X205TA Backup Recovery Partition and Drivers?

I just got a 32GB X205TA and the ASUS support site for this model still has not been activated. There is a dead link to the page where the drivers and other support information are supposed to be.
I'd like to upgrade to 8.1 Pro with the Pro Pack, but before I spend the $99, I'd like to try the free 8.1 Enterprise 90 day evaluation.
I need to backup the recovery partition so I can revert back to the factory image if necessary in case it gets wiped out accidently or in case I want to purposefully remove it to gain drive space.
I tried downloading the BackTrack utility from the ASUS site, but it says this model is not compatible,

How else can I make a backup of the recovery partition?
How can I make a backup of the drivers, so I can reinstall any missing drivers on a clean installation of 8.1 Pro or Enterprise?

 

I found a place in the Control Panel to backup the recovery partition to USB.
So, now I just need a way to back up the drivers and to a link to download and reinstall the ASUS applications like Asus Smart Gesture, Asus Splendid Video Entertainment Technology and ATK Package.

Not sure why ASUS released the product before they enabled the support page.


ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support-

 

I'm not sure why you want to back up the recovery partition. Couldn't you just save an image of the main partition once you have it working? I think I would stick a 32GB micro SD card in the machine and save an image of the main partition to that. I wouldn't worry much about the drivers either. I'd get them after installing the new OS, and would start by using the Intel automatic driver update utility.

Windows 8.1 on this machine is 32 bit. Are you planning on sticking with 32 bit with the new OS?

 

I want to be sure that I can get back to the factory image in case a fresh copy of Windows 8.1 goes wrong and somehow the recovery partition gets wiped out.
Yes, I will be staying with 8.1 32-bit, I'll just be going from 8.1 with Bing 32-bit to 8.1 Pro 32-bit.
I'm also going to download the 8.1 Enterprise 32-bit evaluation to try out for a few weeks or so before committing to the cost of the Windows 8.1 Pro Pack. The Enterprise evaluation installation may require wiping the drive and losing all the settings and drivers. I don't think "upgrading" from 8.1 to 8.1 Enterprise is supported.

I don't want to assume all the drivers will be available from Windows Update. Some of the drivers are Broadcom and Realtek and ASUS and it will be a nightmare if I do this re-installation and then see a bunch of yellow exclamation points in the device manager and no place to download the correct drivers for this new model laptop.
Also, the ASUS software application is required for the trackpad if I want it to work smoothly and support scrolling and pinch and zoom gestures.

 

Another precaution I would take before installing a new OS would be to use a program like ProduKey to find the Windows 8.1 product key for your current OS, record it, and save it in a safe place. Then I would download the Windows 8.1 ISO file and burn an installation DVD like described in these instructions:
How to download and install the Windows 8.1 ISO -- using a Windows 8 or 8.1 key

 

I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a record of the key, but if I restore it using the factory restore image, shouldn't it use the original key automatically?
If I install 8.1 Pro Pack, it will come with it's own 8.1 Pro key and the 90 day evaluation of 8.1 Enterprise doesn't need a key at all.

 

The reason for having the product key is because if for some reason your factory restore image doesn't work, then you can fall back on re-installing Windows 8.1 from scratch using the DVD that you made. Besides, at some point, you are going to want to remove that recovery partition so as to reclaim that storage space, so you will want the extra security that the product key and DVD provides. It's always smart to record the product key. If you don't, you'll be kicking yourself later. Your choice.

 

OK, but if I'm not using the recovery partition with the drivers baked in, I will need to reinstall the drivers somehow.
I'll see if Asus enables to the support site with driver downloads in a few days so I can be sure to get everything working properly if I use a generic Windows installation.
They should have made the support website with driver downloads go live on the day the system was released if not before.

 

Web1b, instead of getting drivers from Asus, can't you just get them from the manufacturers of the individual components? I believe that will result in the most up-to-date driver anyway. Like I said earlier, if you start with the Intel Automatic Driver Update Utility, there won't be very many left to find after that. I hope all goes well!

 

There are several non-Intel drivers required.
Some of the drivers and software are ASUS-specific such as the trackpad software.
I even searched for the trackpad software on the ASUS site and the only version was for another laptop and was 64-bit only and this computer is 32-bit.

 

Well, I don't know for sure, but I would think that Windows will have generic drivers that will work for just about everything including the trackpad right off the bat. But, even if the trackpad doesn't work, you can get by for a while with a USB mouse. Worst case, if the situation becomes hopeless, you can fall back on the image.

 

The main support page is not live, but I found drivers on the X205TA page on the ASUS site:

https://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_EeeBook_X205TA/HelpDesk_Download/

 

Yes, the drivers were posted a few days ago. They were not there at the time the original message was posted.

 

Hi I have the same model laptop and want to remove the recovery to free up space.

I got the laptop and didn't make a windows 8.1 recovery disk. I tried backtracker to backup the factory image but it gave a error that my device was not supported. So I removed the recovery with partition wizard home edition. Afterwards the laptop didn't boot anymore it gave the error "your PC needs to be repaired" (See attachment) I didn't have a Win 8.1 PC to make a windows recovery USB and it would not boot from a USB with windows 8.1 installer on it. So I went back to the store and they gave me a brand new one.

Now I made a windows 8.1 recovery USB (Including recovery).Normally it should give you a option afterwards to delete the recovery but it did not. Backtracker is still not working... I downloaded all the drivers from the Asus site.

Any more steps I need to take and how do I remove the recovery?

 

this is the link posted how to create bootable usb for asus x205ta in order to install clean OS. make sure you make the iso file after u upgrade to windows 10, read the instructions.

 

Use Acronis True Image Free to make an image of your drive. That's what I do always. Then I can go back to factory fresh. Windows 8.1 versions are Windows 8.1 WITH BING so a traditional Win 8.1 ISO won't work. But you can get one here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/clean-install-win-8-1-on-an-acer.779008/#post-10050044

 

The nice thing about an image backup is you can so easily restore and be on your way again.