Difference between Recovery Disk and Repair Disk

Those are two types of alternative recovery media that allow you to recover and fix Windows 10 problems without having to sign in to a user account. Along TipsMake  learn more about the difference between these 2 tools through the following article!

What is the main difference between a recovery drive and a system repair disc?

A system repair disc is something you can set up in Windows 10, 8, and 7. It's a user-created DVD / CD that offers various system repair utilities.

The system repair disc includes the following troubleshooting utilities: Startup Repair, System Restore, System Image Recovery, Windows Memory Diagnostic, and Command Prompt. When users need it, they can boot from their system repair disc to use those tools.

A recovery drive, also known as a recovery disc, is similar, but not quite the same as a repair disc. It provides access to the same repair utilities as system repair disc.

Additionally, the recovery drive includes Windows 10 or 8 system files so you can reinstall the platform with it if needed. So it provides a backup for Windows 10.

Recovery drive can be in the form of a disc or USB. Some manufacturers offer a system recovery disc for Windows 10. For example, HP Recovery Disc for Windows 10 is being sold at Amazon retail.

Desktops and laptops usually come with recovery discs provided by an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), but a bootable hard drive partition is a more common alternative today.

However, you don't need to purchase a recovery drive (from Amazon, for example). You can set up a USB recovery drive in Windows 10 using the Recovery Media Creator utility. However, note that the Recovery Media Creator utility is not available in Windows 7.

How do I set up a recovery drive or repair disc?

If you want to create a recovery drive, refer to the article: Create a Recovery Drive for Windows 10 for details on how to do it.

To create a system repair disc, follow these steps:

Step 1. You can set up repair disc in Windows 10 through Control Panel. Insert a blank, rewritable DVD disc into the drive.

Step 2. Launch Run by pressing the shortcut Win + R .

Step 3. Enter "Control Panel" in the Run box and click the OK button .

Step 4. Click System and Security in Control Panel.

Difference between Recovery Disk and Repair Disk Picture 1

Step 5. Click Back up and Restore Windows 7/10 to open the options shown below.

Difference between Recovery Disk and Repair Disk Picture 2

Step 6. Click Create a system repair disc , this will open the window shown in the screenshot below.

Difference between Recovery Disk and Repair Disk Picture 3

Step 7. Select DVD RW Drive on the Drive drop-down menu .

Step 8. Click the Create disc option .

Step 9. Then the Create a system repair disc window will open asking you to label the disc. Click the Close button .

Samuel Daniel

Update 22 October 2020