User Guide

Creating recovery media and backups
Recovery after a system failure is only as good as your most recent backup.
CAUTION: Use a flash drive with a capacity of at least 8 GB. Any information about the USB flash
drive will be erased before the recovery media is created.
1. After you successfully set up the computer, create recovery media. This step creates a backup
of the recovery partition on the computer. The backup can be used to reinstall the original
operating system in cases where the hard drive is corrupted or has been replaced.
You will use a USB flash drive to create a bootable recovery drive that can be used to
troubleshoot a Windows 8 computer that is unable to start. The USB flash drive can be used to
reinstall the original operating system and the programs that were installed at the factory.
CAUTION: If you select the Copy contents from the recovery partition to the recovery drive,
when the Recovery Media creation has completed, you will have an option to delete the recovery
partition. On most systems, this partition is 10 GB in size. HP recommends not to delete this
recovery partition. If the partition is deleted, you will be unable to restore the Windows 8 OEM
factory recovery partition to the hard drive using the recovery USB drive. You can free up drive
space by deleting the recovery partition but you won't be able to refresh or reset the PC again.
To create the recovery media, from the Start screen, type recovery drive, click Settings, and
then click Create a recovery drive. Follow the on-screen instructions to continue.
2. As you add hardware and software programs, create system restore points. A system restore
point is a snapshot of certain hard drive contents saved by Windows System Restore at a
specific time. A system restore point contains information that Windows uses, such as registry
settings. Windows creates a system restore point for you automatically during a Windows update
and during other system maintenance (such as a software update, security scanning, or system
diagnostics). You can also manually create a system restore point at any time. For more
information and steps for creating specific system restore points, see Windows Help and
Support. From the Start screen, type h, and then select Help and Support.
3. As you add photos, video, music, and other personal files, create a backup of your personal
information. Windows File History can be set to regularly and automatically back up files from
libraries, desktop, contacts, and favorites. If files are accidentally deleted from the hard drive and
they can no longer be restored from the Recycle Bin, or if files become corrupted, you can
restore the files that you backed up using File History. Restoring files is also useful if you ever
choose to reset the computer by reinstalling Windows.
NOTE: File History is not enabled by default, so you must turn it on.
For more information and steps for enabling Windows File History, see Windows Help and
Support. From the Start screen, type h, and then select Help and Support.
Restoring and recovering using Windows 8 tools
Windows recovery tools provide access to several options for recovering your system. Choose the
method that best matches your situation and level of expertise:
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If you need to restore your personal files and data, you can use Windows File History to restore
your information from the backups you created. For more information and steps for using File
Backing up, restoring, and recovering Windows 8 29