Question Restore problem

[Themolebowl900]

I have been trying to restore Windows 10 from a Windows backup image on an external usb drive. I boot my computer int o the bios and select my external boot/ repair drive and it boots into it. Next after selecting keyboard language, I select advanced options then restore from a backup, then windows 10. It then searches for a backup but does not find my second external drive with the image. And asks me to insert media with drivers for that drive. I ve tried it with two different backup drives but it sees neither. It’s seems to me that the windows 10 does not have even a generic driver on it. How in the world do I get it to see my drives? should I try to find a driver online and burn it to a cd? Can I drop a driver in a folder in windows on the boot repair drive? This is so frustrating. The bios sees all of the drives and if I boot up regularly into the widows 10 I am replacing it sees the drives. Just not the boot repair drive Windows 10 itself.

 

[Lafong]

It's been a long time since I even looked at that Windows imaging tool.

BUT...going from my rather dim memory, I think Windows may expect to find that image in a quite specific location. Rather than elsewhere, such as on an external drive.

I could be wrong...you may have something else going on.

The tool "works" if you know it is cranky and subject to limitations. That's why most have given up on it. Including Microsoft, who regards it as "deprecated" and suggests you use another backup method.

 

[TerryLaze]

I boot my computer int o the bios and select my external boot/ repair drive and it boots into it.

What exactly are you booting into there?! Normal recovery mode?

You can add drivers to it.
Windows does not have drivers for usb 3, I think, at least it didn't until some time, it could also need the chipset driver of the mobo to pick up everything that is connected to the mobo.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/w.../desktop/customize-windows-re?view=windows-11

 

[Themolebowl900]

Thanks I am not using usb3. Let me restate my original post for clarity. I have two external usb 2 back up drives. The contain the same windows 10 backups I made last October as well as backups for other computers. Plugged into the computer they both work fine and I can open all my folders, no problems.
I have another usb external drive with a boot/repair recovery made from windows 10. I attached this drive to the computer as well as one of the backup drives and reboot holding f12 into the bios and select the boot repair drive for startup. (FYI the bios sees all my drive just fine.) the boot repair opens fine. It asks me what language for my keyboard and I select English. It next gives me three options, exit and continue to window 10, troubleshoot my computer or turn off my computer. I select troubleshoot and get three new options, reset you pc (reinstall windows), recover from a drive. Which basically is the same as option one. Both reinstall windows. Or option three, advanced. In advanced I get five options, system restore which won’t help me, startup repair, go back to previous build, command prompt, or system image recovery…bingo. In system image recovery it asks if it is window 10. Good there. Here comes the issue…with me so far? I get an error message “windows cannot find a system image on this computer. Attach the backup hard disk or insert the final dvd from a back up set. Close this dialogue for more options” I close the dialogue and there is two options. The first is “use the latest image” then you can enter the location, date and time and computer. Unfortunately this option is greyed out. The second option is “ select a system image” which automatically checked. Next I get the dialogue “ select the location of the backup you want to restore. If the image is on an external device, attach the device and click refresh” okay seems all good. I attach either one of the two backup drives and hit refresh…….nothing happens. So I d click advanced and get “install a driver for the device attached to this computer but is not in the list of available images” finally after selecting that option I get a dialogue “ the insert the installation and click okay to select the driver. THERE ARE NO installation media. These drives did not come with installation media. What do I do to get the drivers they want. Obviously when I boot from windows it has generic drivers! The drives as stated above open fine. Do I go into windows and try to locate the drivers folder and burn it to a dvd disk? This is typical Microsoft turdness.

 

[Themolebowl900]

Now if I click okay on the “insert media” dialogue it opens the system 32 folder that I assume is on the boot repair windows disk. Now there is a folder named drivers in there. I suppose, not knowing driver names I could spend a day selecting each one to see if one of them works. Doubtful. I went to the web page of one manufacturer but had no luck finding a driver

 

[Themolebowl900]

When I hover over each driver in the sys32 driver folder it displays the driver info. But I don’t know what I’m looking for.

 

[Themolebowl900]

I’m a bit further. In device manager I found the windows drivers for the drives. In the driver folder in sys 32 I copied them. There were three for my transcend drive. Now I’m just pondering can I put them on my boot repair disk or burn them to a disk or what?

 

[Themolebowl900]

Well another baby step. I burned the drivers to a disk and when prompted to insert the installation media to select driver and tried open them I got a dialogue “the specified location does not contain information about you hardware” back to the drawing board.

 

[Themolebowl900]

You know, I have been dealing with this crap since windows very beginning. Microsoft hopefully in not involved in anything NASA does or we will never get to Mars much less Newark New Jersey. They can not create backup and restore software that actually works, never have. With new bios, UEFI, they destroyed my windows 10 SSD drive. Once I put it in the new windows 11 computer, it was not seen and when I put it back in my old 10 computer..no boot. So yeah, they shit on my drive. How about they fix my drive, I’ll mail it to them. If I had that drive at least I could keep my legacy system working. Oh and thanks to all of you who have said just move to windows 11. Are you going to pay for all my new recording software and plugins as well as a new audio interface since they dropped FireWire. I will give you my postal address to send 10 k. Yeah 10 k, that’s at minimal the cost. Not to mention all of the creative tools that I will not be able to use cause they taint supported. And for those who want to bash apple. Bring it on. They never cause me this kind of bullshit. Yeah, for 10k I would have something that works from them. Lastly I know everyone here means well and I thank you. No one one has given much help but your trying.