Computers, we use them every day. To check our mails, play games, do homework. We used them so much that, sometime, we forget that they are like car and that they may broke, suddenly, without warning, and this normally happen when you have something important to do. Now, your computer does not boot anymore. What can you do? Reinstall Windows? It will take hours with the time required to reinstall all your drivers and required apps. And if you don't know how to do it, you will have to bring it to the computer store. Bu t, it may be closed or they may have too much computer to repair and you will have to wait several days. It would be easier to repair it automatically whit the press of a button or by connecting an USB drive, no? Well, that is exactly what I am offering y ou. A small software that can help you automatically repair and reinstall your Windows installation. And as a bonus, it can do all that without deleting your personal data. And if you can't wait to complete the recovery process, you can still access your f iles off - line to copy them to an USB drive so you can continue working on another computer.
But be warned! This solution is not made to do full system backup. Rather, it has been made to allow you to bring back your Windows installation to the working stat e it was when the recovery image was made. If you made it 6 month ago, you will have to reinstall everything that changed since then. The only exception here is under Windows 8 that supports custom “Refresh” point, which is a custom recovery point for your Windows installation. Also, this recovery image must be done during a new installation of Windows. If Windows is already installed on your computer, you won't be able to create the recovery image.
This software will allows you to create a one-time image of a base installation of Windows 7 or Windows 8 and copy this image to a hidden partition on the first drive of your computer. If, for any reason, Windows cannot boot anymore or you just want to revert back to this image, you will be able to use Windows Recovery Environment to completely reinstall Windows based on this image. It is up to you to decide what this image will contain. Will it be only Windows with its drivers, Windows with its drivers and all your personal applications? You dec ide. But chose wisely as the image CANNOT BE upgraded later. It is not a backup. It is a recovery image.
Like I just said, this application creates a recovery image. Not a backup. So don’t use it to create a recovery image with all your personal files. Use backup software for that. Also, don’t waste your time personalising your settings. The Administrator account used during the preparation of the recovery image will be deleted. Don’t waste your time.
Under Windows 7, the recovery tools will give you the following options:
The recovery environment, either booted from the recovery partition or the USB recovery media will give you the following options:
Please note that Windows 7, opposed to Windows 8, does not gives you the option to do a full reinstall. Previous installation of Windows will be always moved to “Windows.Old” folder. If you want to completely erase all data and trace of previous installation, you can either use a recovery media created on the computer, use the “FullRestore.cmd” script that can be found in “C:\Windows” or use the “Full system recovery” from the “Advanced tools” under the Recovery Environment.
Under Windows 8, the recovery tools will give you the following options:
The recovery environment, either booted from the recovery partition or the USB recovery media will give you the following options:
This software will run only under Windows 7 or Windows 8. It does not work under Windows Vista or Windows XP.
Any computer that can run Windows 7 or Windows 8 can use this software, although a specific partition lay out must be respected. Also, you will have to choose between two (2) version of the package for Windows 8, each with their pros and cons.
The following section will explain the different partition structure supported by this program. All the files (XMK, script, etc.) for these scenarios are included with this package.
For Windows 7, you will need to provide the “ImageX.exe” file, both for the 32bits (X86) and the 64bits (AMD64) version. Microsoft© does not allows the redistribution of these files. They can be obtained from the Windows Automated Installation Package. Simply copy them in the right place in the “ImageX” folder in the Windows 7 tools.
This software comes in two (2) versions, one with the recovery image (WIM file) on the same partition as the Recovery Environment and one with the WIM file on the last partition.
The first version is the only one which works with Windows 7. As for Windows 8, it works with both versions.
When using the version with the recovery image on the last partition, Windows 8 will allows you to delete this partition and regain the space when you create a recovery media (USB key). If the recovery image is on the same partition as the Recovery Tools, this option will not be available.
Although it would seems natural to select the second package (WIM on the last partition), please note that all the scripts use partition number to find their required files. This means that if you resize your Windows partition to create a new partition, the partition number of the last partition (with the recovery image on it) will change, making system recovery impossible.
Also, since the recovery partition cannot be created during the installation process of Windows, it will be created during the capture process, making the process longer. The size of the recovery partition can be set in the “SettingsRE.txt” file.
| Partition | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default size | 12gb | 150mb | All |
| Partition type | Primary | Primary | Primary |
| File system | NTFS | NTFS | NTFS |
| Role | Recovery | Boot manager | Windows |
| Active | No | Yes | No |
| Partition | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default size | 12gb | 150mb | 128mb | All |
| Partition type | Primary | EFI | MSR | Primary |
| File system | NTFS | FAT32 | N/A | NTFS |
| Role | Recovery | Boot manager | System reserved | Windows |
| Active | No | Yes | No | No |
| Partition | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default size | 1gb | 150mb | All | 12gb |
| Partition type | Primary | Primary | Primary | Primary |
| File system | NTFS | NTFS | NTFS | NTFS |
| Role | Recovery | Boot manager | Windows | Recovery image |
| Active | No | Yes | No | No |
| Partition | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default size | 1gb | 150mb | 128mb | All | 12gb |
| Partition type | Primary | EFI | MSR | Primary | Primary |
| File system | NTFS | FAT32 | N/A | NTFS | NTFS |
| Role | Recovery | Boot manager | System reserved | Windows | Recovery image |
| Active | No | Yes | No | No | No |
All partitions are of type 07 (ID = 07) except the recovery partition (and the recovery image partition) which are of type 27 (ID = 27).
Recovery partitions (and the recovery image partition) are of type {de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac}. MSR, EFI and Windows partitions don’t have any particular type.
When everything is working as expected, you can then install the recovery tools to create the recovery partition
This section will show you how to install the recovery tools under Windows 8. For this scenario, we will be using the package that creates the recovery image on the last partition, on a MBR/BIOS computer. The process is similar for Windows 7 or other package version of Windows 8.
| Step | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unzip the software package on a computer and select which version of the package you want to use. In this case, we will be using the “WIM–Last partition” version. | |
| 2 | Open the “Autounattend” folder. | |
| 3 | Select the configuration that suits you need. In this scenario, we will be using the “MBR” package for BIOS computer. |