Quick Tip

134-2012

Create A System Restore Disk

If your Windows 7 computer should fail to boot you will be okay if you have a original Windows installation disk but if you don’t you can use a system repair disk you can access Microsoft’s built-in suite of troubleshooting utilities.

TIP: If your computer is unable to boot and you have not made a system repair disk there is still hope if you can find another computer running Windows 7. Be sure that the system you use to create the system repair disk is running the same 32-bit or 64-bit operating system as your unbootable computer.

Once on a working Windows 7 computer, Click Start, type backup in the Search box and then click the top most Programs result which should be Backup and Restore. Next Click the Create A System Repair Disc Hyperlink. You may be asked for the administrator password or conform the action. This will launch a Wizard, which will walk you thru the process.

Of note, if the PC you are using to create the disk does not have the requisite files on it you may be asked to use the original installation disk. If this should happen you will have to try another computer to accomplish the task.

Now if a system refuses to boot you have a tool that may solve your problem without having to reinstall the operating system and losing a lot of files.

To use this tool, start your computer, open the optical drive and insert the disk. Restart the system. The computer should prompt you to press a key to boot from a CD or DVD. If it doesn’t you will have to go into the Bios settings and set the optical drive as the first boot device. Now reboot and follow the onscreen instructions.

NOTE: If you do not know how to access the Bios on your computer, get HELP. You have to be very careful not to change other settings in the Bios that could damage your computer.