Error while opening "Create Recovery Drive" in Windows 10

[ashis_kolkata]

Hi, I just got a new HP 15s eq0024au from Amazon without any external recovery media. I tried to create Recovery Drive (USB), however, when I click "Create a recovery drive" in Windows 10 setting, it shows error "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item".

Kindly help me with the issue at your earliest. Thanks in advance.

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

@ashis_kolkata 

My advice is NOT to use any built-in functions, including Windows, for creating recovery media.  They are too unreliable.

My suggestion is you consider using a third-party solution known as Macrium Reflect (MR).

I prefer to use third-party recovery solutions for the following reasons:
1) More flexibility and reliabilty -- can make recovery media as often as you like, not restricted to one attempt, which if it fails, then you are stuck.
2) More media options -- can create media in DVD, USB stick, or external drive format
3) Mounting option -- can "mount" the save images as virtual "drives" and extract individual files and folders
4) WinPE boot option -- can install a special boot option that allows you to boot to recovery information and do a repair or restore from there -- when Windows will not boot

What I recommend is the following:
1) Download and install Macrium Reflect (MR) from here: http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx
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, USB stick, or DVDs
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 15 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 WinPE, 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, USB stick or DVDs in only a few minutes.

Good Luck

[ashis_kolkata]

Your reply definitely helped me. I am going to mark it solved, just one more question, all the steps you have enlisted for backup USB creation are available with free version of Macrium or not?

One more information, my problem with windows backup drive creation has been resolved using >sfc/scannow command in administrator command prompt.

Thanks again for your elaborate insight.