Recovery console for those without an XP disk
Greetings from Emporia, Kansas where there are a lot of cattle and the tall grass prairie still exists.
The Windows XP Recovery Console is a command-line application for repairing XP systems. It is included on full Windows XP disks but is often missing from systems that come with only a “restore” disk. It is possible to download a program from Microsoft that will create a set of six floppies that contain the Recovery Console but it’s a pretty clunky way of doing things. A reader, Dean Adams, has created a nice package that allows for the creation of a bootable CD instead. He has made the creation as easy as possible for the user. His package includes all the software needed (except the Microsoft file mentioned above) and detailed instructions. Download the package here. Dean has written a batch file that does all the work.
Details on using the Recovery Console are at http://commandwindows.com/recovery.htm.
February 19th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
I followed the steps to download the image for Windows XP PRO SP2 from Microsoft, download the procedures from http://vlaurie.com/computers2/downloads/recovery_console_cd.zip .
Then I changed the name of the Microsoft file to BootDisk.exe, placed in the same folder as the procedures [extracted].
Everything ran perfectly and produced the ISO file and burned the CD.
When I booted the computer with the boot from CD , the boot went ok and the screen came up “windows setup” and asked for a Floppy for Windows XP to be inserted in Drive A and press ENTER to continue or F3 to cancel.
I thought the boot CD eliminated the need for the Floppy.
Is it intended that the Floppy be needed or
Should the CD allow availability of the Recovery Console for XP.
Please advise, thank you Barry
February 19th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
I have sent your inquiry to Dean Adams who constructed the package.