In Windows computers, we can create a backup in two ways: using the built-in System Restore Tool and creating a System Image on an external drive. The System Restore tool becomes useless when our C drive fails or when we need to restore the backup on another system. In such a case, the Backup and Restore tool comes in handy. For some users, the Backup and Restore tool is not working, and they are getting the System Image Restore Failed error 0x80042414. If you get the same error while restoring your system, use the suggestions provided in this article.
Fix System Image Restore Failed, error 0x80042414
Follow these solutions to fix Error 0x80042414, The system Image Restore Failed, and Windows did not find any disk in Windows 11/10.
- Disable RAID in your BIOS (if applicable)
- Disable Secure Boot
- Try to restore the system image manually
- Use another software (if possible)
All these fixes are explained below in detail:
1] Disable RAID in your BIOS (if applicable)
If RAID is enabled in your BIOS, turn it off, then restore the system image. The steps to disable RAID are different for computers of different brands. Therefore, refer to your system’s user manual to learn how to disable RAID. To disable RAID, you have to switch from RAID to AHCI mode in the BIOS.
2] Disable Secure Boot
You can also try disabling Secure Boot on your system. If this works, re-enable the Secure Boot after restoring the system image because Secure Boot plays an important role in protecting your system from boot-level attacks.
3] Try to restore the system image manually
If the issue persists, you can use the Command Prompt to restore your system image. For this, connect the external hard drive that contains the system image and then launch the Command Prompt as an administrator. If you have already installed Windows on your system, you can launch an elevated Command Prompt directly through Windows Search.
If you cannot log into your system, you can use a bootable USB Flash Drive containing the ISO of Windows 11 or Windows 10. Create the bootable USB Flash drive with the same Windows ISO as your backup image. You can create the installation media with Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool or third-party software like Rufus.
Now, turn on your PC and connect the bootable USB Flash drive and the external hard drive that contains the Windows recovery image. Enter BIOS, change the boot order, and select the USB Flash Drive. Use the correct BIOS key to enter your system BIOS. On the Windows installation screen, do not click Install Now, as it will start Windows installation. Instead, click Repair your computer.
You will enter the Windows Recovery Environment. Click Troubleshoot > Command Prompt. Now, your next step is to identify your C drive for Windows recovery and the external hard drive (containing the recovery image). For this, type the following commands in the CMD. Press Enter after entering each of these commands.
diskpart
list volume
Look at the size of each volume to identify the correct hard disks. Now, type the following command and hit Enter:
wbadmin get versions -backuptarget:E:
In the above command, drive letter E shows the drive containing the system image for recovery. Replace drive letter E with the correct drive letter. The above command will show you all the versions of Windows recovery images with the date and time as version identifiers. The version identifier is displayed in the following syntax:
MM/DD/YYYY-HH:MM
Now, type the following command and press Enter.
wbadmin start sysrecovery -version:<version identifier> -backuptarget:C:
Press Y to continue. The process to recover your system image on the selected hard drive partition will start.
In the above command, type the backup target’s correct version identifier and drive letter.
4] Use another software (if possible)
If you can create the recovery image again, use another software. Many free imaging, recovery, and backup software are available for Windows 11/10. You can use any of them.
That’s it. I hope this helps.
How do I fix a failed System Restore in Windows?
When a system restore fails, Windows displays an error message, like 0x80070057. The fixes for system restore are different for different error codes. For example, the system restore error 0x80042407 indicates the disk is too small to recover the original system image. In this case, removing the unnecessary partitions can help.
Does System Restore fix problems?
System Restore is a built-in tool in Windows computers. It helps fix problems on a Windows machine by restoring it to the previous working state. You can run this tool if your system is not working properly.
Read: Windows cannot restore a system image to a computer that has different firmware.
