diff --git a/build_gpt.sh b/build_gpt.sh
index b0d77228ae..c333118bda 100755
--- a/build_gpt.sh
+++ b/build_gpt.sh
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@ DEFINE_string board "$DEFAULT_BOARD" \
   "The board to build an image for."
 DEFINE_string arm_extra_bootargs "" \
   "Additional command line options to pass to the ARM kernel."
-DEFINE_boolean recovery $FLAGS_FALSE \
-  "Build GPT for a recovery image. Default: False."
 DEFINE_integer rootfs_partition_size 1024 \
   "rootfs parition size in MBs."
 
@@ -81,7 +79,6 @@ set -e
 set -u
 
 # Check for missing parts.
-# For recovery image, only populate ROOT-A and KERN-A
 ROOTFS_IMG="${IMAGEDIR}/rootfs.image"
 if [[ ! -s ${ROOTFS_IMG} ]]; then
   error "Can't find ${ROOTFS_IMG}"
@@ -95,13 +92,13 @@ if [[ ! -s ${KERNEL_IMG} ]]; then
 fi
 
 STATEFUL_IMG="${IMAGEDIR}/stateful_partition.image"
-if [ ! -s ${STATEFUL_IMG} ] && [ ${FLAGS_recovery} -eq $FLAGS_FALSE ]; then
+if [ ! -s ${STATEFUL_IMG} ]; then
   error "Can't find ${STATEFUL_IMG}"
   exit 1
 fi
 
 ESP_IMG="${IMAGEDIR}/esp.image"
-if [ ! -s ${ESP_IMG} ] && [ ${FLAGS_recovery} -eq $FLAGS_FALSE ]; then
+if [ ! -s ${ESP_IMG} ]; then
   error "Can't find ${ESP_IMG}"
   exit 1
 fi
@@ -117,7 +114,7 @@ fi
 # Create the GPT. This has the side-effect of setting some global vars
 # describing the partition table entries (see the comments in the source).
 install_gpt $OUTDEV $ROOTFS_IMG $KERNEL_IMG $STATEFUL_IMG $PMBRCODE $ESP_IMG \
-    false $FLAGS_recovery $FLAGS_rootfs_partition_size 
+    false $FLAGS_rootfs_partition_size
 
 if [[ "$ARCH" = "arm" ]]; then
   # assume /dev/mmcblk1. we could not get this from ${OUTDEV}
@@ -152,19 +149,6 @@ echo "Copying rootfs..."
 $sudo dd if=${ROOTFS_IMG} of=${OUTDEV} conv=notrunc bs=512 \
     seek=${START_ROOTFS_A}
 
-# TODO(tgao): write a script to populate ROOT-B and KERN-B with user-specified
-# rootfs and kernel. Do NOT remove if block below until then (otherwise
-# chromeos-installer will fail b/c it expects to install from partition B)
-if [ ${FLAGS_recovery} -eq $FLAGS_TRUE ]; then
-  echo "Copying kernel B..."
-  $sudo dd if=${KERNEL_IMG} of=${OUTDEV} conv=notrunc bs=512 \
-      seek=${START_KERN_B}
-
-  echo "Copying rootfs B..."
-  $sudo dd if=${ROOTFS_IMG} of=${OUTDEV} conv=notrunc bs=512 \
-      seek=${START_ROOTFS_B}
-fi
-
 echo "Copying EFI system partition..."
 $sudo dd if=${ESP_IMG} of=${OUTDEV} conv=notrunc bs=512 seek=${START_ESP}
 
diff --git a/build_image b/build_image
index 545dd65727..77ce152c93 100755
--- a/build_image
+++ b/build_image
@@ -44,8 +44,6 @@ DEFINE_boolean factory_install ${FLAGS_FALSE} \
 is also required in image_to_usb."
 DEFINE_string arm_extra_bootargs "" \
   "Additional command line options to pass to the ARM kernel."
-DEFINE_boolean recovery ${FLAGS_FALSE} \
-  "Build a recovery image. Default: False."
 DEFINE_integer rootfs_partition_size 1024 \
   "rootfs parition size in MBs."
 DEFINE_integer rootfs_size 720 \
@@ -96,11 +94,6 @@ if [ "${FLAGS_withdev}" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
   DEVELOPER_IMAGE_NAME=chromiumos_image.bin
 fi
 
-# If we are creating a recovery image, rename pristine image.
-if [ "${FLAGS_recovery}" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
-  PRISTINE_IMAGE_NAME=recovery_image.bin
-fi
-
 OUTPUT_IMG=${FLAGS_to:-${OUTPUT_DIR}/${PRISTINE_IMAGE_NAME}}
 
 BOARD="${FLAGS_board}"
@@ -283,35 +276,6 @@ update_dev_packages() {
   ${SCRIPTS_DIR}/mount_gpt_image.sh -u -r "${ROOT_FS_DIR}" -s "${STATEFUL_FS_DIR}"
 }
 
-
-# Modifies an existing image to add recovery packages
-update_recovery_packages() {
-  local image_name=$1
-
-  echo "Adding recovery packages to ${image_name}"
-
-  # Create stateful partition of the same size as the rootfs.
-  trap "mount_gpt_cleanup \"${ROOT_FS_DIR}\" \"${STATEFUL_FS_DIR}\"" EXIT
-
-  ${SCRIPTS_DIR}/mount_gpt_image.sh --from "${OUTPUT_DIR}" \
-    --image "$( basename ${image_name} )" -r "${ROOT_FS_DIR}" \
-    -s "${STATEFUL_FS_DIR}"
-
-  # Install recovery installer.
-  sudo ${EMERGE_BOARD_CMD} --root=${ROOT_FS_DIR} --usepkg \
-      --root-deps=rdeps --nodeps chromeos-recovery
-
-  # Re-run ldconfig to fix /etc/ldconfig.so.cache.
-  sudo /sbin/ldconfig -r "${ROOT_FS_DIR}"
-
-  # Mark the image as a developer image (input to chromeos_startup).
-  sudo mkdir -p "${ROOT_FS_DIR}/root"
-  sudo touch "${ROOT_FS_DIR}/root/.recovery_installer"
-
-  trap - EXIT
-  ${SCRIPTS_DIR}/mount_gpt_image.sh -u -r "${ROOT_FS_DIR}" -s "${STATEFUL_FS_DIR}"
-}
-
 create_base_image() {
 
   trap "cleanup && delete_prompt" EXIT
@@ -499,18 +463,12 @@ EOF
 
   trap delete_prompt EXIT
 
-  RECOVERY="--norecovery"
-  if [[ ${FLAGS_recovery} -eq ${FLAGS_TRUE} ]]; then
-    RECOVERY="--recovery"
-  fi
-
   # Create the GPT-formatted image.
   ${SCRIPTS_DIR}/build_gpt.sh \
     --arch=${ARCH} \
     --board=${FLAGS_board} \
     --arm_extra_bootargs="${FLAGS_arm_extra_bootargs}" \
     --rootfs_partition_size=${FLAGS_rootfs_partition_size} \
-    ${RECOVERY} \
     "${OUTPUT_DIR}" \
     "${OUTPUT_IMG}"
 }
@@ -523,13 +481,6 @@ mkdir -p "${ESP_FS_DIR}"
 
 create_base_image ${OUTPUT_DIR}/${PRISTINE_IMAGE_NAME}
 
-# Create a recovery image based on the chromium os base image.
-if [ "${FLAGS_recovery}" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ] ; then
-  update_recovery_packages ${OUTPUT_DIR}/${PRISTINE_IMAGE_NAME}
-fi
-trap - EXIT
-
-
 # Create a developer image based on the chromium os base image.
 if [ "${FLAGS_withdev}" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ] ; then
   echo "Creating developer image from base image ${OUTPUT_IMG}"
@@ -554,9 +505,6 @@ rmdir "${ROOT_FS_DIR}" "${STATEFUL_FS_DIR}" "${ESP_FS_DIR}"
 
 echo "Done.  Image created in ${OUTPUT_DIR}"
 echo "Chromium OS image created as ${PRISTINE_IMAGE_NAME}"
-if [ "${FLAGS_recovery}" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
-  echo "Recovery image created as ${PRISTINE_IMAGE_NAME}"
-fi
 if [ "${FLAGS_withdev}" -eq "${FLAGS_TRUE}" ]; then
   echo "Developer image created as ${DEVELOPER_IMAGE_NAME}"
 fi
diff --git a/mod_image_for_recovery.sh b/mod_image_for_recovery.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..5d927f1931
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mod_image_for_recovery.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Copyright (c) 2010 The Chromium OS Authors. All rights reserved.
+# Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style license that can be
+# found in the LICENSE file.
+
+# Script to modify a pristine/dev Chrome OS image to be used for recovery
+
+. "$(dirname "$0")/common.sh"
+
+# Script must be run inside the chroot.
+restart_in_chroot_if_needed $*
+
+DEFINE_string image_dir "" \
+  "Directory to pristine/base image."
+DEFINE_string image_name "chromiumos_image.bin" \
+  "Name of Chrome OS image to modify."
+
+# Parse command line
+FLAGS "$@" || exit 1
+eval set -- "${FLAGS_ARGV}"
+
+set -e
+
+if [ -z $FLAGS_image_dir ] || [ ! -d $FLAGS_image_dir ]; then
+  echo "Error: invalid flag --image_dir"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+SRC_PATH="${FLAGS_image_dir}/${FLAGS_image_name}"
+if [ -z $FLAGS_image_name ] || [ ! -f $SRC_PATH ]; then
+  echo "Error: invalid flag --image_name"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Constants
+OUTPUT_DIR=$FLAGS_image_dir
+ROOT_FS_DIR="${OUTPUT_DIR}/rootfs"
+STATEFUL_FS_DIR="${OUTPUT_DIR}/stateful_partition"
+RECOVERY_IMAGE="recovery_image.bin"
+
+mount_gpt_cleanup() {
+  "${SCRIPTS_DIR}/mount_gpt_image.sh" -u -r "$1" -s "$2"
+}
+
+# Modifies an existing image for recovery use
+update_recovery_packages() {
+  local image_name=$1
+  local sector_size=512  # sector size in bytes
+  local num_sectors_vb=128  # number of sectors in kernel verification blob
+  # Start offset of kernel A (aligned to 4096-sector boundary)
+  local start_kern_a=4096
+  local vb_file="${STATEFUL_FS_DIR}/verification_blob.kernel"
+
+  echo "Modifying image ${image_name} for recovery use"
+
+  trap "mount_gpt_cleanup \"${ROOT_FS_DIR}\" \"${STATEFUL_FS_DIR}\"" EXIT
+
+  ${SCRIPTS_DIR}/mount_gpt_image.sh --from "${OUTPUT_DIR}" \
+    --image "$( basename ${image_name} )" -r "${ROOT_FS_DIR}" \
+    -s "${STATEFUL_FS_DIR}"
+
+  # Mark the image as a recovery image (needed for recovery boot)
+  sudo touch "${STATEFUL_FS_DIR}/.recovery"
+
+  # Copy verification blob out of kernel A into stateful partition
+  # so that we can restore it during recovery
+  sudo touch $vb_file
+  echo "Backing up kernel verification blob onto stateful partition ..."
+  sudo dd if="$image_name" of="$vb_file" skip=$start_kern_a bs=$sector_size \
+      count=$num_sectors_vb conv=notrunc
+
+  # Overwrite verification blob with recovery image verification blob
+  # TODO(tgao): resign kernel for recovery image
+  echo "Overwrite kernel verification blob with resigned blob for recovery..."
+  sudo dd if=/dev/zero of="$image_name" seek=$start_kern_a bs=$sector_size \
+      count=$num_sectors_vb conv=notrunc
+
+  trap - EXIT
+  ${SCRIPTS_DIR}/mount_gpt_image.sh -u -r "${ROOT_FS_DIR}" \
+      -s "${STATEFUL_FS_DIR}"
+}
+
+# Main
+
+DST_PATH="${OUTPUT_DIR}/${RECOVERY_IMAGE}"
+echo "Making a copy of original image ${SRC_PATH}"
+cp $SRC_PATH $DST_PATH
+update_recovery_packages $DST_PATH
+echo "Recovery image created at ${DST_PATH}"