Create a Windows 10 Recovery USB (including Windows 11, 8.1, and 7)

I. What is a Windows 10 Recovery USB?

A Windows 10 Recovery USB, Recovery Disk, or simply a Recovery Drive, is a bootable drive that contains the basic Windows installation files and lets you access tools such as the Windows Advanced Startup options, like System Restore, Startup Repair, Safe Mode, and Command Prompt. You can think of a Windows 10 Recovery USB as a copy of a full Windows 10 environment saved on an external source, such as a USB flash drive.

What is the use of a Windows 10 Recovery USB drive? When your computer encounters issues, either due to hardware failure or system corruption, you need a recovery drive to fix it or reinstall Windows 10 from scratch to get it back to normal. Hence, a Windows 10 Recovery USB drive needs to be bootable and its purpose is to initiate the repair or reinstallation process by guiding unbootable computers via Advanced Startup options.

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II. Booting from a System Repair Disc

When it comes to recovery USB drive, we often hear another recovery media called System Repair Disc, which confuses us. Now that we know a Windows 10 recovery USB helps restore Windows from corrupted and crashed issues, what is the System Repair Disc used for?

A System Repair Disc is, strictly speaking, a bootable CD/DVD that contains Windows installation files and recovery tools like Startup Repair, System Restore, Command Prompt, and so on. You can create a System Repair Disc in Windows 10 using a blank CD or DVD. Once you've made the System Repair Disc, you can use it to boot your computer to fix Windows startup issues. It can also help you recover your computer from a system image backup.

Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disc

As for the differences, a Windows 10 Recovery USB is created using the “Create a recovery drive” option in Windows 8.1, 10, or 11. In contrast, System Repair Discs were initially available in Windows 7, as an option within the "Windows Backup and Restore" tool. In terms of media usage, a Recovery USB drive supports the use of portable USB flash drives or thumb drives, while a System Repair Disc requires a traditional CD/DVD disc.

Furthermore, the Recovery Drive option lets you back up system files to a recovery drive, so you can use it to reinstall Windows. The difference is that the Recovery USB is bound to the current PC for use, while the System Repair Disc can be used on another computer with the same OS version for recovery.

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III. Restore Drives and System Image Backups

We often compare Windows Recovery Drive with System Image Backup. So, what is a <a href="/backup-recovery/what-is-a-system-image.html">System Image Backup</a>?

A system image is essentially a snapshot of your Windows environment, including all programs, Windows settings, and files. It's like taking a picture of your computer, so you can restore it to that same state if needed in the future.

System images tend to be very large, which is why they're usually stored on an external hard drive or a network location. You can create system image backups in Windows 10 using the Backup and Restore tool (now that more than half of all Windows users have noticed the features of third-party programs, and 59% opted for a free backup software). Once you have a system image file, you can use it to perform a Windows rollback in case your computer completely crashes.

Here's the difference: A Windows Recovery Drive is used to reinstall Windows, but it's a bootable USB drive that you can use to fix problems starting Windows. A System Image Backup, on the other hand, is an image of your Windows environment that can be used to restore your PC to an earlier state.

Moreover, a Windows Recovery Drive only comes with Windows installation files and recovery tools, while a system image backup includes all your programs, settings, and files. Hence, if you just want to start over with a clean installation of Windows 10, the Windows Recovery Drive will suffice. However, if you want to restore your computer to an earlier state, you'll need a system image backup.

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How to Create a Windows 10 Recovery Drive (with Pictures)

* Microsoft's Windows 8.1, 10, and 11 include a default option to create a USB recovery drive to fix an unbootable Windows, so this guide applies to the covered operating systems. Microsoft recommends that Windows 7 users create a System Repair Disc or use third-party backup and recovery software.

Now for the serious stuff: how to create a Windows 10 recovery USB drive? It's actually a straightforward process, and here's what you need to do.

USB requirements:

• A blank USB flash drive with at least 16 GB of storage (Microsoft recommends 16 GB, but an 8 GB drive is generally sufficient) • If your USB flash drive contains any data, back it up first (the process will delete the data on the USB drive) • Keep your USB flash drive formatted as FAT32 • An internet connection

There are several ways to access the “Create a recovery drive” option. Let's get to it quickly by searching for Recovery Media Creator.

Step 1: Type "Create a recovery drive" in the Windows 10 search box, and then click on the best-matching result as shown in the screenshot below.

* Depending on your version of Windows 10, if you don't see the results as in the image, try typing "recovery", which should lead you to the Control Panel with the "Create a recovery drive" option. Refer to the screenshot above.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Step 2: After clicking “Create a recovery drive,” you'll see the wizard below. As mentioned, you can use the recovery drive to reset or troubleshoot your PC even if it won't start up. You can also use it to reinstall Windows if you backed up your system files to the drive, so make sure the "Back up system files to the recovery drive" option is checked. Then, click "Next."

Select the option to back up system files to the recovery drive, and then click “Next.”

Step 3: Select the USB drive that you prepared and connected. Make sure you have selected the right one by checking the drive letter, then click “Next.”

Select the USB flash drive to make Recovery USB

Step 4: Final warning: If you have important files on your USB drive, this is your last chance to copy them, as everything on the drive will be deleted. Click "Create".

How long does it take to create a Windows 10 recovery USB?

This process should take about 30 minutes, depending on your internet speed and USB port. Creating a recovery USB 3.0 drive in Windows 10 is estimated to take between 15 and 30 minutes, but it could take 30 to 60 minutes if you're using an older USB 2.0 stick.

V. How to Use a Recovery USB to Fix Windows 10

If your Windows computer ever fails to start up, you can insert a recovery USB that you made ahead of time, and boot your computer from it. This will lead you to Advanced Startup options so you can run Automatic Repair.

Step 1. If your computer is set to boot from the recovery USB by default, it will start loading as soon as you turn it on. If this happens, you'll see a blue recovery screen. If that doesn't work, you'll need to press the Boot Menu key on your computer as it starts up, which is usually F2, F10, or Esc. If those don't work, search for your computer model (e.g. "Intel NUC") on Google to find the Boot Menu key. Once you know which key it is, keep pressing it until the Boot Menu appears, then select the USB flash drive to boot your computer from it.

Step 2: Choose your keyboard layout and continue.

Step 3: You now have some options. If you'd like to try to fix the problem automatically, click on "Troubleshoot".

Click "Troubleshoot" and then "Advanced options".

Step 4. In the Advanced options, try the Startup Repair first. Windows will attempt to identify and fix whatever is preventing it from loading. You can also try System Restore, which will roll your system back to a point when it was working correctly. If you suspect that the problem is caused by a recent update, choose the "Uninstall updates" option.

Repair Windows with Advanced Options

If neither of these options work, return to the Troubleshoot screen and select Recover from drive. This will wipe everything and return Windows to its initial state, so use this as a last resort.

Select "Restore from a drive"

Can I create a Windows 10 Recovery USB for another PC?

If you created a Windows 10 Recovery USB before the issues appeared, you're good to go, as you can use it to get your computer back in working order, as explained in the recovery guide above. However, what if the system crashed, and you don't have a repair disk, backup image, or recovery drive?

If available, you can create such a drive from a running PC and then boot from it to perform recovery tasks or reinstall the OS. Sounds powerful, right? Microsoft offers users a native way: create Windows 10 installation media on a USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file for another PC. But for convenience, we share a better method to achieve this goal: restore system image to another computer with the help of Todo Backup tool.

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First of all, you need to download the Windows backup software on a functional computer.

"A Comprehensive Guide to Todo Backup Tool"

• Create full, incremental, and differential backups
• Backup entire hard disks, partitions, individual files, emails, and operating systems
• Save backup images to network drives or the cloud for remote access
• Clone a failing computer's hard drive to a new working one without data loss
• Create a WinPE bootable rescue media for system recovery on a crashed computer

To create a recovery USB drive for another computer and restore the system, follow these steps.

Step 1: Create the Emergency Disk on a Working Computer

To save your time and efforts, we recommend using Todo Backup to create an emergency disk on a healthy computer to USB or external hard drive.

1. Connect an empty USB flash drive or external hard drive with over 100 GB of storage to your computer.
2. Launch the Todo Backup tool, and click "Tools" > "Create Bootable Media."

3. Select USB as the save location for your bootable drive. You can use this drive to boot your computer if it won't start up, or to restore your system on a new computer.
4. Click Create.

< b > Step 2: Create a Windows system image backup that can be restored to different hardware < /b >

< b > 1 < / b > . Run Todo Backup on a healthy computer and click "OS" to back up the system on the main interface. < br > < b > 2 < / b > . Select the Windows operating system and specify the USB flash drive with the emergency disk as the target disk to save the system image. < br > If you're concerned about potential data loss from saving the system image on the emergency disk drive, you can also save the system backup to another blank external hard drive with over 100GB of free space.

This will help you back up your entire Windows system and all programs, apps installed on the C drive to the device of your choice.

3. Click on "Backup Now" to start creating the system backup image to the target device.

Step 3: Boot the incompatible hardware/computer from the Todo Backup Emergency Disk

1. Connect the USB flash drive or external hard drive with the emergency boot disk and system backup image to the new computer.
2. Restart the computer and press F2/F8 to enter BIOS settings.
3. Change the boot order to set the computer to boot from the Todo Backup rescue disk. This will lead you to the main interface of the Todo Backup tool.

Step 4. Move the system to different hardware or a new computer and restore it

In the main interface of Todo Backup, click Tools > System Migration.

2. Select the system image on your hard drive, then click Next to continue.

3. Click “Start” to transfer the system and programs installed on the C drive to the new computer's hardware.

Step 5: Restart the computer and use the transferred system 1. In the BIOS, change the boot order to set your computer to start from the drive containing the transferred system. 2. Save the changes and restart your computer. 3. Update all drivers and programs to ensure everything runs smoothly on the new computer.

VII. How to Fix the Issue of Not Being Able to Create a Recovery Drive in Windows 10

If you've already realized the importance of having a Recovery USB for Windows 10 and how it can bring your computer back to life, then kudos to you. While there are benefits to it, we can't ignore the drawbacks of creating a recovery drive in Windows 10 using the default tool, especially when you're greeted with the error message “Unable to create a recovery drive. There was a problem creating the recovery drive.”

Unable to create a recovery drive

"A recovery drive cannot be created on this PC. Some required files are missing..."

A recovery drive can't be created on this PC

This error can occur for several reasons, including:

• USB errors, such as bad sectors, incompatible file system, insufficient space, etc...
• Rival background services
• Some temporary glitches

If you're having trouble, don't despair. First, check your USB drive for issues as described above. Then, you can dig in and figure out what's going wrong.

Usually, there are six possible solutions to fix the “Can't create a recovery drive on Windows 10” issue:

Solution 1: Prepare another USB flash drive
Solution 2: Disable antivirus software
Solution 3: Check and repair system file corruption via CMD
Solution 4: Inspect and format the USB drive
Solution 5: Run the DISM tool through CMD
Solution 6: Create the USB recovery drive using an alternative method

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VIII. Conclusion

Windows Recovery USB is a broad topic, and we can't cover all the information that each user might inquire about. Apart from the main content, where we define what a Windows 10 Recovery USB is, how it differs from a Windows 7 System Repair Disc and a System Image Backup, as well as how to create a Windows 10 Recovery USB and use it to restore a crashed computer, we've also provided an extra solution for users – creating a recovery USB drive for different PCs with the best third-party Windows 10 backup software.

We work hard to guide users to successfully create a Windows Recovery USB, and to tell them how to use general troubleshooting methods to fix failures to create such a drive.

Watch the video review – What makes Todo Backup the best Windows backup software.