How to Perform a Bare Metal Recovery via USB

Written By Sebastian Sime (Administrator)

Updated at April 7th, 2026

Table of Contents

Prerequisites

→ Applies to: Cloud Gate powered by N-able Cove Data Protection

Prerequisites

1	Software Windows 8, 8.1, 10, 11 — Pro and Enterprise editions only. Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, and 2022 — Standard and Datacenter editions only.
2	Minimum backup System State data source: all data must be included. Files and Folders data source: the entire system disk (C:\ or equivalent) must be included. A valid backup for the target machine must be available in the Cloud Gate powered by N-able Cove Data Protection platform.
3	Hardware The target machine must have at least as many physical disks as the source. A single large disk is also supported if it is the only disk on the target. If a source disk is larger than its replacement on the target, the tool will attempt to shrink it — only possible if the last partition has sufficient free space. All physical disks on the target must be clean: no existing data, no partitions. The target machine must match the source in model and configuration. Differences in manufacturer, CPU, architecture, NIC, or storage controller may prevent recovery from completing.
4	Firmware GPT partition table on source: target must use UEFI firmware booted in UEFI mode. MBR partition table on source: both BIOS and UEFI are supported on the target.
5	Internet access The target machine must be connected to the internet via a network cable.
6	USB drive A USB drive recognized as removable media is required, with at least 512 MB of free space. For restores using Backup Manager or Bare Metal Recovery tool version 17.3 or earlier, at least 8 GB of free space is required. All data on the USB drive will be overwritten. Do not use drives with important files or BitLocker enabled.
7	Dissimilar hardware (optional) Different hardware (USB controllers, chipset, NIC, video, storage, etc.) is supported if the source system includes the required drivers. Without them, the recovered system may lose access to the network or USB ports. See step 12 for instructions on injecting missing drivers during boot disk creation.

Step 1. Login to Cove GUI

https://backup.management

Step 2. From Management menu, click on Downloads

Step 3. From Bare-Metal Recovery section, click on Windows.exe

Step 4. From Backup menu, click on Backup dashboard, then on All devices

Step 5. Select the Customer

Step 6. Select the device you want to restore, click the Device Name

Step 7. Click on Settings

Step 8. Save Device name, Installation key, and click on Generate a passphrase

Step 9. Connect the USB drive to the computer you want to use to create the recovery USB drive, then run the installer downloaded in Step 3, select the USB drive as the installation target, and click Next

Step 10. Click on Install

Wait for the process to complete

Step 11. Disconnect the USB drive from the computer

The flash drive will be formatted to the FAT32 file system that can be booted both in the UEFI and BIOS mode.

Step 12. Connect the USB drive to the computer you want to restore the backup to, then power it on and boot from the USB drive

Ensure boot is in the appropriate mode (BIOS or UEFI), please check firmware prerequisites above.

Step 13. Press “0” to start the backup manager

Step 14. Select the language and click Next

Step 15. Complete with the correct information from Step 8 and click Next

Step 16. Enter the generated passphrase from Step 8 and click Next

Step 17. Click on the Restore menu, then select the desired date and time of the backup to restore

Step 18. Select the disks to restore, then click on Restore

Wait for the restore to complete

Step 19. Eject the USB drive and reboot the computer

After rebooting the system, some users may encounter a Windows Error Recovery message. This can happen if Windows has detected an unscheduled shutdown. In this case, select Start Windows Normally.

If the system you are recovering requires booting in UEFI mode and the option is not available from the boot menu, or if you receive an error message stating that the source disk configuration is not compatible with the target machine firmware, try selecting the UEFI boot file manually. Look for a firmware option to choose the boot file (e.g. Boot to file, Boot to EFI file), or select the following file directly from the USB drive: \EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64.EFI

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Prerequisites

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