How to Create a Windows Vista Startup Disk

By Stephen Lilley

A Windows Vista startup disk is a disk designed to repair the installation of your operating system in the event that something bad happens to your computer. If you get a virus or your hard drive starts to fail and loses data, your computer will be unusable without a startup disk. Windows Vista computers do not come with startup disks. You have to make your own. Luckily, you can do it in just a few minutes.

Step 1

Download the Windows Vista startup disk .ISO file. A .ISO file is a "disk image" file, meaning that it is a compressed archive of all the files that would normally be found on a CD contained in one simple file. Microsoft does not provide users with an official Windows Vista startup disk. Because of this, a number of services online provide their own for users free of charge. Download the .ISO (see Resources) file to your computer's desktop.

Step 2

Put a blank DVD in your computer's DVD writer.

Step 3

Open your DVD burning program. As long as your program can burn .ISO files, you can use any software you'd like.

Step 4

Burn the .ISO file to a DVD by selecting the "File" menu, clicking on "Open" and locating the .ISO file from your hard drive. Next, click the "Burn" button in your DVD burning software and the files contained in the .ISO will be burned to the disk.

Step 5

Label your Windows Vista startup disk with a pen or marker and keep it in a place where you won't lose it. If your computer is damaged to the point where you would need a startup disk, you won't be able to use your computer to make one. It is very important that you do not lose this disk.

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