Is my DVD system repair disc bootable?

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I am using Win 10/Pro.  I have created a DVD system repair disc using Win 10 Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

I want to check it to be sure that it is bootable.  How do I do that?

Do I need to label it with the version of Windows that I am currently on? (i.e., will it still work (if it is bootable) when I move to a newer version of Windows 10?)

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Insert the DVD into the drive.
Shutdown/power on of restart you computer.
As soon as the startup begins (the black screen, before Windows startup), there is a key you can press that will give you the boot menu/list of possible boot devices so you can choose which device you want to boot on. It may tell you on the initial black screen with the Mfg’s logo which key. You have to continually press and release the key as it boots (one click is usually not enough) until you see the boot menu starting.
For Dells it usually is F12, HPs usually Esc, other brands can be F1, F2, F9, F10 or other.

When you get the boot menu, you choose to boot from the DVD drive. This loads the Operating System from the DVD (not Windows on your C drive) and runs that OS in the computer’s RAM. It may run the Win RE (rescue environment) or Win PE (Preinstallation Environment) depending on what was installed on the DVD.

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WCHS

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And what happens next, after the DVD boots? I am only wanting to be sure the DVD I made will boot. I am not wanting to use it for anything else at the moment.

So, how do I get out of whatever comes up on the screen so that I can return to a normal power-on (which I always otherwise get, i.e. to the Windows on my C: drive)?

My second question is: Is a bootable system repair DVD good for only the version of Windows on which is was made? I made it while on 1909. Will it be good for 2004 or 20H2? Or will I need to make a new system repair DVD each time I move to a new version?

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WCHS wrote:

So, how do I get out of whatever comes up on the screen so that I can return to a normal power-on (which I always otherwise get, i.e. to the Windows on my C: drive)?

So, how to you get out of Windows or any other program you start? Shutdown, Exit, Quit….. Do you have to DO anything in Windows or a program, or can you just shut it down without doing anything after it starts?

Boot disks will boot and run whatever OS is on them. Win PE and RE use a Windows environment. Third party backup software it will use a runtime version of the OS they run on. (Acronis, for example runs under Linux and a runtime version of Acronis backup). None of that is from your computer HDD/SSD when you boot from the disk – all is contained on the disk. So even if you pull the plug on the program running from the disk (providing it is not in the process of working on your Win installation at the time), you do no harm.

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WCHS

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OK, I get that part now — the part about how to stop using the disc.

The question I was asking earlier was about the usefulness of a system repair disk that I made while on Version 1909. If I had to actually use it for recovery in the future (e.g., when in the future, I am on version 2004 or 20H2), will it still do the job it’s supposed to do, even though it was created while I was on 1909? Or should I create a new system repair disk for that machine every time I move up to a new version?

And another related question: if it’s good on that machine, no matter whether 1909, 2004, 20H2,is it good only for the machine on which it was created? or could it also be used on another machine, provided that the other machine is also the same OS and bittedness. I’m talking about Windows 10 – 64-bit here.

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Why don’t you boot from the disk and SEE what it does (it won’t bite you 🙂 ). Then come back and ask questions about something you have seen.

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WCHS

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OK. When I saw the DELL logo, I pressed F12 many times and got a screen where I could choose to boot from the DVD drive.

I had to watch the screen very carefully afterwards, because for only a very short time it said “Press any key to boot from the CD/DVD”. If I didn’t press any key quickly, I got into something else, something from Dell’s Support Assist, from which I could safely exit and get into the C:\Windows OS.

So, now that I know to quickly press any key, I waited for a long time, but eventually got a light blue screen that said “Choose your keyboard layout”. I chose U.S. Then I got a light blue screen that had 4 options on it. One of them was to Continue (Exit and continue to Windows 10).

So, I guess that means that the System Repair Disk that I made is bootable. That’s all I wanted to know at this point.

However, my two questions remain:
1) Should I be creating a new System Repair Disk, every time I move up to a new version of Windows 10? If so, I should know this at the time I move up to a new version (or else after moving up to a new version, the disk that I made earlier might not work because it was made on an older version of Windows 10).
2) Should I be creating another System Repair Disk for my other Dell machine, which is also running Windows 10 – 64 bit)? (I should know this or else if my other machine needs a repair, I might be out of luck since I might not have a working System Repair Disk for it).

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Try booting the other system from the same repair disk, now that you’ve had the experience.
Does it boot?
Is it the same or different?

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I figured you would say that 🙂   It’s the same.

I am still on 1909.  Now I want to know whether I have to make a new System Repair Disk after I move up to either 2004 or 20H2.  I haven’t moved up yet, so I can’t try it.

My guess is that you are going to say, “after you move up to 2004 or 20H2, try it,” right??

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I think you got the point. You learn that way.

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You and Socrates make a great pair!  🙂

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WCHS wrote:

Should I be creating a new System Repair Disk, every time I move up to a new version of Windows 10?

Yes. It’s probably not required, but it doesn’t hurt and ensures you have a current working rescue disk/USB.

FWIW, I only use USB stick boot devices these days. Fast, easy, reusable.

cheers, Paul

p.s. Another way to test your recovery boot.

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Will “another way” work in 1909, t00?  It says “So things are a little different now in 20H2.”

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“Another way” has always worked – since W8.

cheers, Paul

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