Refresh Windows 8

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/matt-harrington/archive/2012/04/01/create-a-windows-8-refresh-image-with-recimg-exe.aspx

 Create a Windows 8 image with recimg.exe to preserve your Desktop apps after a refresh

Create a Windows 8 image with recimg.exe to preserve your Desktop apps after a refresh

Matt Harrington MSFT 

1 Apr 2012 1:04 PM 

• 4

Windows 8 supports two new ways to revert your system to an earlier state.  From the Settingscharm, access More PC settings and then click General.  Towards the bottom, you’ll see these two choices:

1. Refresh your PC without affecting your files.  This choice keeps your personal data, system settings, and Metro style applications.  Desktop applications will be removed, unless you create a custom image as I detail below.
2. Reset your PC and start over.  This choice is like a factory reset.  All of your personal files, Metro style apps, and Desktop apps will be removed.  You can optionally write random data to your drive for added security.

Use option 2 if you’re going to sell or give away your system.  All of your personal files will be erased.  The rest of this post is about option 1.
Option 1, refreshing your PC, keeps your personal data and reinstalls Metro style applications.  Desktop apps will be removed, and their names will be placed in a file on your desktop calledRemoved Apps.
Reinstalling all of your Desktop apps can be time consuming, so Windows 8 offers a command called recimg.exe to make this easier.  recimg creates an image which is used by the refresh facility when restoring Windows.  Not only will your personal data and Metro style apps be saved, but so will Desktop apps you have installed at the time you create the image.  This can save you a lot of time.
After installing Windows 8 on a new system, the first thing I do is install Visual Studio and Office.  I then do this as Administrator:

mkdir C:\RefreshImage
recimg /CreateImage C:\RefreshImage
recimg /ShowCurrent

Refreshing my PC will then preserve my Desktop apps.  Any Desktop apps I install after creating the image will not be copied over to the refreshed system.  However, the old system is preserved in C:\Windows.old.
For more information, run recimg /help. Also read the Refresh and reset your PC article by Desmond Lee on the Building Windows 8 blog.

windows-8

• Jewel Lambert 

  1 Apr 2012 7:44 PM 

  #

  Nice!
  
• Paras Wadehra 

  1 Apr 2012 10:46 PM 

  #

  Great feature!
  
• Shafi 

  12 Oct 2012 12:51 PM 

  #

  On Windows 8 Enterprise version6.2 (Build 9200)  Downloaded from MSDN site
  When Trying to use the Refresh your PC without affecting your files option, using command line called recimg.exe to save the Desktop Applications. we are getting error : The recovery image cannot be written. Error Code - 0x80042319
  Command we run is :
  C:\Windows\system32>recimg.exe -CreateImage d:\RefreshImage
  Source OS location:  C:
  Recovery image path: d:\RefreshImage\CustomRefresh.wim
  Creating recovery image. Press [ESC] to cancel.
  Initializing
  100%
  Creating snapshot
  27%
  The recovery image cannot be written.
  Error Code - 0x80042319
  Blog Describing issue:
  social.technet.microsoft.com/.../c5ece863-371a-4b06-9baf-0d2440e19f7d
  If you have any suggestion recommendations will help.
  
• Denis Gundarev 

  30 Nov 2012 2:37 AM 

  #

  If you are trying to create custom recovery image for refreshing your Windows 8 PC by using recimg.exe tool, you might receive error message 0x80070003
  C:\> recimg /createimage D:\RefreshImage
  Source OS location:  C:
  Recovery image path: D:\RefreshImage\CustomRefresh.wim
  Creating recovery image. Press [ESC] to cancel.
  Initializing
  100%
  Creating snapshot
  100%
  The recovery image cannot be written.
  Error Code - 0x80070003
  This might be caused by active volume mount point in the root of the c:\ drive
  more details here: blog.itbubble.ru/.../recovery-image-creator-recimgexe-fails.html