Windows 7 recovery tools by Anarethos – 2.0.

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1 PURPOSE OF THIS SOFTWARE.....................................................................................................2
2 FEATURES ..................................................................................................................................2
3 INSTALLATION INSTRUCTION......................................................................................................3
3.1 CONFIGURING THE HARD-DISK PARTITIONS ............................................................................................ 3
3.2 SWITCHING TO AUDIT MODE AND INSTALLING SOFTWARE ....................................................................... 4
3.3 INSTALLING THE RECOVERY TOOLS ....................................................................................................... 5
3.3.1 WinRE Source.......................................................................................................................... 5
3.3.2 Password................................................................................................................................. 5
3.3.3 Drivers..................................................................................................................................... 5
3.3.4 Sysprep and capture ............................................................................................................... 6
3.3.4.1 Generalize ............................................................................................................................................6
3.3.4.2 Keep drivers .........................................................................................................................................6
3.3.4.3 Rearm...................................................................................................................................................6
3.3.4.4 Generic image creation.......................................................................................................................6
4 ACCESSING THE RECOVERY TOOLS ..............................................................................................8
4.1 FROM WINDOWS ............................................................................................................................. 8
4.2 FROM THE BOOT MENU ..................................................................................................................... 9
5 USING THE RECOVERY TOOLS ...................................................................................................12
5.1 SYSTEM REPAIR MENU..................................................................................................................... 12
5.2 SYSTEM RECOVERY MENU ................................................................................................................ 13
5.3 TOOLS MENU ................................................................................................................................. 14
6 MEDIA CREATOR......................................................................................................................15
7 ANNEX A – CUSTOM HARD-DISK CONFIGURATION ....................................................................16
7.1 4 PARTITIONS (DATA PARTITION) ....................................................................................................... 16
7.2 3 PARTITIONS (RECOVERY PARTITION AFTER WINDOWS PARTITION) ....................................................... 17
7.3 4 PARTITIONS (DATA PARTITION WITH THE RECOVERY PARTITION AFTER THE WINDOWS PARTITION)............... 18
8 ANNEX B – TRANSLATING IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE ...................................................................19
9 ANNEX C – UPDATE RECOVERY TOOLS ......................................................................................20
10 CHANGE LOG ...........................................................................................................................22
11 CREDITS...................................................................................................................................25
1 Purpose of this software
The goal of this software is to offer an easy to use and install software for system
manufacturer, OEM builder or power-user that will allow reinstalling Windows in case of
a system failure.

These tools can be accessed from Windows or from the boot loader and will allow
performing a non-destructive reinstallation of Windows, keeping all data on the drive. It
also offer the option to create a DVD set or a USB key to do a full system recovery in
case the computer can’t boot anymore or the hard-disk drive has been replaced.

These tools use Windows 7 Recovery Environment as the base image to boot the
recovery tools, making this software not compatible with previous version of Windows.

Also, due to limitation of IMAGEX, these tools should NOT be used to make a regular
backup of the computer, but used to create a factory restore image only.

2 Features
1) Easy to install
2) Non-destructive Windows reinstallation
3) Boot sector repair and rewrite
4) Password protection of the recovery tools
5) Easy to add drivers not supported by default by Windows (SATA, Raid, Network,
etc.)
6) Full 64 bits support
7) Offline file browsing with Dual Commander
8) Recovery console (Windows 7 RE environment)
9) Possibility to create a DVD or USB key to fully restore the computer, including
the recovery environment
10) Open-source (except Microsoft© ImageX and OsCdImg)
11) Easy to modify and adapt to your own needs
12) Easy to translate
13) Can be used to create a “Generic” system image that can be used on multiple
computers. Just install drivers, run SYSPREP and capture and you are done.
3 Installation instruction
3.1 Configuring the hard-disk partitions
To works, hard-disk partition must follow theses rules.

Disk Partition Label Type File System Letter Size

0 1 Recovery OEM NTFS R 12 GB
0 2 System Active NTFS S 300 MB
0 3 Windows N/A NTFS W N/A

To do this, boot the computer from the Windows 7 DVD. On the main screen, press
SHIFT+F10. A command prompt will open. Type the following to configure the hard-
disk.

Diskpart
select disk 0
clean
create partition primary size=12000
format fs=ntfs quick label=RECOVERY
set ID=27
assign letter=R
create partition primary size=300
active
format fs=ntfs quick label=SYSTEM
assign letter=S
create partition primary
format fs=ntfs quick label=WINDOWS
assign letter=C
exit

To use a different hard-disk configuration, please refer to annex A at the end of the
document.
3.2 Switching to AUDIT mode and installing software
This software will use SYSPREP to help you prepare the computer for the end-user. The
SYSPREP software has two mode, AUDIT and OOBE mode. The AUDIT mode allows
you to install software, drivers, updates, etc. by using a temporary user account that will
be deleted when switching to OOBE mode. So, don’t waste your time configuration user
settings like screen saver, Internet Explorer or anything else that do not apply to all users.

The OOBE mode is the welcome screen after the Windows installation, when you are
asked to create the first user account of the computer.

To enter AUDIT mode, simply press CTRL+SHIFT+F3 when on the welcome screen
after the last reboot of the Windows installation. The computer will reboot in AUDIT
mode. Each time you will reboot Windows, you will have a SYSPREP windows that will
show up. You just have to close it.

You may now use the AUDIT mode to install all software, drivers and updated for the
current computer.

If you plan to create a generic image, DO NOT install any drivers, as they will be
removed during the SYSPREP step.
3.3 Installing the Recovery tools

3.3.1 WinRE Source

In the “WinRE Source” section, please select the winRE.wim file that will be used. The
file in “C:\Windows\System32\Recovery” should be used, but you can also find it in
“C:\Recovery\{GUID}” where {GUID} is a random number.

3.3.2 Password
The password section allows protecting the recovery environment with a password. The
password will be needed each time the recovery tools are accessed to prevent
unauthorized access to files or restore of the computer. The password will not be required
when using DVD or USB recovery media. The password can’t be changed later.

3.3.3 Drivers
The “Drivers” section allows adding drivers (Sata, Raid, etc.) into the recovery
environment. Simply select the drivers’ folders and all drivers in this folder and subfolder
will be added to the image.
3.3.4 Sysprep and capture

3.3.4.1 Generalize
The “Generalize” option allows erasing all computer related information from the image,
including the SID and drivers.

On some computer, the “Generalize” option can make a blue screen. In that case, simply
uncheck the option. But be careful for not using the same image on multiple computers in
an Active Directory since the computer SID will be the same on all computers.

3.3.4.2 Keep drivers

The “Keep drivers” option can be used if you want to keep drivers when using the
“Generalize” option. This option can’t be disabled if you are not generalizing the image.
You can’t use this option if you plan to create a generic image.

3.3.4.3 Rearm
The “Rearm” option simply reset the timer (30 days) and makes Windows ask for the
installation key on first boot. You should not disable this option unless you have a
computer with SLIC 2.1 and have the correct certificate and key configured in Windows.

3.3.4.4 Generic image creation

The “Generic Image” option allows the creation of a basic Windows image that can be
used on multiple computers (system manufacturer, computer shop, business, etc.). This
image can have software already installed and critical updates installed. The image is
only good for the current version of Windows 7.

To use it, simply install Windows on a test computer. Install all software and updates. Do
not install any drivers, they will be lost. When ready, install the recovery tools and select
the “Generic Image” option. The computer will reboot and capture the current image.

When back into Windows, simply launch the “Recovery Tools and Media Creator” and
create a set of DVD or a USB restore key.

Now, simply use the recovery medium on the target computer. Once Windows is
reinstalled, the backup from the recovery partition will be deleted and the computer will
be rebooted into AUDIT mode.
Now, install all drivers specific to this computer. When ready, execute the following
command from a command prompt:

C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\SYSPREP.EXE /OOBE /QUIT

When Sysprep is finished, reboot the computer into the recovery tools. You will be asked
to create a new image, accept it. The computer is now ready.
4 Accessing the recovery tools
4.1 From Windows

To launch the recovery tools from within Windows, simply launch “Recovery tools and
media creator” from the “Start Menu”. You will have the following menu.

Select the “Launch Recovery Tools” option. The computer will reboot to the recovery
tools.
4.2 From the boot menu

When the computer boot, press F8 until you see this screen.
Then press ESC to go to this screen.
Then press TAB go switch to the lower section (Tools).
Using arrow keys select “Recovery Tools” and press ENTER.
5 Using the recovery tools
5.1 System Repair menu

The “Recovery Console” option will launch the official Recovery Environment, allowing
you to restore system state, repair boot option, etc.

The “Repair boot manager” option will rewrite the boot manager. It will not rewrite the
master boot record, leaving other boot manager (Lilo, Grub, etc.) intact.
5.2 System Recovery menu

The “Repair Windows” option will move all your personal files and folders into a backup
folder on the Windows partition and restore Windows from the recovery partition. This
option is not available when using DVD or USB recovery media.

The “Reinstall Windows” option will format the Windows partition and then reinstall
Windows from the recovery partition. When using DVD or USB media, all partition on
the destination drive will be deleted and recreated and the recovery fill will be copied
back on the hard-disk.

The “Repair boot manager – MBR” option will recreate the boot manager and recreate
the master boot record.
5.3 Tools menu

The “File Browser” option will launch Double Commander.

The “Help” option will open the help file for the selected language.

The “Command prompt” option will open a command prompt.

6 Media creator
One of the options of this software is the option to create a DVD set or format an USB
key to restore the computer. By default, restoring from DVD or USB will wipe all
partitions on the target disk and recreate them like specified in SETTINGS.INI (Annex A
for more details). Then, the recovery environment and backup files are copied back on
the recovery partition, Windows is reinstalled from the backup and all boot loader entries
are recreated.

To access the media creator software, simply launch “Recovery tools and media creator”
from the “Start Menu”. You will have the following menu.

The “Create DVD (ISO)” option will create create ISO files that can be burned onto
DVD for system recovery.

The “Create USB drive” will format an USB drive (32gb max) and make it bootable.

When booting from recovery media, the option to repair the computer (reinstalling
Windows without loosing personal files) is not available. If the computer is unbootable,
boot from the recovery media, select the option to repair the boot loader and boot into the
recovery tools from the hard drive.
7 Annex A – Custom hard-disk configuration
7.1 4 partitions (Data partition)
This section will explain how to have 4 partitions, one for the boot manager, one for
Windows, one for recovery and one for user data.

Suppose you want the following configuration.

Disk Partition Label Type File System Letter Size
0 1 Recovery OEM NTFS R 12 GB
0 2 System Active NTFS S 300 MB
0 3 Windows N/A NTFS W N/A
0 4 Data N/A NTFS N/A N/A

You will have to modify the following parameters in SETTINGS.INI

Parameter Default settings New settings
DiskID 0 0
WipeUSBDVD 1 0
RecoveryPartitionID 1 1
RecoveryLetter R: R:
RecoveryLabel RECOVERY RECOVERY
BootPartitionID 2 2
BootLetter S: S:
BootLabel SYSTEM SYSTEM
WindowsPartitionID 3 3
WindowsLetter W: W:
WindowsLabel WINDOWS WINDOWS
Partition1Size 12000 12000
Partition1Type 27 27
Partition1Label RECOVERY RECOVERY
Partition2Size 300 300
Partition2Type 07 07
Partition2Label SYSTEM SYSTEM
Partition3Type 07 07
Partition3Label WINDOWS WINDOWS

The “WipeUSBDVD” setting is now set to 0, preventing the destruction of all partition
on the destination disk. Only the specified Recovery, Windows and System partition will
be formatted during the restore process from an USB key or DVD.

Please note that if you change your hard-disk, you won’t be able to restore from an USB
key or DVD unless you recreate the required partition layout.
7.2 3 partitions (Recovery partition AFTER Windows partition)
This section will explain how to have 3 partitions, one for the boot manager, one for
Windows and one for Recovery. In this case, the recovery partition will be AFTER the
Windows partition.

Suppose you want the following configuration.

Disk Partition Label Type File System Letter Size
0 1 System Active NTFS S 100 MB
0 2 Windows N/A NTFS W 50 GB
0 3 Recovery OEM NTFS R N/A

You will have to modify the following parameters in SETTINGS.INI

Parameter Default settings New settings
DiskID 0 0
WipeUSBDVD 1 1
RecoveryPartitionID 1 3
RecoveryLetter R: R:
RecoveryLabel RECOVERY RECOVERY
BootPartitionID 2 1
BootLetter S: S:
BootLabel SYSTEM SYSTEM
WindowsPartitionID 3 2
WindowsLetter W: W:
WindowsLabel WINDOWS WINDOWS
Partition1Size 12000 100
Partition1Type 27 07
Partition1Label RECOVERY SYSTEM
Partition2Size 300 50000
Partition2Type 07 07
Partition2Label SYSTEM WINDOWS
Partition3Type 07 27
Partition3Label WINDOWS RECOVERY
7.3 4 partitions (Data partition with the Recovery partition after
the Windows partition)
This section will explain how to have 4 partitions, one for the boot manager, one for
Windows, one for Recovery and one for user data. In this case, the recovery partition will
be AFTER the Windows partition.

Suppose you want the following configuration.

Disk Partition Label Type File System Letter Size
0 1 System Active NTFS S 100 MB
0 2 Windows N/A NTFS W 50 GB
0 3 Data OEM NTFS R N/A
0 4 Recovery OEM NTFS R N/A

You will have to modify the following parameters in SETTINGS.INI

Parameter Default settings New settings
DiskID 0 0
WipeUSBDVD 1 0
RecoveryPartitionID 1 4
RecoveryLetter R: R:
RecoveryLabel RECOVERY RECOVERY
BootPartitionID 2 1
BootLetter S: S:
BootLabel SYSTEM SYSTEM
WindowsPartitionID 3 2
WindowsLetter W: W:
WindowsLabel WINDOWS WINDOWS
Partition1Size 12000 100
Partition1Type 27 07
Partition1Label RECOVERY SYSTEM
Partition2Size 300 50000
Partition2Type 07 07
Partition2Label SYSTEM WINDOWS
Partition3Type 07 07
Partition3Label WINDOWS DATA

The “WipeUSBDVD” setting is now set to 0, preventing the destruction of all partition
on the destination disk. Only the specified Recovery, Windows and System partition will
be formatted during the restore process from an USB key or DVD.

Please note that if you change your hard-disk, you won’t be able to restore from an USB
key or DVD unless you recreate the required partition layout.
8 Annex B – Translating in another language
Translation is really easy. In « Settings.ini », simply modify the « Languages= » setting
with the number of available language. Then, for each language, create a section named
« [#] » where # is a number starting at 1 and ending with the number specified in the
« Languages= » parameter.

For each language, simply translate all the required strings.

• The « LanguageName= » parameter is the name of the language.
• The « BootLanguageID= » parameter is the locale settings for the boot manager
• The « HelpFile= » is the name of the help file. Should be into the
« RecoveryEnvironment\Recovery\Help » folder
• Then « RecoveryToolsDescription= » parameter is the name shown in the boot
manager screen to launch the recovery tools.
9 Annex C – Update Recovery Tools
Starting with version 2.0.2, it is now possible to update the installed Recovery Tools on a
computer.

The update process works the following way:

- The current Recovery Environment (Microsoft) is disabled
- The current configuration of the boot loader is saved
- The Recovery Environment (Anarethos) is deleted
- The Recovery Media Creator is deleted
- A new Recovery Environment (Anarethos) is created in the new version
- The new Recovery Media Creator is copied also to the recovery partition
- When restoring, the restore script search for the new Recovery Media Creator on
the recovery partition. If found, it will update the one installed in Windows. It is
faster to do this than trying to update the Recovery Media Creator currently saved
on the backup
- The new Recovery Media Creator and the new Recovery Environment
(Anarethos) will be copied on future DVD/USB media recovery

To use the update option, simply execute the UpdateX86 or UpdateAMD64 script
corresponding to your system.
When the Recovery Tools installer shows up, you must select the “No Sysprep” option
and unselect the “Capture now”.

If you get a message about a missing WINRE.WIM file, you will have to manually find it
on the system. It is a system and hidden file generally in the
“C:\Recovery\RandomNumber” folder (when not in Audit mode).

The update script is only in English, but the installed Recovery Tools and Recovery
Media Creator will be multi-lingual.
10 Change log
2.0.5
• Translation errors fixed in Slovenian language

2.0.4
• New menu for the language selection
• Added Simplified Chinese
• Added Slovenian

2.0.3
• Added Chinese language
• Fixed the language of the Installer (was in French)

2.0.2
• Bug fix when creating DL DVD (not bootable). It may not work.
• Added an “Update” option.

2.0.1
• Dutch translation.
• Romanian translation.
• Added a step by step guide made by TCNTAD.

2.0.0
• Final release for version 2.0.0
• Minor correction in the documentation.
• Correction in the Swedish translation.

2.0.0 – RC 1
• Italian corrected.
• Documentation file (this file) updated.

2.0.0 – Beta 16
• Danish help file added and translation error fixed.
• Italian added.
• English translation corrected.

2.0.0 – Beta 15
• Translation error in Swedish. Now fixed.
• Fixed a bug with the USB media creator crashing while trying to create the USB
restores media.
• No icons are shown in the tray while running the program.
• Better error handling with the USB media creator.
 • Danish translation (help file still in English).

2.0.0 – Beta 14
• Small translation errors in French.
• Added Swedish translation.

2.0.0 – Beta 13
• Fixed a bug where the Recovery Environment was not asking for password even
if one was set.

2.0.0 – Beta 12
• Fixed a bug where the installation script was unable to copy the WINRE file if it
had hidden or system attributes. Now fixed.

2.0.0 – Beta 11
• Fixed a bug where the capture image was too big to fid on a DVD or an USB
drive. Now fixed.

2.0.0 – Beta 10
• Added a script named “OffLine Settings Update.cmd” in the “RecoveryCreator”
folder that allows to changes the SETTINGS.INI file stored inside the Recovery
Environment. This can be useful with “Generic” image if you need to change
partition configuration.
• Better error handling with capture/reinstall/repair script
• Better space optimization when capturing, reducing the numbers of required DVD
when burning
• Added an option to burn on dual-layer DVD.
• Restoring from a generic image was giving an error even if everything was OK.
Now fixed.
• When restoring from DVD and putting DVD in the wrong order, the process may
think that all files where copied while it was not, generating an error. Now fixed.

2.0.0 - Beta 9
• Fixed a bug preventing the boot manager to show up in the correct language
• Completed instruction manual
• Once ISO files are created, Windows prompt to burn each disk using the built-in
tools of Windows 7.
• Fixed a bug in the Recovery Environment when executing any function will show
the help file.
• Fixed a bug when restoring a generic image. The script was waiting for user input.
Now fixed.
• Fixed a bug in the Recovery Environment where error message where appearing
behind the “Please wait” window.
• Fixed a bug with the Restore from DVD and from USB where it was not able to
properly create the partition.
2.0.0 - Beta 8
• Fixed a bug in the Recovery Environment (Forgot to remove comment on
important functions call, nothing worked!)

2.0.0 - Beta 7
• Added an option to reboot or shutdown the computer from the Recovery
Environment
• Fixed a bug with the "Generic" option. The old image was not deleted, so it was
impossible to recreate a new one once all drivers where installed on the final
system.
• Help file for the Recovery Environment is completed (French and English)
• Fixed a bug in the installation GUI with the "Generic" option.
• Fixed a bug with the "Add drivers" dialog. It was not possible to browse on the
hard disk drive.
• Created a new GUI to display help file. No more use of Notepad.
• Nearly completed installation documentation. Just a few section missing.

2.0.0 - Beta 6
• Option to create a generic image for use on different computers

2.0.0 - Beta 5
• Fixed a bug preventing the software to work on 64-bit OS

2.0.0 - Beta 4
• French translation
• When WipeUSBDVD was set to 0 (disable), target partition where not formatted
while recovering from DVD/USB. Now fixed.
• Minors errors in the English version
• Basic instruction file

2.0.0 - Beta 3
• Fixed a bug with the installer while copying required file to create DVD/USB
recovery media (Boot files where missing)

2.0.0 - Beta 2
• Added Command Prompt option into Recovery Environment
• Corrected a fix making the language selection popping a second time after auto-
capture
• Corrected a bug preventing the computer to reboot into Windows if booted into
Recovery Tools from Windows

2.0.0 - Beta 1
• Initial Release
11 Credits
- IMAGEX and OSCDIMG are propriety of Microsoft Corporation©.
- The “Hard Disk” icon was found on the internet. Web site name lost.
- All source code (both AU3 and CMD) was made by AnarethoS and can be
modified to suit your need.

Thanks to everyone at My Digital Life forums for testing my software and yours
comment. More particularly, I would like to thanks:

- NICK@NUMBER11
- TCNTAD
- Per Henrik Rasmussen
- AMBIDAV
- Vois
- All others I may have forgot!