How to Restore Your Windows PC with HDP Recovery Media Creator

Last modified date: 2026-04-01

Applicable Products

HDP for PC/VM = 2.3.3 and later
HDP PC Agent = 1.4.0 and later
HDP Recovery Media Creator = 1.0.0 and later

This tutorial explains how to create recovery media and perform a full system restore of your Windows PC using HDP Recovery Media Creator.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

At least one successful backup of your Windows PC stored on your QNAP NAS
A Windows 7 or later PC (for creating recovery media)
A USB drive larger than 1 GB, or more than 1 GB of storage space for an ISO file

Overview

HDP Recovery Media Creator creates bootable recovery media (USB or ISO) that contains the HDP Recovery Wizard and the necessary tools for system restoration. Once created, the recovery media can be reused to restore your PC to any available backup version.

Part 1: Create Recovery Media

Step 1: Select Recovery Media Type

Download and install HDP Recovery Media Creator
Launch the application and select your media type:
- USB Drive: Create a bootable USB recovery drive
- ISO Media: Create an ISO image file (for CD/DVD or virtual machines)

Step 2: Create Recovery Media

Option A: USB Recovery Media

Select USB Drive and insert a USB drive larger than 1 GB
Select your USB drive and click Next

First-Time Setup: Install Required Components

When creating recovery media for the first time, the system will automatically guide you to install:

Windows ADK (Deployment Tools): Check Deployment Tools and install
Windows PE Add-on: Check Windows PE and install (requires approximately 3.8 GB of disk space)

Complete Creation

Confirm the format warning (USB data will be erased) and click Continue
Wait for the creation to complete (approximately 5-10 minutes)

Option B: ISO Recovery Media

Select ISO Media
Choose the save location and filename for the ISO file
Click Next and wait for the creation to complete

Part 2: Restore Your Windows PC

Step 3: Configure BIOS to Boot from Recovery Media

Insert the USB recovery media into the target PC (or mount the ISO)
Restart the PC and press the BIOS key (common keys: F2, F12, Del, or Esc)
In the BIOS, move USB or CD-ROM to the top of the boot order
Save changes (usually by pressing F10) and restart

Step 4: Launch the HDP PC Agent Restore Wizard

After the system boots from the recovery media, the HDP PC Agent Restore Wizard will launch automatically
To manually configure the network or load drivers, click the corresponding option on the welcome screen (optional)
Click Get Started to begin the restore process

Step 5: Connect to QNAP NAS and Select Backup

Enter the NAS IP address, username, and password, then click Log In

Select the Inventory (device list) and Backup Job you want to restore

Step 6: Select Backup Version and Restore Type

Select the backup version you want to restore from the left panel; disk information and restore size will be displayed on the right

Choose the restore type:
- Full device restore: Restore all disk volumes (system + data)
- System volume restore: Restore only the system volume

Step 7: Configure Disk Mapping and Start Restore

Check the mapping relationship from source disks to target disks; you can change it by clicking the dropdown menu if needed

Review the restore summary (Inventory, backup date, restore type, disk mapping)

After confirming everything is correct, click Restore to start the restore

Step 8: Complete the Restore

Wait for the restore to complete (the wizard displays progress percentage and estimated time)
After the restore is complete, remove the recovery media
Choose to restart or shut down
After the system restarts, it should display the desktop, settings, and data from the restore point