I built my own PC last year and I've done several OS upgrades in that time frame. First I started with windows 7 basic which I then promptly upgraded to 7 ultimate because my university offered upgrades for $7. I then upgraded to 8 when it first came out and then 8.1 too. I put a new SSD in my PC and copied all my 8.1 data on to it I then turned the old SSD in to a second boot drive for OS X. I'm having problems with 8.1. I wanted to create a repair drive to hopefully root out and fix whatever is causing windows explorer to crash. It's not a virus I've made sure of that. I have a feeling whatever caused this happened when I upgraded to 8.1 and then copied over the SSD. What my product key is for 8.1 pro i just found the email microsoft sent me with my windows 8 key but i have no disc.
when i followed the instructions to make a recovery drive it told me that some of the required files are missing and to use a windows installation disc or media which is a problem because all my windows 8 upgrades have been done online.
also my PC currently doesn't have a disc drive i removed it because i only ever used it to install windows 7 basic.
I have an i7 ASUS Ultrabook (HDD is 2xssd in raid0, UEFI, GPT partitions.) which is great but have an issue where wifi profiles don't retain and i'm not too concerned about retaining the data on the ultrabook so after attempting to fix the wifi profiles not saving (Have been through the driver scenario, folder permissions, sfc, etc and no joy) i'm just going to do a clean install from the recovery partition.
I started by trying the recovery methods 8 has built in, refresh the files, but fails without an error and makes no changes. Attempted to do a full restore via 8 recovery also but fails with no error also and then I realized I was actually missing the OEM options (F9 during boot doesn't allow for EMS boot to begin recovery from recovery partition like expected, just boots into normal recovery).
After installing windows 8.1 it no longer allows me to do an OEM recovery via Windows 8.1's built in recovery methods so I created a recovery USB from the recovery partition using the windows 8 tool since the AI Recovery Burner doesn't recognize the partition, the USB recovery creation did recognize the partition and allow me to create the USB recovery drive from this successfully.
When running the USB recovery, the recovery fails with "Required drive partition is missing"
I think this is because the recovery partition is actually a windows 8 partition, not 8.1, and will not work.
Seems like a lot of effort but I want to retain the OEM key and software set (because it's surprisingly not a piece of trash) so was thinking if I install windows 8 (I have an ISO and another key) over the existing 8.1 partition it may actually allow me to then do the normal recovery.
Since the recovery drive did not work I decided to clone the recovery partition and have the WIM file now, although since cloning the partition when running recovery I no longer have the option to create a recovery drive using the recovery partition, the partitions no longer show as recovery partitions in disk management but instead as OEM partitions (Not sure why this changed.)
The recovery xml configuration for REAGENTC does have the correct GUID's and offsets for the partitions although when running this in elevated cmd it results in error 3 unable to run.
Am I able to create a base recovery drive from another windows 8.1 pc and use the WIM file?
Any way to tell what partition table my created recovery drive is expecting so I can adjust the current partitions to match and perform the recovery? When I try to refresh the files from this recovery I get the error "Windows system is locked" which is why I went for the full recovery.
I am trying to install the new develp build of Windows 8 (x86) on my asus eeepc 1005pe. This is a netbook which doesnt even have a cd/dvd drive.
So anyway, I extracted the iso on a bootable usb flash drive. I boot, and when I click install it just hangs for about 10 minutes and then it gives me this error:
I tried setting the bios from AHCI to IDE. This does not work, I even get a bluescreen of death when I boot up in the current win7 sp1 install. But anyway on google I read a lot about this problem and one of the solutions is to put it on AHCI.. but not for me as it was already on AHCI. Anyway IDE is not workin either.
Just recently I installed win7sp1 on this netbook without a problem. I checked the sha1 hashes of the Windows 8 ISO and they are confirmed, so that is not the problem either.
My Toshiba Satellite Laptop has Windows 8. For some reason windows 8 wont load. It gets to the screen where you select which username you want. But from there its non responsive, I cant get into Windows, I cant restart to load it up in safe mode.
I got a Windows 8 disk which I had to change the bios to load it up. The cd loads but it says the automatic repair wont repair the laptop. I try to refresh windows 8 but I get a message saying the drive where windows is installed is locked. unlock the drive and try again. It also wont let me use system restore.
I try to use the reset pc option but I get a message saying unable to reset your pc, a required drive partition is missing. At the start it gives me the option to install windows 8, I don't know whether to just do that? Is it ok to do with windows 8 already installed?
I'm trying to do a complete recovery of my Windows 8.1 laptop (The "Remove everything and reinstall Windows" option). A few seconds after I try to initiate the recovery, I am stopped by a message that says:
"Some Media Files are Missing. Your Windows installation or recovery media will provide these files"
After this message appears I am prompted to cancel the restoration. How can I bypass this message to continue with the recovery? My laptop is 4 years old and is ready for a recovery.
My laptop was purchased running Windows 7 64bit, from which I upgraded to Win 8 64bit Pro through a free download from my school. I have my Windows 8 installation key, but not the download files. I upgraded to 8.1 through the Windows Store free download.
I recently did an update of my machine from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1. The update process did not show any errors or warnings and by the time it finished I was under the impression that everything went smooth.
After the update I was testing the environment and discovered that one of my desktop applications stopped working, I went to the developer's website and indeed I found there is a known issue with their software on 8.1 and to solve it, I had to completely uninstall the software and then install it once more. So I went to Programs and Features in order to do so and to my surprise the Uninstall button was missing from the interface. Right-clicking an item and selecting uninstall from the menu gives a warning message suggesting that the application might have already been uninstalled and asks if I wanted to remove the application from the Programs list. However, clicking OK or Cancel just closes the message box and nothing happens.
So I went and tried to Refresh My PC; Once I clicked Refresh My PC the verification process started and indeed it told my that some system files are missing and that it should take care of it provided I insert my Windows disc. Now since its an OTA update from Win 8 to 8.1 I thought that MS knows that some people will not have a physical copy of 8.1 and so I inserted my Windows 8 Pro System Builder disc hoping it would work, but sadly as you might have guessed, it did not. It told me that I needed the 8.1 recovery disc.
Now I have been looking everywhere for a recovery image to download and use to fix my problem, everywhere I go it suggests that I make my own copy. But how am I supposed to do that if my Windows is faulty and has missing files. I really don't wanna go back to Windows 8 and re-upgrade to 8.1. I have a monitored internet bandwidth and I cannot go and download the 3 GB 8.1 update once more.
How can I repair my 8.1 machine?
I came across this article describing how to get an ISO image for 8.1 with a Windows 8 product Key. However, entering my Windows 8 Pro System Builder (OEM) key in the box fails and tells me that the key I entered is not for this product.
I pay a used laptop Sony Vaio SVF 143100c from china , they install windows 8 Enterbrise and no other software or drivers
when I check I found a recovery volume on the hard disk I assign this volume and copy all the recovery content to external Hard disk, size is 18 GB
and the product key is valid for Win 8 RTM CoreCountrySpecific OEMM,
I don't have a Recovery Media disk or usb to return to Factory condition, how to create a recovery disk to access tis image and re install tis laptop to Factory condition
I have put together a PC for the first time. It' POSTs and All is well. I have installed a SSD 250G drive as my primary drive with windows 8.1 install. Also have a 1.0 Terbyte Hard Disk for storage. How do I make sure that all data files(downloads, applications, etc) are sent to the hard drive.
I've got a windows 8 laptop which gives me this error message when i try to switch it on:
"Your PC needs to be repaired The boot configuration data file is missing some required information.
File:BCD Error Code : 0xc000000d ............................" I'm sure you are all familiar with the rest of this dreaded error code.
I've tried all the repair options, recovery disks to a windows 8 bootable flash disk, the command prompt fix boot commands as well but still I get the same error message whenever i try to boot windows.
Now I'd like to know, can't i just copy the boot folders from another similar windows 8 pc and paste them into my harddrive to fix this?
I was using Ubuntu 14.04 on my laptop before. Now I want to install Windows 8. I have laptop's rescue CD. I get the following error when I tried to install Windows 8 on UEFI using the rescue CD:
"Unable to reset your pc a required partition is missing".
I think I have a problem about partitions type because Ubuntu uses ext4.
I recently purchased an Asus X551 laptop with Windows 8 but straight the way uninstalled Windows 8 and installed Ubuntu (after creating a Windows 8 recovery drive just in case). I have since decided that I want Windows 8 back as I have found that I cannot use a lot of software on Linux. The laptop did not come with any form of recovery disk or installation disk, the only reminent of Windows 8 I have is the recovery USB that I created from within the OS.
When I plug in the USB and boot from it it brings up the recovery menu with options to reset the PC but when I click it it says something like - "Unable to reset PC. A required partition is missing".
I purchased a new laptop with windows 8 and used the options in windows 8 to create recovery media and chose the usb drive option. I was wondering if I would be able to copy the files in the usb drive onto my external HD; then if I ever need them I could put them back onto a usb drive and reinstall windows 8. I took a screenshot of the files on the usb drive.
I have an ASUS VivoBook X200CA that is running a Windows 8.1 Upgrade. For about 5 months, this laptop has been running perfectly without any problems and I have managed to reset the computer many times due to certain errors and problems that have arisen from software and hardware compatibility.
Recently, I went to reset my laptop, it restarted and then it took me to the WinRE screen. I went into Troubleshooting > Advanced Options and I clicked on the Reset option. It then took me through each of the various warnings and making sure that my data was backed up and then, once I had clicked on the "Reset" button, it hung for a bit and then said "Reset has failed - Required Partition is Missing".
I bought a new SSD and want to do a clean install on it, however am having problems during the install process and receive the following message:
Windows 8 cannot install required files. Make sure all files required for installation are available, and restart the installation. Error code: 0x8007025d The install images was downloaded from the Microsoft website and I have tried using a USB thumb drive and DVD install disc and both receive the same error. I have used the DVD disc when I originally installed Windows 8 Pro on the same desktop but on an IDE harddrive and believe the disc should still work (i.e. no scratches on it).
Here's how I prepared to install:
1. Unplugged all harddrives except for brand new SSD (Crucial M4 128 GB SSD) 2. Changed bios settings to AHCI (before was on IDE) (using Asus P5k-V motherboard)
I'm not sure what's going on if the harddrive is corrupt, the bios settings need to be tweaked, the drive is incompatible with my motherboard or something else.
I don't want to go back to using the IDE drive to boot windows but rather use the new SSD.
If you have a recovery drive - that includes the recovery partition - made on one computer, but have a toshiba laptop with a bad drive (but the recovery partition is ok), can you replace/copy the partition on the recovery drive with the recovery partition from the bad laptop HD?
My friend's laptop would not boot, and would not factory recover, reset, or refresh. I tried to clone the hard drive before I started messing with the disc. It would not clone, but I was able to copy the recovery partition to a USB drive.
He never make recovery discs, so could not re-install, but I can borrow the recovery drive that my aunt made for her laptop.
My Asus laptop does not give me an option to make recovery CD's it only shows USB as the only option. The laptop has no built in CD-DVD but I have external drive..... Can I make recovery CD's.... I did make a recovery USB but would like CD'S also,
How to make a Widows 8.1 DVD disk that works as a recovery disk.What your actually making is an Windows 8.1 Enterprise Evaluation installation disk. When the disk boots up, you select repair disk instead of install. This will give you access to all the repair programs as well as system image recovery option.
All you have to is, go to this webpage (Download Windows 8.1 Enterprise Evaluation) and download the ISO for Windows 8.1 Enterprise evaluation. This will let download the ISO file. Warning, this file is 3.7 gig big and takes a few minutes. After that simply burn to disk. When you boot this disk, just choose repair instead of install. Just note, that like all install disk it takes time to load. 2 minutes and 20seconds on my machine.
I tried to make recovery discs but Win 8.1 won't allow that anymore. This is from a MS full install disk, not OEM partition or similar. I tried the flash drive method and it did do that. However, the customer had only a USB flash drive adapter that allows MSD to fit. It accepted that and created the recovery flash drive using that setup. However, upon rebooting it just doesn't go into recovery mode. It just sits there prior to boot menu setup after pressing [ESC] for the laptop. What is going on? I know the flash drive is holding the boot process after I press [ESC] to enter boot menu for the laptop, what gives. I really don't think a true flash drive will work as well, though i couldn't test that at the time.
Win8.1 32-bit installed and updated HP probook 4510s 2gb ram celeron cpu
I have a laptop that has an SSD with Win 8.1 + programs, and an HDD for projects. They are both formatted GPT. When I launch Macrium, for some reason my SSD is now GPT 1 and the second drive is now GPT 2. This is confusing because I'm used to imaging the top line of partitions which is usually my OS. Now that the GPT numbers are reversed, I have to be careful when doing my backups. How to change this assignment so that the SSD will be GPT1 again?
I bought a new PC the other day, and it has Windows 8. It advised me to make recovery disks, so I started the Setup Wizard. However, when it tried to actually burn the first disk there was an error, and it didn't complete.
Now, when I try to do the recovery disks again, right after it has prepared the files, the following error comes up: "Unhandled Exception: cannot create a file when that file already exists.".
So i'm a bit stuck. Is there a way to get my recovery disks done?
One of the first things I did when I had my new PC last year was to make a set of recovery discs. Now having used the free upgrade to Windows 8.1 I would like to make a set of backup discs for this version, however, my pc say that a set has already been made and I can only make the one set.
If things stay like this, when I want to do a recovery using either the hdd partition or the discs I made, it installs Windows 8 and then I have to install what seems like a million updates before I then have to go back to the store and do the upgrade to 8.1.
Is there a way I can make a recovery dvd's for the 8.1 version ?
I purchased a Dell Inspiron 15 pre-installed with Windows 8, then after I upgraded to 8.1. How do I make sure I have bootable disks or a backup copy of Windows in case there was a system failure since the PC didn't come with a copy of Windows in CD format?
Some time ago Installed Windows 7 on one of my Windows 8 computers. But during the install i had to delete all partitions and that was the recovery partition that had he recovery software on it. Well now I want to go back to Windows 8 and I don't really want to send my PC to Samsung for re imaging. But I have the image i made with the software before I installed Windows 8. All I need is to get the recover partition back with the software on it. I have 2 other Samsung computers that have the same software on it but I need to find a way to make a image of the recover partition so i can use my backup image for the computer.
I have a Lenovo Z710 laptop(see spec's)and want to make a recovery USB and also setup a backup system. This is a new machine and I don't want to make a mess of it.
I have a 32GB USB drive to make the Recovery on.Lenovo refers me to this method to make a Recovery USB :Methodology to create Recovery Media and reload a Lenovo Think system with Microsoft Windows 8 preload
Is this a good way to do this or is there a better way ?
I also need to setup a backup system, what is the best program to use for this, paid or not ?
I have a 1TB HDD in an external enclosure with 3.0 USB cable to use for the backup's.
I'm in the process of moving to an SSD and need to create a backup drive in order to repair the BIOS after transferring everything. However, when I try to create one - the create a recovery drive program won't recognize the flash drive I have connected as a flash drive.
I first tried with a SanDisk Cruzer which apparently had a quirk in that it shows up as a hard drive instead of removable flash drive. That seems to be well documented on forums all over the place and there is no fix.
So, I purchased a cheap 8 GB stick (no brand) and Windows (I'm running 8.1 x64) recognizes it as a removable disk. However, the create a backup utility still won't recognize it. I've found some random fixes that have worked for some (such as plugging it into a different USB port) but nothing has worked for me so far. I've tried doing it with the "copy the recovery partition" option both checked and unchecked.
If there's no solution to this wonderful "quirk" of Windows, then is there something else I can do to repair BIOS? Seems like there's not a fix to my problem out there...
EDIT So as of right now, I tried using HPs recovery software which seems to do the same thing as copying over your entire recovery partition. That didn't work either. However..when I had both USB sticks plugged in the Windows supplied utility recognized the SanDisk Cruzer when I checked the "copy the partition" thing
I just purchased an Asus R510CC notebook with windows 8 and I bought a SSD drive to replace the current one.
I used Recovery Drive in Windows to create an USB boot drive with the recovery partition on it. I then installed the SSD and booted from the USB. When I get to the option to reset my computer I encounter an error with the following message: "Unable to reset PC. A required drive partition is missing". I already did a bit of research and BIOS tweaking but I can't install Windows onto my SSD.
I am trying to add photographs to my pc and make files for different sets of pictures but the photos app that is bundled with windows 8 is not very useful. It wont let me make separate files and when I want to print from this app I cant. I have looked at other available apps in the store but they all appear to be the same with poor write ups. also when I import pictures into pc it makes two copies so if I upload 20 pictures it copies 40 and then I have to delete half of them, this is really starting to irritate me now, I am trying to start photography as a bit of a hobby but I am finding windows 8 not very user friendly at the moment.
I have a virtualbox running on my Ubuntu Server 13.10. My goal is to run virtual machines on HDD, while every other stuff is running on SSD. Because the CD/DVD drive wont work on the server, I had to install Windows 8.1 in Virtualbox on my own computer. After successful installation, I transferred the .vhd file to the server (HDD) and created a new virtual machine from Ubuntu Server / php Virtualbox using the .vhd file I just transferred.
But now the Windows 8.1 running on the server's HDD complains that it is not activated. I tried to activate it using the key card from the box, but it says that the code is not valid.
Yes, the first time I installed Windows 8.1 on Virtualbox on my own computer, I entered the activation code successfully. So I can't make copies from activated .vhd files?
Whether I use Legacy or UEFI Mode, I can't get my PC to boot from flash drive, which was NEVER a problem before. It worked just fine, but now I tried Win Toolkit, RUFUS, and WinUSB maker with 2 different Windows 8.1 Update 1 ISO files (one by me and on by murphy). Neither worked. I reset BIOS settings completely, but that also didn't work - my PC sees the flash drive, but it just won't boot from it, without any error. If I force that flash drive to be the only boot drive, then it just takes me back into UEFI/BIOS without any error messages...
