[basurtoisaac]

Hi all,

What is recovery image? under which circumstances should it be used?

My surface pro 3 has been acting up as of late. Ive tried refreshing and factory resetting it but it still acting buggy. An MS rep told me about this but didn't explain himself correctly.

Thanks!

[spaulagain]

It's just an image or copy of your original install. It's helpful if your computer has suddenly become slow, buggy, or corrupt from virus, etc.

Using it will restore the computer back to it's original state when the image was made.

[basurtoisaac]

It's just an image or copy of your original install. It's helpful if your computer has suddenly become slow, buggy, or corrupt from virus, etc.

Using it will restore the computer back to it's original state when the image was made.

Thanks for the response. What's the difference between recovery image and factory reset?

[Guzzler3]

The biggest difference in using a recovery drive(USB Thumbdrive) is that you have the option to COMPLETELY wipe the drive and take it back to a factory image. This is useful because there could be cell corruption on the SSD, that even using the 'trim' command can't catch.

I ran across this with my SurfaceRT. I kept getting weird glitches even after doing a reset. Fortunately I ALWAYS make a recovery drive as soon as get a new device and put it in a safe place. I connected the USB recovery drive, booted off it, and had it wipe the SSD, then restore to factory. My SurfaceRT has been happy ever since.

The moral is, ALWAYS make a recovery drive ASAP after you get a new device. Mark it, and store it in a safe place. Even better is to make 2 drives (belts and suspenders).

[spaulagain]

Thanks for the response. What's the difference between recovery image and factory reset?

Factory reset just clears the OS of your account, etc. But the OS and any damage by a virus could, and probably still is there. Sometimes a factory reset might work. But usually that's there for when you are selling or giving the device to someone else. Recovery image wipes everything. It's basically like reinstalling the OS, but simpler because your placing the "installed" image on the HD. And not having to actually re-install the OS.

[tweedie]

ALWAYS make a recovery drive ASAP after you get a new device. Mark it, and store it in a safe place.

Any recommendation what software you used to backup (and used for restoring) recovery drive? In the pass, I've used clonezilla, but doesn't play nicely nor is it ui friendly. Would like to backup to usb really.

[Guzzler3]

I use an ISO creator software IsoCreator | SourceForge.net. I just have to remember to change the volume name from "bunny wabbit" to something more appropriate.

[basurtoisaac]

Thank you for all the replies. Very helpful!