System Recovery Options

How to Boot to the System Recovery Options in Windows 7​

   Information

This will show you how to boot to the System Recovery Options screen to select the Startup Repair, System Restore, Complete PC Restore, Memory Diagnostic Tool, or Command Prompt option to use on Windows 7.

   Note

The System Recovery Options menu is on the Windows 7 installation disc. If your computer manufacturer (OEM) has preinstalled recovery options, the menu might also be installed on your hard disk as a recovery partition. If your computer does not include the System Recovery Options menu, your computer manufacturer (OEM) might have customized or replaced the tool. Check the information that came with your computer or go to the manufacturer's website.

OPTION ONE

Using an OEM Recovery Partition

NOTE: This is if your computer did not come with a Windows 7 installation DVD, and has pre-installed recovery options (recovery partition) instead.
1. Start or Restart the computer.

2. Boot into the Advanced Boot Options screen.
A) Select Repair your computer and press Enter.
3. Select your keyboard language preferences and click on Next. (See screeshot below).

4. Select your user name and type in the password, and then click on OK.

5. Go to step 6 in OPTION TWO below.

OPTION TWO

Using a Windows 7 Installation or System Repair Disc

1. Insert the Windows 7 installation disc, slipstream Windows 7 SP1 installation disc, or System Repair Disc into the CD/DVD drive and restart the computer.
WARNING: Check to make sure that you set the BIOS to have the CD or DVD drive listed first in the boot order.

2. If prompted, press any key to boot from the Windows 7 installation DVD. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You will only have about 8 seconds to press this key.

3. Select your language preferences and click on Next. (See screeshot below).

4. Click on Repair your computer. (See screenshot below)

5. Select which operating system you want to restore and the click on Next. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If Windows 7 is not listed here, or it is blank, then it is ok. Click on Next anyway.




6. Select the system recovery option you want to do. (See screenshot below)

• Startup Repair
• System Restore
• System Image Recovery
• Windows Memory Diagnostic
• Command Prompt

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Boot to the Advanced Boot Options in Windows 7
• How to Start Windows 7 in Safe Mode
• How to Run a Startup Repair in Windows 7
• How to Do a System Restore in Windows 7
• How to Do a System Image Recovery in Windows 7
• How to Run the Memory Diagnostics Tool in Windows 7
• How to Open a Command Prompt at Startup in Windows 7
• How to Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disc
• How to See Windows 7 Reliability and Problem History with Reliability Monitor
• How to Run Disk Check in Windows 7
• How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7
• How to Create a System Recovery Shortcut in Windows 7
• How to Load SATA Drivers in Windows System Recovery Options
• How to Enable the Built-in Administrator Account from WinRE
• How to Recover from an Infinitely Looping Startup Repair Loop without Reinstalling Windows
• How to Use the Bootrec.exe Tool in Windows Recovery Environment

 

[pxfragonard]

Rookie question. "WARNING: Check to make sure that you set the BIOS to have the CD or DVD drive listed first in the boot order." How do I check that, Shawn?

 

[Brink]

Rookie question. "WARNING: Check to make sure that you set the BIOS to have the CD or DVD drive listed first in the boot order." How do I check that, Shawn?

No worries. For HP computers, you should be able to press F10 at boot to enter BIOS to check in the "Boot" tab of BIOS for this setting. The link below at HP can give you more information on how to boot to BIOS.

BIOS Setup Utility Information and Menu Options | HP® Support

 

[Night Hawk]

Correct as always! If the F10 key doesn't work tap the F1 key repeatedly according to the support page there. Some bioses however may use the F11 if not F2 or ESC keys instead. The Pavillions for the most part will use either F10 or F11 however since the older HP models would be more likely to have used the F2 or ESC keys.

 

[pxfragonard]

Rookie question. "WARNING: Check to make sure that you set the BIOS to have the CD or DVD drive listed first in the boot order." How do I check that, Shawn?

No worries. For HP computers, you should be able to press F10 at boot to enter BIOS to check in the "Boot" tab of BIOS for this setting. The link below at HP can give you more information on how to boot to BIOS.

BIOS Setup Utility Information and Menu Options | HP® Support

Thanks! No wonder I've had no luck with F8!

 

[pxfragonard]

Correct as always! If the F10 key doesn't work tap the F1 key repeatedly according to the support page there. Some bioses however may use the F11 if not F2 or ESC keys instead. The Pavillions for the most part will use either F10 or F11 however since the older HP models would be more likely to have used the F2 or ESC keys.

Sheesh! You'd think they could make up their minds!

 

[Brink]

Rookie question. "WARNING: Check to make sure that you set the BIOS to have the CD or DVD drive listed first in the boot order." How do I check that, Shawn?

No worries. For HP computers, you should be able to press F10 at boot to enter BIOS to check in the "Boot" tab of BIOS for this setting. The link below at HP can give you more information on how to boot to BIOS.

BIOS Setup Utility Information and Menu Options | HP® Support

Thanks! No wonder I've had no luck with F8!

You're welcome.

 

[Night Hawk]

Correct as always! If the F10 key doesn't work tap the F1 key repeatedly according to the support page there. Some bioses however may use the F11 if not F2 or ESC keys instead. The Pavillions for the most part will use either F10 or F11 however since the older HP models would be more likely to have used the F2 or ESC keys.

Sheesh! You'd think they could make up their minds!

As Shawn can easily explain as well HP doesn't necessarily manufacture their own boards often at times (often using Asus boards) where each board manufacturer may be using Award-Phoenix, SIS, AMI, or some other bios programming.

With each OEM there is often a different key assigned as well as when shopping for a new MB to put into a custom case. With Asus boards those will generally see the F8 key while Gigabyte sees the F12 instead. Yet both may see Award used as the bios program.

The way pc technologies saw rapid changes over the last 15yrs. alone the bioses have also been through a number as well. How about Ctrl-Alt-Esc as the key combination?! Each OEM simply want their own way and no one ever standardized one specific key or combination in all these years. Then you start adding in laptops, tablets, tablet pcs, and other hand helds and the list goes on and on and...

 

[Dustgb66]

Choose a recovery tool

Under 'Choose a recovery tool' The "Operating system: Unknown on (Unknown) Local Disk"

Please help?

 

[Brink]

Hello Dustgb66, and welcome to Seven Forums.

What recovery option were you wanting to do, and are you still able to perform it?

 

[Dustgb66]

System Repair

For some reason I chose 'Shutdown' instead of 'Restart' after a system repair and it worked?

 

[Brink]

For some reason I chose 'Shutdown' instead of 'Restart' after a system repair and it worked?

It's usually pretty good about picking up where it left off in cases like that.

 

[GokAy]

Under 'Choose a recovery tool' The "Operating system: Unknown on (Unknown) Local Disk"

Please help?

This usually happens when OS HDD is not plugged in to the first SATA port of motherboard.

 

[LegacyRoberto]

Data

Hello ! I'm new here. Thank you for having me.

I have a question. If i use this method, do i loose any data ? Like pictures or files from my desktop?

Thank you !

 

[Brink]

Hello Roberto, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Booting to "System Recovery Options" alone will not affect anything. Select to perform a "system image recovery" from the options would though.