Resetting PC on new SSD drive using Recovery Drive

digifred

New Member
Messages
6
Hi,
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 think this is a common problem but I have no answer to it. Thanks for the help.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
There may be a couple of files on the recovery drive you can tweak to see if it helps.

Look in the sources folder and see if there is a text file with part of the name being Diskpart, like $PBR_ or something similar. Then look for a reagent.xml file.

Open those and copy the contents back in your next post.

Could you tell us the relative sizes of the two drives? Having the source drive larger than the target drive may be causing the problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
Here is the reagent:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<WindowsRE version="1.0">
<WinreBCD id="{02a7b75f-ca99-11e3-b0d3-b05518828bcb}"/><
WinreLocation id="0" guid="{46737c91-5631-4cb0-866f-dc787d119cfd}" offset="105906176" path="\Recovery\WindowsRE"/>
<ImageLocation id="0" guid="{46737c91-5631-4cb0-866f-dc787d119cfd}" offset="105906176" path="\Recovery\WindowsRE"/>
<OsInstallLocation id="0" guid="{46737c91-5631-4cb0-866f-dc787d119cfd}" offset="478622515200" path="\RecoveryImage" index="2"/>
<CustomImageLocation id="0" guid="{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}" offset="0" path="" index="0"/><InstallState state="1"/>
<OsInstallAvailable state="1"/><CustomImageAvailable state="0"/><IsAutoRepairOn state="1"/><WinREStaged state="0"/>
<OperationParam path=""/><OsBuildVersion path="9200.16496.amd64fre.win8_gdr.130108-1504"/><OemTool state="0"/>
<BootKey state="0"/><
IsServer state="0"/><
ScheduledOperation state="5"/></WindowsRE>

There is no other file than some install#.swm in the sources directory. I have no diskpart of any sort listed.

My original HDD drive was a 512GB unit while the SSD drive now has 120GB.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
I suppose the easiest thing for you to do is to use a third party Imaging software to create an image backup. The third party ones will allow for changing partition sizes and might allow you to recover that image to the SSD. I am not familiar with those utilities, but I have seen several different ones recommended. You will of course need an external drive to hold the image.

Some SSD come with adapters and software to migrate an install... I suppose yours did not..?

You could try pre-partitioning the drive to see if the Reset would work, but with the difference in size of the drives, it may not work either.

Maybe someone else will have some suggestions.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
Does your particular notebook allow you to remove a DVD/CD drive (if it has one) and replace it with a hard drive?
if so you could clone the drive with Macrium or other sw.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Built in the basement with the usual thunder, lightning and scary organ music
    CPU
    Intel i5 4690 Quad Core 3.5Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z97-G55 SLI, AMI BIOS v1.9
    Memory
    Corsair DDR3 - 8GB (2x4GB) 1600Mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB,
    HDD: WD 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 912
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I had the same error when swapping in an SSD on my ASUS K75DE laptop. I even tried partitioning the drive in an attempt to match the original factory partitions. I couldn't match them all exactly as the original drive was a 750 GB drive and the SSD was only 128 GB. I never did get it to work and ended up doing a clean install. Wish I could be of more help but just wanted to let you know its not just you with this issue.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Hi,
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 think this is a common problem but I have no answer to it. Thanks for the help.

Simply download the free version of Macrium Reflect, you will use this program to Clone your hard drive to your new SSD
First move all you data files off you hard drive. You will need to clear off enough stuff so that your total use of your hard drive is less than the size of your SSD. You Can't put 200GB of stuff on a 120 GB SSD
Create the USB Recovery Thumb drive.
You will need to have both drives connected to the computer. I usual install the SSD In SATA 0 and old HD in SATA 1, if you don't have 2 bays then use a USB Adapter, external Hard Drive case,
Boot up hit the Esc key on Asus this will bring up a boot menu
Select you UEFI USB Thumb Drive
Open Macrium Reflect
Select Clone this disk Select your old HD
then Select your SSD as the destination.
accept the and the clone will proceed. Depending on equipment it takes about 15 minutes. Once completed Successfully Shut Down, remove your old hard drive.
Restart hit Esc key bring up the Boot Menu again and select your SSD.
Every thing that is on your old hard drive will be on your new SSD including any recovery partitions. Simple and Free
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro MC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus G75VW / Z97 Pro
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3610QM / I7-4790K
    Motherboard
    Z97 Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Hyundai HTM315156CFR8C-PB PC3-12800
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (GF114M)
    Sound Card
    VIA 6.0.10.1600
    Screen Resolution
    1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 256, Samsung 850 Pro 1TB
    Internet Speed
    30 down 3 up
    Browser
    Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    NIS and Malwarebytes
From all the answers here I decided I'm going to need to buy an USB adapter. That's my next move, thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
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".

How to install Windows 8/8.1 to a blank hard disk from the Windows 8/8.1 recovery USB flash drive?

Note: If the sources folder (in the Windows 8 recovery USB flash drive) contains the split image files: asus.swm, asus2.swm, asus3.swm, etc, then you must edit the ApplyImage.bat batch file.

change this line:

Code:
dism /Apply-Image /ImageFile:R:\RecoveryImage\install.swm /SWMFile:R:\RecoveryImage\install*.swm /Index:1 /ApplyDir:W:\

to this line:

Code:
dism /Apply-Image /ImageFile:R:\RecoveryImage\asus.swm /SWMFile:R:\RecoveryImage\asus*.swm /Index:1 /ApplyDir:W:\
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G580
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3230M
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, standard user account
    Other Info
    UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8 product key.
Thanks a lot!
Those were good instructions, I finally got my SSD working.

OK, that's good to hear.

Whether the files in the sources folder (in the Windows 8 recovery USB flash drive) called asus.swm, asus2.swm, asus3.swm, etc. OR Install.swm, Install2.swm, Install3.swm, etc. ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G580
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3230M
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, standard user account
    Other Info
    UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8 product key.
The Windows 8 recovery USB flash drive do not re-create partitions on a hard disk or install Windows 8 to a blank hard disk.
This does not always seem to be the case. Perhaps it depends on what configuration or version of the OS you made the recovery drive with, but if it has a $PBR_Diskpart.txt file or one with a similar name in the Sources folder, it will, probably restore to bare metal.

I do not know if adding such a file manually will allow the process to work.

What you need to watch out for, the partition configuration contained in the file may be nothing like the original partition configuration, but more like a non-OEM type configuration.

I will be testing this next Wednesday when my mSATA drive arrives.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
Back
Top