BUILD A RECOVERY DISC
Windows’ built-in repair
tools can only do so
much, so if you find that
they are falling short,
then it’s time to call in
the cavalry.
Lazesoft Recovery
Suite is our go-to tool
when it comes to taking
on stubborn boot
problems. Not only
does it offer a wider
range of repair tools,
but there are also
tools for recovering
data from crashed (but
readable) drives as well
as the option of taking
a fail-safe image of
your entire corrupted
Windows installation.
This ensures that you
won’t lose any files, even
if you end up with no
other choice but to hit
the nuclear option.In an ideal world,
you’ll have a Lazesoft
recovery disc or USB
flash drive ready to go
but if not, you’ll need
access to a working PC.
Browse http://www.lazesoft.
com on that and click
Download, choosing
the free Home Edition
download. Once that
has downloaded, install
the program and click
on the ‘Burn CD/USB
Disk’ option.
If your working PC
is running a different
version of Windows,
select the correct
version from the
dropdown menu before
clicking Next. Note,
at the time of writing,
version 4.5.1 of the
software didn’t explicitly
support the latestversion of Windows;
however, we were able
to install, build and
boot from a disc using
Windows 11. You can
burn this to CD, copy it
to a spare flash drive
(2GB or larger), or
create an ISO file you can
subsequently add to
your Ventoy boot disc.
Once created, test
the media: restart your
PC with it in the drive,
then tap whichever key
is listed to bring up the
boot menu (typically
F11 or F12). From
here, select your USB
drive—choose UEFI if
offered the choice—and
when the Windows
Boot Manager appears,
leave ‘Lazesoft Live CD
(EMS Enabled)’ selected
before hitting Enter.Lazesoft
Recovery Suite
has the tools to
fix persistent
Windows boot
problems.If none of these options work, you’ll
need to drop into a command prompt
to continue troubleshooting. Choose
Command Prompt and Windows will
drop you into the temporary RAM drive
(X:) created by the Windows Recovery
Environment (WRE). Begin by seeing if
the Start-up Repair tool has managed
to log the problem in the SrtTrail.txt file,
which will help you target a solution. The
file is stored on your Windows boot drive
under Windows\System32\logfiles\srt\,
but don’t assume the boot drive has been
assigned the letter C by the WRE.
To see which letter it has been assigned,
type ‘diskpart’ and hit Enter, then type
‘list volume’ and hit Enter. Once verified,
type the following, substituting C:\ with
whichever drive letter it’s been given:
cd C:\Windows\System32\logfiles\srt\
SrtTrail.txt
The file’s contents will be displayed,
allowing you to review its findings and
pinpoint problems the Start-up Repair
tool may have been able to identify but
without being able to fix, for example,
corrupt boot files.
When it comes to applying manual
fixes, the bootrec tool is just one of several
available to you from the Command
Prompt. Others include diskpart, chkdsk,
and DISM. Typing the tool’s name and
pressing Enter will bring up a list of
supported commands for that tool, but
if you find it all a little off-putting, check
out the box to find out how to create a
bootable Lazesoft Recovery disc or drive,
then carry on.
A SIMPLER FIX
Once you’ve booted to the
Lazesoft Recovery desktop,
first take steps to copy any
unprotected data on your drive to a
backup drive. If you plan to copy it over
the network, you’ll first need to assign
the network drive a letter: click Start and
choose ‘Map Network Drive’ first. Specify
its address (try its IP address in place of its
server name if you can’t connect), select
a drive letter, and enter the required
network credentials if necessary.
The Lazesoft File Manager icon on
the desktop provides a simple two-pane
file explorer tool for manually copying
individual files and folders, or you can
make use of the Data Recovery tool,
which can transfer regular files as well
as recover deleted files and files from
lost partitions. Select your scanning
level (choose ‘Fast’ for non-recovery
scenarios), choose the drive containing
your data and click Start Search. After a
short period, you’ll be able to search the
drive by file path or file type, then select
which files you want to recover before
clicking ‘Save Files’ to select a drive and
folder to copy them to.
If you’re not sure which files you might
be missing, back up the entire drive: click
‘Disk Image & Clone’ followed by ‘Backup
(Drive to Image)’. Select drive C and click
Next. Leave Full Backup selected and
click Browse to select your destination
followed by Start to take the backup.
Should you need to recover files from this
drive image in future, install Lazesoft on
your PC, then launch it in Windows. Open
‘Disk Image & Clone, then click ‘Browse
Drive Image File’ under Drive Image.REPAIR YOUR
WINDOWS
INSTALLATION
With your failsafe backups
in place, open Windows Recovery, select
your Windows installation if necessary,
and click OK. At the Overview screen, click
the ‘One Click Fix Crash Solution’ option.
Click ‘One Click Fix’ to run the wizard.
Review the results and click Finish.
If the one-click fix doesn’t solve your
problem, examine the BootCrash tab,
where you’ll see a selection of individual
tools from MBR Repair to Missing
Windows File Repair. Select one and if itFEB 2022 MAXIMU MPC 41