Difference Between System Repair Disk And Recovery Drive

[Sanjit Keskar]

Can someone please explain to me with reference to the windows 10 OS what is the difference between (1) a system repair disk and (ii) a recovery drive?

Both can be made from applets in the control panel the former from within the backup and restore (windows 7) applet and the latter from the Recovery applet

What does one do that the other does not?

Thanks

 

[Dan99]

They both hold a system image which is used to start the system if it fails. The disk is removable from the DVD drive (Optical drive). A recovery drive is a USB drive, either a thumb drive (no disk) or a larger drive from which the disk can not be removed I have a system image on this thumb drive;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KT7DXIU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
This is a bigger drive which many prefer as it is not easy to misplace, plus it can store an enormous amount of data;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R4O9LXM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00
You can tie a tassel on the thumb drive to make it easier to keep track of.

The preferred method to create a system image is to use Rufus. Here is a link;

https://rufus.akeo.ie/

 

[Dan99]

Oops,my error. The preferred way to create a system image drive is with Acronis True Image. It is so simple and extremely fast. A 14 day free trial of Acronis can be downloaded from the link below. Just pick Free Trial; I tried to do it with the Windows tool (Wizard) but it failed. Acronis worked so well I highly recommend it. Actually, it was recommended by the forum Moderator, Trouble the Noob Whisperer.

The size of the entire image was 29.2 GB but I have a fairly small system. I loaded it to my $20 Sandisk Extreme 32GB flash drive so it just fit with little room for backing up future files. A 64 GB flash drive is $35. I plan to put it on the bigger $50 1 TB drive I mentioned earlier.

http://www.acronis.com/en-us/personal/computer-backup/

I assume this is what you were getting at but I could be wrong. I could also be wrong about the repair disk you mentioned but a system image drive would repair the pc. Below is Acronis Selections. Options are for backup purposes and the other two for repairs. I am fairly certain now that booting a failed pc is what a repair disk is for. Acronis can create the rescue media as well as the system image drive. I just did that and it took only a few seconds to load to another usb flash drive. The size was only 3.19 GB.

 

[trimful]

Repair Disks are operating system specific and can help to repair an operating system that does not boot anymore.

Recovery Disks can restore a computer system completely to the exact state it was in when the Recovery Disks were created. On Windows 7 no special software is needed to create Recovery Disks. Many manufacturers now supply such software under various names pre-installed with their systems.

http://www.andyrathbone.com/2009/12...very-discs-and-windows-7s-system-repair-disc/

 

[Dan99]

Great link from trimful. This quote is helpful.
"In short, the System Recovery discs return your PC to the state it was when first purchased, scrapping all your data while along the way. The System Repair disc, by contrast, offers tools to help bring your ailing PC back to life, keeping all your valuable files safe.

When in trouble, always try your System Repair disc first, as it may solve your problem. Only use the System Recovery Discs as a last resort, as they wipe out everything you’ve created since buying your PC.. "

In the link, Andy Rathbone mentions "System Image" very briefly which is what I was going on about in my convoluted posts. I still think a system image drive made with Acronis is the best way to go.

 

[Saltgrass]

I think I pretty much agree with most of what was mentioned.

Disk or Drive, refers to the type of device used.

Repair or Recovery probably means the level of restoration available.

A Repair, Recovery and Install Media can be booted and the Repair/Recovery options should be available. Since the Install Media does not require a password, there may be certain processes it cannot perform.

If your hard drive were to fail completely, a Recovery Drive, had you chosen to copy over the Factory Image which are normally on OEM systems, could restore your system back to factory conditions on a new drive.

The other option mentioned was a System Image, which can be used by any of the repair/recovery/install device types to restore your system. The difference between a Factory Image and a System Image is the System Image is your current configuration when the Image was created. I normally make one every month or two.

Just for another opinion, I have never needed a third party imaging utility nor have I ever used Rufus to create install media. I use the Windows imaging utility for the System Image and Diskpart to create a bootable flash drive (which is reusable) then copy over the files from a mounted .iso file.

 

[johnywhy]

there are two contradictory replies here:

trimful wrote:
"Recovery Disks can restore a computer system completely to the exact state it was in when the Recovery Disks were created."

Dan99 wrote:
"Recovery discs return your PC to the state it was when first purchased"

 

[Saltgrass]

The Recovery Drive operation has changed in Windows 10, at least with the latest build.

Now a Recovery Drive reconstructs your current basic windows 10 install which gives you the ability to recover the system back to a original state at the time the drive was made. No personal files will be recovered. If you have an OEM system, or at least a newer one which came with Windows 10 installed, the software they originally provided will also be reinstalled.

The main point here is that depending on your exact configuration, the answer may be different.

 

[Trouble]

Probably because the terms themselves are so ambiguous.
The OP asked

n someone please explain to me with reference to the windows 10 OS what is the difference between (1) a system repair disk and (ii) a recovery drive?

A system repair disk in its' simplest form is just that a very simple disk (DVD) which will allow you to boot your computer into what is commonly referred to as the Windows PE (Pre-installation Environment) and that's it. It does not contain the additional files needed should you need to re-install Windows, where as a recovery drive does. That is the simplest way to describe the differences.
WITHOUT
Going into the added confusion of discussing other media with the same of similar titles such as a Factory "Recovery" partition which is a means of restoring the system to the factory OOBE, usually placed there by the OEM for just such a purpose.
OR how the creation of a "Recovery Drive" may or may not use the contents of that partition (install.wim and who knows whatelse) when the recovery drive is created from within the Windows 10 utility to do so

 

[johnywhy]

Saltgrass wrote:

"Recovery Drive ...gives you the ability to recover the system back to ...the time the drive was made. If you have an OEM system, or at least a newer one which came with Windows 10 installed, the software they originally provided will also be reinstalled."​

-- You mean OEM software will also be reinstalled. But, what if i had removed the OEM software before making the Recovery Drive?

-- OEM software is not reinstalled with the Repair Disk?

Trouble wrote:

"A system repair disk ...does not contain the additional files needed should you need to re-install Windows, where as a recovery drive does.​

-- Are you sure? According to this article, the only difference is that a Recovery Drive is written to a USB drive, and a System Repair Disk is written to DVD. "both procedures produce the same recovery tool"
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/be-prepared-create-a-windows-10-recovery-drive/

ps, would be helpful if this forum had a Quoting feature.

 

[Saltgrass]

It might be best, if you have some specific situation, you describe to us your current system configuration and how it got that way.

Then let us know exactly what utility you are looking at for a solution. But as Trouble says and I said in my response, whether it is designated as a Repair or Recovery device depends on it capabilities. It is not helpful to quote definitions from other sites which may also be dealing with a different set of circumstances.

 

[Trouble]

ps, would be helpful if this forum had a Quoting feature.

It does, you simply select the text you wish to quote and then click "Reply" which should be produced as a result of the text selection.

 

[Trouble]

I believe if you look at the contents of a "Repair Disc", you'll notice that the Sources folder contains a file called "boot.wim" while this is in fact Windows Install Media, I do not believe that is intended to actually re-install Windows but rather, is provided to make the Recovery Environment (Win-RE) more robust and facilitate some of the advanced features like "Reset".
Adversely if you look at the contents of a "Recovery Drive" you'll find a file called "Reconstruct.wim" the size difference will be remarkable as much as nearly 2 gigs between reconstruct.wim and boot.wim.
This adds the facility to "Recover from drive" to the advanced troubleshooting menu that you will not see with the more simple "Repair Disc".

As a person who never, ever uses any of the native Windows backup or recovery features, I guess I'm the last person who should be attempting to speak definitively about what the process entails.
I choose Acronis True Image. A third party software product to create disk images.
That way I know in advance of actually needing them, what they are, where they are, what they contain and how they work.
I can recover a complete disk or partition image or mount the image and extract a particular file or folder to recover.
I've just been disappointed over and over again by the native utilities going all the way back to XP. I know that they seem to have come a long way with the more recent versions of Windows, but I've found something that works for me and have just decided to stick with it.

 

[johnywhy]

Thx Trouble, that's very informative!

(Hrm, I selected your text and tapped reply, but no quote. Maybe doesn't work on mobile)

 

[Don Frasr]

Hello Trouble,

I am new to this forum and I have a question.

I have read this thread with interest and find it very informative.
I decided to make a Recovery Drive on a USB.
It stated it needed 8gb of free space. The only USB drive I had available was a 64Gb! Anyhow, I decided to give it a try.
Before I started, I noted a free space of 59Gb.
It took around 50 mins to complete.

But when I looked at the Used and Free space it showed Free 4.42Gb and Used 27.5gb.

1. Why does it take less than 8Gb from the original estimate?
2. Why do I only have 27.5Gb free when I was expecting around 51Gb.?
3. It now states the USB drive capacity is now only 31.9Gb!
4. Of the remaining free space can I save other files or will it interfere with the Recovery?

Thanks for your time,

Don

 

[Trouble]

IDK....
Have you looked at the drive in Disk Management to see if there is unallocated space remaining on it.
It looks like the process grabbed half of the available space on the thumbdrive and used it as its' partition and left the remainder unallocated.

 

[Don Frasr]

IDK....
Have you looked at the drive in Disk Management to see if there is unallocated space remaining on it.
It looks like the process grabbed half of the available space on the thumbdrive and used it as its' partition and left the remainder unallocated.

Looking at Disk Management it shows 32GB Active,27GB Unallocated. Thats fine because there is my 59GB.
But when I look at the Properties it shows 4.42Gb Used and 27.5GB Free. Why only 4.42 GB used when Disk Management shows 32GB. Sorry but this is really confusing me!

Another question. Can I add 'data' to the Unallocated space knowing that it won't interfere with my Recover Disk?

Thanks again for your help.

Don

 

[Trouble]

Disk management is showing you the overall size of the partition. Adding 4.42 used to 27.5 unused should get you pretty close to 32 gigs.
IF you look at the top of disk management for that specific drive letter it should be reporting the capacity as well as the free space similarly.
AND
Yes you should be able to format the remaining unallocated disk space on the drive and use that to store data.

 

[Don Frasr]

Ah slight problem. I am unable to format the 27.5GB Unallocated as the New Simple Volume is grayed out. All I have access to is Properties.
Is this because I used it as a Recovery Disk and it prevents any further partitioning?

Thanks
Don

 

[Trouble]

IDK for sure, but I've included some pictures of mine below.
I used an old 150 gig hard drive for mine.
I don't think that the disk type actually makes any difference. IN disk management you should be able to right click on the unallocated space and create a new simple volume and format it.