A startup disk can be used to restore or repair the operating system after a critical error or virus has rendered the computer unusable or unable to boot the operating system. Learn how to create a startup disk for Windows or Mac by reading this guide.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Create a Startup Disk for Windows 8
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Step 1. Swipe from the right corner of the screen on your Windows 8 device
If you use a mouse, place the pointer in the lower left corner of the screen
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Step 2. Tap or click on “Start”
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Step 3. Type “Recovery” in the search field
A list with the search results will appear on the screen.
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Step 4. Click on “Settings” and click on “Create a Rescue Disk”
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Step 5. Check “Copy recovery partition from PC to recovery disk”
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Step 6. Click on “Next”
Windows will inform you of the required capacity on the chosen media to create the boot disk.
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Step 7. Make sure you have a USB stick or blank CD that is large enough to store all the data needed to create the startup disk
The space required depends on the type of Windows 8 device you are using. For example, if your device requires 6Gb of startup disk capacity, you will need to use a USB stick with at least 6Gb of free space.
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Step 8. Insert the USB stick into one of the USB ports mounted on your Windows 8 device
If you have decided to use a blank CD or DVD, select “Create a System Recovery Disc to CD or DVD” from the drop-down menu before inserting the CD or DVD into the drive
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Step 9. Follow the instructions below to finish the boot disk creation process
After that, the startup disk can be used to restore or repair your Windows 8 installation whenever you encounter problems booting your device..
Method 2 of 3: Create a Startup Disk for Windows 7 / Vista
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Step 1. Click on the “Start” button on your Windows Vista / 7 computer
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Step 2. Select the "Control Panel"
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Step 3. Click on “System and Security” and choose “Backup and Restore”
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Step 4. Click on “Create a System Repair Disk” in the left panel of the window
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Step 5. Insert a blank CD into your computer's CD drive
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Step 6. Select the name of the CD player you just inserted the disc into from the drop-down menu next to “Drive”
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Step 7. Click on “Create Disc”
Windows will start writing the files to the CD.
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Step 8. When Windows has finished creating the startup disk, click "Close"
You can now use the startup disk to restore the system in case of malfunctions when starting Windows 7 / Vista..
Method 3 of 3: Create a Startup Disk for Mac OS X
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Step 1. Open the Applications folder on your Mac
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Step 2. Open the Mac App Store
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Step 3. Search and download the latest OS X installer from the App Store
At present, OS X Mavericks 10.9 is the latest version of the installer.
If you want to use an older version of Mac OS X that you previously bought from the App Store, hold down the "Options" button in the App Store interface and click on "Purchase" to find and re-download that particular installer
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Step 4. Insert the USB stick into the USB port of the computer
The USB stick must have at least 8 Gb of free space.
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Step 5. Open the Applications folder and click on “Utilities”
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Step 6. Select “Disk Utility”
The computer will begin collecting information on the USB drive you just inserted.
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Step 7. Click on the USB stick when it appears in the left panel of the Disk Utility
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Step 8. Click on the tab called “Partition” on Disk Utility
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Step 9. Select “1 Partition” from the drop down menu under “Partition Layout”
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Step 10. Select “Mac OS Extended (journaled) from the menu next to“Format”
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Step 11. Click on the “Options” button at the bottom of the Disk Utility screen
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Step 12. Select “GUID Partition Table” and click “OK”
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Step 13. Open the Terminal from the utilities in the Applications folder
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Step 14. Type the following command in the Terminal:
"Defaults write com.apple. Finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE; / killall Finder; / say Files Revealed".
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Step 15. Press “Enter” on your keyboard to execute the command
Your mac will begin to format the USB stick so that it can be used as a Mac OS X startup disk.
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Step 16. Open the Application folder and find the installer you downloaded from the App Store
For example, if you downloaded OS X Mavericks, the program will be called “Install Mac OS X Mavericks.app”.
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Step 17. Right-click on the installer and select "Show Package Contents" from the list of available options
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Step 18. Click on "Contents" and select "Shared Media" from the Package Contents window
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Step 19. Double click on “InstallESD.dmg”
An icon called "OS X Install ESD" will appear on the desktop.
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Step 20. Double click on the "OS X Install ESD" icon
The folder will open showing a number of hidden files, including “BaseSystem.dmg”.
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Step 21. Go back to the Disk Utility application and click on the name of the USB drive in the left panel
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Step 22. In the Disk Utility application click on the "Restore" tab
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Step 23. Click and drag the hidden file "BaseSystem.dmg" to the "Source" field of the "Disk Utility" application
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Step 24. Drag the new partition under the USB drive name in the left panel to the “Destination” field
In most cases, the new partition will be called "Untitled".
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Step 25. Click on the "Restore" button in the Disk Utility application
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Step 26. When prompted, click on “Cancel” to confirm the replacement of the contents of the USB stick
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Step 27. Wait for the computer to finish creating the startup disk on the USB stick
In most cases it will take about an hour.
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Step 28. When the computer has finished copying the files to the flash drive, click on “System” in the left panel and select “Installation”
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Step 29. Delete the folder called “Packages”
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Step 30. Return to the mounted folder called “Install ESD.dmg” located on the desktop
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Step 31. Copy the folder called “Packages”
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Step 32. Go back to the Installation folder and paste the “Packages” folder
The new folder will replace the previously deleted one.
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Step 33. Eject the USB stick from your Mac
The USB stick can now be used as a startup disk to restore the system in the event of a malfunction when starting the computer..