Windows 10: Create a Recovery Drive does not recognize my USB flash drive.

Create a recovery drive does not recognize my USB flash drive. The flash drive appears in file explorer and is formatted and is 64GB. I have tried several drives and get the same problem.

:)

 

Recovery Drive for Windows 10 Doesn't Recognize USB Drive

When I try to create a Recovery Drive in Windows 10, Windows doesn't recognize the flash drive.

I'm following the instructions to create a Recovery Drive listed here:

Create a recovery drive - Microsoft Support

• 
  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. (I was asked to confirm my choice, and I clicked "Yes".)
  
• 
  When the tool opens, make sure Back up system files to the recovery drive is selected and then select
  Next.
  
• 
  (Secret Step) Wait a minute or so for the "Please Wait" screen to finish thinking
  
• 
  Connect a USB drive to your PC, select it ...
  

The issue is that when I connect a USB drive to the PC, it doesn't appear on the "Connect a USB flash drive" screen as a drive that can be selected, and the "Next" button is grayed out.

However, when I look in File Explorer, I can see the USB drive plugged into the computer. Selecting Properties shows that Windows considers its Type to be "Removable Disk". (Sounds right to me.)

I'm not getting any error messages.

My environment:

A brand new Toshiba Sattelite C55-C5241 laptop with Windows 10 Home. It's never had anything other than Windows 10 on it - unless they upgraded it at the factory.

A brand new ativa 8GB USB flash drive. Note that the packaging for the USB drive does not include Windows 10 in the System Requirements, but seriously?

What I've tried:

• Plugging the flash drive into all three USB ports (USB 2, USB 2, and USB 3)
• Reformatting the flash drive with FAT32
• Restarting the computer with the flash drive plugged in
• Turning off Real-Time Scanning in McAffee

I've seen a few threads with this issue in Windows 8, but none of the potential solutions in those threads have worked for me. So here I am asking the same question, but for Windows 10.

Does anyone have any suggestions for resolving this issue?

Thank you.

 

Create Recovery USB does not recognize my USB drive

When I run the Create Recovery USB process I get to the point where I'm asked to insert a USB drive. But the Wizard does not recognize my USB drive.

This is very puzzling. The Win 10 OS does recognize this USB flash drive under all other circumstances I've tried. It's formatted to NFTS.

I can create and save files to it. I can also edit files saved on that USB drive. Device manager says that the USB flash drive is working properly.

Any ideas?

 

Create a Recovery Drive

Hello Andrew,

I understand that you are trying to create a recovery drive on Windows 10 and the setup is not recognizing your USB drives. I would like to know few more things to understand the issue appropriately.

• 
  Do you see the USB drive in Windows Explorer?
  
• 
  Have you tried any other USB drive?
  

In the meantime you may try to create a recovery disc by the steps mentioned below.

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.

Ensure that the flash drive has a unique drive letter. If not, try assigning a drive letter to the flash drive from disk management in computer management and check if the issue persists.

Hope the information helps. Kindly write back to us for further assistance on Windows. We will be happy to assist you.

Thanks and Regards

Sarandeep S - Microsoft Support.