You can use the following formats to create a disk: To install Windows, use your original Windows installation disk.
Our list of recovery media guides for specific PC manufacturers: Dell (including the guide on the recovery partition), Acer, Asus, Gateway, Toshiba, HP, Lenovo.Ī boot or startup disk is not an installation disk! You can not use a boot disk to install Windows. Some older models had only a recovery disk (as a CD, DVD etc.) or only the recovery partition. Most PC manufacturers with computers that have Windows installed also have a recovery partition that you can make use of to restore or repair your computer. If you have a computer from any of the following manufacturers, read that guide too.
NeoSmart Technologies has extensive guides on how to create recovery media for all major PC manufacturers that have their own software for recovery procedures and a recovery disk for all Windows versions (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10).
For Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 the “boot disk” term is mostly replaced with the term “recovery disk” (sometimes also named as a “repair disk” or “restore disk”). The term “boot disk” was mostly used in connection with Windows XP (and older versions) and, in some cases, with Windows Vista. A boot disk (or a startup disk) is a recovery media (CD, DVD or floppy disk for older Windows versions) that you can use to start Windows, if it became damaged or corrupted somehow.