Windows Vista Recovery Disk and Repair Disc Download

2,732 thoughts on “Windows Vista Recovery Disk and Repair Disc Download”

1. saved the day when fixing laptop of a friend!
   Couldn’t boot in to windows because pc got stuck in “windows updates 0%” screen and rebooted automatically even before logging in to vista (regular and safe mode)!

   Didn’t have access to the “oem-style” recovery partition of the laptop…
   With this vista recovery disk (choose “fix your installation” in the beginning, not “reinstall” it’s a small text link at the bottom left in one of the first sceens!) i simply loaded a “system restore point” from right before the windows update and voila!

   Everything has gone from doomsday scenario without a solution in sight to… noting happened!
   (i do admit i recovered the data to a HD by booting from a ubuntu live cd before trying this out 🙂 )

   thx for making my day!

   Greetings,
   manuel

2. Seems to me microsoft should be forced(by law if neccesery) to sort this problem once and forall

3. I’m having the same problem as Harry and Jon. When I try to type in the Product Key, it tells me that it’s “INVALID” when it is not. Then I tried to just skip over activating it and was informed that the INSTALLER was not found. I quit out of it ASAP before my notebook wound up fried. I’m going to look for another download and I’ll report back here if I find one that works properly.

4. which do I burn? From what folder?

5. Hi my laptop (toshiba) that came with a vista is messed up!
   When I turn it on it asks for a windows recovery disk and i downloaded 32bit.

   So I tried it pressed F12 booted from cd/dvd and it worked.

   now, i put in my language etc

   I clicked install vista and i typed in my product key
   i checked 10 times that my product key is right.
   but it says its invalid.
   how do i fix this?
   please help

   Renz

6. Hi my laptop (toshiba) that came with a vista is messed up!
   When I turn it on it asks for a windows recovery disk and i downloaded 32bit.

   So I tried it pressed F12 booted from cd/dvd and it worked.

   now, i put in my language etc

   I clicked install vista and i typed in my product key
   i checked 10 times that my product key is right.
   but it says its invalid.
   how do i fix this?
   please help

   Arvin

7. Thanks man. Worked like a charm. Replaced my old 100GB HDD with 500GB HDD and made full backup of the system without any problem 🙂

8. Thank you for your Windows Vista Recovery Disc Download. Do you have any thing similar to Windows 7 ? My Windows 7 laptop crashed yesterday and I am looking for a recovery method.

9. What a big help this site has been to a lot of people—but not me—so far.
   I have a Dell Inspiron laptop, running Vista Home Premium. I have tried to install an HP380 printer 4 times and would not work. The last time really screwed up my laptop after I deleted the HP printer. All I get now on startup is a message that Windows did not shut down properly and gives me 4 choices-all of which have given me the same result. I get a list of drivers, then the screen either goes black with the cursor visible, or I get the MS progress meter, then the screen goes black.
   I DL’ed the Vista recovery program and inserted it before I powered up, but there is no difference. I checked the BIOS and it looks for the CD/DVD first.
   Some how, I got to a diagnostic page and it told me I had a 2000-0146 error, pertaining to ‘contains previous errors. Later I ran some other diagnostic on the laptop and it reported I had error=0/0 on every test. I assume that’s good.
   Also had a DST fail on one test.
   I’ve messed with this thing all day and night and have got no results. Anybody have any ideas? I’ve used F2, F8, and F12.
   Thanks for the great site!

10. I used the recovery disc to install windows vista. In your opinion, which version of windows vista will the cd install? Could it be Home basic, Home Premium, or Ultimate?

    Please send the answer to my email : sham_1997@yahoo.com.my

11. On trying the download to recover my computer was asked for the product key on entering the product key from the sticker on my computer it stated the key was invalid can you tell me why or do i need to use a different key?
    Thank you
    David

12. Thanks for this……Lifesaver!

13. may god be with you guru, thanks thanks thanks!

14. I have a compaq laptop that had vista on it, windows 7 has been placed over the top. Is there a way to reformat the hard drive and put xp on it?

15. install.wim does NOT EXIST Where is it ??????? Have burned multiple DVD’s with CDBurner – No JOY ….

    I had such high hopes for this posting.

    HP will win again with their “Code Purple” error on a “JUST” out of warranty PC. SHAME – SHAME – SHAME on you HP. Is there NO business ethics left in this world ????

16. Just a quick noob question. My gateway from 2 years back came with a restore disc which only housed the 32bit version of windows on it. My computer came with a 64 bit processor tho which I didn’t really notice cause I don’t really pay that much attention. I have gone and tried to buy a 64 bit version through windows and it said that I wasn’t able and gateway doesn’t have any kind of answer. My question for you guys is would using a 64bit restore do a fresh install of the 64 bit version? In my head I already kind of know the answer but I figured I would ask. If it doesn’t anyone have any other advice? I really want to run a 64 bit OS to get the full potential out of my machine.. but i really don’t want to drop that much cash on a brand new OS yet. I might as well wait for a new comp. Thanks in advance.

17. May I suggest that if you can boot from this and see the grey progress bar then your computer hangs with a black screen and a moveable cursor and goes no further that your HDD is goosed, kapputt, dead, gone and lost forever. This needs to be able to communicate with your HDD to load correctly. I have the same problem and the only possible solution is to replace the HDD. Life’s a bitch sometimes.

18. I have an acer extensa 5220 on windows vista home basic. I got windows vista ultimate for it, not an upgrade, just a fresh install. I installed it on a separate hard drive, and it worked for a few seconds, then the laptop restarted and it said:

    BOOTMGR is compressed
    Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to restart.

    I didn’t get Windows Vista Ultimate on a CD, I just downloaded it from the internet. What should I do to fix this problem. I still have Windows Vista Home Basic on a different hard drive

19. Hey, I’ve downloaded the torrent, made the cd and it loads fine.

    My question is which options do I use once the boot disk has loaded?

    I DO NOT want to loose all my data.

    I just want to fix vista while keeping all the files I have on my computer ex.. word files, music, videos etc..

20. i have a vaio vista computer i was wondering which link i should download the 32bit one or 16bit whats the difference?

21. Works great

22. Could someone please help with this error message I receive after using the boot cd. Looks like it’s going to install but when asked for the activation info, I put in what I’m sure is the right code. But get this message:

    E:/Sources/Install.wim and error code 0x80070002

    I’ve looked at the files on the cd but the ‘install.wim’ file is NOT there??

    I’ve noticed a number of other people have got this same message but no one seems to be able to answer this.

    Please Help

    laptop is an acer aspire

23. best way to image a bootable dvd or usb stick is to use this tool:
    http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool

24. THANKS SOOO MUCH!!!!

    I know i’m a bit late but this is the first time i have seen this site and this was exactly what i needed. Thankyou soo much for this!

25. A stupid idiot at work turned wifes laptop off during updates and it crashed in to a loop off on off on etc. Followed the instructions and loaded the disk and its perfect after running restore. Life saver many thanks.

26. Hi, I have a HP Pavillion tx2000. My laptop wouldn’t boot after some Windows Vista updates.I have managed to get my files off the laptop and have burnt a bootable DVD for Vista 32-bit.I want to use the “Install Now” option as previous “repair” options ran for almost 24hrs and never seem to complete. Now that I’ve chosen “Install Now” option from the Boot disk, I’ve been sitting in “Please Wait” for almost an hour and a half now.Does anyone know how long this process takes?

27. Hey, i’m running a netbook with Vista installed, recently I formatted the main partition and cannot load Vista upon reinstalling.

    – The netbook doesn’t have a CD/DVD drive
    – I only have means of using a USB stick

    How would I go about putting this onto a USB stick or memory stick? Thanks.

    I tried using HP’s USB format tool but it won’t accept the ‘bootable’ files from the ISO image. I appreciate your help.

28. [QUOTE]best way to image a bootable dvd or usb stick is to use this tool: http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool%5B/QUOTE%5Dç

    @andrew: DOES NOT WORK.

    From the same page:
    Can I use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool to backup other files?
    No. This tool is only for use with the Windows 7 ISO file purchased from Microsoft Store.

29. Is this legal?

30. Hi there, I’ve tried to boot my laptop following the steps, but when the system wants to install Vista it says Error:code: 0x80070002 Couldn’t find destination
    D:/Sources/Install.wim

    What should I do? cause it’s just after I put the serial key number from my windows.

    Hope you help me !

    Sergio – sergio_slim18@hotmail.com

31. i booted my vista with the recovery disk, it did the starup repair, and said “windows cannot repair this computer automatically” so i clicked “send the problem”. i dont know what to do =(((

32. I DL Windows Vista 64-Bit (x64) Recovery Disc just fine. It’s asking me for the product key?? Where can I find it? Or could you just send it to me?

33. wow this is great i just bought a laptop from a garage sale and they told me it had the recovery partition still on it which it did but it was corrupted or something used this iso and got everything back up and running nicely, great job with helping out!

34. I have a dell inspiron 1525. Virus infected so I formatted the HD. Accidently deleted all the partitions, now I have nothing but bootmgr and ntlsd or something like that is missing. I put a known good HD with windows in it and it doesnt load it either, Just a BSOD then shuts down. Wont repair with vista cd. It wont even show the HD in the repair box. Wont install new copy. Bios is set right. F8 wont work. How can I get this working. I used partition magic and it found 2 boot partitions that were deleted but wont repair. Is there some super program I can use to get this back to factory state. I have vista 64 bit cd that was supplied by dell and also store bought vista cd. tried both with no luck. it will load the cd but wont install. I tried to do the bootsrec.exe and fix mbr. it said successful but still nothing.any help is appreciated thanks.

35. can i use this even im in windows XP..

    my vista turned to XP when i format this bcoz of virus..

    pLs answer me..
    and sorry for the bad english..

36. I want to add to the above comment that the HD does not have a OS on it. It has been formatted.

37. I was unsure what vista my laptop was running so i downloaded both recovery files and burned them both to discs.

    I changed my BIOS settings to boot from CD and entered the x32 disc. My laptop started up and led me to a Windows Error Recovery page, i could choose “Launch Startup Repair” or “Start Windows normally”. Neither option works, Startup Repair just freezes on a blank screen and Start Windows Normally leads me back to the recovery menu. Same applied when i tried to boot from x64 disc.

    I have no idea what is going on, please help me im at my wits end!!

38. say you have a mac and you want to run boot camp how could I use this cause it says INSERT vista disk ( not download ) so should I just buy it or any other suggestions

39. thank you! this is just what i needed. 🙂
    i bought a new hdd and wanted to transfer (clone) the system partition to the new drive (so you don’t have to reinstall vista,updates and the programs).
    All the tutorials you can find throughout the internet say “after cloning the system partition reboot your PC with your Vista-DVD and use the ‘repair your system’ function to make your copied vista bootable” . Which doesn’t really work, if there is no such function on the vista-dvd you bought… >.<

40. I’ve read this article, I use windowa XP, i recemended this article for my friends who use windows vista ^_^

41. Boot from burned CD and follow exactly this :

    http://www.lancelhoff.com/how-to-fix-vista-mbr-repair-broken-vista…../

    Simple just like 1, 2 and 3

    I recovered my MBR on machine contening Xp, Vista, Ubuntu and Mint8 and now I have both MBR for Windows and Grub for Linux.

    Thank you!

42. I’m running Windows Vista Home premium 32 bit. I used the recovery disk I ordered from the Acer site when my recovery volume was no longer to be at use. But when I attemted to do so I got an error message after I chose whitch language to choose from. This boot disk I downloaded from this torrent, helped me to patch what start up file that was corrupted. But for future referance, I want to know if I can find the actule Windows Vista Home premium 32 bit operating system torrent ISO to burn and use the same product key and then go to the Acer web site to download the all the drivers for a real clean install. This is only a back up disk that I need. I think I should have the right to have an actule Operating system disk that should of came with my laptop. Is this possible?

43. Vista 32 bit install was canceled on the 2nd step due to D:\Sources\Install.wim missing ????????

44. So I downloaded the torrent and burned it, first using PowerISO, than ImgBurn, both times said it was successfull, but when I take it out of my working computer and put it in the one I’m trying to repair, I get nothing. Either something went wrong, or I’m missing a step somewhere. All I get is a ‘boot’ folder with ‘bcd’, ‘boot.sdi’, and ‘bootfix.bin’. None of them do anything. Then another folder called ‘sources’ with ‘boot.wim’. And one last one called ‘bootmgr’.
    I burned them all as ISO images on two good programs.. what happened?

45. What files should be in this after it is burnt? When I put it into the computer I want to fix, it has no install option, and none of the files work at all.. Any help please?

46. Hello,

    I have ubuntu on my Pavilion HP laptop (dv6625ej).

    I am trying to use Vista recovery command prompt to perform a BIOS update using the utility provided by HP for Vista OS (uses SWinFlash.exe behind the scenes).
    [Unfortunately HP does not provide any means to perform the update in any other OS].

    The .exe is unpacking all it contents OK [I specify the writable X (RAM?) drive as the unpack destination].
    But then the update fails telling that I must be an Administrator to perform the update.

    The prompt looks like it is elevated in the first place (Administrator:… windows title).

    [It is possible that this update attempts to install a driver to perform the update and fails because of that?]

    Any ideas?

    Thanks!

    David.

47. yep acer didnt put in any tools. it pops up launch start up repair. been needing help. like to make this just a internet computer with no freeze ups.

48. My laptop, a Dell XPS running Windows XP Proffesional, recently began to have trouble starting up. In the middle of my work one day, the screen started flickering off for a second or two at a time. I tried to abort whatever I was doing, saving work in between flashes, closing, etc, and then tried shutting my computer down.

    After waiting a few minutes, I started it up again and the first loading screen (the one where it says Bios revision A05 under a solid white progress bar)was covered with a few faint and dashed blue lines. The second loading screen (under which the four or five green bars cycle repeatedly through the progress bar) was covered with occasional faint and dashed red lines. The login screen was a solid blue at first, but flickered on and off as I tried to work the cursor to the ‘login’ button.

    After logging in, the desktop picture would not display, patches of blue were retained from the login screen, and the screen continued to flicker. I believe I was able to get the computer shut down normally, but the start menu also left a streaky box when it was gone.

    After waiting for a few hours, and consulting as many resources as I could on the symptoms, I tried starting it again. Now, the red and blue lines on the loading screens are much more regular, much more continuous and much darker. They form in groups of four which are a small distance apart, the group of four on either side a slightly larger distance appart. Hence:

    |||| |||| |||| ||||

    across the screen. Also, when the loading is finished, instead of showing the login screen, the screen goes completely blank. Not grey, but black. The screen appears to be completely dead. This doesn’t seem to merely be a monitor problem because the shortcut keys that would shut down the computer do not work.

    I have tried starting the computer in safe mode, and used system restore to a few days before the problem started. Now, after the loading screen, the cursor appears for about a second before the screen goes dead. Other then that, nothing has changed.

    Does anyone have any idea what is happening, and more importantly, how to fix it?

49. Please post requests for help in our forums at http://neosmart.net/forums/

50. Thanks soo much for this site!!
    I got a friend’s Vista up and running from your hard work!