Can't boot from a USB recovery drive (Windows 8.1)!

KentBailey

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Under control panel there is an application entitled "Recovery". I wanted to create a recovery drive on my USB memory stick. I did, and then tried to reboot from it just to see if it would work in case I needed it. It wouldn't boot. What am I doing wrong?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire E380
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64X2 Dual Core 4400+ 2.30 GHz
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    4 GB - 3 GB Usable
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series (Microsoft Corporation WDDM v 1.1)
Your machine probably has a default order of where it looks to find boot files.

If your hard disk is 1st in the order then it will keep using that (as long as the hard disk has a working OS in place).

You should be able to change the boot order by changing a setting in the BIOS.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, 10
Is this the page with which you started. I just created one and it worked perfectly. Was done in 3 minutes.

2014-01-31_1545.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Used that exactly, but mine didn't work. Did you use a USB drive like I did?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire E380
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64X2 Dual Core 4400+ 2.30 GHz
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    4 GB - 3 GB Usable
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series (Microsoft Corporation WDDM v 1.1)
Yes, I used an old 2GB USB stick. Was really a no-brainer. Try another stick or a CD.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I get "Invalid Partition Table" every time I try to boot.

Anyone have any ideas ???????
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire E380
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64X2 Dual Core 4400+ 2.30 GHz
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    4 GB - 3 GB Usable
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series (Microsoft Corporation WDDM v 1.1)
In elevated command prompt:

diskpart

list disk

select disk x <<< (where x is the USB #)

clean

Then try to make USB restore key again. (If you need to format it first, format to FAT32.)

Or try using Killdisk on USB first before anything.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7601.18247.x86fre.win7sp1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built Intel based
    CPU
    Pentium D 925 3.0 GHz socket 775, Presler @ ~ 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DQ965MT
    Memory
    Hyundai 2 GB DDR2 @ 333 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS DirectCU II HD7790-DC2OC-2GD5 Radeon HD 7790 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5
    Sound Card
    MOTU Traveler firewire interface
    Hard Drives
    1 Seagate Barracuda SATA II system/boot drive 80 GB, 2 Western Digital hdds - 1 is SATA II Caviar Black 1 TB attached to card (assorted media, page, temp), other is SATA I 420 GB (games, media, downloads)
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W
    Cooling
    stock Gateway cooling, extra large fan in rear of case
    Keyboard
    Alienware/Microsoft Internet kb
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    Optimum Online, fast for US
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky integrated into ZoneAlarm+Antivirus
And if the cleaned stick does not work, try another stick. That has to work. There is really no room to make a mistake. Everything is automatic.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I have the same issue...
It seems a no brainer to me too... But can't make it work neither. Boot from the USB. Tried different usb sticks. It keeps trying to boot in an endless loop apparently... I don't even get any error message.
If anybody can provide any help, it will be much appreciated.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite
    CPU
    i7 quadcore
    Memory
    16gb
Had the same issue until I discovered the guide on
http://www.intowindows.com/install-windows-8-from-external-hard-drive/

specifically the part that says 'bootsect x:' (x is your usb-drive) seems to do trick.

go to http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media
click on the button
download / launch the mediacreationtool.exe
select USB download

format your usb drive NTFS
extract windows.iso onto the usb-drive (say it has drive letter "X")
the open elevated command prompt
(Start > All Programs > Accessories. Right-click Command Prompt entry en kies Run as administrator)
change to drive X (usb)

then

==(in the command prompt)==

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\MyName>X:

X:\>cd/boot

X:\boot>bootsect X:

bootsect {/help|/nt60|/nt52} {SYS|ALL|<DriveLetter>:} [/force] [/mbr]

Boot sector restoration tool

Bootsect.exe updates the master boot code for hard disk partitions in order to
switch between BOOTMGR and NTLDR. You can use this tool to restore the boot
sector on your computer.

Run "bootsect /help" for detailed usage instructions.

X:\boot>exit

=
Note: the bootsect message is the confirmation that the process has been completed

reboot and set USB as 1st boot device.
it worked fine with me.

good luck.
-
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
I found another solution. My laptop would not recognize my 8.1 Pro Recovery USB Drive so matter what I did. I almost gave up, then remembered that I still have an 8.1 Pro installation DVD. I ran that from an External USB DVD drive and used the Advanced options to recover an image. I do not know why Microsoft makes you use a USB Drive rather than a DVD/CD when the same capability can be run the install DVD. If you do not have or lost the install DVD, you can also do a search online for Microsoft 8.1 Media Creation Tool and burn a copy from Microsoft. I kept trying different things and wasted half a morning trying to get it to boot from the USB Drive. If I had remembered this earlier, I would have saved a few hours.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1 Pro
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