Hiren’s Boot CD: The All-In-One Boot CD for Every Need

Hiren’s Boot CD is an all-in-one bootable rescue disc solution that contains a load of useful Windows repair tools


5 Free Tools to Fix Any Problem in Windows 10




5 Free Tools to Fix Any Problem in Windows 10
It only takes five free programs and a few clicks to fix any problem or rogue setting on your Windows 10 PC.
Read More

you’ll want to have when you can no longer boot into your PC.

Imagine issues like hard drive failure, virus infections, partitioning, password recovery, and data recovery. Hiren’s Boot CD is a Godsend in situations like these. It has a multitude of tools divided into a number of categories like partitioning tools, backup, recovery, and BIOS/CMOS tools to name a few.

Be prepared for serious problems with your PC and upgrade your PC repair toolkit. by having some important repair tools in your toolkit. Here’s how you can set it up and use it.

Download and Burn Hiren’s Boot CD

Since Hiren’s Boot CD (hereafter abbreviated as HBCD) works as a bootable utility, you can’t just install it like a standard program. Instead, you have to burn it to a CD or a USB device if you don’t have any blank CDs around.

Get started by visiting the HBCD download page. Scroll down to the yellow-shaded box near the bottom of the page and click the link next to Filename. You’ll start downloading a large ZIP file (about 600MB). When it’s done, extract the contents.

If you’re burning the tool to a CD, insert a blank disc into your computer. Then, you can use a free CD burning software


The Best, Free Alternatives to Nero CD/DVD Burner




The Best, Free Alternatives to Nero CD/DVD Burner
Don’t waste money on a CD/DVD burning tool! A freeware application might be all you need. Here we have compiled five alternatives to Nero Burning ROM for your Windows PC.
Read More

to create a bootable disc, or just use the basic one included in the ZIP folder.

To use the included tool, open the BurnCDCC.exe file. Click Browse next to the File Image box and browse to the ISO file from the HBCD folder. Make sure Device lists your CD/DVD drive. You don’t have to check any of the other available options, and leaving the speed as Optimal is fine. Click Start, and when the burner is done you’ll have a ready-to-use copy of HBCD.

Burning to a USB Device

Many computers don’t have a CD/DVD drive anymore, so you might prefer burning the tool to a USB drive


How To Make a Bootable USB, CD or DVD to Install Windows Using an ISO File




How To Make a Bootable USB, CD or DVD to Install Windows Using an ISO File
Need installation media to reinstall Windows? In this article we’ll show you where to get Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10 installation files and how to create a bootable USB, CD, or DVD from scratch.
Read More

instead. Note that this process will erase all data on your flash drive, so make sure to back it up as needed before you proceed.

First, download a copy of Rufus, a simple and free tool for creating bootable USB drives


10 Tools to Make a Bootable USB from an ISO File




10 Tools to Make a Bootable USB from an ISO File
A bootable USB is the best way to install an operating system. Besides the ISO and a USB drive, you need a tool to set it all up. That’s where we come in.
Read More

. Insert your USB device and run the app — it’s portable so you don’t have to install anything. Select its name from the Device drop-down box. Make sure to choose the correct one so you don’t accidentally delete another.

The default option of MBR partition scheme for BIOS or UEFI is fine. Select FAT32 for the file system. Check the Quick Format box, then change the option next to Create a bootable disk using to ISO Image. Select the little CD icon next to this box and browse to the location of the ISO file in the HBCD folder. Give it a new name if you like, and click Start when ready.

When the process completes, you’ll see DONE in the bottom-left corner of the window. Click Close and you’re done — you’ve installed HBCD on your flash drive.

Booting From Your CD or USB

Now that you’ve created your disk, it’s time to boot into it on your computer. Chances are, your computer is set to boot from your hard drive first, so you’ll need to manually tell it to load your CD or USB drive


How To Change The Boot Order On Your PC (So You Can Boot From USB)




How To Change The Boot Order On Your PC (So You Can Boot From USB)
What happens when you start up your PC? In most cases (and putting it very simply), after the power switch has controlled the flow of electricity to the motherboard and the fans have started up,…
Read More

.

As soon as you turn on your computer, look for a prompt such as Press ESC for boot options or Press F12 to boot from USB device. It’s different for every computer, so you may have to try a few times to catch it. When you find out what button loads the boot menu, continually tap it as soon as your computer turns on until you see a menu that lets you select from a list of devices.

Here, look for your CD or USB device. It should be fairly obvious which one is the right choice — don’t boot from your hard drive or any network option. Use the arrow keys to select a device and Enter to select it. After a few moments, you’ll see the main screen of HBCD appear.

What Can Hiren’s Boot CD Do?

Now that you’ve booted in, let’s take a look at the tools that HBCD provides you.

Booting Into an Operating System

Boot from Hard Drive will simply boot your computer as normal. Mini Windows Xp launches a lightweight copy of Windows XP that you can use to browse files on the host machine, access a Command Prompt, and more.

Pop open the HBCD Menu app and you can use the variety of tools that the disc includes. You’ll find command line versions of Avira Antivirus, CCleaner, a Registry backup, the PC Decrapifier, and more.

Windows XP’s age means it obviously isn’t ideal


Why Windows XP Won’t Be Going Away Anytime Soon




Why Windows XP Won’t Be Going Away Anytime Soon
People cannot let go of Windows XP. In businesses and homes the world over, it will stick around. We spoke with three Windows XP users from different generations and backgrounds to find out why.
Read More

, but it’s understandable since HBCD hasn’t seen an update in a few years. Still, this is an easy way to recover files from a computer that won’t boot


How to Back Up Data From a Computer That Won’t Boot




How to Back Up Data From a Computer That Won’t Boot
When your computer won’t boot, your data might still there. Here’s how to install Linux on a bootable USB flash drive to recover your files. Next time keep a backup though.
Read More

if you’d rather use Windows than a Linux disc to do so.

Back on the main menu, select Dos Programs to load up some command line utilities. You’ll see a list including Partition Tools, Recovery Tools, and more. Choosing the Linux based rescue environment option will provide many options; you can just select Start to load it up.

Recovery Utilities

If you can’t find the tool you need inside one of the above buckets, HBCD includes tons of additional tools on its main menu. Try the Windows Memory Diagnostic and/or MemTest86+ to check for problems with your RAM. If you’ve forgotten a password, the Offline Password Changer might be your ticket back into an account. Kon-Boot is supposed to help you bypass the login screen but it just booted into Windows in my testing.

Seagate DiscWizard encountered an error upon opening. PLoP Boot Manager and Smart Boot Manager let you select a device to boot from if your PC isn’t doing so properly. Fix “NTLDR is Missing” is a self-explanatory utility to fix this booting issue. Darik’s Boot and Nuke is a powerful tool for irrecoverably obliterating everything on a hard drive


4 Ways to Completely Delete Your HDD




4 Ways to Completely Delete Your HDD
When selling an old computer, or HDD, or even if you’re just looking to dispose of it, securely erasing everything on your hard drive is very important. But how do you do that?
Read More

.

Use this with caution!

Custom Menu

The item labeled Custom Menu says that you can use HBCDCustomizer to add your own files, but it contains a huge helping of tools on its own. You’ll find rescue CDs from several different antivirus providers, Clonezilla for cloning disks, partition tools,
multiple distributions of Linux, drive wipers, and more. If something isn’t in here, chances are you don’t need it!

Find a full list of tools on Hiren’s website.

Other Options

The utilities we discussed above are the most important. Below these is a page of options for booting specific hard drive partitions. This is useful if you’ve set up separate sets of data or operating systems on different partitions, but the average user won’t need them. The end of the list contains Reboot and Shutdown commands.

Hiren’s Boot CD Could Save You

The latest version of Hiren’s Boot CD, 15.2, was released in late 2012. This means that it’s significantly out of date, and it shows with the old versions of Windows and Linux included on the disc. Further, none of these tools are proven compatible with Windows 10. However, while using this recovery disc isn’t an aesthetically pleasing experience and not every tool will work for sure, it still packs lots of useful tools into one package.

Anyone with a spare USB drive or CD should certainly take a few minutes to burn a copy and put it in their desk or computer bag. The average user can probably accomplish most of what they’ll need using the mini Windows XP environment or one of the Linux distros, which is great. You’ll be happy that you prepared it when you need a rescue disc


5 Best Rescue Disks For A Windows System Restore




5 Best Rescue Disks For A Windows System Restore
Every Windows user should be aware of at least one bacon-saving, data-recovering system restore disk. It can help you access your computer to make repairs and backups, even when it won’t boot.
Read More

!

If HBCD doesn’t fit your needs, check out other PC rescue utilities


The PC Repair Toolkit in Your Pocket: Boot CD on a USB Stick




The PC Repair Toolkit in Your Pocket: Boot CD on a USB Stick
Inside my technician’s toolkit I keep a USB flash drive loaded with the most amazing tools on the planet: my PC repair toolkit. In this article, I share its contents.
Read More

.

Have you used Hiren’s Boot CD to get out of a jam? What included utilities are your favorite? Tell us what you like about it — or suggest an alternative — down in the comments!

Originally written by Varun Kashyap on 25 February 2010.

Image Credit: Andrew Bignell via Shutterstock.com