Latest update on July 7, 2020 at 10:03 AM by David Webb .

Most larger computers and laptops come with a system recovery CD that you can use in the event that you need to repair your device. However, netbooks often don't have a CD/DVD drive and, therefore, can't be fixed with this type of disk. To make up for this deficit, you can use this trick to make a system repair USB key, which can be used on both netbooks without CD/DVD drives and PCs.

Create a System Repair USB Key

In order to complete this process, you will need a bootable USB key with over 165 MB of free space. This article will explain How to Create a Bootable USB Drive.

Display Hidden Files and Folders

Once you have a bootable USB you will want to display hidden files and folders. To do so go to Start > Computer > Organize > Folder Options and Search > View tab.

Check the box next to View hidden files, folders and drives. Uncheck the box next to Hide extensions for files whose type is known and Hide protected files of the operating system.

Creating Directories and Copying the Necessary Files

Create a folder on your desktop called Win7. Open the folder, and create two folders titled Sources and Boot:

Copy the C:WindowsBootPCATbootmgr file in the Win7 directory.

In the boot directory, copy the C:WindowsBootDVDPCATboot.sdi, C:WindowsBootDVDPCATBCD, and C:WindowsBootDVDPCATfr-FRbootfix.bin files.

In the source directory, copy the C:Recovery486aab42-cf02-11de-be22-c44fb1debe9dwinreim file:

Copy the contents of the Win7 folder to the USB key. Rename the BCD file to bcd and the winreim to booim on your USB flash drive.

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