You can write windows 8 to a USB flash drive and reinstall from scratch, however, you will need to configure, install programs, and so on. If you use Windows restore points, then you return to the state in which the OS was fixed at the time this point was created.
Windows 8 System Restore may be required when critical errors appear in the PC. So that the user does not have to completely reinstall the OS, special tools are provided that allow you to restore your computer even without deleting files and changing general system settings. In this article, you will learn how to start recovering a computer or laptop on Win 8 in different ways.
Below are two options for the development of events: with a working operating system and with a faulty one. In the first case, you can perform recovery 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 presented below:
- rollback from a restore point;
- using Refresh your PC;
- factory reset on a laptop;
- recovery using a bootable disk or flash drive.
Let's take a closer look at each of the methods. All instructions are fully working and are 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:
- Open "File Explorer" from the icon on the taskbar.
- In the left directory, find the item "This computer" and click on it with the right mouse button to select the item "Properties" from the menu.
- In the window that opens, click on the "System Protection" button.
- In the selected tab, click on the "Restore" button.
- On the first screen, click on "Next".
- From the list, select a checkpoint according to the date when the state of the computer was stable and working. Click "Next".
- To start the procedure, click the "Finish" button.
Now you know how to use a checkpoint to roll back the OS state.
Control point creation
If you do not have automatic checkpoints set up, you can do it manually. This option will come in handy if you encounter problems with the OS in the future:
- Open the Properties window again and click on System Protection.
- Next, go to the "Create" button marked in the screenshot.
- Enter a name and click "Create".
- Wait until the end of the procedure. After that, 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 its help, the user can roll back the OS state to the required one. You can save applications and settings, return the PC to factory settings, completely reinstall the system, or start the safe environment and perform the necessary actions through it.
First you need to open "Computer Settings":
- Right-click on the "Start" icon and select "Find".
- In the search box, enter the query "computer settings" and open the appropriate application.
- In the list of sections, select Update and Recovery.
- Go to the "Recovery" subsection. Here are the tools that allow you to return the OS to its original state or start safe mode.
The first option (1) allows you to restore Windows 8 to factory settings without losing your personal files, music, photos, etc. With the help of the second item (2), you can call the menu for a complete reinstallation of the OS and return it to the factory default settings. This will remove all personal files and installed applications. By clicking on the button in the third paragraph (3), you can call the safe environment and continue the settings through it. The first two options allow you to roll back the system from the Windows 8 interface.
It is worth dwelling in more detail on the safe environment, because there you will find advanced functionality.
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 diagnostics menu can come in handy if the OS does not boot. Click on the "More Options" button to go to the advanced functionality. With it, you can:
- roll back the OS to a checkpoint;
- use a wim image for recovery;
- roll back the system via the command line.
Let's consider all the possibilities in more detail. We figured out the first point above - the procedure is no different from running in running Windows 8.
By clicking on "System Image Restore", you launch the program to automatically unpack the previously 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. Thus, you will get a complete system.
The "Command Line" allows you to start the rollback procedure using simple commands. Click on the corresponding button to launch the application. Now enter the command "rstrui.exe" and press Enter to start. After that, you will have access to the menu with PC recovery via checkpoint.
You can run this menu through bootable media if the installed OS does not work correctly and does not start. Consider this situation.
Performing the procedure using a flash drive
Some preparation is required to complete the procedure in this manner. 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 a bootable drive automatically.
Secondly, you need to configure the 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 parameters, press F10 and restart the PC again.
Now, when turned on, you will see the installer menu. Here you will find the option to uninstall, reinstall the system, format the hard drive. Also, the creators have highlighted the recovery function in a separate menu:
- Select the desired item and start the procedure.
Rollback on a laptop with a pre-installed operating system
Notebook manufacturers who sell devices with preinstalled software provide the ability to rollback using proprietary utilities and tools. Part of the hard disk space is allocated for recovery, so you can start the procedure for returning the PC to its original settings in a couple of steps.
This applies to Asus, Lenovo, Acer, HP laptops and more. Let's look at the procedure using the example of Acer Iconia tab w5100. By default, this company uses the Alt + F10 key combination, which must be pressed on the initial boot screen with the Acer logo.
You will see the “Acer eRecovery Management” menu. Select the checked item.
After that, wait until the end of the procedure. During the process, the laptop may reboot several times. You can only cancel the recovery process by restarting the PC. After the end of the rollback, you will receive the device with the factory parameters.
The names of the utilities and the way to access them differ depending on the laptop manufacturer, but using this example, you can easily restore Windows 8 on any device.
Conclusion
Using the methods described, you can restore Windows 8 to working or original state in almost any situation. Use checkpoints to return your computer to a previous state. Refresh Your PC functionality is useful when you roll back your PC to factory settings. Safe Run will come in handy if Windows 8 won't start - you can open the necessary tools through a bootable USB flash drive.
Video
Below you can watch a training video, which clearly shows all the actions from this article. Together with the video tutorial, you will be able to understand the difficulties and restore your computer without assistance.