Quick Tip

110-2010

Windows 7 Repair Disc

There is a built in feature in Windows 7 called the Repair Disc. To be able to use this feature you must make a CD/DVD of the Repair Disc. Once you have a copy of this feature on CD/DVD you can fix your computer when it’s facing and error that prevents Windows from starting. The utility will scan your computer to find the problem with the Windows Installation and attempt to fix it so that the PC will at least boot into Windows.

TIP: Click Start, click Control Panel. On the window that opens, click on System and Security. On the next window, click on Backup and Restore. Insert a blank CD or DVD into your burner tray. On the left side of the Backup and Restore window, click “Create a system repair disc”. A new window will open. It will show the drive your CD/DVD is in. Click Create Disc. When the disc is complete a autoplay window may pop up. Close the window because you do not want to use the disc now.

The next thing you need to do is enter the BIOS of your computer and set the startup sequence to boot from the CD-ROM first. (CAUTION:  If you don’t know how to do this have a more experienced person do it for you.  You can find help at our Friday workshop or bring in your computer and one of the techs will do it for you.)

Below is what you should do if you have a problem.

1.    Bring your computer and the disc you created to the Friday workshop or you may attempt to fix the problem yourself.

2.    Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer. When prompted, select your language and click Next. Windows will load the System Recovery Options window, which provides utilities for Startup Repair, System Restore, System Image Recovery, Windows Memory Diagnostic, and Command Prompt. Select the Startup Repair option, and the program will see if it can find any problems with the software that is preventing Windows form booting. Follow the on-screen instructions to see if Windows resolved the problem.  If this didn’t solve the problem, it’s a good idea to try the System Restore utility on the System Repair disc.