As you know, unfortunately, the operating systems of the Windows family are not particularly stable in operation. They are the ones most susceptible to viruses or malware, as well as unexpected malfunctions, which often leads to extremely sad consequences when the system cannot boot. And Windows 7 is no exception. Creating a Windows 7 recovery disk will help here. We will now look at how to do this in several ways.
Windows 7 boot problems
As for the reasons that can affect the performance of Windows 7, there can be a lot of them. Despite the fact that of all the operating systems of this family, the “Seven” is one of the most stable and secure, however, it is not immune from such cases.
Speaking about boot problems, they can be divided into two main categories: software failures of the OS itself and malfunctions hard drive, including system errors. Quite often such situations are associated with, say, virus attacks, the influence of malicious codes, incorrect shutdown, HDD overheating, unexpected power outages, which can even cause physical damage hard drive when shorted, etc., etc.
But now we will talk about how to create a Windows 7 recovery disk. In most cases, fixing software failures helps eliminate many problems, even when automatic checkpointing is impossible (in Windows 7 this is very common and is associated with errors on hard drive or in the partition where the OS itself is installed).
Using a Windows 7 recovery disc
Now just a minute more patience. Before moving on to directly addressing the issues of creating a Windows 7 recovery disk, a few words about its use. The fact is that when loading from such a disk (or flash drive), all saved parameters, drivers, programs, etc. are not loaded from the hard drive, since the system present on it does not have boot priority.
For correct use Windows 7 recovery disk, in the BIOS settings you need to specify that the first boot device will be a CD/DVD media or USB flash drive. This parameter is selected in the Boot Sequence (Boot Device Priority) section in the First Boot Device line.
Please note: if a flash drive is specified as the priority device, it must already be inserted into the appropriate USB port before turning on the computer.
Where to begin?
So let's get started. It’s worth saying right away that many users don’t particularly bother creating a Windows 7 recovery disk, preferring to use the original installation or recovery kit.
On the one hand, this is a fairly simple solution, but it is suitable either for installing the system from scratch, or for accessing (if there is one on the disk). The problem is that not all users know how to use it. This is where a manually created disk comes in handy, especially since using it you can restore not only the system, but also data from the hard drive.
Windows 7 recovery
Create boot disk possible in several ways. First, let's look at the standard tools of the Windows OS itself.
First and most simple method is to use the “Control Panel”, in which the “Backup and Restore” section is selected. In this section, you need to select the line “Create a system recovery disk”, after which you will be asked to select the device as a boot tool. All that remains is to insert an empty “blank” into the drive and start the recording process.
Let us immediately note that in most cases a regular CD will be sufficient for a 32-bit system. The volume of recorded information will be about 150 MB. If you will be using a Windows 7 64-bit recovery disk, it is better to take a DVD media.
This is not the only method of accessing commands. You can also use the main “Start” menu, where in the “Maintenance” section you select access to backup and recovery or the direct command to create a boot disk for the system. You can use the recdisc command from the Run menu (Win + R). The essence does not change from this.
Creating a system image
Creating an image of the system can be no less effective. This method allows you to obtain copies of all disks and partitions necessary for the correct operation of the operating system.
In the section above, instead of creating a recovery disk, you simply select the “Create a system image” option, after which you will need to select a backup storage location (hard drive or hard drive partitions, or network location). In principle, the procedure is almost similar to what was described above.
What you need to recover your hard drive
Naturally, Windows 7 can produce using the method just discussed, but it is better (and this has been proven in practice) to use special utilities. One of the most powerful is Acronis True Image. In it you can create both a Windows 7 recovery and a backup copy of the entire hard drive and its partitions.
IN in this case in the program menu you need to select the “Create archive” item, after which you can select what exactly you want to copy. There are two fields here: “The entire hard drive or individual partitions on it” and “Files and folders”. It is clear that you can make a complete copy of all data on the hard drive, but here it is worth considering one important aspect, namely, the amount of information placed in the backup copy.
This is where problems with lack of disk space begin. For a complete image, it is better to use removable HDD hard drives connected via USB ports, and in most cases a regular flash drive is suitable for saving individual files and folders. It all depends only on the volume of the “screw” itself (files and folders) and the volume of removable media.
Third Party Applications
Enough simple solution The question of how to create a Windows 7 recovery disk image may involve using popular utilities such as UltraISO, Daemon Tools and many others. As a rule, everything software products of this type have at their disposal appropriate tools for working with images.
In this case, the image itself (of the system or hard drive) is first created, and then recorded on the appropriate removable storage medium.
If nothing helps during recovery
And now a few words about boot problems if the Windows 7 system recovery boot disk does not help.
The system failure could be caused by viruses, so even booting from disk will not fix the problem. The copy will still “pick up” the virus from the hard drive, because the recovery does not affect user files and folders (and viruses are disguised as them).
In this case, before recovery, it is recommended to use utilities such as Kaspersky Rescue Disc, which can load before the OS itself starts. As practice shows, they remove viruses much more effectively than stationary antiviruses, the operation of which directly depends on the state of the operating system.
In some cases, if the system has not recovered, you can try to solve the problem by using utilities to check the HDD. Among them there are also those that start even before Windows starts loading. However, using an antivirus and then a system repair disk helps very well in most cases. Checking the hard drive may only be necessary if problems are discovered that are associated with physical defects or system failures in the form of bad sectors that cannot be corrected by standard methods.
It happens that a computer user is faced with a serious problem - damage to operating system. This situation often causes panic in many people, especially if the computer did not include an OS disk when purchased. So, should you urgently purchase a new disk with software? But this is very expensive, and it’s also a shame if, when buying a computer, the user paid to install a licensed version.
Fortunately, this problem can be avoided, you just need to take care of the product in advance system recovery. To protect yourself from a sudden breakdown of Windows, you will need 2 tools: a boot disk and a system image. To begin with, you need to figure out what it even is.
System recovery disc, or otherwise a “boot disk,” is a tool that allows you to boot your computer if the system is damaged. However, having loaded Windows from such a disk, you should not rejoice, because the launch did not take place from the computer, but from a previously prepared recovery, and the OS itself still remains damaged. That is, if you remove this tool, the computer will stop turning on again.
The system image is the same copy that will allow you to restore missing or damaged files. At its core, a system image is an archive with full recording state of the computer at a certain point in time. Every time you install any programs, drivers, or otherwise change Windows, you should create an image, this will allow you not to lose the latest changes during recovery.
To create these two very useful and important means, you should follow the path: Start - Control Panel - Backing up computer data - "", and, following the instructions, create a boot disk and burn it to a disc. To store the system image, it is best to use an external hard drive, since the image will take up a considerable amount of memory. It is best that the media used is defined specifically for this purpose.
The first step is to open “My Computer” and find the connected hard drive, right-click it and find the “format” line. After the formatting window appears, you need to set the “format to NTFS” option and check the “quick format” line, so the disk drive will be prepared for recording a system image. Then we return to the “Backup and Restore” window and select “Create a system image”, just like when creating a boot disk, just follow the instructions. When prompted to select a location to save the image, you should simply select a pre-prepared external hard drive.
How to create a Windows backup
If you work with important data and the performance of the system, as well as the safety of information, is very important to you, then you have probably come across the concept of backup or backup. If you are a novice user or "user" mediocre and have never encountered this, then you should get acquainted with this useful and sometimes necessary opportunity. Backup can not only save your data in the event of a system failure or malfunction, but will also help you quickly and efficiently transfer your familiar operating system with all the settings and changes to another computer or hard drive.
You can make a back-up system using: third party programs, and using built-in Windows features 8. To create backup copy means Windows, you should go to the “Control Panel” and find the “Backup and Restore” item there. On the left you will see the option “Create a system image”. All that remains is to read the system messages and follow the instructions. This method is relevant for both Windows 8 and Windows 7. You can also create a system repair disk so that in the event of a system failure, you can restore your computer from the disk. There is nothing complicated, as you can see.
Now let's consider the option of creating a backup copy using third-party programs. Acronis program True Image is one of the most convenient and time-proven. To create a backup, select “Create an archive.” Next, select “My Computer” and the program will create a copy of your system, right down to the hard drive layout. Consider in advance where you will store the backup: either connect an external hard drive, or create a partition on your hard drive of a suitable size.
Next, select the partitions you want to save, select the type of archive to be created and wait. Following the instructions, backup copy Even a novice user can create it. Restoring your system through Acronis is also easy. To be able to restore the system even without reinstalling Windows, create a multiboot flash drive with Acronis True Image on it. You can learn more about how to do this by reading relevant articles on the Internet.
To avoid putting your data at risk, we recommend that you regularly create and update system backups. By creating them, you don’t have to worry that the data may be lost forever, and in the event of a system failure, it can be painlessly restored to a working state.
Unexpected failures occur in any operating system. You can create a Windows 7 recovery disk yourself by writing necessary files to a suitable storage medium. For this procedure, the user will need about 10 minutes of time.
Restoring Windows 10 from Control Panel
The latest version of the operating system has many bugs and sometimes after updating it may not start for some users. A solution to this problem has been provided by Microsoft and a Windows 10 recovery disk can be created from the Control Panel.
If the creation of a Windows 10 recovery disk does not take place on your own computer, then you must definitely find out the bitness of the broken and temporarily used Windows, they must be the same.
Instructions on the question: how create a Windows 10 recovery disk:
After the program finishes, the flash drive can be used to restore Windows 10 and install it. Sometimes creating media using this method fails, in these cases you need to create a rescue disk using other methods.
Some users may need to create a Windows 8 recovery disc. This can be done in the same way as described above.
Reinstalling Windows 10 with the official application
The Microsoft website suggests using a separate application to create a bootable USB flash drive.
After these steps, you can use the USB flash drive to install or reset the system.
Windows installation flash drive from system image
To restore Windows 10 from a system image, you must first create this file. This can be done through the built-in application. To open it, go to " Control Panel» → « All Control Panel Elements» → «» → « Backup copy system image».
In the next window you need to select the section “ Creating a system image».
In the window that appears, you need to select the media on which the image will be saved.
It is advisable to create a separate disk partition to store this data, as it will be needed to restore Windows 10 from an image. If you don’t have a flash drive at hand, you can reset the system settings from the created file on your hard drive.
After data archiving is completed, the user will be prompted to create a system recovery disk. Thanks to this, in the event of an unexpected error in the system, you can restore all the data that was on the archived disk.
Installation flash drive for Windows via UltraISO
First, you need to download the ISO file of the desired OS version from the Internet. Also, to create a Windows 7 system recovery disk, just like other versions, the user will need a program or its analogues ( Rufus, Wintobootik etc.) capable of writing system images to a USB drive.
To restore Windows 7 via an ISO image, you need to do exactly the same steps, but at the stage of selecting an image file to burn, you need to use an image of the seven or other versions of the OS. The same method is suitable if you are wondering how to restore Windows XP or another version of this OS.
Creating an installation disk
If for some reason a laptop or PC does not want to accept a bootable USB flash drive, for example, on very old devices or if the USB ports are malfunctioning, then in these cases you can use a DVD-R or DVD-RW disc.
Due to the fact that disk media capacity is limited, you need to find an image up to 4.7 GB (volume for DVD-R and DVD-RW). Such files contain only the base assembly without additional data and applications. Official images of all Windows OS occupy a volume of 2–3 GB. But amateur versions have a basic set of popular programs and improvements, so they can take several times more.
How to do installation disk
To do this you will need a floppy drive, DVD and UltraISO. The program can be replaced with another one that can write information to disk.
Now you need to wait for the transfer of information to the optical disk to complete.
Multiboot flash drive
Such a multifunctional device is necessary for computer technicians. It is much more convenient to restore Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 and other versions from one universal flash drive. This solution is called a multiboot device. To create it you will need a program WinSetupFromUSB. It uses a minimalistic bootloader that allows the boot disk to be used with several system images at once.
Initially, you need to download WinSetupFromUSB and ISO images of the desired systems. After starting the program, a window with settings appears in front of the user.
It needs:
- Select the drive to install on.
- Check the box " Auto format it with FBinst" This allows you to format the media to the desired format before starting installation.
- Select FAT32 format. It should be taken into account that this file system does not recognize images larger than 4 GB in size. When installing NTFS, some computers will not be able to see the flash drive and it will not work.
- Select the type of operating system that will be installed.
- In Explorer, assign a system image file.
- Press the button " GO» and confirm the actions in the new warning windows.
After this, the process of installing files on the specified media will begin. Installation details can be viewed by checking the "".
After completing the installation of one system image, you can immediately begin mounting the next OS. Now you can restore Windows XP and other versions of the operating system using a single flash drive or a separate hard drive.
When recording a second OS distribution, you need to uncheck " Auto format it with FBinst" Otherwise, the previously recorded system will be deleted from the drive.
In addition to the installation version of Windows, you can also download Linux distributions and many useful programs like Acronis, antivirus and backup bootloaders. To do this, you need to first download the necessary ISO files and when installing on the drive in the WinSetupForUSB program, select the “ Linux ISO/ Other Grub4dos compatible ISO»
After installation is complete, immediately check the functionality of the programs on the flash drive by checking the “ Test in QEMU».
For the drive to be recognized by the computer, it must be inserted into a USB 2.0 port connected directly to the motherboard.
When starting in the BIOS, the user will see a minimalistic GRUB4DOS window, in which you need to use the keys to select the OS to be launched or the installed program.
To create a multiboot flash drive, they also use the program MultiBoot. It includes Grub4Dos installer, formatter and WinSetupUSB. The only difference from the previous creation method is a more beautiful graphical menu when starting the media and already built-in programs for recovery, Acronis, etc.
How to run an installation flash drive or disk
After creating a Windows 7 recovery disc on your laptop or PC, you need to run it. To do this, insert the storage medium into the device. After this, turn off your computer.
To restore the system, you must first configure the device's BIOS so that it can start the flash drive or disk. To do this, you need to press a certain key in the first 2 seconds after turning on the computer. It differs for different manufacturers. You can read more about this in the instructions for the device. Approximate use of keys to enter the BIOS on different branded devices:
- Acer, Lenovo, Asus, Sony - F2 or Ctrl + Alt + Esc
- HP - F10
- Samsung - Del
- Dell devices - F1 or Del
To ensure that the BIOS boots on the first try, press the desired key 3-5 times. After this, a blue menu will appear on the screen with items on English language. For personal computer BIOS may look more attractive.
To boot from the installation disk, you need to go to the " "Boot" and there change the download priority (“ Boot Device Prority"). In the same section, you need to find a previously made flash drive or disk with recovery files and move the media to the first boot position using the F5 and F6 keys.
After this you need to find the section “ UEFI Boot Support" or " "Boot Mode" and there set Enabled or UEFI Boot.
After these settings, you need to go to the “ Exit" and select the item " Exit & Save Changes».
The installation version of Windows will begin to load from the disk. Depending on the OS version, the boot menu may differ in appearance.
Using a recovery disk, you can perform not only a complete reinstallation, but also partial repair of damaged files through command line, or repair broken download files.
Select the desired recovery method from the program menu and wait until the utility finishes. The main thing is that the device does not turn off during recovery; it is better to connect it to the network. If this is not done, the recovery process may fail and result in a hard drive error. A similar problem will have to be solved by physically repairing the device.
Resetting the system on laptops
To restore the system on laptops, there is a built-in reset of OS settings. To restore Windows 7 without a disk, you need to run a standard recovery tool on your laptop.
To do this, after starting the device, hold the power button or a specific key combination for 5-10 seconds. Next, to restore the system using the built-in program, select the desired item in the menu that appears and wait until the program finishes.
The laptop will restore Windows XP if it was originally installed on it. The same will happen with all other OS versions. If at the time of purchase it was old version operating system, it will be restored.
There are many in various ways, how to restore the system after a breakdown or infection. The simplest method is to completely reinstall the OS using an installation disk, which is created in 10 minutes and can then be used on any device to repair them.
Video on the topic
Most users, when their operating system breaks or freezes, usually just install a new one. This is a good way to solve the problem, but in this case you will need to reinstall everything software and drivers for your equipment. In some cases, such processes can take quite a long time. That is why it is a convenient solution when emergency situations is a recovery disk for the Windows 7 operating system.
General information
In fact, such a disk is a Windows restore point and a small amount of environment for working outside the OS. Users take a cast current state Windows systems installed programs, drivers, updates and services.
If something happens to your computer and it stops starting correctly, you can use your disk to restore the state of Windows based on the snapshot you made. This is very convenient and allows you not to worry about the numerous software and drivers necessary for the operation of rare devices.
Unlike bootable USB flash drives, you can create a recovery disk standard means Windows. This is done using a special utility preinstalled in the OS, which can be launched through the Windows Control Panel.
Creation
If you want to create a Windows system recovery disk or flash drive, you will need to follow several steps: simple actions specified in this manual:
Please note that all data stored on a removable USB drive will be permanently lost.
You can also run this service by entering the phrase “recovery drive” into the search bar in the Start menu.
Usage
If with your personal computer or something happened to your laptop and you need to use a pre-prepared DVD, you should do the following.
In order to always be able to run various recovery tools for the Windows operating system, even if it is completely out of order and does not even start, you may need a special recovery disk. This article will discuss how you can prepare a recovery disk for the aging Windows 7 operating system.
In more modern versions of Windows, i.e. 8 and 10, a recovery disk can be created directly through the interface of these operating systems, either on a regular CD / DVD disk or on a flash drive. Or use one of the alternative options, i.e. a regular installation disk with the same Windows version, which also contains recovery tools, or create a disk using the Media Creation Tools.
But in Windows 7 you can't really go wild. In this system, using built-in tools, you can create a recovery disk only on a CD / DVD disk. It’s not possible with a flash drive, or rather, it is possible, of course, but for this you will have to, as they say, “puff”, tinkering with the console and other programs. This option for beginners doesn’t work at all. But you can write a regular installation file onto a flash drive. Windows image 7 and use recovery tools through it.
Using the Windows 7 installation disk as a recovery disk
CD/DVD drives are already going out of fashion, they are used less and less, and laptops are increasingly being sold without drives, since they no longer make much sense. Imagine, Windows can be installed officially from a flash drive, any boot program You can also record it on a flash drive, you can watch movies on TVs from a flash drive, you can listen to music in the car from a flash drive.
Therefore, when it is possible to write programs and installation images to a flash drive, use this option. Because a flash drive always works faster, it is more reliable than a disk, because disks can easily become damaged and no longer work.
By flash drive above, I also meant a device such as an external USB HDD(USB-HDD). To avoid confusion in the future, I will call all flash drive-like devices USB drives.
So, on to the topic. In Windows 7, you cannot use standard tools to burn a recovery disk to a USB drive. Therefore, the only option is to burn the entire installation image with Windows 7 to a flash drive, i.e., the disk from which you can install this version of Windows.
To do this you need:
Creating a Windows 7 recovery disc on a CD/DVD drive
If for some reason it would be more convenient for you to burn a Windows 7 recovery disc to a CD/DVD disc, then you can do this without additional programs, directly from the interface of this system.
To do this you need:
In a few minutes the disc will be burned!
You can also use a regular installation installer instead of a special recovery disc on CD/DVD. Windows disk recorded on DVD.
Conclusion
In the event that Windows 7 crashes and does not start, a recovery disk can greatly help you out, because without it, in the case of a completely inoperable system, you will not be able to use any standard recovery tools that can bring the system back to life. Therefore, you need to have at least a Windows installation disk on hand, which has different recovery modes built-in.
