3

I do PC repair on the side and am looking to use a bootable flash drive as a PcRepair Kit. I'm also looking for anit-virus, anti-malware, Data-Recovery, Hardware testing. It would be great if it was embedded in an OS like XP or linux.

4 Answers 4

6

PenDriveLinux is a spectacular option. It creates everything you need for the bootable USB drive to repair pc's. You can boot up to a linux build of your choice, or to a repair disk of your choice (i.e. Ultimate Boot CD). Pendrivelinux also has Gparted, DBAN, Avira rescue disk and many other options. It even has an option to setup a windows installation (it says vista/7 but I'm pretty sure you could get an xp install on it too) If you're looking for an all in one, PenDriveLinux multiboot is what your looking for.

1
  • I would definitely recommend pendrivelinux's multiboot tool. The latest version will even create all of the GRUB entries for you; it's fantastic!
    – nhinkle
    Aug 26, 2010 at 20:45
4

I always use Hiren's boot CD. It have lots of tools in a very nice and organized menu.

There's a very detailed tutorial on how make this boot CD into a USB Flash drive. link.

1
  • Hiren's boot CD is AWESOME! Thanks for the suggest Aug 28, 2010 at 16:28
3

The one I've used most frequently is BARTPE. It's a little bit clunky, but can be expanded to include your own tools and generally does the trick. In particular, it lets me access a PC's hard drive and files without having to boot from that drive, thereby avoiding any startup issues, malware, lost passwords, and so on. It automatically tries to connect to available networks, allowing access to web-based tools and antivirus updates.

2
  • That looks good, but it looks like I have to collect everything together for that; the OS, and all the software. I was curious if there's a collected package with everything, on it, or something that can easily be customized. Aug 26, 2010 at 15:59
  • If you want something that includes some variant of Windows "out of the box", either it won't be free or the person providing it will be doing so "illegally". So that would tend to push you towards a Linux-based solution. BARTPE gets around this by using the Windows installer files you already have. The setup is surprisingly simple and once you've done it, making changes later (like adding or updating tools) is straightforward.
    – boot13
    Aug 26, 2010 at 19:04
1

There is always Ultimate Boot CD for Windows...

UBCD4Win is a bootable recovery CD that contains software used for repairing, restoring, or diagnosing almost any computer problem. Our goal is to be the most complete and easy to use free computer diagnostic tool. Almost all software included in UBCD4Win are freeware utilities for Windows®.

1
  • Actually using the PenDriveLinux I can have the UBCD on there as well as others Nov 18, 2010 at 15:22

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .