Tutorials

Uninstall Windows 10 if you don’t like it

Got a problem with Windows 10, here's how to go back a version or two!

9 Oct 2015

Create your own recovery media

Recovery media, such as CDs and DVDs, are often supplied with a new computer. Alternatively, there may be a recovery partition on the hard drive. Both contain a copy of the PC as it was when it was first switched on. It is best to avoid using these unless there is no other option because they will take the PC too far back; for example, if you are using Windows 10, the recovery media might contain Windows 8 or 7, and it would require a large number of updates and upgrades to get your PC back to its Windows 10 setup.

To avoid this, you should create your own recovery media that contains a recent snapshot of the PC from when it is working properly. Backup software such as EaseUS Todo Backup Free (www.easus.com) can do this, and all you need is an external hard drive. Plug in the drive, run Todo Backup and click System Backup or Disk/Partition Backup. System Backup just copies drive C: containing Windows, whereas the Disk/Partition Backup tool copies the whole drive, even if there are other partitions. It is the slower of the two but is more thorough.

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Create a system backup and recovery media with EaseUS Todo Backup Free

The default settings are fine and, after selecting the external hard drive as the destination and starting the backup, the program can be minimised and left to do its job. Once that's done, you should create recovery media. This can be a CD or DVD, or a USB flash memory stick. Click the Tools icon and select Create Emergency Disk. There are several options and the best is Create WinPE emergency disk' and USB. Insert a memory stick with a capacity of at least 1GB.

The recovery disc or memory stick can be used to start the computer. You might need to press a function key, such as F9, to see a startup menu from which you can then select the memory stick. The restore software will then run automatically so you can restore the PC.