Windows Boot CD
Posted by Paul at 9:58 pm
If your Windows XP or Windows Vista computer becomes totally ‘messed up’ then it is sometimes necessary to find an alternative way to log in to your computer to right the problem or in some cases to actually delete Windows and start from fresh.
Recently my laptop has been freezing and despite numerous updates and tests I was unable to trace the problem. As I always have all my data backed up in three places, I decided to create a fresh install of Windows Vista (this often cures problems and reduces the risk of having long running virus infestations). Unfortunately the new install still had the freezing/crash issue and it did this whilst in the middle of a Windows Update download which totally prevented Windows from starting at all. Windows would not even start in ’safe’ mode or in ‘last good configuration’ mode.
I tried to run a new Windows install but again this failed, probably because the Master Boot Record (MBR) was corrupted.
No problem I thought, just download a ‘boot disc’ from the internet using my desktop machine.
This proved to be a tedious and frustrating task, with solutions such as BCD and BFD not working for me out of the box, and proving a bit too technical even for myself.
So, to save other people the same frustrations I will jump straight to the solution (note: if you only have one computer then make sure you do this BEFORE your computer goes wrong!).
- Download Hiren’s BootCD from here: http://www.hirensbootcd.net/ (This is not the official Hiren’s site but I couldn’t actually find a download link on the official site!).
- Extract the files in the ZIP file to a suitable folder (doesn’t matter where).
- Put a blank writeable CD into your CD burner.
- Start up some ISO burning software. I downloaded this free program: http://www.ntfs.com/iso-burning.htm
- Burn from your ’suitable folder’ to CD.
- On your ‘messed up’ computer, switch on, go into the BIOS setup screen (F2 on my laptop).
- Make sure that CD/DVD drive is enabled and first in the list of Bootable devices.
- Re-boot, select Boot from CD.
- You will then have a choice of ‘Mini XP’ or command prompt, both of which will allow you to view your devices/drives.
- My solution was then to format the C: using the Disk Management utility, and then reinstall Windows ‘as normal’.
WARNING: If you are unsure about ‘playing around’ with computers then seek advice at an early stage – you could lose all your data…. Always make sure you backup your important data BEFORE something goes wrong, and always keep at least two copies. It is worth investing in online backup facilities as an extra precaution.