[Win8.1.1] How do fix a broken Refresh/Reset feature

hi,

ok there is the issue.

i had Win8 OEM delivered with my laptop (an ASUS with UEFI/Gpt) , so i have some hidden recovery partitions containing the OS. (no recovery CD )

lately i dual-booted my machine with Linux , so i created new partitions then installed it. all ran perfectly.

one day for testing some stuff , i deleted the Linux partition and reorganized my drive as it was before dual-booting.

i tried to restore Win8 using the Reset feature that supposed to load the OS from the recovery partitions.
the process failed; not a big deal to me since i have an Win8 CD (not from ASUS) i made myself ; just have to extract the license and force it after the installation.

now i am curious and i want to know , how to fix the broken Refresh/Reset.

i tried various method (without success) like typing in cmd "reagentc -disable/enable" , etc...

i believe the UUIDs of the recovery partitions have been modified (because the addition of new partitions) , so i wonder how to reassign them properly so the reset feature can find the path of the said recovery partitions.

actually i am still dual-booting with Win8.1.1 & Kubuntu

any ideas?

 

not tested this myself but i thought most bought systems had to have the key / serial for the version of windows on a COA sticker as a legal requirement. look around and try to find the key....sometimes on a laptop it might be hidden in the battery compartment or out of plain view then when asked enter the key you found and activate as usual. or if you still have access to windows try one of the keyfinders / viewers to find the key, i dont have any recommendations for a certain program but a quick search should find loads....... or maybe you find one on a bootable CD such as hirens or barts and run from there

Gazzer

 

i used linux to retrieve the key, that is not the problem, the issue is that the Recovery feature can't find the recovery partitions, before it does and i don't even have to insert the license key , it was activated automatically (since the license is hardcoded in the BIOS)

 

thanks will try this

 

Have you unintalled GRUB from boot sector?
here
I once had a problem like this years ago and that was my 'fix'

I'm not a Linux user so this is just a thought.

 

i think i removed it via the UEFI menu , but i am not sure it did , i will explore this option too; thx

note: i have another computer with the same issue , it also had Linux but now only win8.1.1