How to Use Restore from USB Tools and Recovery Drive (2018 or later)

How to Use Restore from USB Tools and Recovery Drive (2018 or later)

Introduction

From within Windows

Unable to access Windows

When your SSD / HDD dies

If you need to reinstall your Windows system to the state it originally had when it was received, we have a guide for you!

For Windows 10 systems that were ordered in 2017 or earlier, use this guide: How to use the Restore from USB tools and recovery drive

For Windows 7 systems with recovery DVDs, use this guide: How to restore using Windows 7 System Image Recovery

Starting mid-December 2017, we changed the way Windows is handled here in Puget Systems. Our new procedures are faster and lead to a more disciplined industry experience, as well as more secure and standardized backup and restore methods. For this reason, the system reset process has changed. This guide guides you through how to reset your system to factory settings. Please note that this will delete everything and reset the system as it was when it was shipped to you, with drivers and courtesy programs. Be sure to copy any data you care about first!

There are two different versions of this guide: one if the systems are capable of booting in Windows, and others for systems that are no longer able to boot to Windows - but where the same primary drive still works. If your system has a failed primary drive, either of these methods will not work. In this case, you will need to replace the drive and perform a new installation of Windows.

From within Windows

Use these steps when you have access to the Windows desktop environment after copying any data you care about to a different physical drive (not just a secondary partition on the same drive!):

Step 1:

Press the windows key or click the Start menu, type "reset" and select "Reset this PC".

Step 2:

On the next screen, select Restart Now under Advanced Startup.

Step 3:

This will quickly restart the system and bring you to the next screen where you want to select "Troubleshooting."

The fourth step:

Here you will choose the option "Puget Systems".

Step Five:

You will now select the disk you want to restore. Be careful here where data will be cleared from the selected disk. If you are unsure of your choice, please contact our support department before continuing.

To continue, click Restore and then Yes.

Step 6:

Accept the license agreement.

Step 7:

Press OK. "This step may take some time to complete, so please be patient.

Step 8:

When you're finished, you'll see this prompt:

Click "OK" and the system will restart.

Step Nine:

The system will restart again to the Advanced Startup screen.

Just click "Continue" and your system will start normally, after restoring factory settings that were originally shipped.

Unable to access Windows

If you are not able to access the Windows desktop environment, but the same drive is fine and the restore data is still intact, the following steps will allow you to restore the operating system and programs to factory conditions. This will erase all the data on the drive, so make sure you copy any data you care about to another physical drive (not just a secondary partition on the same drive!):

Step 1:

When the system is shut down, connect the USB drive of Puget Systems Tools to one of the USB ports on the computer.

Step 2:

Operating system while holding down the "F8" key. This will interrupt the normal boot process and take you to the list of introductory devices on the motherboard.

Step 3:

Once you access the list of boot devices, use the up and down arrow keys to select UEFI: Kingston Data Traveler.

Press "Enter" key to boot from the Puget Tools drive, which will provide access to the Windows restore process.

The fourth step:

You will now select the disk you want to restore. Be careful here where data will be cleared from the selected disk. If you are unsure of your choice, please contact our support department before continuing. To continue, click Restore and then Yes.

Step Five:

Accept the license agreement

Step 6:

Press OK. "This step may take some time to complete, so please be patient.

Step 7:

When you're finished, you'll see this prompt:

Click "OK" and the system will restart.

Step 8:

The system will restart again to the Advanced Startup screen.

Just click "Continue" and your system will start normally, after restoring factory settings that were originally shipped.

When your SSD / HDD dies

If the drive on which Windows is installed ("primary drive") has actually failed, or the drive portion on which the restore image was saved has been corrupted, the only option is to reinstall Windows. If a failed drive is present, it must also be replaced before you do so. We strongly recommend that you contact the support department before proceeding with something like this until you do so.