Windows 8 Recovery USB Issues - Help?

[Kinesis]

Hi folks,

Wondered if anyone has any ideas to solve an issue I am having. Unable to get the Dell Recovery & Restore process to get past the Backup and Migration phase. You Tube of the Process

Quick Review
- Dell Laptop with Windows 8
- Laptop "contracted" a UKash Ransom Malware through a fake Flash/Java update
- When trying to set the safe mode boot for Windows 8, at the MSCONFIG checkbox step, the laptop "crashed" and rebooted
- Now unable to get into windows, suspecting the partial safe boot mode setup steps
- F8 or Shift F8 do no work or provide any boot menu options
- attempted to clean malware with Kaspersky Rescue CD and after 2 hours only 2000 "infected" files were cleaned and thousands more to still be cleaned but it seems they are not able to "cleaned" but the rescue CD
- Obtained Recovery & Restore USB from Dell but at the Backup & Migration phase the laptop reboots never completing the process.

What I have tried and have not worked
- finding registry options to try and get back into windows
- tried to find options to get safe boot to be enabled without getting into windows
- tried to use Windows 7 recovery disks to resolve the safe boot steps

Appreciate any recommendations or thoughts.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

You may have to just wipe the thing with GParted or maybe DBAN and then try it?

 

[Kinesis]

Hmm, good thought, I guess that is another question that I have. Can you format the Windows partition (and not the Recovery Partition on the drive) and still be able to "restore" windows?

May sound like a stupid question, but in the typical restore process for Dell or other OEM providers does the windows partition actually get "formatted" and wiped clean in the OS re-install? I thought so, but wasn't sure.

 

[ViRGE]

Hmm, good thought, I guess that is another question that I have. Can you format the Windows partition (and not the Recovery Partition on the drive) and still be able to "restore" windows?

May sound like a stupid question, but in the typical restore process for Dell or other OEM providers does the windows partition actually get "formatted" and wiped clean in the OS re-install? I thought so, but wasn't sure.

Yes, that should work.

 

[Kinesis]

Hey folks thanks for all your help and suggestions. Here is what I did and it worked. I first removed the existing laptop hard drive and installed a 160 GB laptop drive I had hanging around. I ran the Dell USB recovery process and it completed without a hitch. It did not the missing recovery partition but I was still am to install and boot into a re-freshed windows 8. I knew that the USB recovery disk was not the issue, so I removed the hard drive and replaced it with the original laptop hard drive, booted into gparted and formatted the OS partition on the drive. When I rebooted with the Dell Recovery USB inserted the Dell Automatic repair began and restored the system back to original factory state.

Thanks again!