What is a digital storm recovery USB?
A digital storm recovery USB is a bootable USB drive created by PC manufacturer Digital Storm that contains a copy of the Windows operating system, drivers, and utilities to recover or reinstall Windows on a Digital Storm computer (Digital Storm Forum). It serves as a backup recovery solution in case the Windows installation becomes corrupted or unusable.
The main purpose of the Digital Storm recovery USB is to provide a way to restore the original Windows version, drivers, apps, and settings that came pre-installed on a new Digital Storm PC. It allows resetting the computer back to a clean, factory default state if needed. The recovery USB contains all the necessary files and system information specific to that computer model to reinstall Windows from scratch. This makes it more customized than a generic Windows installation media.
Having the recovery USB enables fixing software issues, recovering from malware/ransomware, or reinstalling Windows if the main system drive fails. It’s an important backup tool for recovering a Digital Storm PC without relying on external installation media or recovery partitions which may get corrupted. The USB contains specialized utilities from Digital Storm for diagnosing system problems, refreshing the PC, and backing up user files.
When should I use a recovery USB?
There are several scenarios where using a recovery USB can be very helpful in repairing and restoring your Windows computer:
If your computer won’t boot at all or keeps crashing/restarting, a recovery USB allows you to boot into a recovery environment separate from your main Windows installation. From there, you can run diagnostics, access system restore points, or reinstall Windows to try and fix the issues preventing normal startup.
If your Windows installation becomes corrupted or infected with malware to the point of being unusable, a recovery USB provides a quick way to fully reinstall Windows and start fresh. This is often faster than trying to repair a badly damaged Windows installation.
If you replace your computer’s hard drive or migrate your Windows installation to a new drive, a recovery USB makes it simple to install Windows on the new drive and get back up and running quickly.
If you forget your Windows password, a recovery USB can help you reset or recover your login credentials so you can access your system again.
In summary, any major system issue that prevents you from using Windows normally is a good time to consider booting from a recovery USB to quickly get your computer working again.
Creating a recovery USB
Here are the steps to create a bootable recovery USB drive on Windows:
- Open the Start menu and search for “Create a recovery drive” and select the result.
- In the tool that opens, make sure “Back up system files to the recovery drive” is checked.
- Plug in a USB flash drive with at least 8GB of storage capacity.
- The tool will prompt you to select the USB drive. Click it to continue.
- You’ll get a notification that everything on the drive will be deleted. Click “Create” to proceed.
- The recovery files and a recovery partition will be copied to the USB drive. This may take 10-15 minutes.
- Once completed, you can safely eject the USB drive. You now have a bootable recovery drive.
For more details, refer to Microsoft’s guide on creating a recovery drive.
Booting from the recovery USB
To boot from the recovery USB on a Windows PC, follow these steps:
- Insert the recovery USB into any USB port on your computer.
- Restart your computer. As it is restarting, press the boot menu key, which is typically F12, Esc, or one of the F keys like F2 or F10 depending on your PC model. Refer to your computer’s manual if unsure. [1]
- Select the USB drive from the boot menu. It may be labeled as “USB” or with the drive name.
- The computer will now boot from the recovery USB instead of the hard drive.
If your computer boots directly into Windows without a boot menu, you’ll need to change the boot order in your BIOS. Access the BIOS setup menu on startup and move “USB” or your flash drive name to the top of the boot order list. [1]
Once set as the first boot device, restart your PC with the recovery USB inserted and it will boot from the USB drive automatically.
Using recovery options
Windows includes several system recovery options that can help restore your PC if it becomes unstable or unusable. The main recovery options available are System Restore, Startup Repair, System Image Recovery, Automatic Repair, and Reset This PC 1.
System Restore allows you to revert your system files and settings to an earlier point in time, which can be useful if a recent software change caused problems. Startup Repair will automatically diagnose and fix common issues that prevent Windows from starting properly.
System Image Recovery lets you restore your entire system from a backup image file. Automatic Repair will kick in automatically on boot to try and fix startup issues. Reset This PC offers various options to reinstall Windows or reset to factory default settings.
To access the recovery options screen in Windows 10 and 11, press the Shift key while clicking the Restart option in Settings. Advanced startup options can also be accessed by pressing F11 on boot or from the Troubleshoot option in Settings 2.
The recovery tools provide a great way to rescue an unbootable or problematic Windows system. However, it’s still important to regularly back up your data as a precaution.
Reinstalling Windows
Here are the steps to reinstall the Windows operating system using the recovery USB drive:
1. Insert the recovery USB drive into your computer and restart it. As it boots, press the appropriate key (F2, F12, Del, etc.) to access the boot menu.
2. From the boot menu, select the recovery USB drive as the boot device. This will load the recovery environment.
3. On the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC. This will start the process of reinstalling Windows.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions. Choose to keep personal files or remove everything – whichever is appropriate for your situation. The reinstallation process will take some time to complete.
5. Once finished, Windows will be reinstalled fresh, while retaining your personal files if you chose that option. You can now remove the recovery USB and restart back into Windows.
Sources:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/recovery-options-in-windows-10-31ce2444-7de3-818c-d626-e3b5a3024da5
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/revive-windows-10-with-a-recovery-drive
Backing up files
Before reinstalling Windows, it is crucial to back up your personal files and data to avoid losing them during the process. Here are some tips for backing up your files before reinstalling Windows 1:
Back up your personal files and documents like photos, videos, music, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, etc. You can copy these files to an external storage device like a USB drive or external hard drive. Or use a cloud storage service like OneDrive or Google Drive to backup your files online.
Make sure to back up any customized settings, bookmarks, or preferences for your applications and web browsers. For example, exporting your browser bookmarks to a file.
Back up important system files and drivers that you may need after reinstalling Windows. Go to Control Panel > Backup and Restore > Create a system image and create a full system image backup to an external hard drive.
Use the built-in Windows Backup and Restore utility or third party backup software like Macrium Reflect to easily backup your files, applications, system settings, and disk image 2.
Store your backup files somewhere safe like an external hard drive that you can disconnect and set aside during the Windows reinstallation process.
Double check that your backup was successful before reinstalling Windows. Losing data is much worse than taking the time to do a proper backup.
Restoring files after Windows reinstall
If you have backed up your important files before reinstalling Windows, you can restore them afterwards. Here are the steps to restore files from a backup:
1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the location of your backup. This may be an external hard drive, USB flash drive, network location, or cloud storage like OneDrive.
2. Open the folder containing your backup. Find the files and folders you want to restore.
3. Select the files and folders, right-click and choose Copy.
4. Navigate to the location where you want to restore the files, right-click and choose Paste.
Alternatively, you can use the Previous Versions feature in Windows to restore files from a backup on an external drive. Right click the file or folder, select Restore previous versions, and choose a backup version to restore.
For OneDrive backups, simply open OneDrive and navigate to the files to download them back to your local PC. Files On-Demand can also restore files directly from the cloud.
Third-party backup tools like File History, Macrium Reflect or EaseUS Todo Backup also allow restoring files and folders from previous backups.
Just make sure to only restore files to locations where you want them permanently stored. Restoring files does not delete or overwrite your existing files.
Troubleshooting problems
Here are some solutions for common problems that may occur when using a recovery USB:
If the recovery USB is not booting or being detected properly, try using a different USB port on your computer. USB 3.0 ports are preferable. You can also try reformatting the USB drive and creating the recovery media again (source).
If you get an error that files cannot be accessed on the recovery USB, the drive may be corrupted. Try using USB recovery software to fix errors and recover data (source).
If the USB flash drive is not being recognized at all, there could be a physical issue with the drive. Look for solutions like using the USB repair tool in Windows or contacting the manufacturer for a replacement (source).
Be sure to backup any important data before attempting solutions that may erase the USB drive. If all else fails, recreate the recovery media on a new USB flash drive.
Alternatives to recovery USB
While a recovery USB is a useful tool, there are some alternative options for repairing and recovering your Windows PC without needing a separate USB drive:
System Restore is a built-in Windows feature that allows you to restore your PC back to an earlier state if something goes wrong. You can access System Restore from the Windows Recovery Environment by booting into safe mode or using advanced startup options. System Restore periodically creates restore points, so you can roll back to a previous restore point before issues occurred on your PC. https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/backup-system-files-to-recovery-drive.html
Startup Repair is another recovery option in the Windows Recovery Environment. It can automatically diagnose and fix common issues that may prevent Windows from starting up properly. Startup Repair will scan your PC for problems and attempt to repair the system files needed to start Windows.
Refreshing or resetting your PC in the Reset This PC advanced recovery option can reinstall Windows while keeping your personal files and settings, or perform a full factory reset. This allows you to recover your PC without a separate recovery drive.
Using a restore point from a backup service like Apple Time Machine or Windows File History can roll back your system to an earlier backed up state. Cloud backup services also keep historical copies of files that you may be able to restore.
Finally, you can reinstall Windows directly from the original installation media or recovery partitions on some PCs, without needing a recovery USB.