BUILD THE ULTIMATE PC REPAIR DISC
All you’ll ever need
One of the most stomachchurning moments in any PC user’s life is when you switch on your computer to do some work or let off some steam, only to find Windows won’t boot. You may gget lucky—Windows 10 is smarterer than previous versions, and canan resolve certain issues on its own,wn, but in many cases, you’re left in an endless reboot loop. Assumingng Windows even gets that far.
If Windows can’t fix itself, whathat next? Do you have a recent backupup of your data? What about Windowsws itself? Of course, it’s perfectlytly possible to reinstall Windows fromom scratch, but that’s the best part of a day lost to restoring your PC. Andnd did we mention your data?
The solution lies in creating a bootable recovery disc—one thathat gives you the tools to repair mostost Windows woes, remove malware,re, and lets you pull data off the drive in case you’re forced to bite the bulletlet and reinstall. In an ideal world, you’du’d be able to build a single rescue discsc to cover all your needs. Linux usersrs can smirk at this point, and bringng out their Live CDs, giving them fullblown access to the OS they know and love. Wouldn’t it be great if you could do the same in Windows?
The answer is: you can. In this feature,, we’ll show youy how to create all the recovery media you’ll ever need. The first disc will give you access to basic Windows recovery options, plus allow you to reinstall Windows if all else fails. The second offers more quick fixes to resolve common boot and loading problems, plus provides opportunities to recover files and back up or restore disk images. The final disc gives you the closest thing to a Linux Live CD: a fully functioning Windows-like environment to work in, with tools to help you troubleshoot problems, get online, and even add your own custom apps to beat malware and perform other tasks.
The time to create this media is right now, while your PC is still working, so turn the page, and protect your sel f against disaster.
Our first recovery disc is—as it’s always been—the humble Windows installation disc. Can’t boot into Windows? Boot from this instead, choosing the “Repair your computer” option when prompted. From here, you can attempt to fix startup problems automatically, launch System Restore to try rolling back to a previously working installation, or even restore Windows from a disk image. Advanced users can dig deeper, with access to the command prompt, too.
These days, most of us don’t bother with DVDs, so it’s unlikely that you’ve got any installation media to hand. Let’s begin, then, by rectifying that situation. Start by typing “recovery” into the Cortana search box, then choose “Create a recovery drive.” You’re prompted to back up system files to it, which effectively creates a full-blown reinstall disc—you need an 8GB flash drive if you go down this route. Alternatively, uncheck the “Back up system files to the recovery drive” box, and make do with the basic repair options—in which case, all you need is a 512MB USB flash drive, although you won’t be able to reinstall Windows if you go down this route.
(Note: If you want to create a bootable DVD, you need the Media Creation Tool— download the latest version from www. microsof t. com/ sof tware- download/ windows10, and choose the ISO option when creating media for another PC, then rightclick this file, and choose “Burn disc image” to burn your disc.)
From here, if Windows fails to boot, pop in your installation disc or drive, and either make it your first bootable device in the BIOS, or look for an option to choose the boot device at startup, choosing the rescue media when prompted—note, if you’re shown two options (typically “UEFI” and “USB”), choose “UEFI.” From here, you can follow the prompts to hopefully bring your PC back to life, or—if all other avenues fail—reinstall Windows from scratch.
BEYOND THE BASICS
The Windows repair tool is all well and good, but there are times when it can’t help. It can’t disinfect your malwareinfested drive, for example, and neither can you easily copy files from a badly mangled Windows installation, before formatting the drive, and starting again. If you want to protect yourself against either of these two possibilities, you need to augment it with something else.
Most antimalware vendors offer a recovery disc solution that specializes in rooting out malware—see the box opposite for details about creating a fourth recovery disc if you decide against the full-blown Live CD option later on in this feature. In the meantime, our second recovery disc takes things one step further than the Windows install disc. Lazesoft Recovery Suite Home Edition is free (for non-commercial use), so start by downloading and installing it from www. lazesoft. com/ lazesoft- recoverysuite-free.html.
Lazesoft Recovery Suite contains four key components, all of which can be run directly from Windows (even in Safe mode). Of course, we’re interested in building recovery boot media, so after launch, click the “Burn CD/USB Disk” link. You’re asked to specify the target version of Windows— leave the default “DO NOT specify” setting applied for Windows 10 support, then click “Next.” Choose your target media: CD/DVD, USB, or ISO file, then click “Start.” Once created, check out the box over the page to find out what sort of problems Lazesoft can attempt to fix.
ONWARD AND UPWARD
Lazesoft Recovery Suite is well worth using in case it can fix your problem with just a few clicks, but what if it can’t? In an ideal world, you’d be able to boot into a more complete Windows-like environment—one that employs the familiar point-and-click interface, while giving you access to a wider range of tools, full Internet access (being able to research error messages online could be a crucial step toward solving your problem), and more besides.
The good news is that all of this is possible—Microsoft produces a specialized
version of Windows called Windows PE, with “PE” standing for “Pre-installation Environment.” It’s designed to be run directly from removable media, and has been adapted over the years by various individuals to provide recovery discs that can give you the best of all worlds— think Bart PE (based on Windows XP) and AOMEI PE Builder (Windows 7 or 8, but not 8.1 or 10).
One of the most successful PE-building tools is WinBuilder, and one user-friendly variant for Windows 10 comes in the form of Win10PESE. It’s a flexible custom recovery tool builder that enables you to incorporate additional apps and tools if you need them, and can be burned to DVD or USB flash drive (1GB or larger).
BUILD YOUR OWN CUSTOM RECOVERY DISC
Start by visiting http :// win 10 se. cwcodes.net/ Compressed/, and click the link under the “Package” column to save the recovery builder tool in zip format to your hard drive. Once done, rightclick the zip file, and choose “Extract All,” then open the Win10PE_SE_<date> folder (the < date> corresponds to the latest build number), and double-click “BuilderSE.exe” to get started. The WinBuilder main screen reveals all the basic steps that you need to follow.
One of those steps involves giving the builder access to Windows 10 installation media—sadly, your recovery drive ( or a disc created using the Media Creation Tool) doesn’t count. Instead, click the “Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool” link in WinBuilder to access a tool that downloads the Windows 10 ISO. Once downloaded, launch the app, select “Windows 10,” then choose the “Windows 10 Home/Pro” link from the drop-down menu, before clicking “Confirm.” Choose your language, click “Confirm” again, then pick the 64-bit or 32-bit download, based on which version you currently have (press Windows- Pause/Break to find out if you’re not sure), to download the ISO file.
Next, double-click the ISO file to allow Windows to mount it as a virtual CD/ DVD drive (it’ll be visible in File Explorer). Now return to Win10PESE, and click the “Source” button. Click the folder button under “Source Directory” to select the virtual disc drive.
In the program’s left-hand pane, you’ll see a number of collapsible folders that, when opened, revealed additional settings. If you’re in a hurry, you can skip all of these to generate a basic, but usable, ISO file— just click the play button, sit back, and wait for the disc to be created. Once complete, look inside the Win10PE_SE_<date>\ISO folder for the ISO file you can subsequently burn to disc, by right-clicking the file and choosing “Burn disc image.”
If you’re creating a bootable USB recovery drive, however, you should take
the time to expand the “WriteMedia” section. If your PC has a 64-bit UEFI (check with the manufacturer), select the “Copy to USB-Device” box; if not, select “Copy to USB-Device BCD Bootloader” instead, and check “Add Grub2-EFI ( x64 UEFI only)” to ensure it boots. Click the folder button under “Please select the root directory of your USB-Device,” to select the correct drive letter if necessary, then click “Copy to USB” to build your recovery drive from the ISO you just created.
TAKE IT FOR A TEST DRIVE
Beyond the basics
You can now test the recovery drive by booting from it in the same way you’d boot from the previous two recovery options. A menu appears—select “Win10PESE” to boot into your recovery environment. When the desktop environment pops up, you’re prompted to choose your network connection type, if one is detected—the default DHCP is automatically selected after a five-second pause.
You then find yourself at a close approximation of the Windows 10 desktop, albeit one employing a more “classic” Windows look and feel. You’ll see convenient shortcuts to File Explorer, the Command Prompt, and PENetwork on both the Taskbar and desktop—there’s also a shortcut to Firefox, giving you access to the web. PENetwork merely launches the network manager, which should already be running and accessible from the Taskbar Notification area, alongside other controls, including one that enables you to set a different desktop resolution if you wish (note this feature doesn’t work very well on UEFI systems—you’re likely to find only the 1920x1080 and 1024x768 options work).
Click the “Start” button, and select “All Programs” to see what tools and utilities are included with the vanilla Win10PESE disc—shortcuts to critical Control Panel and system management applets are included, as are a handful of file-related tools (including 7-Zip), BootICE (for managing the boot manager), a PDF viewer, and some handy system tools, including Remote Regedit (for manipulating your Registry in case your boot problems stem from there), as well as access to the System Recovery options found in Windows itself.
These tools are all welcome and helpful, but you may be hankering after different tools and utilities—you may even simply want to be able to run a particular app, such as a word processor, while you try to fix your boot problem. The good news is that your Win10PESE environment can support thirdparty applications and programs, too.
We say “some” because, while certain program installers work, on the whole you’re limited to portable apps, namely those that run directly from a folder. You can download these from the Internet (look under X:\Users\Default for the Downloads folder), but be sure to copy portable apps and key files to another drive if you want to keep them for another session—the “X” drive resides only in memory, which means it’s wiped the moment you reboot.
BRING YOUR OWN
Luckily, you have a number of options should you wish to build up a more permanent collection of tools and utilities. Portable apps can be stored on another drive—a USB flash drive, say, or shared network folder. Access them via the Windows PE environment when needed.
A more elegant solution, and one that incorporates your applications directly into your recovery drive (with shortcuts through the Start menu), is to follow the “Add apps to your drive” box on the right. Also take the time to explore some of the other options that Win10PESE provides. Explore the various sections of the disk-creation tool; expand “Shell,” for example, and you can change the packaged Start menu, plus configure its appearance. Expand “Components,” and you can choose which Windows tools and accessories to include— add the .NET Framework to support a wider range of applications, for example.
If you have a virtual Windows machine to hand using a tool such as VirtualBox ( www. virtualbox.org), use it to test your recovery disc—open “VirtualTest,” and select “VirtualBox Emulation” to set up a dedicated virtual machine to test the ISO file with. It’s a great way to check to see what effect your tweaks have, without having to recreate a USB flash drive or boot from your PC each time. But do remember to test the final disc or drive on your actual PC when you’ve got it working to your satisfaction, to make sure.
TROUBLESHOOT YOUR PC
Your recovery discs have been created, waiting for the time they’ll be needed. Now your PC is refusing to boot, and you’ve whisked out your recovery discs. What to do? First, we recommend taking a drive image of the system partitions before you start attempting to fix things. Use Lazesoft for this task, unless you have an emergency boot disc coupled to your existing system imaging tool (such as Macrium Reflect Free), in which case use that.
With the drive image in place, you can start to attempt a fix for your problem. Begin with your Windows installation disc, to see if its Automatic Repair tool can get Windows up and running again. Make a careful note of any error messages if the problem persists, then move on to Lazesoft’s Windows Recovery component (see the box on the previous page). If Lazesoft’s fix-it tools fail to fix your loading problems, bring out the Win10PESE disc. Boot from this, then use the tools onboard —such as Remote Regedit—to try to fix known problems. Don’t forget your Internet connection—use Firefox to browse for possible solutions to error messages, plus download additional software you might need, but didn’t include on the disc. This is particularly handy if you’re battling malware infections—you can track down specific removal tools, or locate your vendor’s portable scanning toolkit, should our other suggestions fail to yield results.