Lenovo Recovery to Flash Drive

I want to make another copy of my Lenovo Recovery so I can do a fresh install on my SSD but I get that message that I can only make one copy. I have looked at a lot of websites but nothing has helped. Does anyone know how I could make another copy to my flash drive?

 

There used to be "a way" but Lenovo has since "fixed it."

 

Where's your original copy?

 

I still have it but when you try to move to a flash drive or CD it only lets you do it once. I just want to move it to a flash drive in case I have to restore my laptop.

 

That's right, Lenovo allows only one-time creation of the factory-recovery media. (Since last year, Lenovo devised a way to hide the "done" flag so that clever users can no longer reset it.)

Not knowing the relevant details of your situation, I suppose you could use the set of discs that you created some time ago (with the UltraBay optical drive, or an external USB DVD drive) to restore the factory image onto your new SSD. Alternatively, if you're happy with the ways things are on your HDD, you could clone the whole thing to the new SSD. Just a thought...

 

I didn't create any discs and I didn't receive any with my laptop. I guess I just can't put it on my flash drive twice, thanks for the help though.

 

This is probably a stupid question but could I just copy the partition to another hard drive then use it?

 

The recovery partition is used by the Lenovo Recovery program, either to create recovery media or to restore the C: partition in-place. So, you cannot copy the recovery partition to another drive and "use" it.

The recovery media, on the other hand, is bootable (either the USB is created as bootable, or the first CD/DVD of the disc set is burned as bootable). The bootable portion, once in RAM, pulls in the rest of the recovery data in order to rebuild the C: partition.

Do you still have the recovery USB flash drive that you created? Did you misplace it?

Another idea: Call Lenovo Support and ask them to mail you a set of recovery discs. You can tell them that you did not successfully create the recovery media and that you are not allowed to try a second time.

 

No I didn't keep the recovery on the flash drive because I didn't know that you could only do it once. But from what I have read I am out of luck trying to copy it again.

 

What exactly did you do in the first time? Did something get created? Did you then overwrite that flash drive? I really don't understand.

Keep in mind that there are 2 different things: (1) the recovery partition, and (2) the recovery media created from the recovery partition. (And, yes, the user is allowed to create the recovery media only once. Note that "creating the recovery media" is not the same as "copying the recovery partition.")

If you want to duplicate the factory image onto a new SSD, you must use the recovery media. The recovery partition on the stock HDD cannot help you in this case.

 

This is why I dislike the ability to write the factory image to a flash drive. A DVD disk set is much less likely to get trashed or discarded. Unfortunately optical media is becoming less common as people move to thin computers.

What really needs to happen at this point is that we need to push Microsoft, Lenovo, etc. to a secure method of downloading legally obtained bits. There's no reason you should not be able to download the Lenovo image that matches your machine from a secure site, at least not from the technical sense.

 

I have copied the recovery image to a flash drive once to restore the computer. I didn't know at the time that I could only do this once so I deleted the recovery off of the flash drive. I now want to copy the recovery again to a flash drive so that I can have a back up incase something goes wrong. Since I can only make one copy I am wondering if there is another way to get the recovery on a flash drive.

 

Call support, they may send you some recovery media discs after hearing your story...

 

Sorry to hear that. You should have labeled that flash drive and keep it in the original box (or in a drawer).

The recovery partition on your stock HDD can now be used only for in-place recovery (i.e. overwriting the current C: partition). It cannot help you with what you intend to do regarding the new SSD.

Again, you cannot "manually copy" the recovery partition to another drive. The recovery media can only be created by Lenovo Recovery program, which always checks the "done" bit to impose the "once only" restriction.

Consider my earlier suggestion of calling Lenovo Support and request a set of recovery discs for your ThinkPad. They usually comply.

 

Was your machine purchased with Windows 8? Have you tried Methodology to create Recovery Media and reload a Lenovo system with Microsoft Windows 8 preload ???

 

No, I wish they had that for windows 7 though.

 

If your machine shipped with Windows 7, Lenovo will sell you the factory disk set. But for the same money you can buy Acronis True Image Home 2013 and backup the hard drive to a variety of targets.

 

Options:

1. Request Lenovo Support to send a set of factory recovery discs. (The created recovery media may be reported as damaged.) Then use these discs to put the factory onto the new SSD.

2. Do a clean Windows 7 installation, with the COA key, on the new SSD. (The Windows 7 .ISO may be legally downloaded. Burn this file on a DVD and boot the notebook with it inserted in the optical bay.)

3. Use Acronis to clone the current system image on the stock HDD to the new SSD. If you're happy with your existing environment, this approach will save you from having to install the Lenovo drivers and your applications and to redo your various settings.

I would do option 2 [brand new] or option 3 [current preserved] and be done hours ago.

However, if the OP insists on having the new SSD to "look" like it came straight from Lenovo, gotta make the call and wait a few days.

 

This is precisely my dilemma on a new 430u. A flash drive recovery is readily usable as long as it's not lost. A DVD disk set is less likely to get lost and can itself be iso copied for additional safety. But if/when recovery is needed they're useless if an external DVD isn't available. I'd really like to have both.

Did I read your other post correctly that Lenovo will charge for a replacement set if your sole back-up attempt fails or is lost/unusable?

Am I correct that an Acronis image backup done immediately after unboxing would be essentially the equivalent of the factory recovery, except perhaps for whatever footprint Acronis has made? Or is there a way for Acronis to do an exact factory reset image of a newly unboxed/unchanged drive?

Thanks in advance.

 

They usually send you a set free of charge if you explain to them your situation ("failed," "damaged," "unusable").

Yes. If you back up all of the stock HDD before initializing Windows (by booting from Acronis), the Acronis backup copy may be used to re-create a new (anonymous) factory drive.

If you run Acronis right after initializing Windows, the Acronis backup copy is equivalent to factory, but for your own use only. By extension, I do an Acronis backup after setting up the Windows environment as I like it (drivers, applications, settings, the works) and use it whenever I need to reset, or transfer to SSD.


BTW, I always create the recovery DVDs as a matter of routine. During all the years of using ThinkPads, I've never had to use them.

 

JWall, don't feel bad for loosing your recovery image. If worst comes to worst, and you current windows7 becomes inoperable, or your harddrive dies, all you'd have to do it reinstall windows7, and download a few drivers from Lenovo's website. It's a little time consuming but you end up with a nice clean install that typcially takes up less space on the harddrive than the factory image from Lenovo. Knowing which lenovo drivers are necessary to install can take some asking around in these forums. For example, for my x61s windows7 clean install I had to install a "Power Manager Driver" before I could install the "Power Manger" software.

To do a clean install of windows7 you'd have to do one of the following:

• Download Windows7 from the Legal Link to download windows7. There is a forum on NBR about this topic.
• Use a windows7 install disk. It can be an oem install disk, a windows7 upgrade disk, or the full retail version of windows7. Any of these will work for you because you'd be using the windows serial number than cam with your computer. If you have a friend who has one of these disks you can copy it's contents to a usb key (don't loose it ), or copy it to a DVD-rom.

Note: if you bought your computer with Microsoft office preinstalled on it, I have no idea how what your options are for getting Office working on a new harddrive. You might want to read up on that if it applies to you. Maybe you can get the Office serial number and use it again on a new harddrive.

Another option available to you is to use a program like Acronis disk imager, Acronis makes several different programs now, i have no idea which is the version to use in your case. Acronis costs money, probably $30 to $60, and it lets you make an image of your harddrive in its current state, and then reinstall that image onto a new harddrive. I prefer the clean install method to this option.

And as mentioned, you could phone Lenovo, tell them what happened. Maybe they will send you recovery disks.

 

Ditto. I use the same methodology as Kaso. I clone the HDD before I boot the machine for the 1st time. After 1st boot, I build the recovery disk set and put those disks in my archive. I use Acronis True Image Home 2013 for the initial clone and all subsequent backups.

My methodology is going to need to change on the next ThinkPad I buy, if it comes with Windows 8. I would prefer to still be able to create the factory image to DVD disks, but that is no longer available. I believe it needs to be a USB attached HDD, SSD, or Flash drive.

It looks to me that you would need a 16 or 32GB flash drive for the procedure at http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=HT076024 and it also assumes the user hasn't messed with the recovery partition. Most of the threads I see on this subject are 911's because the user has already hosed the recovery partition.

 

Thank you for all the advice it has really helped. I going to see if I can get Lenovo to send a new recovery disc then go from there.

 

Has anyone tried the instructions at How to get Windows 8 ISO file for fresh installation ? - Microsoft Community ???

It appears you need a key to go through the process. I may try it on my Samsung in a few minutes to see what happens.

 

Not so. You can use disks as the recovery media, but apparently only if you don't copy the recovery partition.

I don't know how to snap pictures of the screens, but I'm sitting here with the W8 Recovery Drive application open and I'll describe what it says on the first two screens of the recovery media procedure.

The first screen has a checkbox labeled: "Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive." If you check this box, the next screen reads: "CONNECT A USB FLASH DRIVE - The drive must be able to hold at least 8GB, and everything else on the drive will be deleted." Thus, for this option (copying the recovery partition), you must use a flash drive.

However, if you uncheck the box on the first screen, the next screen says: "CONNECT A USB FLASH DRIVE - The drive must be able to hold at least 512MB, and everything else on the drive will be deleted." And at the bottom of this page is a link that reads: " Create a system repair disc with a CD or DVD instead." Thus, if you opt not to copy the recovery partition, you can use discs (and maybe even disks).

One of the things that prompted my "Where has all my hard drive gone" thread was a lack of understanding as to how an 8gb drive could recover and reproduce a W8/Lenovo factory load that started out at about 25gb out of the box -- but maybe I'll ask that question over there for topical purposes.

 

Data compression.

BTW, you guys use the term "copy" too vaguely. Creating recovery media is not a "straight copy" of the data from the recovery partition to a flash drive or a set of optical discs. A key difference is "bootability." When the (small) bootable portion is loaded to RAM at system startup, it will pull the rest of the data into RAM, uncompress it, and write it out to a new partition on the hard drive.

 

I called Lenovo and since I have Priority Support I am being sent a free recovery disk. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

Yay!

(I hope they're sending a set of 4 discs, not just "a disk." )

 

For completeness on the issue of creating a recovery USB flash drive in Windows 8, the linked Lenovo publication says to use "a minimum" 16GB USB flash drive, contradicting Microsoft's instruction to use an 8GB drive in the Windows 8 recovery application I quoted above.

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=HT076024

So I suppose we should use a 32GB drive just to be safe. Getting expensive.

 

The alternative is much less expensive (and cannot be overwritten and can be clearly labeled):

 

True, but then you can't copy the recovery partition in W8. 32GB USB 3.0 drives are currently available on Amazon (from Tiger) for $19.99 and free shipping.

I realize you've said you've never had to use recovery media, but if we are going to create them for safety's sake, I'd be interested in your thoughts on recovery media that includes the recovery partition vs. recovery media that doesn't. What are the risks of not including the recovery partition?

 

You don't COPY the recovery partition. You CREATE the recovery media from the recovery partition. (I'm not playing with words. I'm pointing out a potential misunderstanding of a technical operation.)

I always create the recovery media whevever I take ownership of a brand new notebook, be it Lenovo ThinkPad or Dell Precision or HP EliteBook. To be precise, I always use DVDs, label them properly, put them together in a zip-loc bag, and leave them in the original shipping box. Such DVDs are not re-writable to prevent any stupid temptation of "repurposing." As a matter of principle, I never use USB flash drives for this purpose.

Whether I will ever need to use such recovery media is irrelevant. (I also keep the stock HDD in the shipping box. When I decide to sell a notebook, which is rather rare, I simply put that HDD back in.)

Huh?

Speaking of ThinkPad running Windows 7: The recovery media, once correctly created, can be used to image a drive (HDD or SSD), causing it to contain information identical to that which was originally supplied by the factory when the notebook was shipped. Such information includes the factory recovery partition.

 

I sorry I don't remember where I saw it in the last week or so and don't have time to look for it now, but I read somewhere that there were problems creating bootable Lenovo recovery on 3.0 USB drives -- successfully completed recovery USB 3.0 drives would not boot.

Really, for a one-time use item that hopefully will be stored and never used (or used rarely) it seems a waste to pay extra for a 3.0 drive.

 

I deviate slightly from Kaso's method. I create the disk set like he does, but I don't store the disks in the box, because those boxes typically end up in the garage or attic. Where I live, the disks will melt in the summer.

So I keep the disk set in a locked file cabinet in an air conditioned location. I also take an extra step. Sometimes I use WinImage or another tool to create .ISO files of the disks in case the disk set gets damaged.

 

I'm still thinking of using USB for my one-time recovery and using Acronis (or contacting Lenovo for disks) for DVD backup too. Two quickies if anyone know:

Is 16GB drive big enough for Win7 64bit backup or do I need 32GB?

Does the Tx30 series recovery program require that the USB drive have a Windows7 created active partition done as described here for older T-series units?

Thanks in advance.

 

Yeah, I keep such files, with detailed names, in the "Factory Images" folder on a large external drive dedicated to application installers and such.

If you use Acronis, you save the backup as a file on an external drive. (Such a backup file, while serving the equivalent purpose, is not the same as the Lenovo recovery media.)

I think 16GB is enough. The 3 recovery data DVDs take up about 10GB or so. (The first CD/DVD is boot, which is quite small.)

Waiting to hear from someone with real experience using flash drive...

 

I'm not playing with words either -- I'm using MS's exact words -- but there is a lack of communication, probably on my part.

I'm talking solely about Windows 8 and its utility to create recovery media. The first decision one makes on the first screen of that utility is to check or not check the box that says: " Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive." I am interpreting the recovery partition to be the 10 gb partition by that name on my HD per Disk Manager.

If you "copy" that partition, the W8 utility only allows you to use a USB. If you don't "copy" the partition, then you can use a ten times smaller USB flash drive or DVD's.

My interpretation is that if I check "copy" I would get on the USB (only) recovery media most or all of the 25gb of factory installed stuff in the HD partition called C Drive plus the 10GB partition called Recovery Partition. I further assume that if I don't check the "copy" box, I then don't end up with the 10gb Recovery Partition on the recovery disks. And I finally assume that the absence of the 10gb Recovery Partition is what allows you to use a much less capacious recovery medium.

If you read the Lenovo documentation I linked, you will see that the last step of the W8 recovery media utility gives you the option to delete the 10 gb Recovery Partition from your HD to free up space (but Lenovo advises against it).

If you have a different interpretation of what MS means by "Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive.", I'm anxious to hear it, as I will be doing this procedure in two weeks on my newer 530.

BTW, as I only partially understand it from the User Guide, machines with W8 pre-installed can do recoveries via W8 itself by two related W8 procedures, one called "refresh" and the other called "reset". Refresh wipes the HD of everything except the original factory load, apps you installed from the Windows stores, and your data. Reset wipes everything except the original factory load. I'm assuming both of these functions could be inoperable if the HD gets nuked, so recovery media of some kind are still wise.

 

Got it. The Windows 8 utility allows you to save the recovery partition itself to the external drive in addition to creating the recovery media.

Now, I have the proper context to understand your earlier question regarding whether or not to opt for copying the recovery partition. My answer to that question would be: no.

I would opt to delete it.


Supplement A: Windows 8 has not entered my life. Maybe not for a while.

Supplement B: As I expressed my view months ago in this forum, I find the current scheme of "creating recovery media" antiquated, complicated and not very useful. The use of flash drives and DVDs is getting ridiculous. Better tools have recently been available to do full image backup/restore in a more efficient manner.

 

Thank you. I'd like to understand why you say no. But let me try to contruct the rationale. If the recovery partition (THE CREATOR) is not on the recovery media, then it will not be on a future target drive onto which the recovery media may be restored. Therefore, that future drive will have no CREATOR and cannot propagate itself. But that doesn't matter, because if it craps out we still have the original recovery media to restore to a second future hard drive.

Now as to the issue of deleting the CREATOR from the original source drive, such as 180gb SSD. If we delete the CREATOR from the source drive after creating our CREATOR-less recovery media, we will have accomplished two things. First, we will have freed up 10gb on that puny 180 (decimal) gb SSD source. Second, we will have created a universe totally devoid of THE CREATOR.

Now that's not solely a significant eschatological problem; it's also a computer science problem. Because the Lenovo support document I linked says that if you delete the recovery partition from the source drive, you will lose the ability to do the spiffy new W8 "refresh" and "reset" functions. So one must weigh the advantages of those functions against the gain of 10gb of space.

Us high tech early adopters -- AKA Alices stumbling blindly into a hole -- kind of figured that when you told me to click the spinning orb to get to the search box to look for Disk Management. There is no start button or start menu in W8. That, no rhetoric needed, is truly causing mass drama and trauma among both the cognoscenti and the masses. Those of us who have only been on XP, and never understood a darn thing about it, have little problem with a more playful operating system we similarly don't understand. Actually the W8 start button is simply over in the other corner, hiding on what Apple called the dock 15 years ago.

And Lenovo, bless its heart, has added its own bloaticon to serve as start button. You push it and you get a Lady Gaga impression of the old start menu and search bar -- which, however, couldn't find Disk Management. Boo to Lenovo's programmers. So Alice had to proceed through W8nderland in search of the real search bar.

 

It may have taken Lenovo over a month to ship the laptop but the customer service is great. I called yesterday to get an extra recovery disk set and I received it in less then 24 hours. Thanks to everyone who helped.

 

Awesome!

(Atlanta usually gets the CRU parts delivered next business day.)

 

Could someone tell me if this would work? It is suppose to let you reset the Levono Recovery program.



"Process Monitor reveals that recovburncd.exe reads the file Q:\FactoryRecovery\RECOVERY.INI ONE before bugging out. The colon indicates the use of an alternate File Stream. After a recovery image has been created, this stream contains the string 1\r\n. Deleting the stream does not work, but replacing the stream contents with the string 0\r\n works. This can be done from the command prompt:

echo 0 > Q:\FactoryRecovery\RECOVERY.INI one"

 

That scheme is outdated. (It was possible to reset the Done flag, but after that finding was widely shared, Lenovo replaced that INI file with some obscure mechanism.)

 

Thanks Kaso, I think I'll put out the white flag on this every happening haha