Create a custom windows refresh image

[Stjohn Russell]

Windows 8 comes with a new feature(Known as a refresh) which allows you to restore your entire system back to its original state (keeps user data and settings) This process by default basically is a clean install of windows (except for user data and settings) all of your installed programs and apps are removed. This can be an irritation as you will have to re-install these programs which can be a rather lengthy process. In this tutorial ill show you how to use a program called recimg.exe to create a custom image which can be used to restore your PC with your important programs installed. recimg.exe will create an exact copy of your current system (Programs,Settings,Drivers,Data).

These images can be rather large so you will need 20 GB+ of free space.

Step 1

Create a new folder in which you will store these images

e.g. 'F:\ImageBackup'

Step 2

Press Windows key + X key to open the Power User Tasks menu and select Command Prompt (Admin)



Step 3

When createing a custom windows image using recimg.exe the following syntax is used

recimg.exe /createimage "Path"

So type in command prompt

recimg.exe /createimage "Path" (The path must be inside the quotes " ")

e.g.

recimg.exe /createimage "F:\ImageBackup"

Now hit enter

The image will now be saved and registered (Takes awhile)



With the image now registered windows knows that when doing a refresh it must use that image instead of the default image.