How I use recovery drives
I’m pleased to say that this is one technology I’ve never needed to use… yet! With any luck neither will you. However, a recovery drive is just like a health or household insurance policy: it’s something you should invest in so that if disaster strikes you’ll be prepared.
It’s important to always know where your recovery drive is, so don’t throw it in the back of a drawer. I buy USB sticks with a keyring loop at one end, like the Sandisk Ultra USB Flash Drive (£10.34 for 32GB from Amazon www.snipca.com/29230). You can hang these from a hook stuck to the side of your monitor or PC (don’t cover any vents or place it near anything hot). If you use a laptop, fix a cup hook to a nearby shelf and hang it there.
Architecture menus. Language and Edition are self-explanatory; for Architecture, choose either 32bit (x86) or 64bit (x64) to match the specification detailed alongside 'System type' in ‘About your PC’. Click Next.
Windows will now create a tailored version of the installation tool, but needs to know where to save it. We’re going to use a USB stick, but could just as easily save the results as an ISO file. An ISO is a single large file that emulates, with total accuracy, the structure of a CD or DVD, which you can later burn to a disc. If you prefer this route, read the box above.
Connect a USB stick with a capacity of at least 8GB. This will be formatted as part of the media-creation process, so make sure you’ve backed up its contents. Select ‘USB flash drive’ as your destination in the Setup application, then click Next. Windows will now display a list of available devices. Select the one you want to use, then click Next one final time.
The Setup tool will now download the Windows 10 installer and extract its components to the USB stick. This could take a few hours, depending on the speed of your broadband, but it’s safe to continue using your PC while it completes, and even to minimise the Setup window – as long as you don’t quit the tool entirely.
4 Test your recovery media Most PCS are set to boot from their hard drive, ignoring any connected devices and thus bypassing your recovery drive. This can be changed in the BIOS – or Basic Input/output System – which is the low-level code that your PC runs through when starting. Access this by pressing a hotkey while booting, often F10, but check your manual or support pages for the specific key that works with your PC.
When you’ve found it, keep the USB stick plugged in, reboot your PC, and hold the relevant key until the BIOS 4 menu appears.
BIOS doesn’t look like Windows, and its text-based layout will vary from system to system. In our screenshot below left, we’re using an HP Envy PC. Use the keyboard to navigate through the menus until you find Boot Order, then choose whichever option sets the USB stick as the primary boot device. Save and exit. You can leave this option permanently set, even if you’re not having problems. As long as you don’t have an external drive connected, your PC will still revert to loading Windows from your internal hard drive.
When you exit the BIOS, your PC will boot for a second time, but will do so from the USB stick, not Windows.
Check that the language, time and keyboard settings are correct on the launch screen, then click Next. On the next screen, ignore the big Install Windows button and instead click the small ‘Repair your PC’ link at the bottom. This opens a range of options including Troubleshoot – click this then choose Start-up Repair, or System Restore, which should be the first solutions you try when you’re having problems.
Start-up Repair will try to fix problems that stop Windows from booting normally, while System Restore lets you roll back to a restore point, like the one we created on page 35.
For the moment, you don’t want to make any adjustments: you’re just checking that the USB stick works as it should, so remove it, then click the back arrow to step out of Advanced options. Click Continue to exit recovery mode and load Windows 10 in the usual way.