5 Ways to Fix ‘We Can’t Create a Recovery Drive’ Error in Windows 11

Quick Fixes

• Right-click the connected USB drive to format it in the FAT32 file system.
• Disable the Hyper-V Windows service under Optional features > More Windows features.

Basic Fixes

• Close and restart the Recovery Drive app: Launch the Task Manager app by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Right-click Recovery Media Creator and select End task. Retry to create the recovery drive.
• Replug or change the USB drive: Plug out the connected USB drive and insert it into a different port. Alternatively, use a different USB drive (at least 8GB in size) to create a Windows 11 recovery drive.
• Copy and delete files on USB: Copy a random file on the USB drive, delete it, and retry creating the recovery drive.

Fix 1: Format the USB Drive in FAT32 Format

Windows Recovery Drive app requires a USB drive with a FAT32 file system to create a recovery disk. If your USB drive has an NTFS file system, format it to fix the “can’t create a recovery drive” error.

Note: Ensure backing up your USB data, as formatting will erase all its contents.

Step 1: Connect your USB drive, open the File Explorer app (press the Windows + E keys), and right-click the USB drive to Format it.

Step 2: Select FAT32 from the File system drop-down menu and click Start.

Step 3: Click OK to confirm your action.

Fix 2: Delete Previous Windows Installation Files

If you have kept old system files while updating Windows, it can interfere with the recovery drive creation. Launch the Disk Cleanup utility to delete previous Windows installation files.

Step 1: Type cleanmgr in the Windows search menu and click Disk Cleanup to launch it.

Step 2: Select the Windows installation drive and click OK.

Step 3: Next, click Clean up system files and approve the UAC prompt.

Step 4: Select Previous Windows installation(s) and click OK. Wait for the utility to clean up selected files and re-create the recovery drive.

Fix 3: Turn off Hyper-V

Disabling Windows Hyper-V is another nifty trick to resolve the “We can’t create a recovery driver” error. Configure Windows Optional features to turn it off.

Step 1: Press the Windows key and search Optional features to open the system setting.

Step 2: Scroll to the bottom and click More Windows features.

Step 3: Uncheck Hyper-V in the popup and click OK to save changes. Click Restart Now when prompted to apply changes and retry creating a recovery drive.

Fix 4: Repair Corrupt System Files With SFC and DISM

If system files are missing or Windows components are damaged, one or more system apps (e.g., Recovery Drive) can fail to launch or work properly. Running the SFC and DISM scans should repair it.

Step 1: Press the Windows key, search cmd, and click Run as administrator.

Step 2: Copy-paste the following command and press Enter:

SFC /scannow

Step 3: Next, execute the below commands sequentially and restart your Windows 11 PC.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Fix 5: Disable Microsoft Services Temporarily

Certain Microsoft virtualization services are known to create recovery drive issues on Windows 11. Disabling them manually should restore normalcy.

Step 1: Press the Windows + R keys simultaneously to open the Run dialog, type msconfig, and hit Enter.

Step 2: Click the Services tab and uncheck Application Virtualization Services Agent, Application Virtualization Client, and Client Virtualization Handler.

Step 3: Click Apply to save changes and reboot the PC.

Note: Once you successfully create the recovery drive after disabling the listed services, re-enable them to avoid encountering other Microsoft errors.

Alternative: Use Windows Media Creation Tool to Create a Bootable Flash Drive

If you fail to create a recovery drive, you can utilize the Windows Media Creation tool to create a bootable flash drive instead.

Step 1: Access the Windows 11 download page and click Download Now to download the Windows 11 Media Creation tool.

Step 2: Install and launch the Media Creation utility and Accept its terms.

Step 3: Pick your desired Language with Windows Edition, and click Next.

Tip: Enable Use the recommended options for this PC to select the suitable language and Windows edition automatically.

Step 4: Select USB flash drive, click Next, and highlight your connected drive on the next page.

Step 5: Click Finish to finalize creating the bootable flash drive. You can now easily boot from the USB drive anytime.