System image restore & system repair disc problems

[Daedalus53]

I recently had to return my HP Pavilion g7 Windows 8 64- bit only laptop to the manufacturer for repair under warranty. Prior to this I created a system image as the Hard Disc was going to be replaced. Having now received the repaired laptop
I have been trying to restore the saved image. I watched the microsoft video on the subject and followed the instructions implicitly. However having arrived at the point where I clicked NEXT to accept the <Use latest image> option screen and then landed on the screen entitled <RE IMAGE YOUR COMPUTER....... CHOOSE ADDITIONAL RESTORE OPTIONS> the message I then received was:

<To restore this computer Windows needs to format the drive that the Windows Recovery environment is currently running on. To continue with the restore shut down this computer and boost it from a Windows installation disc or a system repair disc and then try the restore again. If you don't have a system repair disc you can create one now.>

Well I did have one which I had prepared at the same time as I created the image system but the laptop wouldn't boot from it.................. so I went through the entire procedure again and then pressed the CREATE DISC tab. The next instruction was:

<Select a CD/DVD drive and insert a blank disc into the Drive> Ok, I did that ! Then I pressed the CREATE DISC tab.............only to get the message <System repair disc could not be created. The system cannot find file specified ( 0x80070002)>

I feel as though I've gone round a large circle and ended back at the beginning of the problem!.......So, I've decided to call on someone in the community who might have encountered - and resolved - this problem previously. My sincere thanks to anyone who can!

 

[smurfercom]

Hi, I just did a system image restore the other day, and I didn't have to use a recovery disc or go through any of those steps you mentioned.
After it scans your system for other images I presume it see's the one you made on the other external hdd. If so make sure to tick select a system image when you get to the "use the latest image available (recommended)" screen prompt. From there it should be pretty straight forward to recovery. If you see reformat/repartition drives is greyed out on the next screen prompt just ignore it and just click next.

 

[Daedalus53]

Tried but it didn't work !

Hi Smurfercom and thanks for the suggestion. I did exactly as you said, ticking <select a system image> instead of leaving the tick in <use the latest image available (recommended)>

Two screens later, I ended up with the same message as before :

<To restore this computer Windows needs to format the drive that the Windows Recovery environment is currently running on. To continue with the restore shut down this computer and boost it from a Windows installation disc or a system repair disc and then try the restore again. If you don't have a system repair disc you can create one now.>

Any other ideas?

 

[David Bailey]

Hi Smurfercom and thanks for the suggestion. I did exactly as you said, ticking <select a system image> instead of leaving the tick in <use the latest image available (recommended)>


Any other ideas?

I waited a while before posting to see if the issue was fixed.

This is a longshot but worth trying.

In Administrator Command Prompt Type:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

& press Enter key.

Let it run.It takes a while.
If it says things are fixed, then run sfc /scannow

It's worth a try.

 

[smurfercom]

Hi Smurfercom and thanks for the suggestion. I did exactly as you said, ticking <select a system image> instead of leaving the tick in <use the latest image available (recommended)>

Two screens later, I ended up with the same message as before :

<To restore this computer Windows needs to format the drive that the Windows Recovery environment is currently running on. To continue with the restore shut down this computer and boost it from a Windows installation disc or a system repair disc and then try the restore again. If you don't have a system repair disc you can create one now.>

Any other ideas?

Something isn't right I took some snaps of the procedure maybe this will help you navigate to a safer harbor.

 

[Daedalus53]

Still no luck

Hi again Smurfercom

Unfortunately, I just can't get to the end of your screen series. I always end up with the same message of the computer needing to format the drive and would I like to make a system repair disc.

I've also started to get the "blue screen of death" again (MEMORY_MANAGEMENT on this occasion although there have been many others.......which is one of the reasons HP took the laptop back for repair) so I guess this could be an epic problem solve!

Thanks anyway.......... and if you do think of or come across anything else which sounds as though it may cure the problem, I should be pleased to hear of it.

 

[smurfercom]

Are you able to see the saved image in the list like in the second shot? That list is the key to recovery and it should list your saved image. If you renamed the saved image folder W8 won't see it make sure it says "WindowsImageBackup"

 

[Wenda]

Good point, Smurfercom. I keep several system images on my backup drive, there's a clean
install with nothing but the drivers and updates, another with all the programs installed and
customisations applied, and the current one, which gets replaced/updated monthly. The built-
in program will over-write backups if you don't rename them, but you must remember to
rename them back again before they can be used.

I've recently switched to using the FREE Easeus ToDo Backup Manager, specifically because
it does not have this issue.

I can highly recommend Easeus, as it is free, works very well, has plenty of options and is
very easy to use. There's a GUI (obviously) for Windows, and it creates a Linux startup disk
which lets you select which image you wish to restore. This disk also has a GUI and a decent
progress-indicator with an info box, making it also very easy to use. I rate it 4/5.

Wenda.


**EDIT: - I am not associated with Easeus in any way, I simply think it's a good piece of
software. I have also recently upgraded Easeus to the full version (EaseUS Todo Backup
Workstation 5.8), which has far more options. Thanks again, SIW2, for giving me the
'heads-up' on the free download promotion..:thumb:**

 

[smurfercom]

Good point, Smurfercom. I keep several system images on my backup drive, there's a clean
install with nothing but the drivers and updates, another with all the programs installed and
customisations applied, and the current one, which gets replaced/updated monthly. The built-
in program will over-write backups if you don't rename them, but you must remember to
rename them back again before they can be used.

I've recently switched to using the FREE Easeus ToDo Backup Manager, specifically because
it does not have this issue.

I can highly recommend Easeus, as it is free, works very well, has plenty of options and is
very easy to use. There's a GUI (obviously) for Windows, and it creates a Linux startup disk
which lets you select which image you wish to restore. This disk also has a GUI and a decent
progress-indicator with an info box, making it also very easy to use. I rate it 4/5.

Wenda.


**EDIT: - I am not associated with Easeus in any way, I simply think it's a good piece of
software. I have also recently upgraded Easeus to the full version (EaseUS Todo Backup
Workstation 5.8), which has far more options. Thanks again, SIW2, for giving me the
'heads-up' on the free download promotion..:thumb:**

I also found out the built in tool is not very reliable sometimes it will get stuck during the imaging process. I'm a long time user of Acronis but since W8 I decided not to upgrade it for the first time. Acronis is becoming bloatware imo. After testing the built in tool I decided it wasn't reliable enough, so I switched over to Macrium. On thing I really like about it is you can clone your other drive without having to reboot unlike Acronis. I also think it's more versatile than Acronis because you can recover an image in 7 and restore to 8.