Solutions to majority of problems related to Restore/ Recovery / MSI F3 factory Reset

part0652157d02df said:
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I am using windows 11 and use the wrong way to install windows using USB, the recovery partition is still there but i cannot use it and how to rearrange partitions
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you may have to use mini partition tool, or any other partition manager software to copy the 2nd last 900mb partition before d drive. you may have to delete those 500 700 mb partitions in between d drive and c drive. but first confirm the current reagentc location and don't touch that partition.

But the thing i would like to ask first is, what exactly are you trying to achieve here?
 
Bsl K said:
But the thing i would like to ask first is, what exactly are you trying to achieve here?
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I have reinstalled windows with "destructive" method for a long time on my MSI GF63 Thin 11UD so I cannot use MSI Center
I think my laptop should be reset in factory state
 
after moving winRE partition and remove useless partitions, I used MSI F3 USB reset has this error
IMG-6868.jpg

and here is my partitions in my laptop
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Bsl K said:
Every steps seem fine, if its not working then perhaps you should try replacing the current winre.wim file with the one shared here.
you will have to enable "show hidden files", and turn off "hide protected os files" .
delete the winre.wim file from winre_tools partition inside \Recovery\WindowsRE folder, then add the file from above link. The instructions are given there as well.
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Hi, you have done what no one from MSI support could do. It's been over 3 years since I lost access to the original F3 factory recovery even though I still had the BIOS_RVY partition on my computer, but when I tried to access it I got the blue error screen. I have contacted MSI support over the years and they could never solve the problem, or did not understand me or did not want to do anything, and always sent me to download the usb recovery. It's like talking to a virtual assistant rather than a real person. Even with drawings I tried to make them understand that what I needed was to return the recovery option of my system as it came from the factory without using USB but using F3.
image.png
After reading your post I tried to understand the process and finally, after several years of frustration with MSI's bad support I managed to recover my recovery partition with your help and without using bootable USB:

IMG_20240622_195927.jpgIMG_20240622_194215.jpgIMG_20240622_194347.jpg
You don't know how happy I am. So much time of frustration exchanging emails with one of the worst technical support in the computer world finally came to an end all thanks to your help. Unfortunately I will never buy a MSI product again nor recommend it because the support and updates are terrible, they quickly discard the products and then they can't help you, you almost have to beg them to receive support and bad support because they don't solve anything, that's why this post is to thank you, I wish you the best in the world.
 
GF65 said:
Hi, you have done what no one from MSI support could do. It's been over 3 years since I lost access to the original F3 factory recovery even though I still had the BIOS_RVY partition on my computer, but when I tried to access it I got the blue error screen. I have contacted MSI support over the years and they could never solve the problem, or did not understand me or did not want to do anything, and always sent me to download the usb recovery. It's like talking to a virtual assistant rather than a real person. Even with drawings I tried to make them understand that what I needed was to return the recovery option of my system as it came from the factory without using USB but using F3.
View attachment 191272
After reading your post I tried to understand the process and finally, after several years of frustration with MSI's bad support I managed to recover my recovery partition with your help and without using bootable USB:

View attachment 191273View attachment 191274View attachment 191275
You don't know how happy I am. So much time of frustration exchanging emails with one of the worst technical support in the computer world finally came to an end all thanks to your help. Unfortunately I will never buy a MSI product again nor recommend it because the support and updates are terrible, they quickly discard the products and then they can't help you, you almost have to beg them to receive support and bad support because they don't solve anything, that's why this post is to thank you, I wish you the best in the world.
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I am happy that my post was helpful to you. Thanks for your kind words.
 
Okay this is my issue,

https://imgur.com/a/jW3Jkcu

It's 4 partition, partition 3 or the winre partiton is empty, but partition 4 which is the a actual recovery file, its intact... i deleted all the partitions and created them again... NOT partition 4. Tried USB F3 Recovery and it gives me an error about recovery2.exe and doesnt recover anything.

I am going crazy.
 
wiraj431915b702e7 said:
Hi All, I had the same problem with MSI CREATOR Z16, after update it to Win11, I tried to recover it to factory defaults, more over, I do a 3passes wipe data (secure delete) of main partition, and deleted Windows partition. All of these, did that I had "lost" my recovery partition, after a lot of searches, and thanks (in part of this post) I found a solution, here I post my solution:

Quick Summary:

1. I tried "http://download.msi.com/uti_exe/nb/F3_Recovery_USB.zip" (https://storage-asset.msi.com/global/picture/faq/10018812@2021-1014-1144-033323@kb_05211_en.pdf) but I cannot recover my RecoveryPartition due to the program said me:

1) Please make sure the disk partition’s layout is factory default setting
2) please make sure current OS HDD is in the master HDD place”

Then my problem was that I had not partitions properly.

2. Understand GPT Partitions: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/w...rue&view=windows-10#-createpartitions-uefitxt

F3_Recovery_USB necesito que todas las particiones sean exactamente del mismo tamaño y posiciones que cuando compré mi laptop, después de investigar mucho, encontré los tamaños y posiciones correctos.
1. Partition 1: EFI (300MB)
2. Partition 2: MSR (128MB)
3. Partition 3: Windows
4. Partition 4: Recovery (MSI)

3. The easy way to recreate correctly these partitions, is using DISKPART, and here I give you all commands, but before to do this, you have to DELETE all partitions that you have before MSI recovery partition (this will delete ALL YOUR DATA). And once you have this done, I used a Windows Media Tool (used to install a clean Windows10) and once I have to create all partitions, we can presh "SHIFT+F10", and we will an MSDOS window, when we could create all partitions.

(all sizes explained here, are for MSI Creator Z16, I don't know if in other laptops the Sizes are the same or not)

c:\diskpart
select disk 0
create partition efi size=300
format quick fs=fat32 label="System"
assign letter="S"
create partition msr size=128
create partition primary
format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows"
assign letter="W"
exit
exit

4. Once created all partitions, we have to continue Installing the CLEAN WINDOWS 10.

5. Once Windows 10 has installed, we will use again "F3_Recovery_USB" and now it will works!!

6. Restart laptop and your recovery we will start!

7. Enjoy your Recoverted OS with ALL drivers and applications ;)
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This worked for me lmao i cant believe it. nevermid, it stopped after 3 minutes.

Edit: Second attempt after installed windows 11 and recreated the first 3 partitions... it's been 120 minutes and it is not done. Help.
 
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Bsl K said:
after that continue installing windows 10 or 11. later after installing all the drivers , capture system image as in tutorial. and you will also have to replace the winre.wim file that i will teach you later. do it first and we will continue later.
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Hi, I need your help, I'm installing Win 11 on a new SSD, I got to this point, what's next to recover F3 factory?
 
ing.fora.gustav154202d7 said:
Hi, I need your help, I'm installing Win 11 on a new SSD, I got to this point, what's next to recover F3 factory?
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You need to create a recovery image on the previous SSD with MSI preinstalled system.
In MSI Center/Dragon Center, find MSI Recovery to do this.
Refer to the FAQ for detail steps: https://storage-asset.msi.com/global/picture/faq/10018337@2021-1112-0630-501772@kb_01779_en.pdf
*Remind: If you already deleted the preinstalled system on the previous SSD, you won't find MSI recovery function. It is only for MSI preinstalled system.
 
Bsl K said:
Show me your partition layout.
both from cmd and disk management.
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Bro I have same problem I unable recover through f3 recovery because I have pre-installed windows 11 but I don't like it then change it with windows 10 and I I deleted all partition now I can't use msi f3 recovery plz help me this Instagram @jzz_prince
 
princekumarnew7156902df said:
Bro I have same problem I unable recover through f3 recovery because I have pre-installed windows 11 but I don't like it then change it with windows 10 and I I deleted all partition now I can't use msi f3 recovery plz help me this Instagram @jzz_prince
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If you have deleted all your partitions, that means you lost all the backup files inside bios_rvy partition.
You can't recover it. If you want msi style f3 recovery then follow the tutorial. There is a section on what one can do if the recovery files have been deleted/lost bios_rvy partition.
 
ing.fora.gustav154202d7 said:
USB 😢
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I remember there was some problem with the recovery usb file. Don't worry you can force restart it. your computer should boot. it's just a bug or something.

let me ask you something first, you are using f3 recovery upgrade from msi and using the usb stick to recover the system, and you already have the untouched BIOS_RVY partition intact, right?
 
Bsl K said:
Hey MSI Enthusiast. Greetings..
Today, i am going to share the working solutions to the common problems faced by MSI users when it comes to MSI Factory reset/ Recovery. Since this post tries to address multiple problems, this going to be a little long post. bear with me..
I have MSI Prestige 15 A10SC, it had chinese windows 10 Home edition when i bought it. But now i have win 11 pro. I have changed the msi recovery image to latest win 11 manually. And MSI Factory Reset is still working with latest recovery image of win 11. Follow this post to learn on how to do it.

If you have one of these common problems then this post might help you
  1. 1. Accidently deleted Recovery partition (BIOS_RVY)
  2. 2. Get error " The recovery procedure from RecoveryDVD has not been successfully finished..."
  3. 2. F3 MSI factory reset option missing.
  4. 3. Multiple recovery partitions present like 900MB, 500MB, 300MB...
  5. 3. Want to use F3 msi factory reset but afraid that recovery files are old windows
Even if you are one who prefers clean install by windows bootable USB, rather than MSI F3 Factory reset because you think that factory reset will take you to older bloated windows, then i believe this post will be also helpful to you, because i am going to show you on how to manually change the factory reset files to latest windows so that you can get the latest reset of windows 11 rather than old windows 10. I think its better to have recovery on the go rather than USB, because it fast, only takes 4 minutes to reset. USB is for last resort only.

Don't underestimate MSI recovery software, its really useful. It is like "the power of sun in palm of your hand".

I am going to give you probable explanations and logic, and show how to do it. This is going to be a little long post so bear with me please.

PROBABLE CAUSE
-If you have accidently deleted Bios_Rvy partition, then don't worry. you don't need old backup files because i will show you how to manually create recovery partition and add latest image of your current windows which can be restored by f3 msi factory reset.
-If you get 2nd error, even if your recovery partition is intact then the most probable cause is the location of BIOS_RVY partition on your ssd.
-If f3 recovery option is missing, and has multiple small recovery partitions, most probably this is because you probably have clean installed windows by old traditional DESTRUCTIVE method from USB by formatting C drive and installing. Never do that, Please understand the logic behind it.

LEARN LOGIC
A/C to Microsoft, for GPT disk partition, it should be in following order. ( i am talking about partitions, not volume)
-[system-MSR-windows-winre], and then you can have other partitions like D, E ,F... See UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions

When we first buy MSI laptop, its in the same order.[system-MSR-windows-Winre tools-BIOS_RVY] check the attached image.
View attachment 157856

But as most of us like to shrink single C drive and create other partitions, this mess up the order and now your new partitions order will be like [system-MSR-windows-D-E....-Winre tools-BIOS_RVY]
View attachment 157857

Now this causes problem, when there is a major feature update, windows will create new winre partition next to C drive and orphan the older "Winre tool", where older recovery file was that contains f3 MSI factory reset option, resulting in loosing the F3 factory reset option. why windows does that? check MICROSOFT GPT PARTITION
So make sure that winre/ winre tool partition is just next to C. if not then manually do that. google it and you can do it yourself.

If you get the error " The recovery procedure from RecoveryDVD has not been successfully finished...", then its probably because BIOS_RVY partition is not the last partition. I had this problem, i made my partitions in order [system-MSR-windows-Winre tools-BIOS_RVY- D-E-F] which resulted in that error. Later i realized that BIOS_RVY partition should be the last one for MSI recovery dvd software to detect it. later i manually changed it which made it work again.
View attachment 157858


MANUALLY CREATE BIOS_RVY IF DELETED (and update it to latest image)
If you already have BIOS_RVY partition, then you don't have to follow this step.
If you have deleted that partition then, no worries, you can create a partition yourself. And apply the latest image of current updated windows .SWM file. you don't need older bloated files.
you can use mini tool or other partition tool or CMD if you are comfortable with it.

  • Shrink the end partition, e.g. mine was F partition. shrink it and created 15GB partition. Name that partition "BIOS_RVY"
  • create a folder named "RecoveryImage"
View attachment 157859
  • Now you have to put the image of the system which you want to set as recovery image. Follow next chapter.
(I clean installed win 11 by mounting iso file, then running setup file and remove everything. This way i was able to retain my MSI factory reset option from that win 10. [ Non destructive method to clean install windows]
Installed drivers and few basic software. Ran ccleaner and windows default cleaner, deleted unwanted files. [ to make the captured image smaller as possible]
Now when i thought the best state of my pc. i did following ..)

REPLACE FACTORY IMAGE WITH LATEST ONE
If you already have BIOS_RVY partition, then follow this chapter to update the image to the latest one, or you can use the existing one if you like. You should assign a letter to access that partition from cmd, it will loose its letter when restarted, so its safe to assign a letter for temporary access.

Use "DISM++" software, its portable and small in size, to capture the image. ( you can use cmd if you want)
it will capture in .wim format (system backup)
convert that wim file into .SWM using same software. (SD/WIM Conversion)
View attachment 157861

when executing the conversion, it will ask for the size, select 4GB, it will break that .wim file into multiple .swm files.
The file should be named "install". you will get multiple files like install.swm, install1.swm, install2.swm..
Copy all those files to "RecoveryImage" folder in BIOS_RVY Partition.
View attachment 157860

If you already have BIOS_RVY, just assign a letter, it will be temporary, and delete/backup to another location all the install.swm files there and paste/replace the newly created files.
you don't have to follow next step. Next step are for those who are manually creating BIOS_RVY partition.

Now either use diskpart command or use partition software to change the partition to recovery partition.
if you use cmd, diskpart, use
set id="de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac"
gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001

if you prefer partition software, google it on how to do it.
Thats it.

F3 RECOVERY OPTION
This step is very important, it will further save you from loosing the current f3 msi factory reset option, if you already have it, and prohibit windows from further creating useless smaller multiple recovery partitions for winre.
first check if your winre is in 4th partition or not by running command "reagentc /info" in cmd. If not then change it. How? Either google it or ask me in comments, i will try to assist you.
View attachment 157862

If you still have MSI factory reset option intact from windows 10, it will not work even if its there. you have to use F3_Recovery_USB by MSI once to update the current f3 option to make it workable in win 11.
If you don't have recovery option then you have to use that F3_Recovery_USB files from F3_Recovery_USB website to proceed with recovery option.

Aslo don't forget to rename C drive to "Windows".
THATS IT. IT will work..

But make sure that your partitions are in order. Check the image to see my partition order. it should be in order for it to work.
View attachment 157863

I have tried myself so i am sharing this experience here.

Please BACKUP YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM in case something goes wrong.
But i am sure it will work ,if your first four partitions i.e. [system-MSR-windows-winre] are together and last partition is BIOS_RVY.

I hope this will help you. If you find it helpful. Please share it with others in need. Sharing is caring.
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hyy!
i need ur help right now!
i read your whole thread and by god i swear there isnt another person on the planet excluding the msi officials who know these things in such depth.
i am so grateful i came across this thread and i have no words .
i recently bought a msi crosshair 16hx and to debloat it i accidently installed fresh windows 11 from usb. causing me to lose the f3 msi factory reset option.
and i searched the whole internet and nobody has a solution how to get it back except telling to go to msi service center. which is a long shot for me.
but can u please reach out to me because the winre f3 recovery usb file is not working anymore from msi. and i dont know what to do .
please reach out to me.
my tele: @PrinceN1raj
 
princedeag154102da said:
hyy!
i need ur help right now!
i read your whole thread and by god i swear there isnt another person on the planet excluding the msi officials who know these things in such depth.
i am so grateful i came across this thread and i have no words .
i recently bought a msi crosshair 16hx and to debloat it i accidently installed fresh windows 11 from usb. causing me to lose the f3 msi factory reset option.
and i searched the whole internet and nobody has a solution how to get it back except telling to go to msi service center. which is a long shot for me.
but can u please reach out to me because the winre f3 recovery usb file is not working anymore from msi. and i dont know what to do .
please reach out to me.
my tele: @PrinceN1raj
Click to expand...
Thank you for your kind words. you can dm me here on this msi forum. i will try to help you here.
 
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