'This version of Windows Recovery System is not compatible ...'

The first time I did this, it worked. Well, eventually; but it worked.


I won't bore everyone with a repetition of details from previous threads; suffice it to say that the Windows Recovery USB stick that worked the first time I took an image from my old HDD and restored it to my new SSD, doesn't seem to want to do the exact same thing a second time.


Because I didn't quite get it right the first time, I've started from scratch, basically: re-imaged the original HDD ( with the new SSD removed from the system ), removed the HDD and plugged in the SSD, gone to do the restore ( which, as I say, worked perfectly the first time ( that wasn't the bit I got wrong )), and I get a message saying 'This version of Windows Recovery System is not compatible with the version of Windows you are trying to restore'.


Ever seen a grown man cry ...?


From where I'm sitting, this defies all logic, but I'm sure someone out there will know what's going on. Please tell me ...!

You don't make it clear what recovery your using if it's a full disk image from imaging software and booting from is recovery disk it should work. If it's a old backup it's likely it's the wrong service pack or out of date

Sorry ... it's the recovery system from the Windows Installation media that one of the other esteemed contributors who I'm not sure if I should name or not ( but whose reliability is not in doubt ) sent me. As I say, it worked literally three days ago! Is it possible that while I've had the internal HDD plugged in, Windows has done some sort of automatic update that's rendered the recovery system inoperable? - and if so, what should I do about that? - or if not, what should I do, period?

Now I've extracted the files to the USB stick I'm not sure how to tell which version it is; but I'd have to assume it's the right one inasmuch as it worked the last time I did it. I don't know what efi is, but I've plugged the USB stick in along with the external hard drive from which I'm trying to restore, started the machine, pressed F8 to get to the boot options, and selected the memory stick ... all exactly the same as last time.