Windows Vista users need to use the method listed in the following site to create the System Repair Disk. As the Repair Disk creation tool (recdisc.exe) does not work in Windows Vista Service Pack 1, you need to download and run the pre-beta version of the file. For more information, see article Recover “Create a recovery disc” on Vista SP1 RTM at Long Zheng’s site.
Believe it or not, my old desktop computer doesn’t have an internal CD/DVD drive. I found that it is unnecessary because the 5.25″ DVD drive is too big and takes up too much space. Removing it gives more space for air ventilation. Secondly, although a DVD drive doesn’t take up much power, I know I am saving some (around 20 Watts) from not having it. I do have an external USB slim DVD writer though if I really need to use it. Everything can be run from USB nowadays such as Hiren’s BootCD, antivirus rescue discs and even installing Windows 7.
I have also started using the Windows 7 system image backup and restore feature, so there is no need to create a Windows 7 Rescue Disc in case the boot loader gets wiped off. However, seeing that I’ve already removed the internal DVD drive and try to avoid plugging and unplugging the USB slim DVD writer, I need to install the Windows 7 system recovery onto a USB flash drive. There is no easy supported method to do that from Windows itself but here are a few ways we’ve found how to do it.
There are other options to get the recovery files on to USB such as using the Command Prompt with Diskpart or using USB bootable creation tools such as SARDU, UNetbootin, Rufus, xboot etc, but after testing we found that not all the recovery USB functions work properly. Out of the 5 recovery tools on the “System Recovery options” menu, only the last option “Command Prompt” is working while the rest are broken.
Clicking on Startup Repair shows the following error:
Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically. Sending more information can help Microsoft create solutions.
Clicking on System Restore shows the following error:
To use System Restore, you must specify which Windows installation to restore. Restart this computer, select an operating system, and then select System Restore.
Clicking on System Image Recovery shows the following error:
An internal error occurred. The following information might help you to resolve the error: The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002)
Clicking any of the 2 options in Windows Memory Diagnostic shows the following error:
Windows cannot check for memory problems. An error is preventing Windows from checking for memory problems during startup. To run the Windows Memory Diagnostic manually, boot the computer from the Windows installation disc, and then select Windows Memory Diagnostic from the Windows Boot Manager menu.
If you are getting any of the error messages above on your current Windows 7 System Recovery image installed onto USB stick, or want to create a fully working recovery USB from the off, you should use the below methods to create it as we have found that all the recovery option functions work as intended.
Step One: Creating the Windows Recovery ISO
Before you create the recovery USB stick, you must first get yourself a standard Windows 7 System Recovery ISO which can be attained in two ways. One if you have a recovery CD already burned to disc, and the second if you have no access to an optical drive. If you have a CD-RW drive the easiest method is to run the recdisc.exe tool from the Search box in the Start menu, burn the image to a re-writable CD and then follow the first method below.
First Method: From an existing Windows 7 system recovery disc.
1. Download and install the trial version of PowerISO. If you have any other software you like that creates an ISO file from a CD such as ImgBurn etc, you can use that also. Watch out for the adware during the PowerISO install.
2. Start PowerISO, then go to the Tools menu -> “Make CD/DVD/BD Image File”.
3. Select the destination file as “.iso file”, then choose a location and filename for the saved file. Make sure the source drive is the correct one. Press OK when you’re ready to create.
After a minute or two, the ISO will be created ready to put onto USB.
Here’s how to create the image using another popular ISO utility called UltraISO instead if you prefer it over PowerISO:
1a. Download and install the trial of UltraISO.
2a. Start UltraISO (right click and Run as Administrator), go to Tools menu -> “Make CD/DVD Image“ or press F8.
3a. Click the button to choose a location and filename for the output file, make sure the drive is selected that contains your disc, then click Make. The ISO Output Format should be selected by default.
On Page 2 we’ll show you how to get the Recovery ISO from a system without an optical drive and write the ISO to USB.
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43 Comments - Write a Comment
Thanks for sharing this information on windows 7 recovery disk
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Onur1 year ago
That article is nice but it doesn’t clarify why Recovery Tools fails such as “Windows cannot check for memory problems” from Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool. I have created a Windows 7 installation DVD from official iso and running Windows Memory Diagnostic from this DVD shows error that it cannot check. My current OS is not Windows 7 but Xp. What is the reason of this failure?
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The problem you are having is different from the problems listed here. Windows 7 install/recovery simply doesn’t handle booting or installing from USB too well, which is why these listed errors crop up.
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lev2 years ago
Method 2 (TotalMounter) D is a real hard disk. I-virtual laser. Question: in window 3 D written correctly in the path? Or in window 3 it is necessary to write a laser disk I? Tanks
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Hi All, Good tutorial, but this is how i will manage with a limited no. of pen drives 1. i would make two multiboot pen drives with several windows installation isos & utilities on them : one with YUMI ( BIOS ) & the other one with SARDU ( UEFI ). 2. For repairing/troubleshooting purposes, i would use these multiboot pen drives but, for installation purposes, i would always make temporary RUFUS pendrive .3. When required, i will use multiboot pendrives to boot into the particular windows installation media & make the use of ”repair my computer” as system repair disc. 4. i would use ImageUSB by Passmark to backup & restore various pendrive images. 5. & All of that is very well mentioned/discussed/described on this great platform RAYMOND CC ! Thanks & Regards.
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Arashk3 years ago
1. Excellent tutorial!
2. Easy2Boot (E2B) is an excellent alternative to PowerISO and UltraISO; I recommend that you ad it to your tutorial.
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Method 2 worked for me. Thanks a lot! Just wondering if I can still use the usb to store other files in it? Thanks again.
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Medhat3 years ago
Thank you so much this information helped me a lot Big Thanks
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Great information… seeing how all the recovery iso files for win7 are 600mb, and the trial version of the iso programs only support 300.
get that money.
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HAL9000 Admin4 years ago
I really don’t know where you get the idea that the repair disk ISO from Windows 7 is 600MB but it is totally wrong.
The Windows 7 32-bit ISO is 143MB, the 64-bit ISO is 166MB, it even tells you in the article the size of the ISOs if you read. Each easily fits within the 300MB limit imposed by the trial versions of the software used in the article, no need to pay a dime for anything.
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i am also facing the same problem as srikant is facing i have 3 recovery dvds and as u sugested above yumi is not working for me can u help me out each and every dvd contain a data.bin file with same name as data.bin i am have a hp notebook pavilion dv4 3016tx
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gidion4 years ago
how do i fix my computer with boot mgr compress or missig with a usb flash drive
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Thank you so much this informtion helped me a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big Thanks
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Richard4 years ago
Very slick! Thank you!
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Thanks :)
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CodeMonger5 years ago
I have a bootable usb rescue disc. Unfortunately when I select restore from image, I get an error message as follows:
To restore this computer, Windows needs to format the drive that the Windows Recovery Environment is currently running on. To continue with the restore, shut down this computer and boot it from a Windows Installation disc or a system repair disc and then tyr the restore again.
This doesn’t make sense as the drive where windows will be restored is blank. The only way I found to restore was to actually create the system rescue disc and boot from the dvd drive.
Frustrating experience I thought the CD/DVD went away but I suppose windows 7 is the last technology dependant on that era. The DVD is dead, long live the DVD.
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What should I do if I have multiple recovery dvd’s .I mean how to copy all into a pendrive
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HAL9000 Admin5 years ago
Something like YUMI might be able to do that for you.
Thanks a lot for your tutorial.. I was’nt able to create a w7 rescue disk on my dvd writer. Driver problem maybe ? But I still can burn iso using other software ( BurnCDCC for example) . microsoft advice was to replace my dvd writer. Very kind to them…
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Rama6 years ago
Extremely helpful information, especially the total mounter utility. I wasted days trying to solve recovery disk issue (drive not ready error / parameter incorrect). Thanks ton!
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Most any USB drive method will work for Win 7 as long as you remove the USB flash drive just before the reimaging process starts. Let it find the image and click next. Then remove the flash drive. Once it is restored it will reboot. I downloaded a Win 7 iso from Digital River and used the Microsoft Windows 7 DVD Tool to make mine, but I tried many methods from tutorials and most work if you unplug them as I’ve described. Any repair disk on a DVD will work as a source for needed files as well (You just need to get a decent tutorial onlie for making the USB bootable.
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Akshay Pande6 years ago
The instructions worked fine, but now my pen drive isn’t accessible – it gives an error saying it’s corrupted and unreadable. Is that expected?
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No, that’s not normal, something has gone badly wrong during the process as the pen drive should be readable. Try from the beginning again…
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Hawk6 years ago
The USB flash drive needs to be clean?
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It doesn’t have to be clean as any data currently on the flash drive will be overwritten. Doesn’t hurt to format the drive first yourself though.
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sklorenz7 years ago
Great work! Thanks a lot. After a long time trial and error I found your tutorial that works on creating a bootable USB-stick containing W7 rescue DVD.
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Thanks so much for this guide! It saved my system today when I had a partitioning disaster.
Thankfully, I found your site and followed your instructions to create a Windows 7 system recovery usb before I attempted partitioning my netbook’s hard drive.
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TJ7 years ago
This needs to be a bookmark for all Windows 7 users everywhere. 2 years one, and still incredibly relevant. Many thanks to you, man; using Method 2, I got myself a repair disk without having to get a CD burner.
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Many thanks. Method 2 worked for me. You’re a genius (compared to me). Why don’t Microsoft provide basic support information to their users?
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Andy9 years ago
great article.. it helped me a lot.. thank you very much
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Hi. Great article and it worked fine.
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shz9 years ago
Thanks for the instructions.
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Thanks for the info. You saved the day.
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x9x9 years ago
This is good!
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Thanks for the tip! The flash drive seems to boot up.
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jack10 years ago
thanks buddy… every time i use software for creating pendrive bootable. this information is helpful. thanks again
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Thanks buddy!
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Tim10 years ago
Nice One Ray, good clear instructions :)
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Thanks Raymond. Nice info ;).
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drtank10 years ago
this one is much better than the cd. thanks for the tutorial.
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Nice info. Keep it up.
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aBg_rOnGak10 years ago
Wow…nice and very useful as always…thanks
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A good tip,especially if you have a netbook.
Reply
Leave a Reply
Download our recovery and repair disk for Microsoft Windows Vista (also for Windows 7, 8, XP or Server editions) that can be used to access system recovery tools, giving you options of using an antivirus, System Restore, document and picture backup and recovery, automated system repair, and a command-line prompt for manual advanced recovery.
Looking for recovery disks for other Windows versions?
Easy Recovery Essentials (or EasyRE) is a 55 to 135 MiB download image ready to be burned directly to a CD, DVD or a USB stick.
Features of Easy Recovery Essentials include:
Automatically find and fix errors
Works even when you can’t get into Windows
Recover from virus infections
Restore your PC to a working state
Access and back up your important data
Use your PC even when it doesn’t work
Advanced tools for IT experts
Contents
Compatible with PC manufacturers
Disk for recovery & repair
If you’re like most PC users, you probably got Windows Vista with a new PC or laptop. And if you’re like 99% of the population, you get your new machines from one of the major manufacturers.
Dell, Acer, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo, they all have one thing in common: they don’t give you a real Windows Vista installation disk with your purchase.
Instead, they bundle what they call a “recovery disk” (that’s if you’re lucky – otherwise you’ll have a recovery partition instead) with your machine and leave it at that.
It doesn’t matter that you just paid a thousand dollars for a machine that comes with a valid Windows Vista license – your computer manufacturer just don’t want to spend the money (or perhaps take on the responsibility) of giving you a Windows Vista installation DVD to accompany your expensive purchase.
The problem is, with Windows Vista, the installation media serves more than one purpose. It’s not just a way to get Windows installed, it’s also the only way of recovering a borked installation.
The DVD has a “recovery center” that provides you with the option of recovering your system via automated recovery (searches for problems and attempts to fix them automatically), rolling-back to a system restore point, recovering a full PC backup, or accessing a command-line recovery console for advanced recovery purposes.
Download recovery disk for Windows Vista
Easy Recovery Essentials repair process is non-destructive, recovering PCs without formatting or reinstalling Windows.
The powerful repair process can fix many issues that Microsoft’s own Startup Repair cannot. In addition to the industry-leading automated repair features, this disk will give you access to the following:
System Restore
Web Browser
Partition Editor
Antivirus Scanner
Data/File Backup and Recovery
Commandline/Terminal Access
Later update: Please note that this download is no longer free, due to licensing restrictions imposed upon us.
Our recovery disk supports x86 and x64 platforms and all Windows Vista versions, including 32-bit and 64-bit editions:
Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit and 64-bit editions)
Windows Vista Enterprise (32-bit and 64-bit editions)
Windows Vista Business (32-bit and 64-bit editions)
Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit and 64-bit editions)
Windows Vista Home Basic (32-bit and 64-bit editions)
Windows Vista Starter (32-bit edition)
And all Service Packs:
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2)
This disk is a 120 MiB download in standard ISO format that you’ll need to burn to a CD or DVD before you can use it as a bootable recovery medium. You can also burn it on a USB stick.
You cannot use a recovery or repair disk to install or reinstall Windows Vista.
Burn to CDs, DVDs or USB sticks
NeoSmart Technologies has published a guide on how to burn an ISO image to CD or DVD with your favorite burning program, which you can read if you need more information or help on this topic. You can burnt it with ImgBurn, Alcohol 120% or ActiveISO:
You can also burn it on a USB stick if you don’t want to use CDs or DVDs. We published a guide on making a EasyRE recovery USB.
Compatible with PC manufacturers
This recovery and repair disk is compatible with desktops, workstations, laptops, notebooks, netbooks, ultrabooks and servers from major PC manufacturers, like Dell, HP, Asus, Acer or Lenovo plus more.
Dell, HP, Asus, Acer
Dell
The disk is compatible with all Dell laptops and desktop computers, including all its manufactured series like Adamo, Inspiron, Studio, Vostro, XPS, Latitude.
Do you have a Dell computer running Windows Vista? Read our Dell recovery and restore guide.
HP
The disk is compatible with HP computers: ENVY, EliteBook, Essential Home, Pavilion and x2 for laptops and ENVY, Essential Home and Pavilion for desktops and All-in-One Desktop PCs.
Do you have a HP computer running Windows Vista? Read our HP recovery and restore guide.
Asus
It’s compatible with notebooks, ultrabooks, laptops and desktops from ASUS.
It works for any computer that was manufactured by ASUS, if it runs Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 or any of the following Windows Server editions: 2003, 2008, 2012.
Do you have an Asus computer running Windows Vista? Read our Asus recovery and restore guide.
Acer
It’s compatible with any Acer computer that has Windows installed, including these manufactured series:
Aspire R, Aspire V3 and Aspire E for notebooks
Aspire S7, Aspire S5, Aspire S3, Aspire P, Aspire M, Aspire V7, Aspire V5 for ultra-thin computers
Aspire One for netbooks
Aspire M and T, Aspire X and Predator G for desktops
Do you have an Acer computer running Windows Vista? Read our Acer recovery and restore guide.
Lenovo, Toshiba, Samsung
Lenovo
You can download the repair disk for any Lenovo computers, such as:
ThinkPad, IdeaPad, Essential series for laptops
Thinkcentre, Ideacentre and Essentials series for desktop PCs
Do you have a Lenovo computer running Windows Vista? Read our Lenovo recovery and restore guide.
Toshiba
It’s compatible with any Toshiba computers running Windows:
Satellite, Qosmio, Portege, Tecra, Kira family series
All-in-One desktop series
Do you have a Toshiba computer running Windows Vista? Read our Toshiba recovery and restore guide.
Samsung
The disk is compatible with Samsung line of laptops and desktops, including:
ATIV Book, Gaming and Business PC series for laptops
ATIV One for All-in-One desktops
IBM, Compaq, Gateway, eMachines
IBM
IBM personal computer business division was acquired by Lenovo in 2005.
This disk supports IBM desktop and laptop models, most notably the ThinkPad line.
Compaq
Compaq was acquired by HP in 2002, but some of its famous PC line series are still used by our customers.
Our disk works with Compaq notebooks and desktops PCs, including Compaq Presario series.
Gateway
Gateway Computer was acquired by Acer in 2007.
Our disk is compatible with Gateway Computers netbooks, notebooks and desktops PCs, such as:
Series SX, DX and One ZX for desktop systems
NE and NV series for notebooks
LT series for netbooks
Do you have a Gateway computer running Windows Vista? Read our Gateway recovery and restore guide.
eMachines
eMachines PCs were manufactured up until 2004 when Gateway Computers brought the company. Gateway Computers was later acquired by Acer in 2007, but the eMachines PC brand was used until 2012.
If you own a computer from this computer brand, our disk is compatible with eMachines PCs.
Disk for Windows 7, 8, XP or Server editions
Windows 7
You can get our recovery disk for Windows 7. It supports all versions: Ultimate, Enterprise, Professional, Home Premium, Home Basic and Starter.
Download for Windows 7.
Windows 8
You can also get the recovery disk for Windows 8.
Download for Windows 8.
Windows XP
Easy Recovery Essentials is available for Windows XP users and it supports all Service Packs: Service Pack 1 (SP1), Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Service Pack 3 (SP3).
Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012
Easy Recovery Essentials supports Microsoft Windows Server editions: 2003, 2008 and 2012.
Support
Our disk supports all Windows service packs (Windows XP SP1, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1, Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 7 SP2, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012 R2.
Please don’t ask for help below, it’ll get real cluttered real soon! Open a support thread at https://neosmart.net/forums/ and we’ll help you resolve your problem ASAP.