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  2. Upgrading Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 will cause PBR to become unstable when launched from the OEM firmware recovery button

Upgrading Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 will cause PBR to become unstable when launched from the OEM firmware recovery button

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Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:
  • You have a system which is running Windows 8 that has been preinstalled by an OEM. 
  • This system is configured with a Push Button Reset recovery image.
  • You have upgraded this system from Windows 8.0 to Windows 8.1.
  • The system has been booted using the hardware recovery key to boot directly into the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
In this scenario, if you attempt to do a System Refresh, you will receive a "unable to complete" error message. If you perform a System Reset, this will succeed but may leave the system unstable, and it is not recommended.


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Cause

The firmware recovery button is implemented by the OEM to point at a specific WinRE image which is configured in the firmware. Setup cannot update the Windows 8 version of the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) as it does not support servicing, and the firmware cannot be updated to point to the Windows 8.1 version of WinRE.

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Resolution

Initiate the Push Button Reset action from PC Settings\Update and Recovery menu in the Windows OS, or hold shift while the system boots to load the correct version of WinRE. If the system is not able to boot to Windows, you can allow the system to fail booting twice, and the Automatic Failover feature will also boot directly into the correct WinRE.


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More Information

This issue will only occur on OEM systems that have implemented a firmware recovery button.

For more information on Automatic Failover, see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc722188(v=ws.10).aspx
For more information on WinRE, see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc765966(v=WS.10).aspx
For more information on push button reset, see: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj963221(v=winembedded.81).aspx

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Keywords: kb

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Article Info
Article ID : 2901840
Revision : 1
Created on : 1/7/2017
Published on : 10/21/2013
Exists online : False
Views : 471