A rescue disc can be a lifesaver for an all the SysAdmin. It is packed with various diagnostic and repair tools they can do things like fix a Master Boot Record (MBR), recover a password, detect and clean a rootkit or simply allow you to salvage data by transferring it from a damaged drive to another location. Below is a list of bootable rescue disc.
Hiren’s BootCD PE
Hiren’s BootCD PE (Preinstallation Environment) is a restored edition of Hiren’s BootCD based on Windows 10 PE x64. Since there are no official updates after November 2012, PE version is being developed by Hiren’s BootCD fans. It includes the least, best and updated free tools used in Hiren’s BootCD. It is being developed for the new age computers, it supports UEFI booting and requires a minimum of 2 GB RAM. With the useful tools inside of the ISO, you can solve many problems related to your computer. It does not contain any pirated software, it includes only free and legal software.
All in One – System Rescue Toolkit
The All in One – System Rescue Toolkit is designed to work with Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10. It has also been used with Windows Server 2003 / 2008 / 2008 R2 / 2012 / 2016. The live CD bootable environment works with GNU/Linux and newer Macs as well.
Sergei Strelec’s WinPE
Bootable disk Windows 10 and 8 PE – for maintenance of computers, hard disks and partitions, backup and restore disks and partitions, computer diagnostics, data recovery, Windows installation. It includes many free data recovery software such as R-Studio 8.7, Active File Recovery, Active Partition Recovery, Runtime GetDataBack for NTFS, Runtime GetDataBack for FAT, DM Disk Editor and Data Recovery, UFS Explorer Professional Recovery, Hetman Partition Recovery, Eassos Recovery, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, and Ontrack EasyRecovery
MediCat USB
MediCat USB is a complete Hiren’s Boot Disk replacement for modern computers. MediCat USB aims to replace the discontinued and dated Hiren’s Boot Disk. It is geared towards modern hardware, and follows the Ubuntu release cycle with a newly-updated release every 6 months. The author of MediCat DVD designed the bootable toolkit as an unofficial successor to the popular Hiren’s Boot CD boot environment. The menu lists the following options in this regard:
- 64-Bit windows Recovery: Choice of Microsoft or Easy Recovery options for Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7.
- Hard Disk Tools: includes currently Acronis TrueImage 2017, GParted, Norton Ghost 11.5, Paragon Hard Disk Manager, PloP Boot Manager, SpinRite, SuperGrubDisk, Darik’s Boot and Nuke.
- Diagnostic Utilities: includes currently Hardware Detection Tool Memtest86+, TestDisk / PhotoRec / LiliPad, Ultimate Boot Cd.
- Scan for Viruses: this launches Comodo Rescue Disk currently only.
- Remove User Account Passwords: Active Password Changer, Daossoft Windows Password Rescuer, Offline NT Password & Registry Editor, PCUnlocker, Boot Kon-Boot CD.
Gandalf’s Windows 10PE
A completely free bootable CD that contains a load of useful tools you can make use of in a variety of situations like analyzing, recovering and fixing your computer even if the primary operating system can not be booted. It aims to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your computer, such as creating and editing the hard disk partitions. It comes with a lot of Linux software such as system tools (parted, partimage, fstools, …) and basic tools (editors, midnight commander, network tools).
