Microsoft final evening issued a software program obtain that creates a USB-based restore instrument to handle points brought on by the latest CrowdStrike outage. This instrument ought to present an easier answer than the prevailing multistep workarounds.
“Now we have launched a USB instrument to assist IT Admins expedite the restore course of,” a Microsoft Group Hub publish explains. “The signed Microsoft Restoration Instrument could be discovered within the Microsoft Obtain Middle.”
Home windows Intelligence In Your Inbox
Join our new free e-newsletter to get three time-saving ideas every Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott’s Home windows 11 and Home windows 10 Area Guides (usually $9.99) as a particular welcome reward!
“*” signifies required fields
You’ll find that obtain right here if it’s essential to get began instantly.
To create the restore instrument, you want a 64-bit Home windows 10/11 consumer PC, at the very least 8 GB of free cupboard space, administrator privileges, a USB flash drive with at the very least 1 GB of cupboard space, and the BitLocker Restoration Key for the PC you’re attempting to restore. You’ll find your BitLocker Restoration Keys on the Microsoft account web site in case you’re a shopper who indicators in to Home windows with a Microsoft account (MSA); Microsoft has directions for locating this info.
To make the restore instrument, obtain the 24 KB ZIP file and extract it. Then, open a PowerShell command line with elevated (administrator) privileges. Navigate to the extracted folder and challenge the next command:
.MsftRecoveryToolForCS.ps1
If you happen to obtain an error message noting that the PowerShell script “can’t be loaded as a result of operating scripts is disabled on this method,” you must observe the directions on the hyperlink supplied. Or, simply kind the next on the PowerShell immediate and faucet “y” (for “sure”) when prompted:
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
Now, re-run the PowerShell script as famous above. Faucet “r” (for “run as soon as”) and “y” and Enter twice as prompted (for the Home windows ADK licensing settlement and Home windows Kits privateness, respectively).
The script will set up the Home windows Evaluation and Deployment Package (Home windows ADK), a instrument utilized by IT admins to customise Home windows deployment photographs. It will take a number of minutes, however when it’s executed, you’ll be requested to conform to the Home windows ADK license once more. Faucet “y” after which Enter, and it’ll set up the Home windows Pre-installation Atmosphere (Home windows PE or WinPE) add-on, an optionally available part that’s used to restore PCs and is required for this instrument.
After a minute or so, the script will immediate you so as to add drivers to the WinPE picture. Microsoft recommends tapping “n” (for “no”) right here, adopted by Enter. After which the script will save the modifications to the WinPE picture it creates in a brand new working listing in C:Program Recordsdata (x86).
Then, it would immediate you to enter the drive letter of the USB flash drive you’re utilizing. Insert it now in case you didn’t already, after which use File Explorer to find its drive letter. (This course of will delete the whole lot on the drive, so be sure that there’s nothing on there you want to save.) On the command line immediate, kind the letter (“d” or comparable) after which faucet Enter.
The script will format the drive (utilizing the FAT32 file system), report its success, and it’ll then copy the contents of the restore instrument to it. This, too, may take a couple of minutes, relying on the pace of the drive. (The C:Program Recordsdata (x86)Home windows Kits folder is just below 5 GB in measurement, however the restore drive you’re creating is barely 393 MB in measurement.)
Lastly, the script will report its success, noting that “Now you can boot from the USB key.”
From right here, you’ll be able to take away the restore drive from this PC and use it in addition the impacted laptop. The way you achieve this will range by PC—every PC maker has other ways to interrupt the boot course of—however once you configure the system in addition from the USB drive, the command line-based restore instrument will run and immediate you for that BitLocker Restoration Key. It’s a 48-digit numeric key, so have enjoyable with that.
When you efficiently enter the important thing, Microsoft says that the script will then run the CrowdStrike-recommended script that may resolve the problem. On the PC I used to check this, that didn’t occur, but it surely wasn’t impacted by the outage and doesn’t embody the anticipated CrowdStrike Falcon recordsdata that should be fastened.
From there, you reboot the PC and, if all goes nicely, you’re again up and operating usually.
Good luck!