Use Windows 7 repair disk for Windows 10?

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  1. Posts : 427
    Windows 10
       #1

    Use Windows 7 repair disk for Windows 10?


    Is it possible to use a Windows 7 repair disk to restore Windows 10? I have a new Windows 10 computer and I have been trying to create a backup for it but have been having a hard time with it. Then I found a section under update and security that seems to indicate that I can use a Windows 7 backup. It says that if you create a backup using the Windows 7 backup and restore tool it'll work on Windows 10. Does this mean that if I use a system repair disc that I created with a Windows 7 computer, I would be able to restore Windows 10 on a Windows 10 computer? The system repair disk that I have is I'm a single CD, which is only less than 700 megabytes. When I try to create a system recovery disk with Windows 10 it tells me that I need to have a flash drive that's at least 16 gigabytes. It would be nice if I could use the Windows 7 system repair disc but I thought I would ask to make sure that I could before going that route.
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  2. Posts : 9,765
    Mac OS Catalina
       #2

    It cannot be done. There is a PE disk made for Windows 10 that you can download. To make a backup of the machine's hard drive, just use Macrum.
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  3. Posts : 460
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #3

    As far as I know a Win7 repair disk will not repair W10, you will need a W10 iso on a USB or cd.

    The backup/image tool in control panel from Win7 can be used to create a backup/image of W10 on a separate HDD/SSD. That backup/image of W10 can then be restored by booting off either a USB or cd that has a W10 iso on it for the version you have. Home, or Pro, 32 bit or 64 bit.

    Go to this tutorial https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/9...-download.html You might try option 2. Then you can create W10 iso boot media from the downloaded iso, I use Rufus https://rufus.akeo.ie/
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  4. Posts : 427
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #4

    bro67 said:
    It cannot be done. There is a PE disk made for Windows 10 that you can download. To make a backup of the machine's hard drive, just use Macrum.
    What if I just want to use a Windows 10 .iso file to do a clean install? Would the Win7 system repair disc be ok for that?

    I could make a system recovery drive with a USB drive I bought specifically for the purpose, but I've been told it would be a 16GB file on it, and that flash drives only allow for 2GB file maximums. So how is it possible to create a recovery drive that big?
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  5. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #5

    The ISO file is an image of a recovery drive. To create a recovery drive you extract the contents of the ISO file to a USB flash drive or DVD. There are no files inside the image that are >2 GB and that is why a recovery drive can be formatted FAT32.
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  6. Posts : 427
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #6

    NavyLCDR said:
    The ISO file is an image of a recovery drive. To create a recovery drive you extract the contents of the ISO file to a USB flash drive or DVD. There are no files inside the image that are >2 GB and that is why a recovery drive can be formatted FAT32.
    Ok. I guess I'll have to do that then. Now, once that's done, can I also save an image file of the OS and drivers on the same flash drive, which is 64GB? I know that creating the recovery drive would delete everything currently on the drive, but I'd be adding the system image backup onto the drive after using it to create the recovery drive. Would adding the system image afterwards interfere with the recovery drive?
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  7. Posts : 3,502
    Win_8.1-Pro, Win_10.1607-Pro, Mint_17.3
       #7

    I think you're stuck on the wording ... but essentially, you should use the tools that support the OS running on your system to perform repairs on that system.

    Win7
    - Repair disc for Win7
    - System image for Win7

    Win10
    - Recovery drive for Win10
    - Repair disc for Win10
    - System image for Win10

    Install media (disc or USB) also provide a repair option in either version for that version.

    Read the following tutorials for a better understanding of the available options

    Recovery Drive - Create in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums
    information   Information
    ...
    A recovery drive is a USB version of a system repair disc with an option to include the system files to be able to also reset Windows 10 from the recovery drive.
    ...

    If you create a Recovery drive, it's helpful to know how to use it if needed:

    and there is a Win10 Repair disc:

    The USB only needs to be formatted FAT32 IF your system has UEFI firmware.
    System information BIOS mode will tell you ... here's mine which is Legacy (which means it is BIOS/MBR)
    Use Windows 7 repair disk for Windows 10?-sysinfobios.png

    Will writing a system image to the Recovery drive cause issues?
    Good question, it depends on the utility used to create the system image.

    I thought there was a way to make a one-step recovery drive that included a snapshot of the system (ie a system image). I can't locate where I read that.

    Hopefully another member can better address this question.
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  8. Posts : 9,765
    Mac OS Catalina
       #8

    It still will not work. You cannot use a different version of Windows to repairor fixanother version. Ever heard of the term that you cannot sticka Square Peg in a Round Hole?
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  9. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #9

    Slartybart said:
    I thought there was a way to make a one-step recovery drive that included a snapshot of the system (ie a system image). I can't locate where I read that.
    Well, it isn't exactly a one step recovery drive, but you can make an all in one recovery drive:

    Get a big honkin' USB flash drive - will have to be big enough to hold your system image, so 64 or 128 GB.

    Use the Media Creation Tool to make it into a Windows 10 installation USB.

    Replace the boot.wim file in the sources folder on the flash drive with the boot.wim file from Kyhi's recovery drive.

    Boot from the USB flash drive, should boot into Kyhi's recovery. Since the Media Creation Tool only formats the first 32 GB of the flash drive as FAT32, you need to run MiniTool Partition Wizard (in Kyhi's recovery) and extend the 32GB partition on the USB flash drive to fill the rest of it.

    Run Macrium Relfect in Kyhi's recovery drive and save your system image to the USB flash drive. Macrium Reflect will break the image up into 2GB chunks so it can be saved to FAT32 USB flash drive.

    I like to also use DISM to export the drivers from the computer to the flash drive.

    You now have a flash drive that will do just about anything possible you would ever want to do to your computer. It will do a clean install of Windows 10. It will restore the system image saved on it. It will upgrade Windows 7/8/8.1 to Windows 10. All the repair options of standard Windows 10 repair/install disc can be used. It will do everything but make a ham sandwich while waiting for your image/restore to finish.
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  10. Posts : 427
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Slartybart said:
    I think you're stuck on the wording ... but essentially, you should use the tools that support the OS running on your system to perform repairs on that system.

    Win7
    - Repair disc for Win7
    - System image for Win7

    Win10
    - Recovery drive for Win10
    - Repair disc for Win10
    - System image for Win10

    Install media (disc or USB) also provide a repair option in either version for that version.

    Read the following tutorials for a better understanding of the available options

    Recovery Drive - Create in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums
    information   Information
    ...
    A recovery drive is a USB version of a system repair disc with an option to include the system files to be able to also reset Windows 10 from the recovery drive.
    ...

    If you create a Recovery drive, it's helpful to know how to use it if needed:
    and there is a Win10 Repair disc:
    The USB only needs to be formatted FAT32 IF your system has UEFI firmware.
    System information BIOS mode will tell you ... here's mine which is Legacy (which means it is BIOS/MBR)
    Use Windows 7 repair disk for Windows 10?-sysinfobios.png

    Will writing a system image to the Recovery drive cause issues?
    Good question, it depends on the utility used to create the system image.

    I thought there was a way to make a one-step recovery drive that included a snapshot of the system (ie a system image). I can't locate where I read that.

    Hopefully another member can better address this question.
    I didn't know there was also a Repair disk for Win10. I thought it was just the Recovery Drive and the System image that needed to be make in order to start over again. When I clicked the link you provided for creating it, it said, "A system repair disc is the CD/DVD version of a USB recovery drive." Does this mean that I only need one or the other, and not both?
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