Logo
programming4us
programming4us
programming4us
programming4us
Home
programming4us
XP
programming4us
Windows Vista
programming4us
Windows 7
programming4us
Windows Azure
programming4us
Windows Server
programming4us
Windows Phone
 
programming4us
Windows 7

Troubleshooting and Recovering from Disaster : Using the Windows Recovery Environment

- How To Install Windows Server 2012 On VirtualBox
- How To Bypass Torrent Connection Blocking By Your ISP
- How To Install Actual Facebook App On Kindle Fire
10/28/2011 6:11:54 PM
Windows Vista included a useful Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) that would provide you with a selection of tools for fixing a non-booting PC, accessing System Repair, and the like. There was just one problem: it wasn't installed on the PC hard drive by default, so you had to know to install it or be sure to carry around a copy of the Windows Vista Setup disc with you just in case. (You can also access the Windows RE from the Windows Setup disc.)

In Windows 7, Microsoft turns it up to 11 by preinstalling Windows RE right on the PC's system disk. So anytime there's a problem, you can optionally boot into this environment to fix things.

To access the Windows 7 Recovery Environment, reboot your PC and after the BIOS has completed its thing, press and hold the F8 key. (You must do this before the "Starting Windows" animation appears.) You will see the screen displayed in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Starting the Windows Recovery Environment

NOTE

In case it's not obvious, you may occasionally still need to access the Windows RE from the Windows 7 Setup disc. That's because the PC may literally get into a state where even the Recovery Environment can't boot from the hard drive. It's rare but it happens.

1. Looking at the Repair Tools

You can choose from a variety of system troubleshooting options here, but the first, and selected, option, Repair Your Computer, will get the job done. Select this. After a few "loading" screens (including, curiously, a screen displaying the progress bar that appeared when Windows Vista booted), you are asked to select a keyboard input method (this typically has the correct option pre-selected) and then you are asked to log on with a valid administrator-class account.

Once this is completed, you are presented with the System Recovery Options screen shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The System Recovery Options window provides access to several repair and recovery tools.

From here, you can access the following options.

  • Startup Repair: This tool can help you automatically repair problems that prevent Windows from booting correctly. We examine this tool in the next section.

  • System Restore: This provides a way to access System Restore from outside of Windows.

  • System Image Recovery: This helps you use a previously saved system image to completely reinstall the PC and return it to an earlier state.

  • Windows Memory Diagnostic: This link triggers a reboot so that a special memory diagnostic program can run as the PC boots. This tool is useful if you're worried that some sporadic stability problems may be caused by memory issues.

  • Command Prompt. Advanced users and system administrators can access a standard Windows command prompt to run command-line programs on the PC's hard drive.

2. Using Startup Repair to Fix a Non-Booting PC

If you choose the option titled Startup Repair, the Startup Repair utility will open and scan your PC for boot-related issues (see Figure 2). If it finds any, it fixes them automatically. If not, it simply provides a message to that effect.

Figure 2. Startup Repair will run automatically if your PC is ailing.

And ... that's it. That's literally all it does.

NOTE

We accessed the Startup Repair tool manually here in order to explain its user interface and functionality, but you won't typically need to do this: if your PC doesn't boot properly for some reason, Startup Repair will run automatically and fix the problem and then boot right into Windows 7. And if you happen to walk away from the computer at that time, you may not even realize it happened.

Other -----------------
- Troubleshooting and Recovering from Disaster : Getting Help with the Problem Steps Recorder
- Microsoft OneOnte 2010 : Tagging Notes for Follow Up
- Microsoft OneOnte 2010 : Moving, Copying, and Merging Pages and Sections
- Microsoft Project 2010 : Reporting on Your Project (part 1) - Generating and Customizing a Basic Report
- Microsoft Project 2010 : Reporting on Your Project (part 1) - Generating and Customizing a Visual Report
- Zipping and Packing Files, File and Folder Security
- Searching (part 2) - Searching As You Type
- Searching (part 1) - Changing Search and Indexing Settings
- Using Windows Troubleshooting (part 3)
- Using Windows Troubleshooting (part 2) - Examining the Troubleshooters
 
 
Top 10
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Finding containers and lists in Visio (part 2) - Wireframes,Legends
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Finding containers and lists in Visio (part 1) - Swimlanes
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Formatting and sizing lists
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Adding shapes to lists
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Sizing containers
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 3) - The Other Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 2) - The Data Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 1) - The Format Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Form Properties and Why Should You Use Them - Working with the Properties Window
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Using the Organization Chart Wizard with new data
- First look: Apple Watch

- 3 Tips for Maintaining Your Cell Phone Battery (part 1)

- 3 Tips for Maintaining Your Cell Phone Battery (part 2)
programming4us programming4us
Popular tags
Microsoft Access Microsoft Excel Microsoft OneNote Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Project Microsoft Visio Microsoft Word Active Directory Biztalk Exchange Server Microsoft LynC Server Microsoft Dynamic Sharepoint Sql Server Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2012 Windows 7 Windows 8 windows Phone 7 windows Phone 8
programming4us programming4us
 
programming4us
Natural Miscarriage
programming4us
Windows Vista
programming4us
Windows 7
programming4us
Windows Azure
programming4us
Windows Server
programming4us
Game Trailer