Nick H. Supervisor Posted March 29, 2012 Supervisor Share Posted March 29, 2012 Hi guys, Quick question. My friend needs to use the Windows 7 recovery tools to repair her machine, but the CD is back in the U.S. so she can't get to it right now. Is there another option? She has a Vista CD, but I doubt that would work. Thanks for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted March 29, 2012 Veteran Share Posted March 29, 2012 Make an ISO of a win 7 disk and ftp it. might take a while but she will eventually get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deactivated_ Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Does it boot at all? or have access to another system that has Windows 7? You can use Windows 7 itself to create a system repair disc. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Create-a-system-repair-disc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick H. Supervisor Posted March 29, 2012 Author Supervisor Share Posted March 29, 2012 But I don't have a windows 7 CD either, I've moved to mac. Sorry these are short messages, it's from my iPod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted March 29, 2012 Veteran Share Posted March 29, 2012 find someone to do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deactivated_ Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 So using Windows itself to create the recovery disc is out as an option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick H. Supervisor Posted March 29, 2012 Author Supervisor Share Posted March 29, 2012 Maybe not. I need to take a look at the machine. I'm just doing a preliminary investigation right now. Always be prepared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleNeutrino Veteran Posted March 29, 2012 Veteran Share Posted March 29, 2012 only option i can think of is either to download the disk (which is technically illegal) or have someone send the disk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick H. Supervisor Posted March 29, 2012 Author Supervisor Share Posted March 29, 2012 ...damn. Well this will be interesting :whistle: :shifty: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJGM Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 only option i can think of is either to download the disk (which is technically illegal) Except it isn't if you're not getting it from an unauthorised source. Such as Dell support: Dell Community - Windows 7 Official .iso files (Digital River) If you have a paid (but not cheap) subscription, there's Microsoft Technet and/or MSDN. There's also a 90 day trial of Windows 7 Enterprise free to download from the Technet Evaluation. All legal ways of getting a Windows 7 .iso disk image file, especially if you only want to use the recovery options. You could of course get it from other (unauthorised) sources, but I wouldn't recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BudMan MVC Posted March 29, 2012 MVC Share Posted March 29, 2012 Does it boot at all? or have access to another system that has Windows 7? You can use Windows 7 itself to create a system repair disc. http://windows.micro...tem-repair-disc Problem with that is this noteIf you're prompted to insert a Windows installation disc, it means that the files needed to create the system repair disc can't be found on your computer. Insert a Windows 7 installation disc. Your best best would prob be to download the trial iso if still available - this would work for recovery options. What exactly is the issue that they believe they need a recovery disk? What is not working, or what errors are being presented? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deactivated_ Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Problem with that is this note If you're prompted to insert a Windows installation disc, it means that the files needed to create the system repair disc can't be found on your computer. Insert a Windows 7 installation disc. Your best best would prob be to download the trial iso if still available - this would work for recovery options. What exactly is the issue that they believe they need a recovery disk? What is not working, or what errors are being presented? It does say IF, just to make sure that is clear. Not 'you WILL be prompted', so I still say it's at least a possible option that shouldn't be dismissed so easily just because of the word 'if'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BudMan MVC Posted March 29, 2012 MVC Share Posted March 29, 2012 Yes it's something they could try, but I would be very surprised if files are there... edit: I just tried this on a clean install I had done of w7 ultimate and it worked.. Have to give it a shot on my wifes laptop that has a dell oem install on it. But yeah give it a shot, worse case is you wasted 2 minutes. That is if there is a working 7 box around, etc. if only box is the one that is not working going to be hard to do ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPyro Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 You should be able to download the trial version here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganX Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 So using Windows itself to create the recovery disc is out as an option? ^^^ This. Go to Backup and Restore and create a System Repair Disc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c.grz Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 So is the "System Repair Disc" the same as the "Windows Recovery Environment" on the installation disc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BudMan MVC Posted March 30, 2012 MVC Share Posted March 30, 2012 Good question. I have not had a chance to boot the one I created yet. But from the creation dialog it does state can be used to boot the computer and has recovery tools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c.grz Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 The system restore disc is the same as WinRE which is what comes on the Windows 7 installation discs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyboardP Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 This is going on a slight tangent, but if there are important files on the hard drive you want to get first, you can run Puppy Linux straight from a USB stick. It's very simple to load up and once you boot into it and connect an external harddrive (or however you want to store the data), you can copy your information across. I'm just suggesting Puppy Linux because it's very small and fast and you only really want it to get files off the hard drive. If there aren't any files on the hard drive that you want and you just want to repair the system, then the other suggestions in this thread will hopefully help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkose Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 if there are important files on the hard drive you want to get first ... Just to be clear, the Windows Recovery Environment tool being discussed in this thread does not delete user data nor does it reset the system to factory settings. It is used to diagnose and correct problems with an existing Windows installation and has minimal impact on the user experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyboardP Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Just to be clear, the Windows Recovery Environment tool being discussed in this thread does not delete user data nor does it reset the system to factory settings. It is used to diagnose and correct problems with an existing Windows installation and has minimal impact on the user experience. Good point. I didn't mean to imply you'll lose your data, just that you can still access files if you need them right away :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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