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Get the fix for the error <strong>We can't create a recovery drive on this PC</strong> on <strong>Windows 8</strong><strong> </strong>or<strong> Windows 8.1</strong>.
<h2>About "We can't create a recovery drive on this PC"</h2>
[kbintro]
<h3><span id="Description_and_Symptoms">Description and Symptoms</span></h3>
The error messages, alerts, warnings, and symptoms below are tied to this error.
<h4>Symptom 1: "We can't create a recovery drive on this PC"</h4>
After upgrading to Windows 8.1, when attempting to create a recovery USB with the Windows recovery drive utility, an error stating "We can't create a recovery drive on this PC" is shown on the screen. It may or may not be accompanied with other error details or warning texts:

&nbsp;
<blockquote><strong>We can't create a recovery drive on this PC</strong>

Some required files are missing. To troubleshoot problems when your PC can't start, use your Windows installation disc or media.</blockquote>
<h3>Causes of this Error</h3>
This error has been known to occur as a result of one or more of the following:
<h4>Cause 1: Missing recovery partition</h4>
On Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, a partition is set aside on the disk that contains a bootable recovery environment and is used to diagnose and repair issues with the PC. This partition is usually set aside by the computer manufacturer (OEM) at the time when the system image is created. This partition can be deleted or corrupted due to viruses, power loss, or disk failure.
<h4>Cause 2: Custom installation of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1</h4>
When manually installing Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 on a PC, the recovery partition is <em>not</em> created during Windows setup, and will be unavailable for Windows to access and use for the purposes of copying recovery files to a CD or USB, resulting in the error above.
<h4>Cause 3: Upgrade to Windows 8.1</h4>
It's been determined that under certain circumstances, an upgrade to Windows 8.1 will make the existing recovery partition on a PC incompatible with the Windows 8.1 update, and attempting to create a recovery drive or USB will fail with the above error message because the partition contains files incompatible with the current Windows installation.
<h2>Fixing "Some required files are missing" on Windows 8.1</h2>
[setupcd]
<h3>Fix #1: Manually provide the missing files</h3>
To fix the problem explained above, it is necessary to copy the appropriate files from the Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 DVD to your PC, so that Windows can access and use them to create the recovery drive. Then, the recovery agent is configured with the new path to the setup files and the creation can proceed.
<ol>
 	<li>Copy the contents of the Windows DVD to a folder on your C:\ drive. In the example below, the files are copied to C:\Win8.1\
<p class="warning">If you do not have a copy of the Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 DVD, you will not be able to follow the steps below, and you'll need to <a href="http://neosmart.net/EasyRE/">download a Windows 8.1 recovery CD</a> for your PC instead.</p>

[caption id="attachment_2511" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/09/Windows-8.1-Setup-Copied.png"><img class="wp-image-2511 size-medium" src="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/09/Windows-8.1-Setup-Copied-300x170.png" alt="The contents of the Windows 8.1 DVD have been copied to C:\Win8.1" width="300" height="170" /></a> The contents of the Windows 8.1 DVD have been copied to C:\Win8.1\[/caption]</li>
 	<li>Launch an elevated command prompt window by typing in "cmd" in the search menu, and then pressing <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Enter</kbd>.</li>
 	<li>Type in the following to re-configure Windows to point to the correct setup files location:
<pre>reagentc /disable
reagentc /setosimage /path C:\Win8.1\
reagentc /enable</pre>
</li>
 	<li>Verify the commands worked by typing in the following:
<pre>reagentc /info</pre>
</li>
</ol>
<h2>More Information</h2>
<h3>Linked Knowledgebase Entries</h3>
The errors below have been verified as being associated with or related to this problem:
<ul>
 	<li><a href="http://neosmart.net/wiki/windows-system-repair/">Creating a recovery disc on Windows</a>, a guide on creating a recovery CD or USB on Windows XP, Vista, 7, or 8.</li>
</ul>
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