Windows 10: Can i use create a recovery drive using only a partition of a USB drive?

I created a recovery drive using the Windows 10 Settings function. I have a USB hard drive with three partitions on. I selected one of the partitions but once the recovery drive process had finished, it had wiped the other partitions on the drive


Should i just buy a 30GB USB thumbstick to create this recovery drive? or is there a way to create a recovery drive as a partition on a USB drive, so I can have other data on there as well?

:)

 

Windows 10 Recovery drive error - Can't create a recovery drive on this PC

I inserted a new USB drive into my laptop, started drive recovery and after a
while it found the drive. However, on proceeding with the process I was then getting the error message “We can’t create a recovery drive on this PC”.

The steps I took to resolved this were:

• Create a new partition on the USB drive.
• Reformat the USB drive as NTFS
• Make it bootable
• Re-run the Windows 10 Create Recovery Drive utility

I am not sure that steps 2 & 3 are required as the utility will reformat the drive anyway but I haven’t tested this process omitting them.



Detailed instructions are as follows (thanks to
www.indestructables.com for pointing me in the right direction here)

• Insert your USB flash drive to your running computer. As the first step, we need to run Command Prompt as administrator. To do this, we need to find cmd by typing 'cmd' in the search box on Windows Start Menu. After search result for 'cmd' appears,
  right click on it and select "Run as administrator".
• Type 'diskpart' on Command Prompt (without quotes) and hit Enter. Wait for a while until the DISKPART program run.
• Type 'list disk' to view active disks on your computer and hit Enter. There would be seen that the active disks shown as Disk 0 for hard drive and Disk 1 for your USB flashdrive with its total capacity.
• Type 'select disk 1' to determine that disk 1 would be processed in the next step then hit Enter.
• Type 'clean' and hit Enter to remove all of data in the drive.
• Type 'create partition primary' and hit Enter. Creating a primary partition and further recognized by Windows as 'partition 1'.
• Type 'select partition 1' an hit Enter. Choosing the 'partition 1' for setting up it as an active partition.
• Type 'active' and hit Enter. Activating current partition.
• Type 'format fs=ntfs quick' and hit Enter. Formatting current partition as NTFS file system quickly.
• Type 'exit' and hit Enter. Leaving DISKPART program but don't close the Command Prompt.
• Type 'bootsect /nt60 d:' and hit Enter. Creating boot sector on D: drive (USB flash drive)

 

creating a recovery drive!

Hi Michelle,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused. I will assist you with this.

To better understand the issue please let us know

• What exactly happens when you try to create a Recovery drive ?
• Do you receive any error message ?

I suggest you to try the steps below and see if It helps to resolve the issue.

Creating a recovery drive

A recovery drive can help you troubleshoot and fix problems with your PC, even if it won't start. To create one, all you need is a USB drive.

• From the taskbar, search for Create a recovery drive then select it. You might be asked to enter an admin password or confirm your choice.
• When the tool opens, make sure Back up system files to the recovery drive is selected, then select
  Next.
• Connect a USB drive to your PC, select it, then select Next > Create. A lot of files need to be copied to the recovery drive, so this might take a while.
• When it's finished, you might see a Delete the recovery partition from your PC link on the final screen. If you want to free up drive space on your PC, select the link, then select
  Delete. If not, select Finish.

Hope the above information helps. Reply with necessary information and the result to help you further. Thank you.

 

Create a Recovery Drive?

Hi Kaspaz,

Let us first check the recovery drive creation process that you have done. Below is a step by step process of creating a recovery drive:

• From the taskbar, search for Create a recovery drive and then select it. You might be asked to enter an admin password or confirm your choice.
• When the tool opens, make sure Back up system files to the recovery drive
  is selected and then select Next.
• Connect a USB drive to your PC, select it, and then select Next > Create.
  A lot of files need to be copied to the recovery drive, so this might take a while.
• When it’s done, you might see a Delete the recovery partition from your PC
  link on the final screen. If you want to free up drive space on your PC, select the link and then select
  Delete. If not, select Finish.

If you have done the same steps above and the rest of your file is still not showing.
Please post back some details:

• Which drive are you referring to?
• Can you send us a screenshot of what you are seeing?
• Besides creating a recovery drive, have you done any other changes on your computer?
• What is the make and model of your USB hard drive device?
• Have you tried plugging it on another port?
• What is the current version and build number of your Windows 10 Computer? To know these details, follow the steps below:
  • Select the Start button.
  • Type About your PC.
  • Press Enter to find out the version and build number of your Windows 10 PC.

Let us know the result after performing the troubleshooting steps and if your concern was left unresolved, kindly get back to us with the answers to our inquiry, so that we can assist you further.