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Bootable USB Recovery...?

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David333
David333 Posts: 742 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
in Techie Stuff
I intend to install Windows 10 on my Windows 7 laptop in the near future (and on my Windows 8.1 netbook in the further future), but don't have any recovery options available, apart from what it is on the computer itself. I have backed up all of my files, so all I want is to be able to reinstall a clean version of Win 7/8.1 on the respective machines if everything goes wrong.

A few simple questions. Is such a thing called a 'recovery drive'? That's what I've been googling, but I'm not sure if it's exactly what I want! Along the same lines, can I just use Win 8's own 'create a USB recovery drive' options? It seems that I need to do more work myself to create it from Win 7.

Secondly, Microsoft claims the recovery partition is between 3-6GB for Win 8. Is this the same for Win 7?

Thirdly, will I need two USB drives for a recovery drive for Win 7 and 8, or can I put both recovery things on the same drive?

Fourth, is it wise to delete the recovery partition from the laptop once I've created the bootable USB?

Thanks!

Comments

  • NiftyDigits
    NiftyDigits Posts: 10,459 Forumite
    Each machine will have it's own option, unless you have deleted it. Windows 7 laptop will have the option to create recovery DVD. Netbook, USB. Windows 8, USB. No need to delete partition afterwards.
  • David333
    David333 Posts: 742 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Thanks. I'd like to delete the recovery partition on the netbook to save some space. I assume that won't be a problem if I keep the USB safe.

    Can I have two recovery drives on the one USB drive?
  • NiftyDigits
    NiftyDigits Posts: 10,459 Forumite
    David333 wrote: »
    Thanks. I'd like to delete the recovery partition on the netbook to save some space. I assume that won't be a problem if I keep the USB safe.

    Can I have two recovery drives on the one USB drive?

    Seriously? They are so cheap. If you have a problem you can lose all instead of one..for the sake of perhaps £3.
  • spud17
    spud17 Posts: 4,431 Forumite
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    NiftyDigits wrote: »
    Seriously? They are so cheap. If you have a problem you can lose all instead of one..for the sake of perhaps £3.


    Exactly, :), I have several for this type of use, and I'm tight as ......<insert own description>.

    £1.98 delivered.

    http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/toshiba-transmemory-8gb-white-usb-2-0-flash-drive-1-98-delivered-ebuyer-2262378

    Slow read/write not a problem for this type of use.
    Move along, nothing to see.
  • David333
    David333 Posts: 742 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    NiftyDigits wrote: »
    Seriously? They are so cheap. If you have a problem you can lose all instead of one..for the sake of perhaps £3.

    It's not that. I have a spare 32GB one, and was wondering if I could just use that as my recovery drives drive. Will buy a couple of smaller ones!
  • David333
    David333 Posts: 742 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    spud17 wrote: »
    Exactly, :), I have several for this type of use, and I'm tight as ......<insert own description>.

    £1.98 delivered.

    http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/toshiba-transmemory-8gb-white-usb-2-0-flash-drive-1-98-delivered-ebuyer-2262378

    Slow read/write not a problem for this type of use.

    Thanks for the link!
  • GunJack
    GunJack Posts: 11,829 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    David333 wrote: »
    It's not that. I have a spare 32GB one, and was wondering if I could just use that as my recovery drives drive. Will buy a couple of smaller ones!

    <cough> xboot!!!! <cough>
    ......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......

    I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple :D
  • David333
    David333 Posts: 742 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    GunJack wrote: »
    <cough> xboot!!!! <cough>

    Haha, thanks. How do you choose which to boot from? Does it decide automatically?
  • GunJack
    GunJack Posts: 11,829 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    gives you a menu choice from the ISOs you've loaded onto it :)
    ......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......

    I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple :D
  • debitcardmayhem
    debitcardmayhem Posts: 12,697 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Cough <cough xboot> you are talking serious stuff Gunny, it may work though but not tried it with 8.x, which reminds me i should try to use it with windows X...
    4.8kWp 12x400W Longhi 9.6 kWh battery Giv-hy 5.0 Inverter, WSW facing Essex . Aint no sunshine ☀️ Octopus gas fixed dec 24 @ 5.74 tracker again+ Octopus Intelligent Flux leccy
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