Windows 8 ships with options to create a system repair disc from
within the operating system just like previous versions of Microsoft
Windows did. What you need to know before you get started is that you
can only create a system repair disc for the operating system version
you are using. If you are running a 32-bit version, you can only create a
disc that is compatible with 32-bit versions of the operating system.
The
system repair disc can be used to boot into a recovery environment in
situations where the Windows 8 operating system is not booting anymore.
To create a Windows 8 system repair disc do the following:
- Press Windows-q
to open the application search menu. If you are on the desktop, you are
automatically switched to the search interface on the start screen.
- Enter recdisc and hit return afterwards. This loads a menu on the desktop that you can use to create the disc.
- Enter a blank CD or DVD into a CD writer connected to the computer and select its drive letter if it is not selected already.
- It
should not take longer than a couple of minutes to create the repair
disc. If you have a fast CD or DVD writer, it should complete in less
than a minute.
You
need to boot from the recovery disc, and to do that, you may need to
configure the BIOS or UEFI of your computer to boot from CD/DVD if the
drive is not the first choice.
The interface itself offers the following options:
- Selection of various keyboard layouts
- Continue to Windows 8 to boot the operating system
- Troubleshoot to access refresh and reset from here as well as advanced recovery tools
- Turn off the PC
The advanced tools offer the following features:
- Access System Restore to restore Windows to a previous state
- System Image Recovery using a previously created backup image file
- Automatic Repair to have Windows try and fix issues automatically
- Command Prompt
The
very same options are available when you select to run Windows 8 with
advanced startup parameters. This can be initiated when you still have
access to the operating system. To do that press Windows-C to open the
Charms Bar. Click Settings > Change PC Settings and wait for the
configuration screen to load. Switch to General here and scroll down
until you see Advanced Startup.
Start up from a device
or disc (such as a USB or DVD, change Windows startup settings, or
restore Windows from a system image. This will restart your PC.
A
click on restart now reboots the PC and displays the advanced startup
options on the screen. Note that you will see one additional option
listed here. Startup Settings enables you to restart to change a variety
of Windows options including:
- Enable low-resolution video mode
- Enable debugging mode
- Enable boot logging
- Enable Safe Mode
- Disable driver signature enforcement
- Disable early-launch anti-malware protection
- Disable automatic restart on system failure
The options are displayed as numbers on the next start of the system.
It
is highly recommended to create a system repair disc for Windows 8, or
any other operating system for that matter, especially so if you do not
have other recovery options at hand
