Can't create a recovery drive.

I've tried sfc / scannow, reinstalling windows, working with windows help desk, and computer manufacturer. Nothing works. I've tried different USB keys always larger than 16 gb. I've searched a lot of Internet sites. Any suggestions?

Hi,

Can you give us some info like what the exact error message is, error reports from Event Viewer etc ?

Cheers,

Hi,

Can you give us some info like what the exact error message is, error reports from Event Viewer etc ?

Cheers,

"We can't create the recovery drive. A problem occurred while creating the recovery drive." I'm not sure how to retrieve data from the Event Viewer.

I've always found Recovery Drive a bit flaky in Windows 10. It works in a different way to Windows 8 or earlier, and the option to include System files tries to give you an installer to recreate Windows from just the drive.

I had a theory that if the machine still had an older Recovery Partition (eg. from Windows 7) it affected the process, but that's just an idea rather than anything definite.

I've always found Recovery Drive a bit flaky in Windows 10. It works in a different way to Windows 8 or earlier, and the option to include System files tries to give you an installer to recreate Windows from just the drive.

I had a theory that if the machine still had an older Recovery Partition (eg. from Windows 7) it affected the process, but that's just an idea rather than anything definite.

My PC came with win 10 home (OEM). I upgraded to Pro (digital intitlement), so not sure if the original home has a partition that is blocking this?

My PC came with win 10 home (OEM). I upgraded to Pro (digital intitlement), so not sure if the original home has a partition that is blocking this?

You could use Disk Management to show you what partitions you have, but I don't really advise deleting the Recovery partition. Plus Windows 10 Home and Pro are pretty similar in any case, so it is less likely to cause a problem I think.

Another idea is to wait for the Anniversary Update which is coming soon and hope that they've made the Recovery Disk creation more reliable in that version!

You could use Disk Management to show you what partitions you have, but I don't really advise deleting the Recovery partition. Plus Windows 10 Home and Pro are pretty similar in any case, so it is less likely to cause a problem I think.

Another idea is to wait for the Anniversary Update which is coming soon and hope that they've made the Recovery Disk creation more reliable in that version!

When I use disk management it shows my drive has 2 separate recovery partitions. Is this to be expected?

When I use disk management it shows my drive has 2 separate recovery partitions. Is this to be expected?

It might be. Are they both around 300-500MB, or is one or both bigger than that?

It might be. Are they both around 300-500MB, or is one or both bigger than that?

One is 449mb, the other is 500mb.

One is 449mb, the other is 500mb.

That probably isn't the cause then. When I had problems it was with a Windows7 Recovery partition which is a few GB. In that case I don't know the answer. I'd still advise waiting to see what the Anniversary Update brings.
Also, you could make a USB flash drive installer containing Windows 10. It will be less specific than a Recovery Drive but it's very similar in what it can do to rescue you from problem situations, and has some advantages.