creating a 2 OS thumb drive

[Ztruker]

I've got a 16GB flash drive so I think I'll give it a try.

Thanks

 

[behzadpax]

Hi guys
I have a dell xps l502x and i want to restore it to factory setting.i have not any dvd just a recovery partition containing a file factory.wim approx 8 gb.and i cant acces recovery part by pressing F8 in boot.how can i use my recovery portition and its file to restore my lap top to factory setting manually?

 

[SIW2]

Solutions: How to restore dell factory image when PC restore does not work?

There are a couple of solutions in that link.

First try booting your recovery media, go to cammand prompt, and find your recovery partition drive letter like this:

diskpart

lis vol

exi

Use the drive letter you got from lis vol command in the following: (replace D with the the drive letter of your recovery partition )

D:\pctools\pcrestore

 

[Britton30]

Welcome to Seven Forums behzadpax.
F8 is for accessing w7 Advanced options, You may have to press F10 or F11 for the Dell recovery options.

 

[behzadpax]

Solutions: How to restore dell factory image when PC restore does not work?

There are a couple of solutions in that link.

First try booting your recovery media, go to cammand prompt, and find your recovery partition drive letter like this:

diskpart

lis vol

exi

Use the drive letter you got from lis vol command in the following: (replace D with the the drive letter of your recovery partition )

D:\pctools\pcrestore

I did this but i got error "the system can not find the path specified."
Because i have not this path in my recovery partition c:\pctools\pcrestore ( c: is my recovery partotion and e: is my os partition).
And i tried to use that link but i have some problem with that when i use imagex /apply c:\dell\image\factory.wim 1 e:\
Not work for me and give this error
"imagex" is not recognized as an internal or external commond, operable program or batch file.

Pls help me

 

[behzadpax]

Welcome to Seven Forums behzadpax.
F8 is for accessing w7 Advanced options, You may have to press F10 or F11 for the Dell recovery options.

Hi Britton30 thank you
I press all that keys you said but nothing happen.this is the defect of all l502x lap tops that have recovery partition but no way to use that!
There is not any recovery option in boot menu and im realy confused.i looking for a manual way or something to use my factory.wim file and recover factory setting.

 

[SIW2]

Either you are pointing the commands at the wrong place, or you do not have imagex in that place.

You can borrow my recovery media. Boot it up, and use Gimagex to apply the wim.

The file to download is called SMALL1

https://skydrive.live.com/#cid=B0A22789320E3247&id=B0A22789320E3247!363

 

[behzadpax]

Either you are pointing the commands at the wrong place, or you do not have imagex in that place.

You can borrow my recovery media. Boot it up, and use Gimagex to apply the wim.

The file to download is called SMALL1

https://skydrive.live.com/#cid=B0A22789320E3247&id=B0A22789320E3247!363

Thank you very very . . . Much man:thumbup:
My problem solved.i cant believe

 

[SIW2]

You're welcome. Always happy to help with windows issues.

 

[TrenD]

YUMI - Multiboot USB Creator

It is possible - but I am not finding it easy.

The lovely people at Paragon sent me a Linux menu/loader to use for that purpose.

Strangely, I can create a multiboot .iso using that - The .iso boots - a nice Paragon menu comes up , with the individual .iso's I put inside all listed - I select one - and it loads up. It works great.

BUT - it only works if I boot it from the HD - if I burn it to cd - it boots, but the menu won't load.

I have a suspicion my dvddrive is not compatible with the Linux filesystem being used and it doesn't burn properly - I could be wrong.

Try this ...

YUMI - Multiboot USB Creator (Windows)

 

[behzadpax]

Hi mr siw2 i have a problem with imagex.when i use that i got this error "The subsystem needed to support the image type is not present."
Whats wrong with that?!

 

[Ztruker]

Did you do as step 3 says?

3. Put a copy of Imagex in Windows\System32 of the o/s ( Vista or 7) you are booted into.

 

[behzadpax]

Yes i did it.

 

[SIW2]

You are using the wrong bit version of imagex.

 

[behzadpax]

You are using the wrong bit version of imagex.

Yes you are right.thank you for replying

 

[itachi3]

hi im kinda new at this.. so im badly needing some help

1. Where can i get the x86 dvd/iso file?
2. Where can i get the install.wim file?

your reply is highly appreciated . . . thanks in advance . . .

 

[3D Jed]

You can get the official Windows 7 sp1 from

Windows 7 Direct Download Links, Official Disk Images from Digital River

if you unpack the iso with WinRar (or similar), install.wim is in the sources folder

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

IMO it's MUCH MUCH easier to create a bootable Linux system, install VMware / vbox on it then install as many OS'es as you want as VM's that will fit on to the device.

If you do it correctly you can make a 100% portable system which doesn't rely on the computers own HDD at all (In fact its a useful tool for a bare metal recovery if the internal HDD is hosed up).

Most Windows systems on virtual HDD's require at one point the INTERNAL HDD to MOUNT the virtual image so it's not 100% portable in the true sense of the word and mucking about with SYSPREP/ WIM and IMAGEX is always a bit of a pain.

If you have a decently fast USB3 stick or an old SSD or even laptop HDD that you can connect to the machine via USB==>SATA connection the Windows Virtual machines boot up decently and response time is pretty good. You can then add all your own programs (Office etc) and it's really portable and you can have as many OS'es as you have space on your device and you want. On mine I run the Linux HOST and have W7, XP and W8.1 as virtual machines.

I had a post explaining how to do this --it's simple and incredibly useful. If you have enough space you can store a backup of your main machine's image and copy the recovery partition as well so you can delete that from the internal HDD and have more space. If you need to restore it just boot your external device, run the restore program and there you are.

How to make Portable Windows system (any version)

Cheers
jimbo

 

[SIW2]

IMO it's MUCH MUCH easier to create a bootable Linux system, install VMware / vbox on it then install as many OS'es as you want as VM's that will fit on to the device.

Don't be daft. It is completely beyond the ability of most people.

 

[jfletcher84]

So, imagex is depreciated for windows 8/8.1 and 10. What version of imagex still works for this? or are there instructions for accomplishing this with DISM instead?