Pre-installed Windows 8 hard drive crash recovery, best practices

[Rudy91]

I just bought a Lenovo desktop with windows 8 pre-installed that came with no recovery disc.
Manufacturer does not have recovery software for windows 8 ready yet that preserves my files/programs/partition mods. Their tools only restore a factory configuration at this time. While I am considering modifying partitions to suit my needs on the 1TB hard drive and installing my own software, I presently have no understood method to create my own recovery tools that will allow me to overcome a fatal hard drive crash and not having to be set back to factory settings.
All web info I have seen is talking about "Recovering Methods" and how to make recovery discs etc., but they all leave out the critical piece that allows one to start with a bare new hard drive (as in the old drive went up in smoke).
Is there anybody out there who has created a fully functional hard drive from scratch by using "RECOVERY DISCS" made with tools in windows 8?
I am trying to avoid having to buy yet more costly software.
Thanks for any useful tips.

[Jessalyn]

You can use Windows Recovery for that. It is a internal utility through which you can create a image file of your existing partition. It works well. First make partitions as per your need. Then go in Control Pane > System Security > Backup and Restore. On the left bar you can find Create a System Image. Click on that. Choose the Windows Partition. Windows might automatically choose that. You can store the system image on a disc or on a separate partition.

To restore go in same Control Panel and on the top right search box type Recovery. In that click on Advance Recovery and then click on Use a system image you created earlier to recover your computer. That's all.

[Rudy91]

Jessalyn,
Thank you very much for the info.
I am still very new to Windows 8 and going through this for the first time is very tedious.

Two clarifying questions:
1) My disk has 5 partions (factory image) to which I plan on adding one more (total of 6). Do I follow your path as outlined for a total of 6 rounds, one for each partition, saving them one by one as an image to a DVD or CD, or is there a way to image the whole drive as one operation?
When building the new drive, the partitions have to be laid down as one image, I think?

2) Fast forward. I now had to replace my hard drive. Your suggested steps appear to assume there is a working copy of windows 8 already on the new drive I just installed, which it is not. How would I use Windows Recovery?
If I make an image of the system partition, does this imply this (CD or DVD) media is bootable and thus one can use Windows recovery from that media?

In other words, what is the end-to-end process to make bootable recovery media for your whole drive and then be able to use it to build a new replacement drive with all your files intact. Do the Windows 8 tools support this and how?
Thanks!

[Jessalyn]

1) My disk has 5 partions (factory image) to which I plan on adding one more (total of 6). Do I follow your path as outlined for a total of 6 rounds, one for each partition, saving them one by one as an image to a DVD or CD, or is there a way to image the whole drive as one operation?
When building the new drive, the partitions have to be laid down as one image, I think?

For saving the whole drive you will have to use different software like Acronis. Because Windows Recovery does not support that. You can backup on y C drive (Windows Partition) and leave others. When you restore only C drive is restored. Others will be not touched. This is good to keep your data safe. If you backup the entire drive and restore, you will lost all data saved on other partitions. I had purchased a Dell Vostro laptop recently. It was having a single 500GB partition with Windows in it. Using Disk Management I created 3 more. The C Drive is now 80GB with Windows in it. The total space consumed is 12GB including all software like Microsoft Office, Web Browser and Antivirus. I had copied the entire backup on a DVD. The recovery creates bootable disc.

2) Fast forward. I now had to replace my hard drive. Your suggested steps appear to assume there is a working copy of windows 8 already on the new drive I just installed, which it is not. How would I use Windows Recovery?
If I make an image of the system partition, does this imply this (CD or DVD) media is bootable and thus one can use Windows recovery from that media?

Yes you can restore your system through the CD/DVD created. Windows Recovery create bootable disc. There are two ways to restore. First booting your system from the DVD created which has system image. Second if you had copied the system image in other partiton, you can boot from regular Windows 8 DVD and click on System Repair. It will ask you for the location of System Image created earlier.

[Rudy91]

Ok, I think I understand.
Briefly re-worded:
If your hard drive fails/needs replacement and your computer has ANY other partitions than C:, you will loose all prior partitions and along with that all manufacturer supplied services, functions and data. You only get your C: partition back on the new hard drive that Win 8 tools will help establish with everything you had in it before.
Having said that, what about the "hidden" system partition Win 8 uses to store protected files for troubleshooting? Does one get that one back as well by making/using the recovery media for the C: partition?

[Jessalyn]

You can only get that back if you copy the entire hard drive not single partition. At the time of making recovery image, backup the entire hard drive including all partition. For that you have to use advance recovery software like Norton Ghost or Acronis.

[Rudy91]

Understood, Thank you kindly.
Moderator, this thread can be closed.