Solved | A Problem Occurred While Creating the Recovery Drive

The issue: a problem occurred while creating the recovery drive

“I have just bought Dell XPS 15 9550 this January and decided to make a recovery drive recently. The problem is that no matter what USB (of course larger than 16GB) I'm using, I just cannot get the recovery drive successfully. Every time the process ends up with sentence saying ‘a problem occurred while creating the recovery drive’.

I have installed all the available updates for my model and the problem still exists. Is there anyway to fix the problem?”

How to fix a problem occurred while creating the recovery drive easily

First, you should know that backing up system files to the recovery drive will require a large-capacity USB flash drive (at least 8-16 GB is enough). Please make sure you are using a USB drive that has enough room. Then, you can refer to following methods to fix recovery drive creation failed:

Method 1: fully format the USB flash drive

The problem that creating recovery drive in Windows 10 fails may result from a corrupted drive. In this situation, you can run full format for the drive (not quick format). Follow the guidance below:

1. Plug-in your USB drive and open File Explorer. Right click on the USB drive and select Format….

2. Keep the same File system and Allocation unit size, but make sure to uncheck the box before Quick Format. Confirm the settings and click Start.

3. You will receive a warning of data loss. Click OK to start formatting the drive.

4. Once the format is finished, recreate the recovery drive to see if it can be created successfully.

Method 2: repair system files

If Windows 10 can’t create a recovery drive successfully, it can also be caused by corrupted system files. In this case, you should follow the steps below to repair system files:

1. Hit Windows Key + X on your keyboard, and select Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu.

2. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter to verify and repair the OS.

3. Type exit and press Enter to exit Command Prompt.

4. Restart your computer and create the recovery drive again to check if the issue that a problem occurred while creating the recovery drive is solved.

Alternative way to create a recovery drive in Windows 11/10/8/7

If you are still unable to create recovery drive in Windows 10, the easiest way to fix the problem is to create the recovery drive with another tool. AOMEI Backupper Standard comes to help. It is easy to use and totally free!

• It allows you to create bootable media to start your computer when it can’t boot normally.
• Also, it enables you to make different types of backup including system backup, disk backup, file backup, etc.
• All Windows PC operating systems like Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP are supported.

Follow the instructions below to create a recovery drive via AOMEI Backupper:

Step 1. Connect a USB drive to your computer. Download, install and launch AOMEI Backupper. 

Step 2. Click "Tools" at the left panel and select “Create Bootable Media” on the right.

Step 3. In the pop-up window, choose bootable disc type and click “Next”. It is recommended to choose Windows PE so that you can access full functions of AOMEI Backupper.

Tip: The created disc will support both legacy/MBR and UEFI/GPT boot mode.

Step 4. Select “USB Boot Device” and click “Next”. You will receive a prompt to format your USB drive. Click “Yes” to start creating bootable media.

Notes:

• To boot from the USB recovery drive, you should change boot order in BIOS.

• You can also backup system to the recovery drive so that you can restore system from the system image when serious problems occur.

• To make a recovery partition instead of a recovery USB drive, you may use AOMEI OneKey Recovery.

Conclusion

You have learned two useful methods of fixing a problem occurred while creating the recovery drive. If the two methods won’t work for you, you can turn to AOMEI Backupper. It can not only help you create a recovery drive, but also enable you to sync a laptop and a desktop in Windows 10 and do sector by sector clone. Give it a try at once!