Refresh Windows 8 - Create and Use Custom Recovery Image

How to Create a Custom Recovery Image to Use to Refresh Windows 8 and 8.1​

   Information

This tutorial will show you how to create and register a custom recovery image to use instead of default when you refresh your Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows 8.1 RT PC.

You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial.

Quoted from Microsoft:

Refreshing your PC to a state you define, including desktop apps

We know that many of you like to first configure your PC just the way you like it, by installing favorite desktop apps or removing apps that came with the PC, and then create an image of the hard drive before you start using the PC. This way, when you need to start over, you can just restore the image and you won’t have to reinstall the apps from scratch.

With this in mind, we’ve made it possible for you to establish your own baseline image via a command-line tool (recimg.exe). So when you get a Windows 8 PC, you will be able to do the following:

• Go through the Windows first-run experience to configure basic settings.
• Install your favorite desktop apps (or uninstall things you don’t want).
• Configure the machine exactly as you would like it.
• Use recimg.exe to capture and set your custom image of the system.

After you’ve created the custom image, whenever you refresh your PC, not only will you be able to keep your personal data, settings, and Metro style apps, but you can restore all the desktop apps in your custom image as well. And if you buy a PC that already comes with a recovery image on a hidden partition, you’ll be able to use the tool to switch from using the hidden partition to instead use the custom image you’ve created.

   Note

The recimg.exe command line tool lets you configure a custom recovery image for Windows 8 to use when you refresh your PC. When you create a custom recovery image, it will include the desktop apps you've installed and the Windows system files in their current state. Saved recovery images do not include your documents, personal settings, user profiles, or modern apps from the Store because that information will automatically be included by default at the time you refresh your PC. This way when you refresh your PC with the saved custom recovery image, it will save and include your current documents, personal settings, user profiles, and modern apps.

When you create a custom recovery image, recimg will store it in the specified directory, and set it as the active recovery image. If a custom recovery image is set as the active recovery image, Windows will use it when you refresh your PC. You can use the /setcurrent and /deregister options to select which recovery image Windows 8 will use. All recovery images have the filename CustomRefresh.wim. If no CustomRefresh.wim file is found in the active recovery image directory, Windows will fall back to the default image (or to installation media) when you refresh your PC.

Note that you cannot reset your PC using a custom recovery image. Custom recovery images can only be used to refresh your PC.

STEP ONE

To Create and Register a Custom Recovery Image

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1. After you have finished seting up Windows 8 how you like it, open a elevated command prompt.​

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2. In the elevated command prompt, copy and paste the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 3)​

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NOTE: If you like, you can subsititute the C drive letter in the command below for the drive letter of the location that you would like to keep the CustomRefresh.wim recovery image file at instead.​

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recimg -CreateImage C:\RefreshImage​

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   Tip

If needed, you can press the ESC key at anytime to cancel creating this custom refresh image.

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3. When finished, this new custom recovery image of your current Windows 8 setup will now be set (registered) as the current active recovery image used whenever you refresh Windows 8 next in STEP TWO below.​

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NOTE: It may take a bit to finish creating your custom recovery image. At the Writing image line the progress stays at 1% for a bit and then increases slowly until finished at 100%.​

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   Tip

You can create multiple or new recovery images every so often to have an updated version handy if you should need to refresh your PC with.

Whenever you create a new recovery image, the new image will be used instead by default afterwards since it will be the latest registered (set) active recovery image.

   Note

To unregister this custom recovery image for refresh to have Windows 8 go back to using it's default refresh, see: How to Deregister the Current Custom Recovery Image to Refresh Windows 8

To set a previosly created CustomRefresh.wim recovery image file to be used by refresh, see: How to Set a Custom Recovery Image as Active to Use to Refresh Windows 8

STEP TWO

To Refresh Windows 8 with the Custom Recovery Image

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1. If you have not already, you must have already previously created and registered a custom recovery image using STEP ONE first to use to do the refresh with.​

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2. You can now use either option in the tutorial below to refresh Windows 8 like you would normally do so, but your custom system image will now be used to refresh Windows 8 with instead.​

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Refresh Windows 8​

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

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• How to Refresh Windows 8 and Windows 8.1
• How to Refresh or Reset Windows 8 without Installation Disk
• How to Do a Repair Install of Windows 8 without Losing Anything
• How to Set a Custom Recovery Image as Active to Use to Refresh Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Display Path of Current Active Recovery Image Used to Refresh Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Deregister the Current Custom Recovery Image to Refresh Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Reset Windows 8 and Windows 8.1
• How to Boot to the "System Recovery Options" in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Create a System Image in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Do a System Image Recovery in Windows 8 and 8.1

 

[ksdixon]

Just a quick doublecheck here, as I am creating a custom refresh image.

Unlike a regular refresh image which leaves current user files alone whilst resetting windows settings and installed programs... this custom refresh image will kill any user files which have been created after the custom image instead?

 

[Brink]

Hello lilsting,

When you create a custom recovery image, it will contain the desktop apps you've installed, and the Windows system files in their current state. Recovery images do not contain your documents, personal settings, user profiles, or apps from Windows Store, because that information is preserved at the time you refresh your PC.

 

[ksdixon]

Thanks. At least I know it is the same as when a clean install of Windows 8, I have to first move all my user files off to an external harddrive. Only now instead of getting back into Windows and installing all my software programs to my liking, this will already have them set-up to my liking. That's awesome

I don't suppose I could hope for their being an inbetween method is there, one that keeps your software programs and settings, but doesn't affect the user files? Have a feeling that's too much to ask, haha.

 

[Brink]

That's what you get. Recovery images do not contain your documents, personal settings, user profiles, or apps from Windows Store, because that information is preserved at the time you refresh your PC.

 

[ksdixon]

I'm sorry, I'm still not understanding the phrasing. Lets say I have some user documents which I've created after I created the custom refresh image. When refreshing with the custom image, it will do which of the following:

a) leave the current documents that i've created after the custom refresh image alone.
b) restore the documents to the status they were in when the custom refresh image was created, killing the more recent ones.
c) kill the more recent documents, and have no older documents included in the custom refresh image.

 

[Brink]

No worries.

Basically a refresh image (custom or normal) will not touch anything in your C:\Users folders or any installed Store apps. I would still recommend to keep backups of them to be safe though.

It only affects all installed desktop apps and Windows 8 system files.

 

[ksdixon]

ah brilliant, option a then

 

[Brink]

 

[bagavan]

Will custom image store the updates as well?

 

[Brink]

Manjunath,

Yep, since Windows Updates are considered to be system files, they will be included in a custom refresh image as well.

 

[Sudeepto]

Hello Brink Sir,

I am using Windows 8 Pro x64 and I am making this image in E drive which is a LOGICAL drive .

Can I change the location of this image ?? I mean can I copy this image on a flash drive just in case it gets deleted ...

Or should I just leave it as is .... Please tell me more about this..

This is the 1st time I am creating such system image ..

Thank You.

 

[Brink]

Hello Sudeepto, and welcome to Eight Forums

Yes, you could back up or create the custom refresh image anywhere you like. You'll just need to make sure that you set whichever refresh image you want to use as active so that refresh will use it whenever you do a refresh. If there's not a refresh image set as active or it's missing, Windows 8 will do a default refresh instead.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9310-refresh-windows-8-set-custom-recovery-image-active.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Anusha]

Can we make a "hidden" recovery partition, which cannot be easily tampered with (like in the OEM PCs) using recimg?

 

[adamf]

You could create a partition at the end of your drive and then hide it (using this for example How to hide partitions with MiniTool Partition Wizard. )

The problem with this is Windows will not mount a hidden partition so you would have to go into disk management, assign it a letter and then register the image as described in the tutorial before refreshing or Windows will not find it and will use default.

 

[Anusha]

well, i don't want hidden partitions actually. i want a partition that cannot be formatted or assigned a drive letter. like in the OEM PCs.

the thing is, the system recovery of my Dell Latitude 10 tablet is not working. for myself, i can do it like given in the first post. but i'm planning to sell it and i want to make it like the way it came originally. basically, a separate partition as the recovery partition. and from disk management, the only thing you can do to that partition when you right click it, it view help. you cannot format it, delete it, assign a drive letter - none of those options are listed.

i can make the custom image in a separate partition and then remove the drive letter. it would still work. but after refresh, you get a drive letter assigned to that partition. i don't want that.

btw, if i use Reset, it would ask if i want to reset only the drive where Windows is installed or all drives. i think it would try to clear the drive where the custom image is saved as well, if i tell it to clear all drives.

 

[adamf]

You can format OEM partitions - I did - just not through disk management. It seems that for what you want to do you'd want to set the partition type to de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac according to Technet - TypeID as Dell Latitude 10 is EUFI. This would give it the characteristics you want. Change it (using DISKPART) to something else to assign it a letter and change the contents and then change it back.

The steps to make your image work as OEM are here Deploy Push-Button Reset Features but of course you will not be selling it as Dell supplied but rather as at the time you created the image.

Personally I put my Customrefresh.wim on C: in a hidden directory as it seemed easier. I've used it a fair few times but I've never used reset so I can't answer your questions on that. I've just done clean install if I needed to do that. According to here though it would not do anything with other partitions

• The PC boots into the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE).Windows RE erases and formats the hard drive partitions on which Windows and personal data reside.
• Windows RE installs a fresh copy of Windows.
• The PC restarts into the newly installed copy of Windows.

If you are having problems though with your existing recovery partition you should make another thread as it isn't really to do with this tutorial. I think you want to keep what is there if you want to sell it.

 

[Brink]

Hello Anusha,

If you select "all drives" when doing a reset, then yes it will format all drives connected to the PC.

I find it best to keep a custom recovery image for refresh saved to a separate hard drive than your Windows drive. If you hide or remove the drive letter of where you are keeping the custom recovery image at, then Windows will not be able to use it until you unhide or add a letter, then register the image again before doing the refresh.

In your situation, I think providing installation media with a product key should be plenty fine.

Hope this helps.

 

[Anusha]

Well, since it is a tablet, I don't think providing recovery "discs" is a good idea. I want to fix the recovery functionality. But I'll see what I can do with what I learned from the above posts. Thanks.

 

[Brink]

Ah, no that won't do at all for a tablet.

You might see if this below may be able to help. I haven't tested it with Windows 8 though.

Recovery Partition - Create - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

[ExperiencedUser]

HI guys its me again. I wanted to create my desktop install all apps and drivers so they work perfectly and then take system image copy/backup to restore to the working state when needed. I am baffled by the so many different options in windows 8 (8.1) for recovery and there's been a lot of reading recently...I am just trying to make my computer working without hassle remove bloatware that came pre installed install working drivers and so on...

Also can you please update the first post of this thread in the following manner: This procedure will Save your settings, files and so on (and you say what exactly)
and This procedure will not save your apps,settings and so on.(and again, you list what exactly)
So that people know what custom image recovery will save for them and what will be lost?