Windows 7: is there a bootable cd operating system

is there a OS/windows bootable cd/dvd which i dont need to install on my drive
just boot on cd/dvd
reason for this is for easier and non complicated steps to rescue files



so is there an existing???

Welcome
What you want is to make an image. Make one now, update once a month. If you ever have a problem, you can reinstall in about 10 minutes, including all programs
Macrium Reflect FREE Edition - Information and download
I use it and it saved me twice.

Linux ??

As mentioned, you should be backing up your files if you are worried about loosing them. Purchase an external drive, there are so cheap.

If I have understood your query correctly, here is the answer.

Lucid Puppy way to recover files from a non-bootable computer

linux/ubuntu have a try option where it just loads the os.

there is also a windows rescue disc you can get, a very light version of windows that does the same and will run from the disc. Download - SystemRescueCd

A good live cd that I use quite often is Parted Magic. It has various tools along with a web browser, etc. built in.

Hi there
forgive me if I'm being obtuse here but I think the OP means can you RUN the OS from a bootable media not create an install disk / usb or even a "Live CD" which doesn't actually SAVE any of your changes.

Windows 8 Enterprise can do this with WINDOWS to GO -- look on W8 Forums -- you can create the OS on a USB stick or an external USB drive which will boot and run just like any Windows system -- you can install APPS and it updates the disk unlike a LiveCD.

It will even run if there's no OS on the actual Host system -- the Host system must be capable of booting from an external Disk / device.

It IS possible with Windows 7 (with difficulty) -- the trick is to create a Virtual Hard disk (VHD) and then boot from the VHD image -- it's not that easy to do however (at least I didn't find it easy).

The Windows 8 system has the advantage in that it will run on all sorts of DIFFERENT hardware too - the reason you need Enterprise version is that it's a VL license (Multiple activations etc) and won't request activation when booted from different hardware. The Hardware will get updated in the OS at first boot.

A USB3 device will yield far faster results than a USB2 one - but even a decent USB2 disk will run this (Windows 8) system OK.

Linux is another issue -- so long as you can create a GRUB boot partition then no problems.

If you just want to rescue parts of your system then that again is another issue -- create a bootable system image every so often -- then if you need to restore just boot the recovery image. Loads of programs can do this --I'd suggest however using a decent cheap commercial product -- Acronis is usually used by quite a lot of members here with good results.

Keep the OS / applications on a separate partition to your data so if you need to recover the OS you don't need to recover your data as well.

You can then save data with any convenient method separately - even with windows explorer although I'd suggest a decent backup solution.

Cheers
jimbo

One option is to create a system repair disk.
System Repair Disc - Create
Another option is to create a Windows PE (preinstallation environment) Disk. Just Google it and you should find lots of tutorials.
MSDart (Microsoft Diagnostics and recovery toolset) is another option, if you can manage to get a copy of it.

If you have a copy of XP then you can create a Live XP CD\DVD using BartPE

It is possible to produce a Windows 8 to go on a stick. But for the purpose ( recovering files ), I would use one of the live Linux options or a Macrium live WinPE CD. You can download the .iso from here (right click on the grey box). Then burn it to a CD.

With the WinPE CD, you can make an image of any partition which produces a VHD. That you can mount in any system to recover the files.