How to create a system restore DVD

[Mackhack]

Hi Folks,

I heard there is a way of creating a restore DVD for our customers with Windows Vista on it. I have found a file restore but that is not what I mean.

What my supervisor wants me to do is to install Vista on the customers machine and after it is done to create a full restore DVD so in case the customer messes up his machine all he needs to do then is to pop in the DVD, a menu is suppose to show up and he can image his machine and it will appear then the same way he got it from us.

Does anyone knows how to do it or has a link for a website showing it?

Thank you!

[moo2004]

You mean, creating something like an Image of the entire PC?

I know that Windows Vista has a built in utility for that.

Have you tried google "image Windows Vista"

[Access Denied]

It will take more than one DVD for sure. Also if you have a second hard disk in the pc, the complete pc backup works great in Vista. I would recommend the drive over the disc method 100%.

[Mackhack]

Thanks.

I'm aware of the backup function but we need it as a simple restore DVD for our customers. We wanna provide a DVD in case they wanna format their system and reinstall Vista so they have the same configuration as they bought it from us.

[Access Denied]

In that case, go get some double layer DVDs that are 8+ GB and fresh install Vista and backup that way. DIdn't think about that when I posted before. You may have to slim down the install using vLite, but I think a clean install should fit on a double layer.

[Mackhack]

Hi,

I just got an email from the MS OPK guy and he told me a way of creating an iso file (200 mb) with the WinRE image in it and some weired way of combining the ~ 4 gb Vista.wim file with our actual Vista image.

But I just can't figure it out how to combine those two files.

Here is the content of the eMail just for all of you guys who have the same problem and may want to give it a shot.

The CD/DVD shouldn’t require a restore partition. I just went through this and I have a DVD that will boot to the WinRE using just the WinRE.wim that I renamed to the Boot.wim. (make sure that you have the \boot folder after running the copype.cmd.. when you run your oscdimg.exe you want to use the source of <pathto>\ISO then save as your <bootablewinre>.iso.

You can use the Customizing the Windows RE Experience page to add in a new button to “diskpart /s diskconfig.txt” where this will create the partition structure that you want then “image /apply x:\install.wim 1 c:”

And after you complete “Step 3: Add custom Windows RE scripts” At that point, you can add in any extra files and tools that you need before you create the ISO.

If I understand what you wish to do, at this point you want to create a Sysprep’d WinVista WIM for this machine and add this to WinRE DVD?

I would create a folder under the \ISO folder such as \recovery and place my new WinVista WIM under here, or better yet, if you still have the WinRE.wim mounted ( /Mountrw ) then you can add your folder\image.wim to the boot.wim and it will be on the X: drive when you boot to DVD.

::Edit//

Here is another eMail form the MS OKP Support dude:

[...]

You can nest WIMs, one Wim inside of another. Which would guarantee that your source WIM is always on the X drive. However your machine would have to have the RAM available to load that all in memory.

You can append Wim’s so that you can have multiple images in one WIM. If you look at our Install.wim and use /Info you will see that we have 7 images in that one WIM when you mount/apply/expand a WIM you need to put in the index number so we know which WIM you want to use. For example “imagex /mountrw install.wim 4 .\mount” would mount the Windows Vista BUSINESS to the mount folder, while “imagex /mountrw install.wim 1 .\mount” would mount the Windows Vista BUSINESS

So placing the source WIM (the one that you will apply back to the target machine) on the DVD/CD may be best, then call the installation from the Startnet.cmd or some such.

[...]

Edited May 7, 2007 by Mackhack