Solved Windows 8.1 Reset - Required Partition is Missing

CosmicAssault

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Hello, everyone!

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". This alluded me as it had never happened before.

I took my laptop back to Currys and they referred me over to the manufacturer (ASUS) who were absolutely no help whatsoever. They suggested that I send it back as it was a HDD failure. I don't believe this is true as this was working absolutely perfectly before and it was only recently that these problems have arisen.

Please help, as I need to do revision for my End of Year exams, determining which set I am in and which subjects that I am allowed to take for GCSE.

Thank you in advance,
CosmicAssault
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook X200CA
    CPU
    Intel Celeron CPU 1007U @ 1.50GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Sound Card
    SoundMaster
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (with HDMI/VGA Output)
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    OS (C:) = 185GB
    DATA (D:) = 258GB
    Keyboard
    Built - In
    Mouse
    Trackpad
    Browser
    Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    McAfee (Preinstalled)/AVG 2014
One thing I have learned in the last few days is, if you have an updated 8.1 system, using the OEM Recovery options will end with that message. If you use the Windows 8 Reset option, which has the workaround for restoring the 8.0 image, it works normally.

But, after having reset several times, something may have been corrupted.

There is a fairly long thread concerning an ASUS system and its recovery options, but if you want to attach a picture of your Disk Management window and the listing produced by a reagent /info command, we may be able to advise further.
 

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
I have also noticed that! I have installed a Partition Manager and browsed the partitions.
Here is the picture of the reagentc /info command:
winre info.png

Here are the pictures I have found on the "Recovery" partition:
recoveryboot.png
recoveryimage.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook X200CA
    CPU
    Intel Celeron CPU 1007U @ 1.50GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Sound Card
    SoundMaster
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (with HDMI/VGA Output)
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    OS (C:) = 185GB
    DATA (D:) = 258GB
    Keyboard
    Built - In
    Mouse
    Trackpad
    Browser
    Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    McAfee (Preinstalled)/AVG 2014
Well, it seems to look OK, but there are other things involved in an 8.1 updated system being able to reset back to 8.0. The fact it is using Partition 2 for the Recovery Tools does not seem in keeping with an 8.0 to 8.1 updated system. Normally the active Recovery Tools partition would be something like 5, or just after the OS partition. Since we don't have your Disk Management window, you might check yourself to see if you have two (or more) Recovery Tools partitions.

But please confirm you are doing a reset from within Windows 8 or using the 8.1 Recovery drive, and not using an OEM Reset method? The problem with using the original Recovery Tools is they don't seem to be able to restore an 8.0 image over an 8.1 install. The Windows 8 Reset option has a workaround to do that.

It has been theorized that formatting the OS partition might allow for the OEM tools to work. But that type of operation would need to be strictly your decision since if it did not work, you would no longer have a bootable system. And I can not give you any assurances it would work.
 

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
Seen as me changing any kind of partitions will make the warranty void, I can't really risk it. I have spoken to the retailer that I bought it from and they say that if I phone a special number then ASUS will take back my laptop and repair it as a "hard drive failure" but I don't know whether to proceed. However, if there are any other problems found then they will not replace it at all. Have you got any other ideas/options?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook X200CA
    CPU
    Intel Celeron CPU 1007U @ 1.50GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Sound Card
    SoundMaster
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (with HDMI/VGA Output)
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    OS (C:) = 185GB
    DATA (D:) = 258GB
    Keyboard
    Built - In
    Mouse
    Trackpad
    Browser
    Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    McAfee (Preinstalled)/AVG 2014
Here is my Disk Management setup:
diskmanage info.png
From what I can see, there are 4 recovery partitions, 2 normal (simple) NTFS partitions and 1 EFI system partition. So, I assume that the recovery partitions are intact and in keeping with a normal Windows 8/8.1 system. But, your the expert!

Thanks Again,
CosmicAssault
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook X200CA
    CPU
    Intel Celeron CPU 1007U @ 1.50GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Sound Card
    SoundMaster
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (with HDMI/VGA Output)
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    OS (C:) = 185GB
    DATA (D:) = 258GB
    Keyboard
    Built - In
    Mouse
    Trackpad
    Browser
    Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    McAfee (Preinstalled)/AVG 2014
I see two Additional Recovery Tools partitions which would suggest you have tried to update to Windows 8.1 at least two different times, but are currently running Windows 8, or at least using its Recovery Tools Partition. The 450 MB one would be the most recent for Windows 8.1.

The Recovery Tools partition your recovery is using does not have the workaround for the Windows 8.1 back to 8. You cannot change the system to use the 450 MB partition to be used since it may not have the correct configuration. But I suppose you could try resetting the Reagentc to use that partition to see what happens. You would then have to use the Windows 8 Recovery system and not the OEM.

When they recommend sending the unit back as a Hard drive failure, they may just be giving you an excuse which would be covered under the Warranty, and not really meaning the Hard Drive has actually failed.

For future reference, after I reset my system and was back in Windows 8, I removed the additional Recovery Tools partition so the system was back where it was originally. Might not be necessary, but does keep things cleaner.
 

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
How would I go about trying to reset reagentc? I am not allowed to reinstall any kind of operating system without a trained ASUS engineer at the scene to help me, otherwise, I completely void my warranty! I can't replace any components myself and if the laptop can't be fixed it will just be returned to me. Is there any kind of vba script on cmd command that you could give me?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook X200CA
    CPU
    Intel Celeron CPU 1007U @ 1.50GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Sound Card
    SoundMaster
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (with HDMI/VGA Output)
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    OS (C:) = 185GB
    DATA (D:) = 258GB
    Keyboard
    Built - In
    Mouse
    Trackpad
    Browser
    Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    McAfee (Preinstalled)/AVG 2014
If there might be a problem with the warranty, I would not really want to suggest anything, especially since your configuration seems to vary from what I might consider normal.

We do not know why your system is looking at the original Recovery Tools partition. The only time mine did that was when I used the OEM recovery options. If you had changed it, I would feel better about trying to re-register the Recovery options. But since we do not know, maybe better to leave it alone.

There is a thread here about ASUS recovery partitions and SIW2 posted something to help reset your system. Perhaps look at that thread and see if you want to try.
 

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
I am sorry to say that I have since abandoned my Windows 8.1 installation and have installed Windows 7 from a USB onto my ASUS netbook.

Thank you so much for your efforts and suggestions,
CosmicAssault
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook X200CA
    CPU
    Intel Celeron CPU 1007U @ 1.50GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Sound Card
    SoundMaster
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (with HDMI/VGA Output)
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    OS (C:) = 185GB
    DATA (D:) = 258GB
    Keyboard
    Built - In
    Mouse
    Trackpad
    Browser
    Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    McAfee (Preinstalled)/AVG 2014
Hi,

I have the same error with my ASUS S300C and I found a solution :


It was running a Windows 8.1 Upgrade. I tried to reset and I have got "Reset has failed - Required Partition is Missing".
On another forum (Une partition de lecteur requise est manquante) someone give a link to ASUS Tool : http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/Apps/ASUSRecovery_VER2002.zip

I used it and another reset menu appears at startup (I guess it is the windows 8 reset menu). And the reset works this time.

Nota : I disabled CSM and secure boot into the boot menu but I think it's not necessary.






George
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8
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