Difficulties/Concerns creating recovery on USB

[REXX59]

PC Assistant kept bugging me about creating a recovery backup.  I decided to use a USB Drive (16.0 GB). 

I initiated the process through the PC Assistant and inserted the USB. 

Followed instructions and download processed. 

When it finished it told me to name the file.  There was a box with F:\  I assumed it wanted me to name it here but it would not accept anything I entered.

Other than that the only thing on the screen was a list of files and some option boxes. (ie: file, edit, view etc.)

There was also a box which had the option "eject drive"-(or something like that).  It said OK to remove media and I did.

I'm surprised that at no point in the process was I asked to create a password to access the files on the USB?????

I think everything processed OK, but who knows.  Basically the prompts from the PC Assistant were not consistent with what I was being instructed to do.

Any comments, suggestions, concerns would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[WAWood]

REXX59

Hello;

Allow me to welcome you to the HP forums!

I personally prefer to use third-party Recovery solutions as they tend to be both more flexible and more reliable than any built-in solutions.

Macrium Reflect (MR) provides a FREE version that can be used to image and restore partitions or entire drives: http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

What I recommend is the following:
1) Download and install Macrium Reflect (MR)
2) Run MR and choose the option: "Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows" to write a full backup to an external drive or USB stick
3) Use the option to create a boot USB stick or CD

My experience is that MR, when using the High Compression option, typically can compress the saved image file to about 50% of the USED space in the OS partition. This means if you have an 80GB OS partition, and 40GB is used, MR only needs about 20GB to store the image file.

I use this all the time and it typically takes less than 10 minutes to do the image backup and about the same time or less to do a restore.

Plus, MR has the option to Add a Recovery Boot Menu entry. This allows you then to boot into WinRE, and you can then use that to do a restore -- when you can't boot into Windows!

NOW, you have the means to restore a full working system from the external drive or USB stick in only a few minutes.

Good Luck

[REXX59]

Hi,

In looking through the program information it doesn't appear to be available for Windows 10 PC's?

[WAWood]

I have it installed on ALL my win10 devices!

What happens when you click the DOWNLOAD button on their web page?

[REXX59]

I guess that I need to get another USB Stick before doing anything.  I'm assuming a 16GB stick should be sufficient.  I'm still a bit ticked off that the HP process did not go as expected.

Thanks, Dean

Will update you when done.  **bleep** sticks are'nt cheap anymore !!!!!!

Rick

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

I told you what the space requirements are for a USB stick when using MR -- in my post.

But, that is only a GUESS based on my experience.

What actual compression you get using MR depends on what's on the drive.  You might not be able to get 50% compression on your PC.

So, you might need a USB stick that is more than 50% of the size of the USED space on the drives you are imaging.

Good Luck