Create installation media for Windows

You can use installation media (a USB flash drive or DVD) to install a new copy of Windows, perform a clean installation, or reinstall Windows 10.

To create installation media, go to the software download website, where you’ll find step-by-step instructions. On that website, you can select a version of Windows and create your own installation media using either a USB flash drive or a DVD. To go directly to one of the versions, select one of these links:

Windows 10 (Then select Download tool now.)

Important: Back up your files before you install or reinstall Windows on your PC. Learn how for Windows 10 or for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.

To create the installation media, here’s what you’ll need:

A PC with a reliable internet connection. The download time will vary, depending on your internet connection.

A USB flash drive or DVD. A blank USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of space, or a blank DVD (and DVD burner). We recommend using a blank USB or blank DVD because any content on it will be deleted. When burning a DVD from an ISO file, if you’re told the disc image file is too large, you’ll need to use dual layer (DL) DVD media.

A product key. Your 25-character product key (not required for digital licenses). For help finding it, go to Find your Windows product key.

After you’ve created the installation media, you can reset or reinstall Windows. To learn more, go to Recovery options in Windows 10.

How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC

Note: For information about this topic in Windows 10, see Recovery options in Windows 10.

If you’re having problems with your PC, you can:

Refresh your PC to reinstall Windows and keep your personal files and settings. Refresh also keeps the apps that came with your PC and the apps you installed from the Microsoft Store.

Reset your PC to reinstall Windows but delete your files, settings, and apps—except for the apps that came with your PC.

Restore your PC to undo recent system changes you’ve made.

If you’re having trouble starting (booting) your PC, see Windows Startup Settings (including safe mode), and go to the “Get to Windows Startup Settings in the Windows Recovery Environment” section. You can refresh, reset, or restore your PC from the Windows Recovery Environment.

If you want to back up and restore your personal files using File History, see Set up a drive for File History.

Before you start to refresh or reset your PC

In most cases, once you start to refresh or reset your PC, it’ll finish on its own. However, if Windows needs missing files, you’ll be asked to insert recovery media, which is typically on a DVD disc or thumb drive. If that happens, what you’ll need depends on your PC.

If your PC came with Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, you’ll need the discs or thumb drive that came with your PC. Check the info that came with your PC to see if your PC manufacturer provided these discs or media. In some cases, you might have created them when you first set up your PC.

If you don’t have either of those, you can make them if you have a USB thumb drive of 16 GB or larger. Having a recovery drive can help you troubleshoot and fix problems with your PC, even if it won’t start. For more info, see Create a USB recovery drive.

If you upgraded your PC to Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 with a DVD, use that disc. If you don’t have Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 media, contact Microsoft Support.

Refresh, reset, or restore

Select any of the following for more detailed info.

If your PC isn’t performing as well as it once did, and you don’t know why, you can refresh your PC without deleting any of your personal files or changing your settings.

Note: If you upgraded your PC from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 and your PC has a Windows 8 recovery partition, refreshing your PC will restore Windows 8. You’ll need to upgrade to Windows 8.1 after the refresh has finished.

Warning: Apps you installed from websites and DVDs will be removed. Apps that came with your PC and apps you installed from Microsoft Store will be reinstalled. Windows puts a list of removed apps on your desktop after refreshing your PC.

To refresh your PC

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)

Tap or click Update and recovery, and then tap or click Recovery.

Under Refresh your PC without affecting your files, tap or click Get started.

Follow the instructions on the screen.

If you want to recycle your PC, give it away, or start over with it, you can reset it completely. This removes everything and reinstalls Windows.

Note: If you upgraded your PC from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 and your PC has a Windows 8 recovery partition, resetting your PC will restore Windows 8. You’ll need to upgrade to Windows 8.1 after the reset has finished.

Warning: All of your personal files will be deleted and your settings will be reset. All apps that you installed will be removed. Only apps that came with your PC will be reinstalled.

To reset your PC

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)

Tap or click Update and recovery, and then tap or click Recovery.

Under Remove everything and reinstall Windows, tap or click Get started.

Follow the instructions on the screen.

Note: You’ll be asked to choose whether you want to erase data quickly or thoroughly. If you choose to erase data quickly, some data might be recoverable using special software. If you choose to erase data thoroughly, this will take longer but it makes recovering data less likely.

If you think an app or driver that you recently installed caused problems with your PC, you can restore Windows back to an earlier point in time, called a restore point. System Restore doesn’t change your personal files, but it might remove recently installed apps and drivers.

System Restore isn’t available for Windows RT 8.1.

Windows automatically creates a restore point when you install desktop apps and new Windows updates, if the last restore point is older than 7 days. You can also create a restore point manually at any time.

To restore your PC to an earlier point in time

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.)

Enter Control Panel in the search box, and tap or click Control Panel.

Enter Recovery in the Control Panel search box, and then tap or click Recovery.

Tap or click Open System Restore, and then follow the instructions.

If you need additional help refreshing, resetting, or restoring your PC, check out the Repair and Recovery community pages in the Windows forum for solutions that other people have found for problems they’ve experienced.

Creating recovery files to use for RESTORE, not REFRESH in Windows 8.1.

I have a notebook computer that has Windows 8.1 installed (it’s not the same one that I wrote about recently with regard to the Windows 8 updates). I installed a new SSD a couple of years ago, and through a mistake, I ended up not copying the recovery partition from the original hard drive. The original hard drive has since been wiped and used for something else.

I know that I can create a custom recovery image, but that can only be used to Refresh, not Restore. This is also essentially the same thing as a system image backup, which I do monthly. My question concerns whether I can create a recovery image that can be used to restore, not just refresh, as in basically installing a fresh copy of Windows 8 (because it originally came with Windows 8 and 8.1 was installed through the Windows Store). I have no installation media, as it originally came with a recovery partition, and I’m don’t want to spend $45 on the recovery media from the manufacturer, and I don’t want to buy either Windows 8 or 8.1. I had upgraded to Windows 10, but Windows 10 didn’t run well on this machine, so I reverted back to Windows 8.1

So, again, is there any way I can create a custom recovery image that can be used to restore instead of refresh? Even more to be able to write it to a DVD or USB flash drive? My computer is acting buggy, and I’ve done everything I can to «clean» it and scan it, but nothing works.

Reset your Pc not working «Insert Media Some files are missing. Your windows installation or recovery medial will provide these files»

I am trying to use «Reset Your PC». After the computer thinks about it for a while it comes up with this error: «Insert Media Some files are missing. Your windows installation or recovery medial will provide these files» Then there is a «Cancel» button. and that is all that I can do.

I have two hard drives. One that has windows on it and windows programs. A second hard drive that has all my other programs on it. I install a third hard drive, and when I did it changed the volume letter of my second hard drive. I have followed the steps to change my volume drive back to the orignal letter, but that letter is not an option on the drop down menu. When I put the hard drive that has had the volume letter change into another computer it comes up as the correct volume letter drive:

So. I need to run my programs. I tried to re-install or un-install a few key programs, but I get an error that it can’t uninstall, and it can’t install because it first tries to uninstall. (example I get the error message «Errror «Program name» is not a valid short file name» and then it cancels the un-install when I hit the «ok» button.

I decided to just re-install windows and start fresh, but now I get this new error. «Insert Media Some files are missing. Your windows installation or recovery medial will provide these files»

My version of windows 8 Pro comes from an upgrade of windows 7, I was only given a key in my e-mail with No link to download any software.

I do not have an optical drive.

How do re-install a clean version of windows 8 with this error message?

Getting «Insert your Windows installation or recovery media to continue» error when resetting Windows

I’ve gone into settings and clicked on all of the reset options around about 10 mins after each other its showing up with

«Reset your PC

insert your Windows installation or recovery media to continue»

,but i don’t have them.

What Can I do? Please reply

Replies (3) 

Thank you for posting your question on Microsoft community.

I would like to know some information about the issue so that we could help you better.

1. What is the reason of resetting Windows?
2. What is the make and model of your laptop?

I appreciate you for providing details about the issue.

If you do not have any installation media, you may create it by using steps provided in this article.
Refer:
Create installation media for Windows 8.1
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media

However, all of your personal files will be deleted and your settings will be reset. All apps that you installed will be removed. Only apps that came with your laptop will be reinstalled.

I hope this information helps.

Please reply with required information and do let us know if you need any further assistance.

13 people found this reply helpful

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Thank You Ratandeep For Replying To Me.

My Reason to reset my Laptop is because I just need to try and get rid of a virus i Think I Have On There And I Have Everything i need on a memory stick. Even with an Anti-virus sysem on there it wont go. Anyway there wasn’t much in there when i tried to get reset as it had been into repair a week or to before.My Laptop model Is A Packard Bell EasyNote TE. As i am on my Phone how can i get the installation media onto my computer? .

Please repy again , Ben Slade

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Thank you for your response.

Does your computer boot to the desktop and connect to the Internet?

You need another Windows machine to create an installation media.

As you mentioned that the computer is infected by a virus, and if it boots to the desktop and connect to the Internet, I would suggest you to run Microsoft safety scanner and check if it removes the virus.
Refer:
Microsoft safety scanner
http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

Note: Any data files that are infected may only be cleaned by deleting the file entirely, which means there is a potential for data loss.

I hope this helps.

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