How-To Geek
How to Make a Windows 7 or Vista Repair Disk If You Don’t Have One
If you bought your computer with Windows 7 or Vista pre-installed, you most likely don’t have a regular Windows repair disc. What you do have is some crappy disc from the manufacturer that totally wipes your computer back to factory settings. What if you just want to run Startup repair off the install cd without losing all your settings?
Windows 7 Users: Click Here to Learn How to Create a System Repair Disc for Free
It turns out that Microsoft is going to let you create your own Windows 7 or Vista repair disc when Service Pack 1 comes out in a month or so. If you can’t wait that long, the nice people over at Neosmart have created their own Windows 7 or Vista Repair Disc available for download. Update: it looks like the discs are no longer free.
The file is an ISO image file… if you are familiar then skip to the link, otherwise we’ve also got instructions on how to create a CD from the ISO file.
Burn Windows 7 or Vista Recovery Disc ISO to CD
You may already have a tool to do this such as Nero, but the best tool available for burning ISOs is ImgBurn, a freeware utility that does nothing else but burn ISO images, and it does it well.
Open up ImgBurn, and then click on the “Browse for a file” button, selecting the file you downloaded from Neosmart.
Put a blank CD into the drive, and then click the big Write button.
That’s about all there is to it… you now have your very own Vista Recovery CD.
Got Feedback? Join the discussion at discuss.howtogeek.com
Comments (202)
Programmer by day, geek by night, The Geek, also known as Lowell Heddings, spends all his free time bringing you fresh geekery on a daily basis. You can follow him on Google+ if you'd like.
- Published 02/6/08
This is great! My husband had a problem on his Vista system and the only choice we had was to wipe it clean. Now if it happens again, I have an alternative. Thanks Geek!
Hi,
Won’t that wipe out any hardware specific drivers that are installed .
Philippe
ImgBurn = DVDDecrypter? I thought the project was dead :O
Nice, is there a similar one for XP? Also, is this legal?
@Alekz: I was wondering the same thing. I looked and it appears what happened was that the author of DVD Decrypter decided to keep developing the program but without any of the DVD copy protection cracking stuff that got it into legal trouble.
Do I download both of the files on the website or just one?
Just the option labeled “Download Windows Vista Recovery Disc”.
You don’t need to worry about the “Download Windows Vista Recovery Disc Torrent” option.
That is just an alternate option for people with a BitTorrent client to use.
any one know i can uncompress my bootmgr in vista
I’m going to apologize upfront if this post gets too lengthy but I am here to say this procedure worked wonderfully. I bought a Toshiba laptop back in July for basic web surfing integrated into my home theater. I have a younger brother who doubles as my favorite charity. Long story short, he’s now the owner of the laptop.
Last Friday he grew impatient when Windows Update was doing its thing and thinking something was wrong, he disconnected the power cord and then pulled out the battery. Upon the next boot he got BOOTMGR IS MISSING. Of course he shows up to my house with the laptop but no recovery discs. Googling I found this site and went to work. And it worked impeccably but with one difference. When I booted into the disc, I went into System Recovery Options then selected “Repair your computer” the message came back stating nothing was wrong. I was relieved because that told me the OS was OK but I was still getting BOOTMGR IS MISSING. Did the ctrl alt del and went through the process again but this time selected “System Restore” and restored it back to the day before he did his deeds. Voila’!!
Once I had it stabilized I went into Windows Update and reinstalled all the failed updates. The system is running smooth.
Thanks everyone.
Frank
@Frank: How long did your brother wait for Windows Update? If it was under an hour then you should tell your brother that it is normal for Windows Update to take 30-60 minutes to install updates depending on certain factors like the speed of the computer or if a lot of updates are being installed.
You can also tell him that in times where things to take to long and it appears to be hung there normally isn’t a need to unplug the laptop and remove the battery. If you just hold the power button down for up to 10 seconds or so the laptop will just turn off without checking with Windows Vista first.
jd, When I went into the Update History the 2 attempts that failed were about 20 minutes apart. He has been told (via The Riot Act) that when the Updates are active to leave the thing alone, just walk away. I did tell him about the power down you mentioned but now that you mention it I’m going to tell him again.
He’s learned his lesson and I promise he wont be pulling the battery out anytime soon. :-)
I also had my fun with him acting like he had destroyed the computer. (I fixed it when he wasn’t around.) He called rather curious to what was happening and I BS’d and BS’d and BS’d some more. Had him convinced that he was an idiot (which he’s not) and that he had ruined the computer (which he hadn’t).
Fun fun fun fun…..
Hi! This worked… sorta. It boots the computer (a Lenovo 3000 N200 notebook), but it just sits there on a black screen. Nothing! I can see the mouse cursor and move it around, but nothing else goes. Any ideas?
This is wonderful. Thank you so much for getting my computer started so easily.
It feels good to know that one now has a tool to repair errors in a much easier way than having to go through the painful formatting process. Thanks a lot geeks and keep it up.
Hey
do any of you know if I can possibly burn it onto a DVD instead of a CD? I don’t have any CDs in my house. thnx.
~Cassie
Hi Cassie
You can burn DVD/CD both on a DVD W(Writer)
and thanks for an amazing post! really good tips.
I need to make a recovery disk in case i need it
Hi Diane…
The process is completely depicted above and what it is for… making the recovery disk…
Then why have you asked some thg as such…
Do u need some another way of that as depicted above… plz clarify..
Cheersss
well to cut the long story short, i have new laptop(acer ) that HAD vista and i tried to get rid of the bastard, to find my self without computer, i did all as suggested previously but cant get it to work. i had special EISA partition that i got rid off and when i try to install XP it shows message of non existing HD, so i tried to get back to vista and now its this problem with BOOTMGR? did all according to the explanation with recovery disc and ImgBurn
any suggestions?
I just want to say.. OMG truly OMG thank you so much if someone has a computer they know how scary these problems can be. i followed your guidelines to the T! Everything is back up and running great. I was freakin out so much because i just finished a massive download for Age of Conan then as i was about to check out the beginning content it said you need to install vista SP1 for the best graphics and stability. Well when i did, it cut out right at the end of updating, you know that screen that says 3/3 downloading at 98%. Next thing i know my computer is restarting with a bootmgr is missing error. I was like O..M…G this is not happening to me. So i get on my laptop look on line for a fix and you popped up :). Seriously i want to thank you again so much
Did burn recovery disc with great hope, but “Acai” – my laptop still not work !
Boot from CD , I choose “repair your Computer” but end with nothing, Acai re-booting himself
Choosing “System Restore” it said :” No Restore point bla bla ”
Tried F8 and select Safe mode : Same thing.
Through XP , I can see the system files is still there; so conclude some Bootfile or Startup file must be missing or corrupt. Can any body help?
My Acai Specs : Acer 4520 G; AMD athlon X2; 3 G RAM ; Dual Boot Vista (Pre-Installed) and XP.
Bought this in Kuala Lumpor August 2007.
I installed Service Pack 1 for Vista. So I’m wondering if Microsoft have made their own version of a rebootable disc for laptops like mine with Vista pre-loaded.
This advice has saved me from a new Vista install. However, is you have Vista x32, be sure to to use the the NeoSmart link http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/windows-vista-recovery-disc-download/ instead.
Our Sony Laptop just recently shut down. When we turn it on, it ask whether we want to start widows or start repair (recommended) if we start windows automatically it shuts down if we do the repair process it gives us 4 tool options which doesn’t help one bit but we can’t go anywhere else. The system recovery when we try to run it then this appears OS not installed then it shuts down. Any ideas what we might do to fix the problem would be very greatful.
Thanks,
WHY can’t someone link to the ISO image w\o torrent? WHY should anyone have to install software JUST to change back to the proper image (ISO)
@Jonesn: The linked to page used to have a direct link to the ISO file. It appears NeoSmart removed it.
How do I create a Vista Repair Disk if I already have service pack one??
Great resource for the Vista Recovery disk. Thx.
Well SP1 has been released now so how can i make a recovery disk in Vista?
TIA :-)
I have a friend who just brought me his laptop with this problem. i got the recovery disc just to find out he has x32 edition where can i get that?
Great tool, thanx saved my bacon
Hi, I downloaded this and put it on a disk and tried to boot my computer from it, but it wouldn’t work. Earlier I was installing an anti-virus software (NOD32), and my laptop BSOD’d, and from then on when I tried to run it it would BSOD and restart. Does anyone have any clue as to what I could do?
Ooh, I just read the rest of the comments, and I have the EXACT same problem as Connie Mahan. Plase if anyone has any idea how to fix this, please share.
This worked like a charm!!!
I was worried when my laptop wouldn’t boot anymore after trying to install vista themes, but because of this… Its just fantastic!
Hello,
I created the Vista recovery CD (32 bit) as in the above steps but get following error… ” E:\Sources\Install.wim “, “Error Code: 0×80070002″ after I enter my product key.
Has anyone faced this problem before?
Appreciate if you have a solution & can help
What’s English for “ISO”?
To Ibrahim and anyone concerned about the legality of this disc:
Yes, this is perfectly legal to download, although the actual creation of the disc may have involved reverse-engineering a copy of Windows, which is against the terms of use – but only for the person who did the reverse engineering, not for those who reap the benefits thereof. The disc isn’t what you pay for when you buy a copy of Windows – you’re essentially just paying a license fee. So, if you’re able to install this with your working Vista key, then yes, it’s completely legal. If you somehow obtained a key from a key generator program, then it’s illegal.
Here is a link to the ISO. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RE0RYM28
Always thought downloading a torrent app just to download a file is kind of dumb.
So you dont need to download a torrent app to download the Iso :D
This is the : Windows Vista Recovery Disc 32-Bit (x86) Edition
Followed above instructions to the letter…got Vista to boot. But! It looks like it did the day we bought the computer – everything is GONE! I tried repair first, to no avail, then restored to Dec 25 2008. It booted, but like I said, it looks like a fresh install. Thank you for the info though, it almost worked….
Roger
the program is now only able to be downloaded in a bittorrent file,not in a iso file. thank you
Hi, I don’t know who you people are, but I just want to say THANKS SO MUCH!!!! I’ve been trying to get rid of a Downloader-UA Trojan, and in my attempts, the computer went to blue screen, then shut off. When I restarted it said there was missing or currupt files and it wouldn’t start. Being as how I purchased it at Best Buy, it’s a Sony Vaio Laptop running Windows Vista Home Premium, I didn’t get a Vista Disk. BUT!!!!!! I did exactly what was described above and presto, here i am, back to my login screen. Thanks SO MUCH!!!! I have tons of Child Custody Videos, concerning a divorce, that I haven’t backed up yet, over 20 gigs of videos and I’m going to buy a 32 Gig Jumpdrive and store them in my safe, but anyway, Again, Thanks!!!!!
ei guys.. will you need to reinstall the display/sound adapters after restoring? just wondering.. i havent tried it yet but i might need this someday..
Hello, I tried the Vista Repair disk, after booting and initial Windows loading files message, the screen goes blank, and nothing happens. I am not sure if I missed a step. What can I do? Thanks.
hi, ive followed the steps pointed out to create the recovery disk and completed that without a problem. then i put the disk into the drive and restarted the computer and then this is what happens:
1, the screen shows up saying “windows is loading files”
once this has loaded up,
2, the screen with “microsoft corporation” loading, starts to load up,
and after that nothing comes up, the screen goes blank.
initially every time i started the computer it says the following file is missing or corrupted.
the file is something like “\windows\system32\config\system”
can anyone please help me to resolve this problem as i cant even start up in safe mode or anything.
could this possibly be because my hardrive is faulty or something and if this is the case then how can i save my data on the hardrive.
thanks
Hey thank you so much that`s j amazing and works perfectly. Thank you very much……
regarding my previous entry i have the reason why the screen appears to go blank.
it is most probably the hardrives control board that is not working.
on my computer the disc spins in the hardrive but no data is able to be read off the hardrive.
i know the problem is not with any other components of the computer because using another hardrive and installing windows on it again, the system runs perfectly.
soulution to the problem is either buy an identical hardrive and swap the control board so you can retrieve your data and then if you got warranty send back your hardrive after swaping the control boards over again.
if you have not got warranty then after retrieving data swap control boards over and use the new hardrive.
second solution would be to send the hardrive to the manafacturer (if it is still under warranty) and they will replace you with a new one.
however dont do second option if you need to keep your data as the manafacturer will erase your data and repair it or give you another hardrive.
hope this helps if you had the same problem
thanks
for all who thinks this is illegal, its not. this is entirley legal because its not copywrite. but im downloading the project now and waitin to c what happens. and i dont think this works for XP because XP doesn’t have as many errors as vista
I’ve created this recovery disk from 2 different sources but my pc just wont boot from it. It says booting from CD/DVD but it just locks (including keyboard) there. Any ideas?
Thanks
Hey i did a virus scan but nothing will come up but my comp is slow as a snail and my history keeps filling up with random sites i know theres something wrong but im not sure. i havent made a backup disc yet so would i still be able to if i have a virus. any info would be greatly appreciated.
“Jordan
Hey i did a virus scan but nothing will come up but my comp is slow as a snail and my history keeps filling up with random sites i know theres something wrong but im not sure. i havent made a backup disc yet so would i still be able to if i have a virus. any info would be greatly appreciated.”
It should still be fine to make the Recovery CD. If you dont have a torrent app to download the Iso file you can use the download I uploaded. If you have Windows Vista 32-Bit (x86) Edition
I downloaded that iso and burned it to imageburn but when I use it on my HP laptop, after entering the serial number it says that a file in D:\Sources\Install.wim does not exist. How can I get this file?
After following the “directions” in downloading the torrent file (32-bit) version and burning the ISO on your recommended burner, I guess I’m missing something, or don’t understand torrent files like I thought. When I think of Recovery Disk, I assumed it would be able to put back some of the files I may of deleted by mistake (thru various disk cleaners, etc.). Am I missing something? Thanks ahead of time for anyone’s clarification on this download, recovery, purpose, etc. Greg
Greg, you can download the ISO file from here http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RE0RYM28
that way you dont have to deal with any torrent apps/files.
This recovery disk is not really for recovering files you deleted be mistake,
for that you can google for a free app called Recuva. or try googling: file recovery free
Excellent work. I had the \windows\system32\config\system error as well and (after a couple of restarts) it restored the machine to yesterday’s point and all is well…Cheers.
I followed your instructios and got the recover disk made. The disk did get the notebook to System Recovery Options. However, Startup Repair still can’t get Vista started on its own.
When I tried to install windows a window poped up and had the following words in it:
Windows cannot open the required file D:\Sources\Install.wim. The file does not exist….
When I used the DOS prompt to look up what’s in D:\Sources\ I only could find a file by the name of Boot.wim. Any chance you can fix that? Thanks.
hi all im just wondering if anyone can help me,my hard drive spins then cuts out and my pc wont read the disc……please help me….cheers…
I have appreciated some of the feedback I’ve received in trying to create a “Vista Recovery Disc”. After following every instruction, from this page or another one mentioned in this site, I can’t get any disc to do what’s claimed. I’m not a newbie, and yes, I do make mistakes, but making a functional disc shouldn’t be as difficult as it has for the majority of users…at least in this forum. The fortunate few that the disc works for, I couldn’t be happier. But, as stated before, “something isn’t right” regarding creating this workable disc. It would be welcomed to be proven wrong, but please don’t send me a link to some kind of gimmick. Thanks for letting me vent. I’ll be happy to see MORE successes than not. Please correct me if I’m missing something.
MrCentro, exactly what are you having issues with? Whats this gimmick link you speak of? If your talking about the link to the file i uploaded i assure you my uploaded copy works. I have used it myself and last i checked over 100 people have also downloaded and used it. If you’d like you can mail me @ R3SiEViL at gmail and I’ll try to help you get this working.
I am replacing my HDD with a new HDD. My old, smaller drive is still working on my Laptop. My Acer Laptop didnt come with any discs, so when I replace my HDD, I wont have a Vista CD/DVD to load a new OS onto the HDD (not to mention any saved files). Will this work for me?
can you please help ive been a silly girlie i was having a problem stuck the product recovery disc in cleaned up the lappy and i cant find the re install disc for windows vista basic can you please pleas ehelp
what is the product key,,,,, useless without that
when I burn into the cd the install.wim is not there. I used alcohol 120 with the lowest speed but where’s that file go. Is there anyway i can download install.wim. I’ve been having a headache for a few days. now. can someone help please. i have a sony model VGN-NR430E.
can’t repair can’t install from scratch and it’s really ….
SUPER tips and links! THanks so much. I really needed this as my computer keeps on crashing. I’ve scanned it so many times now and can’t find anything wrong.
Perhaps you might be able to list some hard to detect malware that might be causing it :)
when I changed my ISP from optusnet to bigpond I have had all the trouble in the world . I find it is impossible to change my email address or ID with Windows live messenger and now I’m wondering how all my other contacts will be able to get in touch.
After reading about the Vista repair disk I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on how to set about rectifying the trouble changing ISP’s causes.
I enjoyed reading the comments made by your readers and would like to join your group.
Regards A Walker
Ok Im having problems with Img Burn. I found my file and everything but I get a error saying “No writers detected”. How do i fix this?
Heres a screen shot if it helps at all.
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4466/imgburnproblem.jpg
Thanks, Caleb
When I click on the “available for download” link. I receive an error message from Internet Explorer. Any suggestions?
hi
my leptop show me that bootmgr missing & press ctrl + alt + delete
after i cant do any thing
show please tell me what should i do?
My laptop was woking fine for a while, but now due to some events I had to reformat the entire computer, I was wondering if I could get vista back if i made a disk on my brother’s computer (it’s the exact same model). I still have the product key
Would this work for me?
I’ve got the CD and such thanks to this but how can I reformat/reinstall vista with the CD? I’ve tried using the install on it but whenever I try it always says that it can’t find install.wim
The download isn’t for a Vista install disc, otherwise it would be massive, as Vista comes on a DVD, and probably illegal. As it says on the Neosmart page pertaining to the CD, its merely a ‘repair’ thing for people who don’t have a Vista DVD and so can’t access recovery. It does not contain install.wim. The reason for the rather crude coding (and the ‘install’ option) of the thing is probably because the recovery disk creator was only included in the beta SP1 and ‘disappeared’ when it was released.
Thank you very much, I had a bootmgr problem and dont have vista disk as laptop came with restore on c: drive but couldnt access it, your solution was perfect, I downloaded the boot disk and repaired and everything working well now. Much appreciated
Hi there! Great Tip you’ve got here. I have actually finished with the process stated above and i tried booting with the CD just to be sure its perfectly working. I didnt follow it to the end though cuz i had to pause and wonder “Wont this wipe off all what i have on my laptop? please i need to know what exactly this Cd is capable of doing as i dont want to wipe off the drivers or will the CD be restoring my drivers? I can always back up my files bt what about certain drivers that cant be easily gotten cuz my hp didnt come with any CD. Please reply ASAP.
Thanks
I have no other computer to download the repair tools…..so is there anything in the start before the BOOTMGR msg comes up, that can get my computer started…whether it erases all my info or not?
Am presently running the start up in “repair” mode, booted off the downloaded CD as described. How long can this take ? I guess it may vary, but just curious. System was apparently corrupted on a software load. What I see is the reapir screen and the scrolling bar.
Thanks
Hi, I am wondering if this Windows Vista repair disc will work on a computer if sp1 updates have been already installed.
I made the recovery disks (both 32 and 64 bit because I don’t know which version I have) but the computer won’t boot from the CD. It tries to boot and makes that ‘eh-uh’ noise but just goes into the repair options that were already available without the CD and don’t work. The farthest it gets is a blue or black screen (depending on the recovery option you choose) with a cursor you can move around. Why won’t the CD boot?
ok so my friend deleted c drive and now i get that “boot mgr is missing.” I created the vista recovery disk (Windows Vista x64 Recovery Disc) and it loaded but failed. It start loading:
It says no FAT32 Volumes Found, exiting…
Driver not found: ‘MSCD001′.
“Caldera DR-DOS 7.03
Copyright (c) 1976, 1998 Caldera, Inc. All rights reserved.
[DR-DOS] A:\>”
and stop loading from there. I have no clue what to do now…Please help. It’s a HP tx2500 pavilion entertainment notebook.
Wow, this worked, took 2 hours to download bittorrent and 3 attempts and about an hour to run on wifes laptop but it wokred, after 2 days of nothing we are back up and running, boy is she pleased!!! Thank you for saving my life, well it was my fault it fell over in the first place, apparently.
I am having problems. The cd loads fine, but asks for disk drivers for my hard drives. I have sata drives. Can anyone help?
just wondering if this is going to erase all my files i have on my computer. Thanks.
i have hp pavillion dv6000 it comes up with boot mngr missing i went into bios and done a hard disc test and the result came back 10009 replace hard disc i have 2 questions please is the replace hard disc because boot manager is missing and 2nd my computer came with vista already installed can i use my mother in laws vista disc to sort out my computer as i only have an old tower system with no way to burn the recovery system disc from our computer
many thanks
This doesnt actually repair the computer, what it does just try to attempt to repair unlike windows XP where the files are actually replaced, it might replace some files, but it should show a tool bar or a status bar, of what it is idoing, i find this a unuseful tool, in many ways.
you still need someone to help you get around, so in the long run, you will have to wipe everything from your computer and start fresh again.
I suggest people to start using external drive to save or install programs to or use a second internal drive NOT A PARTITION but a seperate drive, use only one drive for system disk and one drive for all program i cannot stress enough on how many peopel lose data and picture and music because they tend to wipe everything with a recovery disk, be warned.
USE AN EXTERNAL DRIVE when saving or keeping data!
Thank you ..thank you …thank you!!! You have no idea what it’s like to get ripped off by a computer store and then come onto the internet and find WONDERFUL peeps like yourself who will help people like me. You are GOLD!!!
I activated my recovery partition and restarted my computer on accident then I got this problem. Is there a way to switch the drive over to the C drive from the control bootMSG is missng screen?
thank u 1,000,000,000,000,000,000……………………………………..
Hello,
i am having a problem my Laptop Acer 5534 is checking when i open windows, I appeal to you requesting a help how to fix it
Sbastien
My product code on my laptop don’t work with it What do I do
Sooo how are u suppose to download it if u can even get to the desk top?
Hi
have burned the CD and it gets me through to system instal screen but the fails with error: E:\Sources\Install.wim. The file does not exist. Make sure all files required for installation are available and restart the installation. Error code 0×80070002
Have tried several times with the same result. If I use system repair option it does not seem to find my OS
Okay i’ve actually used the discs from the manufacturer (HP) and followed all their steps. The PC tries to re-boot but just has a blank screen, the instructions i was given said to leave it and not touch it and that it could take up to 2 hours to repair itself, well that was 12 hours ago so i don’t know what to do. When turning the PC on the HP screen has stripes thru it, then when i hit f11 i get jibberish writing and exclamation marks all over the screen. Seems to go back to normal once putting the recovery discs thru it but then as i said once it’s completed it re-boots and whamo black screen! Did a HD check thru bios and all seemed well there too btw. HELP! xo
I was just wondering if you download a recovery disck for someone else in my computer.
sorry if it’s possible to download a recovery disc for someone else comp.
It’s just impossibleto get in to my friends comp. because it ask for the recovery disk wich we do not have. So I wanted to downloaded from my computer but will that mean that I won’t be able to download one for my own comp.
Thank you. I succeeded to recover the system by Windows Vista repair disc for 5 minutes. (notebook, Vista pre-installed). A notebook was not loaded. Error: BSOD 0xc000000f. A loading was stop in Safe Mode on crcdisk.sys
i can’t seem to boot from the recovery disc….get a black screen in DOS that says “windows loading files” and then from there my hard drive attempt to boot and I end of with the BSOD.
Thank you !
Still not sure what happen – Vista would get stuck at storport.sys loaded … :’(
Downloaded/Burn the disk. 5 Minutes later, I am back in business. My Raid 1 is out of wack. I am rebuilding it right now. Not sure if this was the problem but what’s for sure is that the disk saved me hours of pain/work.
Saved my life!
Thought the laptop disc had died, showing black screen with bootlog error text. I dubiously downloaded Restore file to my PC. From my file I burnt CD – put it in laptop clicked restore. The screen came up blank, but then amazingly opened to my login screen (which I hadn’t been able to do all morning),. Great thanks to all concerned
how can I solve that problem when I donot have vista instalation disc or internet connection. my friend is in this situation and needs help
i done all this and it stuck on a black screen after it loads the system files, what do i do?
Hi, When I typed my Vista Serial Number after I boot from Cd, its showed that my Vista Serial was invalid. Actually, my Vista was genuine. Please kindly advice me how should I do. Thanks in advanced.
hi,i have laptop hp pavilion dv2210us vista when i turn on my computer is just a black screen it does not do anything at all please help me what to do.thanks
I must say, thank you so much for putting this up. I honestly never thought I’d need a system repair disc until my system files became corrupted and my computer would not let me press F11 to do a system restore. With this disc, I was able to finally get system restore to boot. So, thank you so much again. :D
I am embarrassed because others seem to have no problem getting this to work. But when I downloaded the repair file that is supposedly an ISO file, it is actually a torrent file and my newly downloaded ImgBurn program doesn’t recognize torrent as a supported file. Thus my repair disk is not working when I try to boot from the CD drive. Any suggestions?
Nevermind, I didn’t scroll far enough on the Neosmart page to see that I needed to download uTorrent also. My bad.
So I Been Trying To Install Itunes And Stuff On My Laptop Sony Vaio Windows Vista Home Premium & Everytime I Try To Install Something It Says “Windows Installation Error: Windows Installation Is Not Installed Correctly”(Something Like That) Other Have Said To Take Off Safe Mode & I Tried That Has Not Worked. How To Fix This?
where can i get the activation key?
i have a Dell inspiron mini 10, my problem is that i can’t insert a disc cause it doesn’t have a cd/dvd drive, i took it to this guy who could fix it but he said he couldn’t do anything, i have tried everything with even a flash drive, but nothing can fix it what can i do???
so can i use this repair disc as a instal disc on my bootcamp apple mac air
In Img burn,It cud not read the disk,it is showing as the disk is not ready.I tried many disks but still same problem,Igot dvd writer.
Well, my computer has two repair disks and this is just one file, how does it work? email me. brandonisdaman94@yahoo.com
It wont let me download the iso.
Didnt work….. This is not as easy as just “popping” the disk in and your probs are gone. It did get me to the windows installation screen, where I clicked the “repair windows” option. It then takes me to a system recovery option screen, asking me to choose an operating system to repair…. of course windows vista is not listed (nothing is). it then says if you do not see your operating system listed click load drivers to load drivers for your hard drive. I click that button and it takes me into a directory where i need to search for a “setup information” file????? totally lost now….
WHAT IS THE PRODUCT KEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This worked a treat for me. So happy to get my OS back up and running. Thanks Geek!
I have an Acer laptop with Windows Vista. As of this morning it will do nothing, comes on and shows blue screen with curser in corner. I attempted to restart several times with same results. My husband usually is the one to work on the computers when there are problems, so I am totally lost. Before changing to this screen, the computer said to run system repair, which I did, and now it will do nothing. The Acer did not come with any software, everything was preloaded. How do I correct this, hopefully without losing pictures on the computer? Thanks.
my laptop has crashed how do i get it rebooted when i dont have the system disc
All i need is one disk?
Okay i was trying to uninstall Adobe CS3 Master Suite from my computer. I have windows Vista home premium 32Bit, and when i pressed “finish and restart” my computer restarted but when it tried to go to the log in menu it just shut off completely. So i turned it back on and it told me to run start up repair so i did and again it just shut off. So the next time the same menu popped up i just started the computer normally and after i lil bit it would take me back to the same menu! I have to be persistent to be able to finally get my computer to let me log on and if I am luck it takes 5 tries. But the weird thing is that whenever I finally manage to log on everything seems fine! The problem happens every time i turn my computer on! So should i use the recovery disk on this website to fix my problem? I would really appreciate it if you help me. This is the 4th time this happens to me and I am tired of paying people to fix it for me.
i dont have torrent and cant get it could i still download the disk or any vista recovery disk
my laptop crashed how do i reboot it
You are a god. Hours I have spent trying to resolve the problem I had.
Thank you once again.
I have downloaded some photos on to discs But how do I upload them
Regards Stan
This worked for my frazzled mom, who came to me freaking out about her corrupted Vista after installing routine updates. Thanks FOREVER AND EVER. I LOVE YOU GUYS
Error Code 0×80070002 appears when I begin the recovery process, halting everything.
tried to use F8 before Microsoft WELCOME.. to get the recovery option console.. failed.
I could not get manufature recovery CD run, ( tried at prompt before Microsoft WELCOME ), failed.
how Can I run the CD from comand prompt.. the CD drive is E:
beagoodman at yahoo
hi this saved me from breaking down because my laptop means alot to me and i depend on it for almost anytihng. however, i did the system restore and it said restore successfully but when it restarted it just went back to the windows vista menu and when i took the cd out that same annoying message BOOTMGR COMPRESSED POPPED what am i suppose to do now??
HEY AGAIN I FOUND OUT WHAT I THIKN THE PROBOLEM IS. WHEN I GO TO SYSTEM RESTORE THERE ARE 3 BOXES. THE 1ST IS:
DISK STATUS
[ ] (C:) (SYSTEM) READY TO RESTORE
[ ] PQSERVICE (E:) THE DISK IS NOT IN THE SELECTED RESTORE POINT
[ ] BOOT (X:) THE DISK IS NOT IN THE SELECTED RESTORE POINT
THE FIRST BOX, C SYSTEM HAS A CHECK IN IT BUT THE OTHER 2 BOXES BELOW IT DONT AND IT WONT ALLOW ME TO PUT 1. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THOSE 2 BOXES MEAN BUT IM PRETTY SURE THAT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH WHY I CANT FIX MY COMPUTER BECAUSE THE C SYSTEM SAYS ITS READY TO RESTORE BUT THE OTHER 2 ARE NOT. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW CAN I FIX THIS PROBLEM??
Brilliant works great.. Thank you..
Ok so after figureing out that on my laptop just because it popped the dis out does not mean it was done an had to start all over. I got it to work like a charm by just following your instructions. Thank you so much!!
Couldn’t start my Computer in Safe Mode nor back-up my files. Error message read: “the file or directory is corrupted & unreadable”. Followed your instructions & used the CD to Boot my System (by the way, I used F12 to access disc). It worked PERFECTLY! Very much appreciated.
Hello how to geek team I have a question I hope you can answer I have a problem with my computer I didnt have a internet connection so I let my sister take it to her job the guy there I guess he did a system restore it was back working fine I dont know what he did I didnt ask when I was using the computer a virus came upon it at the time I couldnt open my cd rolm to put the anti-virus disc in I believe thats what desroyed my computer because I was trying to cut it on it wouldnt let me even turn it on Windows Vista was already installed on my computer me and my sister have the same computer I borrowed her system recovery disc to try and fix my computer it seemed like it was working I let it run when i came back in the house it said it didnt work ever since then my computer screen is black and it says boot mgr is missing it tells me to push ctrl alt and delete but that isnt working my scrren is still black and it wont let me do anything Please help my computer is only 2 years old how can it go out just like that please email me ASAP Thanks.
Ok, I downloaded the file, and burned it to disk. It has 1 file (bootmgr) and 2 folders (boot and sources). How do I proceed from here? What I did was I left the disk in drive and did a restart, but nothing happened. Help !
ok i downloaded everything like the page said burnt it to a disc put it in my laptop tried to install but it asking for product key i put mine in and it says invalid product key any suggestions
Hello Fredrick, how did you get the disk to run? Please see my question on previous post.
hey all, i know this gonna sound silly but for some reason i cant seem to work the repair program. i dled and burn it into disk but i just dont know how to run it. If some1 to be so kind to help, i would really appreciate. ty
Okay, made the ISO disk, works great, but for some reason, my product key does not work with it, any ideas? Any and every theory would work for me, It’s Vista Home Premium 64-Bit pre-installed on an Acer Aspire 6930 Laptop (16″, Core-2 Duo 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB 5.4k RPM SATA Seagate HDD, DVD-RW SATA Drive).
As to my last post, nevermind, I’ve figured it out, besides the fact that you cannot re-install with the ISO and you have to download the whole O/S ISO Disk, I restarted the ISO that I have downloaded, and now my product key reads.
If I run this start of repair will it delete any of my pictures etc. my computer isnt booting and i figured this would fix that problem. Can you please give me input about this and if i have the correct thing to fix my problem?
My hard drive has failed, i am getting a new one, but i am wondering if i need a special boot disk to load vista on the new hard drive? If so how do i go about making one? Can i make one from windows 2000 pro which i have on my laptop, will work? Can you help because i want to do this myself, i will not learn anything if i pay somebody to do it for me.
Thank You
paul
Paul, i was wondering the samething. my laptop is having the same problem so i am upgrading my hard drive but dont know about the vista issue, let me know if you find the answer please.
Dear geeks
I am having a problem with my laptop that I am hoping you can help with.
I am getting an error saying file: /windows/system32/drivers/tcpip.sys
Status: 0xc00000e9
Windows failed to load because a critical system driver is missing or corrupt
I did the burning of the recovery disc,loaded and ran it, but when it’s finished and I am instructed to restart my laptop, it does not fix the issue. Is this issue not fixable with this recovery procedure?
Cheers Mike
Sent via Greg’s iPad
My laptop just keeps rebooting, I get the “configuring updates 0 of 3, 0%” then goes around in a loop again.
Tried changing the boot order, used the recovery disc (thanks) but still no joy. I am even happy to reinstall windows just to get the computer working again. Any ideas out there please?
I have a netbook that doesnt have a cd-drive can i fix this without using a cd?
I burned a copy of the vista recovery, but I also did a full format on my HDD. System Recovery said that there was an error, and I am assuming that is due to the formatted HDD. The Drive does still have the Recovery partition, and I burned the recovery files to a disk, but the disk was not bootable. Is there a way to take the bootable Vista recovery that I downloaded and combine it with the recovery data that is on the partitioned portion of the HDD and make a bootable recovery disk?
I downloaded and burned the ISO to a CD but was unable to make it boot. I see a lot of you had the same trouble. I used the System Recovery (F11 key) with my HP. It provided a menu of choices, one of which allowed me to use a system restore point. Hope this helps.
@sdmoore68 get yourself a USB DVD I believe that would work
I have an Acer Aspire 4730z Laptop with Windows Vista 32 bit Home Premium pre-installed that has crashed. When I try to boot up my computer a black screen comes up that says, “bootmgr is missing. press ctrl, alt, delete to restart.” My Backup disk I made when I got the computer will not work. Neither will my System Recovery discs. Do you think this Windows Vista Repair Disk that is offered for download here could work for me? I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank You
Don’t really know what happened! Turned it off yesterday, turned it on, said it needed to do windows start-up repair. did that, thinking i was doing the sensible thing and then it just froze on a black screen. don’t wanna muck about with buttons so i thought this was an even more sensible thing to do
Fingers crossed it’s the right idea!
Awesome! Saved me the pain of having to clean install. Asus didnt bring a vista cd but a crappy restore tool that wiped everything. Thanks!
Worked like a charm. Thanks alot!
hey,
i’m creating the disk as i write this. i just want to know if my vista has to have had “system restore” activated to use this? i disabled ‘system restore’ and have never used it. also, i just want to fix errors and i’m afraid it might ‘reset’ everything i have in my pc to when i first bought it… mainly empty. can you suggest the best way (steps) to follow after i use my cd?
paranoid
the vista cd would work for windows 7 right?
I have a Windows Vista Vaio AVG-AR605E laptop with Windows Vista Home edition pre-loaded, so I don’t have a Windows Vista installation cd. When turning on, it said it has a problem with the NTFS and asked if I wanted to repair and I did. After that I kept getting the blue screen stop 024. I downloaded Windows Vista x32 Recovery Disk and used it to “repair startup”. After that I didn’t get the blue screen but now with every option I select (safe mode, last good configuration, etc) takes me to a black screen with a movable cursor (mouse pointer). It doesn’t respond to CTRL + ATL + DEL or other thing. After googling found out that the laptop used 64 bits instead of 32. Do you believe that is the reason Im getting the black screen? Does downloading the 64 bits and trying to “repair startup” again will fix the problem?
Any idea on how to fix this problem?
Thanks!
Just to correct, it seems that the computer has Windows Vista Home edition 32 bits.
It doesn’t show restore points and all the F8 options take me to the black screen.
I look forward for hearing from you.
Thanks!
Thanks to FreeWheelin’ Franklin I got the idea to do a Control+Alt+Delete step which gave me a screen (can’t remember exactly what) to then get a screen to start a “Safe Mode” which loaded files into my computer (laptop). At this point I was able to use Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools and then System Restore to restore my computer back to the time before I had the problem. Thanks for this website and especially thanks to FreeWheelin’ Franklin !!!!!!!!!! Happy and Healthy New Year to all !!!!!!!!!! ;)
How about: Start/start search: Recovery manager/ Select Recovery disks/use 3 DVDs.
When the computer doesn’t start up insert DVD 1 and restore manufacture’s settings ’til DVD3. Then use your backup disks to restore all your lost files.
Oh, I forgot. At Welcome to Recovery Manager, click on Advanced, then select create recovery disk
@Walter: How does one do that if they can’t boot into Windows in the first place? =p
You could also try recovery-discs.com
Thanks~
This really helpful.
My ex bf lost my Recover Disk & now I just worry where to get 1.
and plus he did modified my laptop when last time he help me to reformat.
Thanks god!!!! Tq very much!!
What is the product key?
I have a Sony Vaio laptop I got from Best Buy with Windows Vista Home Premium. Using the 32 bit recovery cd to repair, it suggested I do system restore. Restoring it to a Dec date was successful but when it restarts on its own I get the same error blue screen which shuts down my computer *sigh* Anyone have an idea what’s wrong? I don’t my fan is broken & my laptop isn’t overheated. I believe its software issue and I followed directions (had no problems burning the cd).
Thanks for this! Saved the day today when a friends Vista machine refused to boot today!
BOOTMGR is missing
press Ctrl+Alt+Del
this show always
i cant understand anything
what can i do???
Thanks, this is great!
Thanks so much. I really had my doubts that this would work, but like many of you said it did. I had to boot from the cd and run the repair 3 or 4 times before it worked, but I’m back in business.
The original problem came when I tried to do a system restore. Oh well – it’s working again now!
ok so jus to clarify, the recovery disk will fix the bootmgr problem right??? because of trying to compress the hard drive?
I too have this issue. I followed the approach to REPAIR the Vista installation…. I created the repair CD and booted from it. The utility finds the Vista Home Premium installation on my HP laptop, but when I highlight that installation and attempt to go to the next step, it tells me I have the wrong version of the utility for this installation. Any idea how to rectify, or what to do next?
It appears the only option on my HP laptop is to RECOVER to original factory conditions, which means I’ll lose my data which unfortunately isn’t backed up.
Any advice?
Hi, mine didnt work, i got…The installation was cancled, *Windows cannot open the required file D:\Sources\Install.wim. The file does not exit. Make sure all files required for installation are available and restart the installation. Error code:0×80070002* can someone please help, i am pc dumb lol
At Sandy:
same thing happened to me. idk what the problem is.
You guys are awesome. Worked like a charm.
Hi, I did this and the windows repair finds no errors, yet after restarting I continue to get a black screen right b4 the login screen. I initially thought it was my graphics card failing because this all started with my comp freezing while attempting to open a video file, but I can watch videos on youtube in safemode. My graphics driver also says the latest version is installed. Windows restore also didn’t do anything, anymore ideas? Thanks
100% WORKING thank you SIR!!
Here’s a question for you. How do you do all this if you can’t use your computer??
If i have problem like :Windows failed to start a recent ….. it help me?
@CFregoe Obviously you have to use a separate computer. Still waiting for the disk to work it’s magic. It’s been almost an hour. :/
I have not been able to get this to work, could the fact that i made DVD rather than CD be causing the problems?
When my computer is turned on it goes straight to start up repair but it never fixes any problem it finds so i tried starting the computer from last known good start up but it still goes to start up repair. I burnt the vista recovery disc and changed boot order but i keep getting a message saying “DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER”
Anyone have a solution to fix this problem, Thanks.
Hi there,
what kind of disc size is required to burn the programme?
Hi, I recently used the dell datasafe restore option for my laptop as it was playing up for ages and after it was finished and restarted I got the bootmsg error, does the recovery disc have to be the same OS ur on? If so any1 know where i can download an ISO file for Windows 7 64bit home premium? Cheers
reply to Troy: Hey I got the same problem as you tell me if you find anything I would really appreciate it
:)
Troy
When my computer is turned on it goes straight to start up repair but it never fixes any problem it finds so i tried starting the computer from last known good start up but it still goes to start up repair. I burnt the vista recovery disc and changed boot order but i keep getting a message saying “DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER”
Anyone have a solution to fix this problem, Thanks.
hai adrian,
If your computer says
ERROR : ”DISK BOOT FAILURE MEANS”
ACTUAL CAUSE FOR THIS ERROR MSG(possibily) : booting files are missing from your computer.Which are all very important files to Start your computer.
There are some possible steps to fix this issue,
Before that I need some information which are mentioned below:
1 . Name of the Operating system(With Edition name),Please mention If any service pack installed or
not.
2. When was the last time you are able to access your computer,
3. During that time Did you delete any files ,or change any settings, or tried to install any windows
updates, or tried to install any new softwares, or any driver installation.
4. what is the make of the pc with model no.
5. Do you have any Disk in the name of your operating system or did your get any disk from your
system manufacturer in the name system restore disk.
SEND All the above mentioned details, I am sure I can guide you to solve this issue in few minutes.
To solve this issue is ” You have to Restore the booting files into right location”
So dont worry , I am an technical agent.I will give you the right solution.
by
Boopathi (boopathi.cnvgs@hotmail.com)
Boopathi (or anyone that can help) Have an HP Pavilion dv9700. Tried to do a sys restore/recovery both from hard drive and disk. Windows Vista. Recovery manager does the reformatting windows partition portion of the program then gives me an error msg 0×400 100 130000 1002. I have downloaded the torrent files discussed in the blogs and tried them to no avail. Don’t have much info on the particulars of the sys since I can’t access the computer. Any help?
what is the product key???!!!!!!! please help me T^T
I have a netbook and don’t have an external cd drive. how can I get this to a flash drive?
i tried and it burned onto the disc but when i try to use it it wont work it says that there is an error
I still can not seem to find a link that actually works or has not been removed to download a Vista 32 bit recovery disk……..ANYONE have a current link?
Hello Guys, my vista isn’t working like it used to. the system is so slow just now and i have done all in terms of optimisation. recently it says it cannot recognise any audio device. I suspect its the sound card bearing in mind that it lost one side of its sound output on one of its speakers a while ago now there’s none. I have tried system restore but cant find restore point more than a couple of days back, it didn’t work. On the device mgr,i tried adding sound hardware but when i try installing the driver, windows shut down and goes into memory dump. i suspect the OS might be corrupt. Now am trying to take it back to the factory settings but i don’t have any cd. i don’t even mind loosing all the data on it cos i have it all backed up.
Microsoft has denied the free download of the ISO file from any site. Now you have to pay $10 for a new recovery disk. Thank you Bill Gates.
You can just follow the 3 steps:
1. Download and install Windows Login Recovery in a computer.
2. Run the program and create a password reset disk with a blank CD/DVD or USB flash drive.
3. Recover Windows 7 administrator password with the password reset disk.
Then, you can create a password reset disk quickly and safely.
can you give me a link to download the boot image for windows vista home premium please
Hey guys,
I hav a compaq pressario cq50 142 us
I had already made a recovery disk long ago but when i pop it In and start the laptop the files load and the hp recovery manager opens up and not the vista installation thingie……
Plzzzzzzzzzz help!¡
G’day,
I just thought I would comment just in case anyone finds any use in it.
My Vista machine carked it when I installed the Samsung KIES program. I think it over wrote some of the Windows boot files. I have seen on various forums how cr@p KIES is so I don’t doubt it.
In any case, I tried windows repair and it couldn’t do it, I tried F8 and tried to remove the things I thought were offending and it wouldn’t let me uninstall KIES, so that didn’t work. I tried a chkdsk and that didn’t work (although it did fix some corrupt sectors so maybe it has contributary rights). I also downloaded the boot disc (since Vista came pre-installed) and that seemed to work but then didn’t.
I then tried the repair options and returning it to a previous restore point out of the list and that didn’t work either.
The last thing that did work was if you hit F8 then from the options do a “Return to Last Known Good Configuration” and that worked….even though this restore point wasn’t actually in the list from before.
It then loaded and said restore point xxxxx successfully restored (something like that).
Anyway hope that helps,
Good luck, VISTA SUX
For the profits Microsoft makes every year they should be giving all VISTA victims a free upgrade to Windows 7, I have it at work and it is exponentially better….
Cheers,
Lyster
Thank you for providing a simple, no-fuss solution to my computer’s recent problems. I am in the midst of a term paper. Having my laptop suddenly break down was NOT good. Some research led me to this page. After a day of skepticism, I caved in and purchased the software.
In less than ten minutes, I downloaded, burned and had my laptop repairing itself. Thank you. You have saved me a dreaded trip to the guys who sound like Jest Die, and kept much needed monies in my pocket.
I was trying to create some kind of recovery or bootable disc.
I am using Vista Home.
In Start, All Programs, I found “Recovery Manager”
One of the choices under that is “Recovery Disc Creation”
It says you can only run it once however.
@Monith
I don’t believe the download has anything to do with installing Windows. It is just to help recover things and make it work again. It is not an installation for a formatted hard drive.
I`ve done it. it is very easy to do this.
Hello
I am trying to install MS office on my laptop and i was told my tech supp that my vista was corrupt and i would have to find a windows vista disk and restore my system. When i looked through my paperwork with the laptop, it said it didnt come with one(?) i would have to create my own? i dont understand
Can some one explain this to me
appreciate the feedback
I have an hp pavilion with windows vista that was pre installed so no recovery disc my computer was working couple hours ago now my mouse and keyboard aren’t responding so I can’t put in my user password to actually get to work on computer Help if anyone can desperate
This blog is very informative I want my blog to be like this.
What am I doing wrong? When I press Ctrl+Alt+Del nothing happens….
i boot from Vista System Rrstore Disk but it’s want work then i dignos my p,c i got BIOHD-4
Error Code : BIOHD-4 Unitialized / Corrept boot Structure Dected on my System
Please what should i do
Thanks,
Shilpan
Idea! When you buy a new pc with pre-installed OS use Acronis to copy the whole hard drive and save it, so later you can use it to re-install the whole C drive.