by 
Valve released the SteamOS 3.0 recovery image for the Steam Deck to allow users to recover, repair, or re-image their Linux-powered gaming handheld device.
The official SteamOS 3.0 recovery image for the Steam Deck is now available for download along with detailed instructions on how to flash it and the various recovery options available for performing various maintenance tasks on the gaming device.
One thing to note here is the fact that this isn’t the SteamOS 3.0 image you’ve all been waiting for. This is just a recovery image for Steam Deck owners in case they want to perform a full factory reset, reformat the home partitions, make changes to the boot partition, or reinstall SteamOS on the Steam Deck.
Steam Deck owners who need the SteamOS 3.0 recovery image can download it right now from here and they can write it on a 32GB or higher USB flash drive using a popular USB disk flashing utility like GNOME Disks on Linux or Rufus on Windows.
Of course, Linux users can also rely on the command-line to flash the SteamOS 3.0 recovery image, by running the following command, where /dev/sdX needs to be replaced with the actual location of your USB device (e.g. /dev/sda or /dev/sdb).
bzcat steamdeck-recovery-1.img.bz2 | dd if=/dev/stdin of=/dev/sdX oflag=sync status=progress bs=128MValve recommends using a USB-C adapter or hub to plug the boot disk in. Then, you’ll have to shut down your Steam Deck by holding down the Volume Down button and clicking on the Power Button. When you hear a chime, let go of the Volume Down button and you’ll enter the Boot Manager.
To boot the SteamOS 3.0 recovery image, select the ‘EFI USB Device’ (your USB key) entry in the Boot Manager. The screen will go dark while it’s booting for about a minute, and when it finishes booting you’ll see the KDE Plasma desktop environment.
There, you’ll have various recovery options available, including Re-image Steam Deck to bring the Steam Deck to factory defaults by resetting all the user info, as well as installed games and apps, or wiping all existing operating systems and replacing them with stock SteamOS.
The Clear local user data option lets you reformat Steam Deck’s home partitions and remove downloaded games and all personal content stored on the device, including system configuration. The Reinstall Steam OS option lets you perform a fresh install of SteamOS on the Steam Deck while preserving your games and personal content.
Last but not least, the Recovery tools option is for more experienced users who want to make changes to Steam Deck’s boot partition. This option will open a command-line prompt where you can make all the necessary changes.
Image credits: Valve (edited by Marius Nestor)
Last updated 2 years ago
