Making a Copy of Windows XP From a Recovery CD

Make a copy of a Windows XP recovery disk.

When a recovery CD or DVD set is created using the Microsoft Windows system image utility, the recovery disk set contains a copy of the entire Windows operating system. Creating a recovery CD set is useful in the event of a hard drive failure or virus. Restoring the recovery CD will not only reinstall the operating system, but will reinstall all drivers and restore the computer to its original state. To make a copy of Windows XP from a recovery CD, perform a CD copy using a CD/DVD burning utility such as Roxio or Nero.

Things You'll Need

• Blank CD
• CD/DVD burning program such as Roxio or Nero

Instructions

Using Roxio

1. Click the Windows "Start" menu in the lower-left-hand corner of the screen, and click “All Programs.” Click the “Roxio Easy Creator” link to launch the CD/DVD burning program.

2. Click “Copy Disc” from the right selection pane. Alternatively, click “Copy” from the left pane, and then click “Copy Disc.”

3. Insert the Windows XP recovery source disk into the CD/DVD drive. Cancel the Windows XP installation, if launched.

4. Click the red button labeled “Disc Copy.” The files will copy to a temporary location on the hard drive.

5. Insert the blank CD when prompted, and click “OK" to burn the Windows XP files to the blank CD.

6. Click “Done” to complete the process and close the project.

Using Nero

1. Insert the Windows XP Recovery CD into the CD/DVD drive and cancel the Windows XP installation wizard.

2. Click “Start” and select the “Nero” folder. Click the “Nero Burning ROM” program link to open the program.

3. Click the “CD” option from the top left drop-down list, and then click “CD-Copy” from the left panel. The New Compilation wizard will open.

4. Click the “CD-Copy” option again on the left panel, and then click the "Burn" tab.

5. Select the CD/DVD drive as the “Image Recorder” and click the “Copy” button.

6. Click “Burn”. The Burn Compilation wizard will open.

7. Verify the source CD is in the CD burner and click “Burn.” The CD files will be copied to the hard drive in a temporary location, and then burned as an exact copy of the CD to the destination disk.

8. Insert the blank CD, when prompted, and click “Next" to burn Windows XP files to the destination disk. The disk will eject when the process completes. Click “Done” to close the project.

Tips & Warnings

• To create a clean recovery image that includes just Windows XP and the hardware drivers required for the computer, create the recovery disk set on a computer just after a new installation of Windows XP has been performed on the machine.

References

• HP: Using Roxio Creator Basic to Burn CDs/DVDs
• WeetHet: WeetHet - CDRW - How Do Make a Copy of a CD?

Resources

• Locker Gnome: Using SysPrep to Create Windows XP Image