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    Possible to create Windows 7 recovery straight to USB?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by bromoxynil, Jul 24, 2010.

  1. bromoxynil

    bromoxynil Notebook Enthusiast

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    Pretty much topic title, is it possible to create a Windows 7 recovery 'disk' straight on the USB flash drive instead of making it on a DVD and copying the files over to a USB?

    Sorry if it's a noob question; I don't got a computer right now and I'm just trying to plan ahead.
     
    bromoxynil, Jul 24, 2010
    #1
  2. goofball

    goofball Notebook Deity

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    What do you mean by "recovery disk"? Do you mean Windows 7 bootable on USB? if so, yes, very easily. Many tutorials online on how to do that.
     
    goofball, Jul 24, 2010
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  3. bromoxynil

    bromoxynil Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yes a fresh install of Windows 7 that is bootable on USB, but without having to create a recovery disk first and then copying the files over from the disk to the USB. In other words if I got no CDs/DVDs can I create a recovery USB/Windows 7 Bootable USB without making the recovery disk first? All the tutorials show the step of creating a recovery disk first then just copying the files from the disk to the USB which would seem like an unecessary step, or a pain if you have no CDs/DVDs to do so.
     
    bromoxynil, Jul 24, 2010
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  4. goofball

    goofball Notebook Deity

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    Depends on the laptop manufacturer. Dell is very good with sending the actual OS DVD for install, as opposed to a "recovery" disk. Acer requires you to make your own and it was an image file that got restored, not necessarily true OS installation. Others use a recovery partitoin on your HDD to restore.
     
    goofball, Jul 24, 2010
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  5. Syberia

    Syberia Notebook Deity

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    If you need an OS disc, you can always use the image links provided in this forum.
     
    Syberia, Jul 24, 2010
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  6. jackluo923

    jackluo923 Notebook Virtuoso

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    jackluo923, Jul 24, 2010
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  7. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    The OP may want to check out the utility rt7lite. This is a GUI/script front end for WAIK that lets the user build their own customized Win7 boot/install image.

    You are going to need a full, legal, and otherwise unmodified Win7 install disk. The necessary MSFT tools are freely available. Everything is pretty well documented on the rt7lite web site.

    http://www.rt7lite.com/

    With rt7lite you can also include the installers for other programs.

    In concept it's similar to the now-obsolete nlite and vlite. Under the covers it uses the standard Microsoft image customization routines to modify and create your personalized install image.

    Once you have that personalized install image, you can place it on USB or a DVD.

    Considering the speed with which Win7 installs, it might be a valid way to recover a system instead of dealing with backup/restore of the OS.

    You're still going to want to backup /users (including My documents) though. Win7 installs are smart enough to detect a previous /users directory and preserve it, but having a backup gives you a good belts/suspenders path for recovery of user data.
     
    newsposter, Jul 25, 2010
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  8. swarmer

    swarmer beep beep

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    What I did is use Paragon Backup & Recovery (the free version -- Google it). I backed up the main partition to an external hard drive, and it also has a tool to make a bootable USB stick to load the restore program... so I did that.

    You may also be able to use Windows 7's built-in backup and recovery center to do the same thing.
     
    swarmer, Jul 26, 2010
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  9. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    Don't forget to test your backup and restore procedure.

    The last thing you want is to 'discover' at 2 AM on a Monday morning that you've been backing up the wrong things, that your restore won't, and that your data is gone.
     
    newsposter, Jul 26, 2010
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  10. Razer-D

    Razer-D Notebook Consultant

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    Try googling "novicorp wintoflash". It's an easy-to-use app for making a bootable win 7 USB drive and completely free.
     
    Razer-D, Jul 29, 2010
    #10