Windows 10 System Repair Disc from Another PC

Question

Is the "system repair disc" created via "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Backup and Restore (Windows 7)" good for that PC only, or is it interchangeable between any PCs running Windows 10?

Answer 1

There are different types of backups that may be made from the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) dialog in Windows 10. (Yes, it does seem an odd title for v. 10 - it's a hint, perhaps, that this is deprecated?)

• Backup or restore your files: This saves your personal data, but not operating system (OS) files. These files can be restored to another machine, assuming they're not encrypted.

• Create a system repair disc: This makes an image of OS files, but not data. These images are probably not portable. During the original installation, drivers specific to that PC were downloaded and installed. It is possible that identical make and model machines with identical OS would have the same drivers, but manufacturers change hardware during production runs of a model, so that is not certain.

Another issue is that Microsoft identifies a PC by its hardware (including things such as HDD and CPU serial numbers), as well as license key. Restoring on different hardware might later require authentication, if license information was lost.

So it might be worth a try, if you don't have a recent disk image, e.g. that made by third-party tools such as Macrium Reflect and alternatives. If it fails, there are other options.

• Download Create Windows 10 installation media, put it on USB or DVD, and then Perform a Repair Upgrade Using the Windows 10 ISO file. This may save your current data and programs.

• If that fails, use the installation media above for a full installation.

• If none of these meet your needs, try a free alternative OS such as Ubuntu Linux.