Unable to create a Simplified Disaster Recovery (SDR) disk; "Error code -40: Error occurred while building the Disaster Recovery Image"

Problem

While trying to create a Simplified Disaster Recovery (SDR) disk, the below error is generated and the process fails. Subsequent attempts gave the same error message.

Error Message

Error code -40: Error occurred while building the Disaster Recovery Image.
 

SGMon Debugging log shows:

DRPREPWIZARD: [12/18/20 12:35:58] [0000]     DRPREPWIZ: Calling Copy PE
DRPREPWIZARD: [12/18/20 12:35:58] [0000]     DRPREPWIZ: CBuildRecoveryDisk::RunProcess(522) - Info: Argument is "copype.cmd amd64 "C:\Users\ADMINI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\1\SDRStaging\disk""
DRPREPWIZARD: [12/18/20 12:35:58] [0000]     DRPREPWIZ: CBuildRecoveryDisk::ProcessError(388) -  Error: copype failed. With Return code 2
DRPREPWIZARD: [12/18/20 12:35:58] [0000]     DRPREPWIZ: RunBuildSDR: InitBuildSDR Failed with error code: -40
DRPREPWIZARD: [12/18/20 12:35:58] [0000]     DRPREPWIZ: Error: Failed to build SDR folder structure, error code = -40

Cause

This issue is caused by certain characters present in the directory path of the ADK installation directory. For instance, an & (ampersand) can cause this problem, hence it is recommended when downloading the ADK to use the default installation path (similar to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\")

To generate the above error in a lab, the ADK was downloaded to C:\Temp\AD&K

Solution

Use the default path when specifying the location to install the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK), or ensure the path contains no special characters (eg "&") :