The Avira AntiVir Rescue System gives the user three options on how to handle the situation. It can try to repair a damaged system, rescue data and scan the system for virus infections. The Rescue System file can be burned to a CD by double-clicking the downloaded file.

The Rescue System CD does come in handy as well when a computer needs to be checked for viruses before it boots into the operating system. The virus definition files can be updated after booting from the CD. So, this is not your usual Recovery CD that comes with all sorts of tools but one for a very special purpose only. Still nice to have at hand in case the computer gets infected.

The Recovery CD does not seem to include these kind of tools. The guys from Neosmart are offering the download of a Windows Vista Recovery Disc for those users so that they can recover Windows Vista as well. The download has a size of 120 Megabyte and can be downloaded from their website or as a torrent.

Since the file is an iso image it has to be burned to CD and the computer has to be booted from that CD when the need arises. This could mean that you have to change the boot sequence in your computer’s bios so that CD / DVD is the first to boot from. Only 32-bit editions of Windows Vista are currently supported it seems.

via Vista Recovery Disc

You only need one tool and the recovery CD of course. Download the tool XP Iso Builder and install it on your system. Create a temp dir for the new CD on your hard drive, name it XP for instance. Copy the complete recovery CD to the temporary folder. Make sure you copy hidden and system files as well. (check in folder options that they are shown when you browse dirs).

You might want to delete the folder $OEM$ in the temporary directory, it contains software that the manufacturers added to the recovery cd. Those software is normally not needed.

Start XP Iso Builder and click on the button convert recovery disk. Select your operating system under (1), browse to the temp dir in (2) and click on Search through hard drive automatically in (3). The i386 folder should be at least 420 megabytes in size, if more than one is found select the one with that size. The folder has to be on your hard drive and not in the temp XP folder that we created before.

Select start to begin the process and close when it is finished. Click on Start Choose Folder / Drive in the main window and select the temporary folder that we created. Select No afterwards.

Integrate Service Pack 2:

If your recovery CD does not contain Service Pack 2 you could integrate it to automatically have a up to date windows. Download Windows XP service pack 2 Network Installation Package for IT Professionals and Developers. Save the file to your hard drive and select Integrate Service Pack in XP Iso Builder. Browse to the file and select it, the integration of the service pack should begin.

Download and integrate Updates:

After we have integrated the service pack we surely want to integrate the newest updates for the operating system as well. The easiest way would be to upload a update pack that contains all updates since the release of service pack 2. One location to download that file would be the winboard website. Unpack the downloaded file on your hard drive and select the entry (8) Service Updates from the xp iso builder menu.

Browse to the folder that you unpacked the files to and hit ok once you are done. All updates will be added to your installation, this might take some minutes.

Once this is done we are ready to create the iso image

Create the actual ISO image:

Select (11) Finish from the menu and click on start integration. Select a filename and the creation starts.

After this is done you are ready to burn the iso to a cd with a tool like Nero for instance.

That is it. You created a full windows xp installation cd from your recovery cd and may now install it on different computers.

The process involves a total of eleven steps, starting with the creation of the CD structure and the movement of the files needed to later burn them to a new CD.

If you have a recovery CD and are curious make sure you check the guide out.

Update: Technology has advanced significantly over the years, and the creation of recovery CDs or DVDs for various versions of Windows is now easier than ever.

One of the programs that you can use to create your boot CD is Ultimate Boot CD for Windows. Just visit the developer website and download the latest version of the program to your computer system. Please note that the download has a size of nearly 270 Megabytes.

Once downloaded, unpacked and started, visit the Hot to build the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows guide that explains how to create the recovery CD that you can use in case you cannot boot into the operating system anymore. Please note that the guide is only for Windows XP and not for other versions of Windows.

Boot Disk is another resource where you find software downloads and instructions on creating recovery and boot CDs.

The site has a great link section to how to guides that explain how to create recovery CDs and DVDs for Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and even really old versions of Windows such as Windows 9x.

Windows 7 users may also want to check the built-in recovery options of the operation system. The operating system comes with options to create a system repair disc which can be used for all kinds of troubleshooting and repair related tasks.

All you need to do is to Click on Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Backup and Restore. Click the Create a system repair disc link in the left pane afterwards and follow the steps outlined in the wizard.