In this post, we will learn how to create a Windows 7 recovery drive and how to use it.
The information will be useful in cases where some system failures occur.
If your computer is equipped with a DVD drive, then you can use a boot disk to install Windows 7.
Create a recovery drive
In the event of problems in Windows 7, the inability to boot the OS, you can try to solve problems using such a recovery disc.
Owning such a disk, you can easily and easily restore the computer on your own. You can boot from it
Windows 7 and start the recovery environment.
The standard Windows 7 Recovery Disc Creation utility creates a recovery disc only on CDs or DVDs.
To do this, follow the path - menu Start — All programs — Maintenance - Create System Recovery Disc.
The Create Disc window will open. Here you need to select a device for reading CDs and insert a previously prepared blank DVD into it.
Please note that this function may require two to five DVDs.
It should be noted that the sequence of actions cannot be violated. If, for example, a DVD disc is inserted in advance, the program will be broken and nothing will work.
After inserting the disc into the DVD ROM, click on .
The program will automatically start the process of creating a Windows 7 recovery disk. Follow the instructions of the wizard.
This operation may take from 15 minutes to one hour to complete.
After completing the recovery drive creation process
Windows 7, a window will appear informing you that the disc has been created.
There will also be information about the possible options for using the disk, which must be carefully read.
So, the recovery disk has been created. Now, in case of system failures, you can safely turn to him for help.
You can boot from disk. If this does not work, then you need to go into the BIOS and install the initial boot from the DVD.
How to use a Windows 7 recovery disc
It takes some time to search for installed systems. If there are several, select the one you need and click Next. A window will open with System recovery options:
Launch recovery. The first thing that can be done is to restore the boot of Windows 7. If, for example, Windows XP was installed by the second system, then with a high degree of probability the boot of Windows 7 will be knocked down. To fix it, you need to use this particular item.
System Restore. Allows you to rollback to a previously created restore point. To do this, the system protection that will create in Windows 7 must work.
Restoring a system image. Rollback to a previously created image. How, you can find out in this article.
Windows memory diagnostics. Utility for the operation of memory chips.
Command line. Selecting the option opens a command prompt window.
Disk Application Algorithm
If there are problems in the operation of the operating system, the Windows 7 recovery disk can be used as follows.
1. First, we try to restore the launch of the Windows 7 operating system using the first parameter item.
2. If the first point does not fix the problem, then go to the second point using restore points.
3. If nothing helps, then you can use the previously created Windows 7 image.
These are the options for creating and using a Windows 7 recovery disk using the OS itself.
– Igor (Administrator)One fine day you sit down at the computer. Press the button on the system unit or on the laptop. And in the next minutes, you realize that the day starts somehow strangely. Namely, that Windows 7 does not boot. Or a strange screen is loaded with a bunch of incomprehensible messages, but for some reason with the Windows logo. This usually predicts that you will spend some time on the pleasant task of restoring your system.
And the embarrassing fact that anything can be the cause of such a not-so-fun event. Starting from the failure of the system itself, ending with the tricks of malicious programs. We do not take into account a hardware failure, since this option can either take from an hour to several days, or end with the replacement of components. In case of malware, you can always try to restore the system by checking with an anti-virus LiveCD, for example, from Dr.Web CureIt.
But what if the problem is not sinister viruses and problematic pieces of iron? And is it trite, in damage to one of the system libraries due to a malfunction in the Windows operating system? Let's think. The first thing that comes to mind is to open the disc box and find the coveted Windows installation disc. So you climbed into the box, and suddenly you realize that the day continues to please you. There is simply no disk. Cold sweat covers you. You start thinking further. "Hmm. But I was not too lazy at one time and created a bootable Windows recovery disk according to the instructions on ida-freewares!". And with relief in your soul, you begin to revive your fallen system.
Note: The following instruction is applicable to Windows 7 / Vista. For the case of Windows XP, it is better to use special builds from the net, or various LiveCDs, such as "Zver CD", which include a fairly large set of tools for system recovery. Plus, in such assemblies everything is brought to a more or less understandable state, so you can always find the treasured items in the style of "check the integrity of Windows", etc.
- Open the start menu
- Type "create" (without the quotes) in the "Search programs and files" box
- Select "Create a System Repair Disc"
- A dialog box will open with a list of your CD/DVD drives.
- Insert a blank disc and select the desired disc
- Click the "Create Disc" button
Alternative path: Control Panel -> System and Security -> Backup and Restore. In the left pane, select "Create a system repair disc" and then follow all steps from the 4th.
After the disc has been burned, put the disc somewhere safe and secure. We hope you never have to take it out of there. However, it is better to be prepared for problems than to hope for a chance.
Note: The created disk will allow you to quickly deal with most of the common problems that can happen with Windows. If you're having problems that the recovery disc didn't fix, then chances are the problem isn't as simple as it sounds. Therefore, be mentally prepared that you may have to spend a little more time than you planned. However, this is exactly what you need to start with in any case.
Note A: Of course, you can go the other way. Namely, create disk images to quickly restore your system. Or contain a disk that duplicates the system partition, which will be launched in case of problems with the main system partition. But, it will require you to have some knowledge (or a willingness to learn) and a willingness to put in the time and a bit of patience to set it up.
Most users, when their operating system crashes or freezes, tend to just install a new one. This is a good way to solve the problem, however, in this case, you will need to reinstall all software and drivers for your hardware. In some cases, such processes can take quite a long time. That is why a convenient solution in case of emergencies is the recovery disk of 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 snapshot of the current state of the Windows system, installed programs, drivers, updates, and services.
If something happens to the computer and it stops starting correctly, you can use your disk to restore the state of Windows according to the cast. This is very convenient and allows you not to worry about the numerous software and drivers necessary for rare devices to work.
Unlike bootable flash drives, you can create a recovery drive using standard Windows tools. 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 disk or flash drive for Windows system recovery, you will need to follow a few simple steps indicated in this guide:
Please note that all data stored on a removable USB drive will be permanently lost.
You can also start this service by entering the phrase "recovery disk" in the search box in the Start menu.
Usage
If something happened to your personal computer or laptop and it became necessary to use a pre-prepared DVD, you should do the following.
When your PC stops booting from its hard drive, you may find yourself in a stalemate if you haven't created a bootable rescue disk or device.
The recovery disc doesn't just start the PC, it also includes tools to help fix what's wrong with the system. Creating a recovery drive takes minutes.
Recovery disc options for all versions of Windows
There are various ways to create offline, emergency, bootable recovery disks. In the case of Windows 7 and 8, creating good recovery discs is quick and easy. Vista and XP also provide the means to create recovery discs, but the process will take a little more effort.
There are also numerous third-party boot disks - both paid and free - that work with all versions of Windows. The best of them have recovery and return to work capabilities that are far superior to native Windows tools.
Of course, you can boot your PC using the original Windows installation CDs or DVDs, and they provide some basic recovery tools. But most PCs now ship with installation files located in a dedicated partition on the hard drive. Such files will not be available unless you take the time to create a rescue boot disk. In other words, the recovery partition will be useless for you in an emergency in which the PC cannot be booted!
Even if you've taken the trouble to back up your system image, you may still need a rescue disk on hand to restore the most recent image.
In Part 1 (of which there are two) of this article, I'll cover a long series of emergency recovery discs for XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. I'll start with the features of Windows 8 and work my way back to XP. I'll also start with the built-in Windows tools and then mention some excellent third party products - most of them are free!
Next week, in Part 2, you'll learn how to use these discs to boot your PC and how to get to the recovery tools they contain. I will also share some advanced tips and tricks.
Windows 8: Create Recovery Drive Tool
Windows 8.0 and 8.1 both include built-in Recovery Media Creator. This tool allows you to easily make a bootable recovery disk from a flash drive or external USB device. You can also create bootable CDs or DVDs using Windows 8.0 tools.
The standard recovery device (or CD/DVD) from Windows 8 contains a bootable recovery image - a simplified custom version of Windows 8 - that will start the PC. It also includes tools to repair and restore core Windows 8. It may also include tools to reset or update the system based on a system image, such as those provided by computer manufacturers.
If your PC contains a factory-installed recovery image available for use (usually in its own dedicated partition), Recovery Media Creator (RMC) can also add the image to the recovery boot disk. If necessary, you can completely restore your system exclusively from the recovery disc. (You can even put a custom recovery image on a recovery drive. I'll cover that in Part Two.)
The Create Recovery Disc tool is very easy to use. And here's how much:
- While in an administrator account, click Win+W(Windows flag key and W) or swipe to open the Charms panel.
Figure 1. Enter "Creating...".
- Enter Create a recovery drive(recovery drive) in the search box (in Windows 8.0, use the Search, Settings box), then click the Create a recovery drive icon when it appears. The Recovery Drive tool opens (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Creating a recovery drive in Windows 8 is a step-by-step wizard that is easy to use.
- If your system has a recovery partition, specify whether you want to include the recovery image on the boot or recovery disk you create.
If the checkbox Copy the recovery partition from the computer to the recovery drive(Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive) is displayed in black and responds to clicks, you can burn the recovery image provided by the manufacturer of your PC to the recovery disk. Just check the box to enable this option.
If this checkbox is greyed out and doesn't respond to a click, then you obviously don't have the option to burn the factory image to a recovery drive. However, don't worry, the recovery disc you create will still contain a bootable, stripped-down Windows 8 recovery image, as well as a standard array of recovery tools.
- The Create Recovery Disk tool will then tell you how much disk space the recovery files and system image will take up, if its entry is checked. Insert a USB device into your PC that is at least the size you need. Please note that the device can be used only as a bootable recovery disk; everything else on the device will be deleted.
- If you have connected more than one USB device, RMC will show you a list of available devices. Select the one you want to make a recovery disk and click Next. The following dialog box will warn you that everything on the selected USB device will be overwritten. When you're ready, click Create.
- The recovery boot image, recovery and patch tools, and the factory system image (if selected) will be copied to the recovery drive. This may take several minutes.
- If you chose to copy the factory image, RMC will now give you the option to remove the OEM recovery partition from your hard drive to free up space. Delete or keep the section - you choose.
- Click Close.
- Remove the USB device and store it in a safe place.
For more information on the Create Recovery Disc tool included with Windows 8, visit the Microsoft support page - .
Windows 7: Create System Repair Disc tool
Windows 7 was the first Windows system to come with an automated tool for creating a bootable rescue CD or DVD. The tool doesn't do as much as the Windows 8 version - you can't add an OEM recovery image, for example - but it's just as easy to use. Just a few clicks and your recovery disc is ready!
And here's how much:
Figure 3. Backup and restore
- Insert a blank CD or DVD into your PC's optical burner.
- While in an administrator account, open the Backup and Restore application. Click Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore(Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore).
- On the left side of the window, click Create System Recovery Disc(Create a system repair disc).
- Confirm if the optical drive is selected correctly. Click Create disk(Create disc) (see Figure 4), and follow the suggested steps.
Figure 4: The Create System Repair Disc tool included with Windows 7 lets you create a bootable recovery CD or DVD with just a few clicks
Note: If Windows 7 cannot find the files it needs, it will prompt you to insert the Windows installation disc.
For more information, Microsoft offers a video tutorial on its Windows 7 page.
Vista: Enable and use Create Recovery Disk
The beta version of Vista SP1 came with a great utility Create Recovery Disk (Create a recovery disk) (recdisc.exe) (see Figure 5). But for reasons known only to Microsoft, the utility was cut in all manufactured versions. File recdisc.exe still exists in Vista, but it's not functional!
Figure 5. Remaining in Vista, recdisc.exe does not work by default, but with a little effort it can be made useful.
Nevertheless, enthusiasts liked the working version of the utility. So they cooked up the files and made them available for download - along with how-to's. This is not an officially sanctioned solution, but it has been openly discussed and recommended by Microsoft MVP on the Microsoft Answers forum. For example, see the Microsoft Answers topic " " (Creating a System Repair Disc for Windows Vista).
Receive recdisk.exe not difficult, but the steps are too long to detail here. A thread on a third party "VistaForums" forum called " " (How to create a Vista recovery disc) has the best how-to instructions I know of. The only thing I would add to the how-to guide is a standard note: before making any system changes, make a backup.
If all this is beyond your ability, try using a third party boot disk as described below.
Windows XP: 3rd party tool required
XP does not have the built-in ability to create a bootable rescue disk.
For years, the best alternative has been UBCD4Win(stands for "Ultimate Boot CD for Windows"). But creating that boot disk is a long and complicated process that requires some technical skill and access to a full XP installation CD.
UBCD4Win is still in use, and still free, but I don't recommend it anymore. Now there is a better remedy.
Hiren's BootCD includes an amazing array of free tools - about 100 in total ().
The CD itself is based on Linux, but you don't need to know Linux; The text view application has simple menus for selecting the tools you will launch. (See figure 6.)
Figure 6. Hiren's BootCD includes an array of approximately 100 free repair and repair software.
Oddly enough, Hiren's BootCD also contains a stripped-down "Mini XP" based on the gray system. It is intended as a disaster recovery tool for use by owners of licensed, paid copies of XP - not as a replacement for purchasing a license or a standard installation of XP. Within its limited scope, it works great. When your regular (licensed and paid) Windows XP system won't boot, MiniXP with Hiren's BootCD can help you get it up and running again.
You can get Hiren's BootCD on his . But finding a working download link can be tricky - the page contains several distracting alternative download links for inappropriate tools.
Figure 7. Actual download link for Hiren's BootCD
All versions of Windows: free recovery discs
If the built-in Windows tools aren't available or don't work for you, there are plenty of free alternative bootable recovery discs. Like Hiren's BootCD, most of them are based on Linux and come with a wide range of preconfigured maintenance and repair tools.
Here are four of the best:
- Trinity Rescue Kit(free or voluntarily paid) - specially designed for recovery operations on Windows machines, but can also be used for Linux recovery issues. Here, a simple keyboard-text menu system is used by default, and a command line is also available in Linux.
- Ultimate Boot CD(free; ) - contains more than 100 easy-to-use repair and diagnostic tools, interface with keyboard and text menu.
- SystemRescueCd(free) - allows the use of basic recovery tools in a hybrid text-graphic Linux environment.
- Ubuntu Rescue Remix(free; , offers a range of open source data recovery and technical forensics tools. However, this product relies almost entirely on the Linux command line, which can make it difficult for people who are used to mouse interfaces .
Automated Easy Recovery Essentials
Instruments Easy Recovery Essentials from NeoSmart Technologies deserve a separate discussion. They are favorably mentioned in almost every Internet forum dedicated to restoring Windows.
This is partly because the tools are pretty good and can work on all versions of Windows - XP, Vista, Win7, Win8, Windows Server.
But the popularity of these tools grew in part because they were free. While many online discussion forums still list NeoSmart drives as free, they are now commercial products. US pricing starts at $20 for Easy Recovery Essentials home edition and ends at $75 for Server edition. You can find a list of all versions and prices for .
For a really modest price, you get a bootable iso image that you can download and burn to a CD, DVD, or USB device. Once launched, Easy Recovery Essentials enables highly automated recovery capabilities. In fact, many complex recovery operations can be launched with one simple click without requiring any further user input.
To get an idea of how easy it is to use these tools, check out the NeoSmart demo video. NeoSmart also offers a money back guarantee.
Which recovery tool is right for you?
I suggest you, if possible, start with the tools available in Windows. They handle most common tasks and maybe everything you need. They provide the performance of familiar operations, as well as a few unusual ones. Hey, you already paid for them!
If the Windows tools don't provide what you need, try free bootable Linux-based recovery discs. Although the Linux environment may be unfamiliar to most Windows users - especially the Linux command line tools - there is usually enough documentation to help you get past any rough edges.
If neither the built-in Windows tools nor the free Linux-based tools work for you, commercial tools may be ideal. NeoSmart's Easy Recovery Essentials tools in particular work well, are very easy to use, and come with a money-back guarantee.
Next week: you'll learn how to use these recovery discs to boot your computer and access the tools they contain. I will also offer some additional tips and tricks. Stay with us!
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 (about what it is). This article will discuss how you can prepare a recovery disk for an aging Windows 7 operating system.
In more modern versions of Windows, i.e. in the 8th and 10th, a recovery disk can be created directly through the interface of these operating systems, both on a regular CD / DVD disk and on a USB flash drive. Or use one of the alternatives, that is, a regular installation disk with the same version of Windows, which also contains recovery tools, or create a disk using the Media Creation Tools tool.
But in Windows 7 you can't really go wild. In this system, the built-in tools can only create a recovery disc on a CD / DVD disc. You can’t use a flash drive, or rather, you can, of course, but for this you have to, as they say, “puff”, dig deeper into the console and other programs. This option for beginners, well, does not roll. But on the other hand, you can write a regular Windows 7 installation image to a USB flash drive and use the recovery tools through it.
Using the Windows 7 installation disk as a recovery disk
CD/DVD drives are going out of fashion, they are used less and less and laptops are increasingly being sold without drives, as they no longer make much sense. Imagine, Windows can be installed officially from a flash drive, any boot program can also be written to a flash drive, movies on TVs can be watched from a flash drive, music can be listened to in a car from a flash drive.
Therefore, when it is possible to write programs and installation images to a USB flash drive, use this option. Because a flash drive always works faster, it is more reliable than a disk, because disks can easily be damaged and no longer work.
By flash drive above, I also meant a device such as an external USB hard drive (USB-HDD). In order not to be confused in the future, I will call all devices like flash drives USB drives.
So, to the topic. In Windows 7, you cannot burn a recovery disc to a USB drive using standard tools. Therefore, the only option is to write a whole installation image with Windows 7 to a USB flash drive, that is, the disk from which you can install this version of Windows.
For this you need:
Creating a Windows 7 Recovery Disc on CD/DVD
If for some reason it would be more convenient for you to burn the Windows 7 recovery disc to a CD / DVD disc, then you can do this without additional programs, directly from the interface of this system.
For this you need:
In a few minutes the disc will be burned!
Also, instead of a special recovery disk on CD / DVD, you can use a regular Windows installation disk burned on DVD.
Conclusion
In the event that Windows 7 crashes and does not start, the recovery disk can help you out a lot, because without it, in the event of a completely inoperative system, you will not be able to use any standard recovery tools that can bring the system back to life. Therefore, at hand you need to have at least an installation disk with Windows, on which various recovery modes are built-in.
