System Recovery Options - Boot to in Windows 8

How to Boot to "System Recovery Options" in Windows 8 and 8.1​

This will show you how to boot to the System Recovery Options options screen to be able to refresh Windows 8, reset Windows 8, do a system restore, do a system image recovery, do a automatic repair, open a command prompt at boot, or open Advanced Boot Options to help in the recovery of Windows 8.




OPTION ONE

Boot to "System Recovery Options" using "Startup Options"



1. Boot to the Startup Options Menu, and click/tap on Troubleshoot. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: You will only see the Use another operating system option if you are mutli booting Windows, or added Safe Mode to the Windows Boot Manager.


Recovery-multi.jpg


2. From here, select the recovery option in Troubleshoot or Advanced options that you would like to do at boot. (see screenshots below)



Refresh your PC (Troubleshoot)



Reset your PC (Troubleshoot)



System Restore (Advanced options)



System Image Recovery (Advanced options)



Automatic Repair (Advanced options)



Command Prompt (Advanced options)

UEFI Firmware Settings (Advanced options)
NOTE: If your motherboard has UEFI, then you will have also have this option available in Advanced options. Check your manufacturer's uEFI BIOS manual for available settings in it.


Windows Startup Settings (Advanced options)
NOTE: You will not have this option if you booted from a system repair disc or recovery USB flash drive.



Recovery-4A.jpg

Advanced-options.jpg









OPTION TWO

To Open "Recovery" Options in Control Panel




1. While logged in to an administrator account in Windows 8, insert or connect your Windows 8 installation DVD or USB thumb drive, or ISO file if in a virtual machine.


2. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the Recovery icon. (see screenshot below)


Reset-3.jpg


3. From here, select the recovery option that you would like to do. (see screenshot below)

NOTE: If you click/tap on the If you're experiencing problems with your PC, you can refresh in PC settings. link, then you will be taken to step 4 in OPTION THREE below.



Refresh your PC


Reset your PC

Create a recovery drive/Create a System Repair Disc

Open System Restore


Configure System Restore



Recovery.jpg






OPTION THREE

To Open "Recovery" Options in PC settings


1. Open PC settings, and do step 2 or 3 below for the Windows 8 you have installed.


2. If you have Windows 8 or Windows RT, then click/tap on General on the left side, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)

General-reset.jpg

3. If you have Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, then click/tap on Update & recovery on the left side. (see screenshot below)

Windows_8_1_PC_settings-1.jpg


A) On the left side, click/tap on Recovery, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)

Windows_8_1_PC_settings.jpg

4. On the right side, click/tap on the recovery option that you would like to do. (see screenshots below step 2 and 3A)

Refresh your PC (Refresh your PC without affecting your files)

Reset your PC (Remove everything and reinstall Windows)

Advanced startup





That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

 

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Click to expand...
Shutdown /r /o /t 00

at the command prompt or in a shortcut will force a restart to the advanced boot options menu. It is best to always run this as administrator if needed.
 
er...hi, I installed win RP on my system and tried to do an image recovery but I can't find the option under Advanced Options. Does anyone encounter this before?

IMG_2199.JPG
 
Hello wuming, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Which option did you use to boot to the Startup Options Menu?

If you can start Windows 8, then using OPTION TWO in link above is a good choice.
 
Hi, both options still did not show Image Recovery option.
Does installing in UEFI mode or Legacy mode makes a difference?
 
Wuming,

Not sure why you do not have these options. I suppose that it may be related to UEFI or Legacy mode, but I have no way of testing to see.

Have you already tried restoring the image (system backup) through "Windows 7 Recovery" in the Control Panel in Windows 8 to hopefully be able to select a "System Backup" like below?

System_Backup.jpg
 
Hi, somehow it has something to do with installing in UEFI or Legacy mode. Now the option is appearing after I switch to install from Legacy mode which the system came in default.
 
Unfortunately, this method fails. In the Advanced Options window, there is no 'Windows Startup Settings' icon in either of my Windows 8 installation discs. Both discs are retail versions.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your amazingly fast reply. I will discuss the article to which you linked.

Please keep in mind that my objective is to boot directly to Safe Mode (or to the other boot options described in the tutorial, e.g., Safe Mode with Networking, With Command Prompt, etc.) without first booting into Windows. This is important because if my computer fails to boot for any reason, and I cannot boot directly to Safe Mode for troubleshooting, then my only other choice is to make a wholesale change to my system via Refresh, Reset, restoring a backup image or a factory reset.

OPTION ONE is only possible if you can boot into Windows 8 normally.
OPTION TWO is only possible if you can boot into Windows 8 normally.
OPTION THREE states "You will not be able to boot to the Advanced Boot Options screen using this option."
OPTION FOUR states "You will not be able to boot to the Advanced Boot Options screen using this option."
OPTION FIVE states "You will only see this option if you added Windows 8 Safe Mode to the Windows boot manager." Option Five allows me to boot directly to Safe Mode, but only if I don't mind seeing the "Choose an operating system" screen every time I boot my computer.
OPTION SIX is the option I tried, with the results I described: There is no Windows Startup Settings icon in the Advanced Options window.

I noticed that the tutorial was originally published on September 14, 2011. It appears that things may not work the same way in the released 'retail' version of the Windows 8 install disc. Nevertheless, I would be glad to be corrected or shown another way to boot directly to Safe Mode in Windows 8. It may be that Microsoft in its wisdom decided that we shall not do this any longer.
 
Thanks again for your help, and thanks for all the effort you devote to these forums. Your work is much appreciated.

It seems like 'boot to Safe Mode' is another long-time Windows feature that Microsoft is trying to deprecate. I hope a work-around surfaces soon.
 
Hello once again.

Although it might seem that I'm obsessed with Safe Mode in Windows 8, I am not. I merely have an abiding interest in the subject. ;)

I read elsewhere that if you are unable to boot into Windows 8 normally after numerous attempts, Windows will automatically load the Advanced Startup Options screen, from which you can choose to go to Windows Startup Settings and from there to Safe Mode (or any of the other startup choices available.)

I can't see anything in my copy of Windows 8 that says Windows will restart automatically but I did see a checkbox option in Control Panel > Systems Properties > Advanced tab > Startup and Recovery > Time to display recovery options when needed.

If you or any other EightForums members have had the experience, and can confirm that Safe Mode can be reached in this way, that would satisfy my concern: It would mean that Safe Mode is accessible if you can't boot Windows normally.

Of course, Safe Mode has other handy uses, like deleting files that are locked when Windows loads normally, but for those uses it's perfectly fine to access Safe Mode after booting in to Windows 8.
 
Yep, that's correct. If a problem is detected, it will give you the default 30 seconds to press a key (usually F8) to enter Startup Settings.

Of course, adding Safe Mode to your boot menu would be good insurance to have. ;)
 
Brink said:
Yep, that's correct. If a problem is detected, it will give you the default 30 seconds to press a key (usually F8) to enter Startup Settings.
Click to expand...

TA DA! :party:

Ah, but there's a "gotcha."

In my copy of Windows 8, there was no check mark in Control Panel > Systems Properties > Advanced tab > Startup and Recovery > Time to display recovery options when needed. I had to put that check mark there myself. Word to the wise!

Brink said:
Of course, adding Safe Mode to your boot menu would be good insurance to have.
Click to expand...

Agreed!

Thanks again for all your time and help.
 
I found another way to reboot to RecoveryEnvironment

Before restarting enter this in elevated command prompt : reagentc.exe /boottore
 
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