Tip: Instead of choosing to make a USB, I usually download the Windows ISO. That way I can use something like Rufus to make multiple keys without having to download it every time. 8GB thumb drives are cheap enough now, so I make more than one key because, as many of you, I am the designated tech guy in the family, and I find it useful to leave one of these Windows keys at each location where I might be expected to need it. That way, when they go, _"oh, as long as you're in the neighborhood, would you mind taking a look at my laptop... It hasn't booted in weeks!"_ , I'll be ready for them!
glad someone else said this too. i didnt say as i have just created the iso images, but havent flashed them to a drive. didnt want to preach without practise.
I never liked Hirens, it feels like someone tossed everything in it just for the sake of it, a lot of these tools can be done by a single application instead, and a lot of apps are pretty outdated compared to more modern (free) applications that do exactly the same, and often more. Heck, why would I even need something like Total Commander, I believe the last time I tried it was in the early '90's. To be honest, as an IT guy since '87 I've always done fine with just a limited set of tools.
@MichaelDomer Hirens has saved my client data more times than I care to count over the last 30+ years. It's not for everyone, but for some people, it is a lifesaver if they didn't know it exists
I'm a total novice, some would call me a dummy ! I've been watching your vids for a while now and decided to have a go and upgrade my HP Laptop. Upgraded the RAM to 16Gb and now I'm attempting the HDD to SSD but I mistakenly bought the wrong size SSD and was unable to clone to it. I'm going to install it anyway so I will have to install a clean version of Windows. My question is do I have to make both of these usb sticks in order to boot my PC ? Your videos have given me the encouragement to do this stuff. I'm almost 60yrs of age and never had any training doing this so thanks Scott.
I'm not a certified A+ repair man. I'm just the guy everyone calls when their computers misbehave. I love having Hirens and Medi-cat. They are such great tools. Thank you very much.
LOL me too. I have 3 USB drives I carry with me with my keys so I can fix almost any computer on the go. Snappy driver with some portable apps, Gandalf redstone (similar to Hirens), and an AIO installation of windows.
Can’t believe this video was posted today! I work at a small repair shop, and have been troubleshooting a device all day. Hiren’s Boot is exactly the kind of Swiss Army knife I’m looking for. I can’t thank you enough for sharing. Rock on man! 🤘
@makingpeopleangryforfun well, no. There is tons of advanced stuff on RU-vid. My channel, however, is for novice users who don't know what they don't know. That's why I made this video. Thanks for your comment.
Good stuff. I am now a subscriber. I always like learning new things and these certainly are helpful. Thanks. Oh, one more thing: Thank you, thank you for not playing any music while you are talking to us. I find more and more YT hosts feel playing music during their narration is a good thing. It is not.
I have a newer HP that blue screened months ago and I’ve had the thumb drives ready but I’m finally doing this (from another laptop) as I type. Fingers crossed 🤞 and ty! I’ve always been the tech gal in the fam so it’ll be a great tool
I also know the hirens name as "Highrens" and was using this tool when it was version 8/9. Now i am using version 15.2 DVD and on a usb drive (GRUB/syslinux) Thank you for the video too. There was never a worry on my side for losing data as i use a 321 backup:3x backup 1 on a cloud, 1 on a local disk mounted and 1 on a local disk unmounted :-) And i use Total commander to sync two with a click
Thanks a lot for the update. I saw your old video and when i checked the Hirens page things did'nt match but i went back to your channel and found the update which was superhelpful. Cheers from Sweden!
Love this channel. I just bought a banging PC, and it's my first. I've been reaching and learning about everything can. I've never done this, and I'm hoping this will be smooth to do.
Glad to hear it! I had tons of comments about the "new" way that Hirens works now so I had to update the previous version of the video. Thx for your support 💪
I just found your channel and subscribed as you might be able to teach me something I do not know, Im a self taught geek who helps fix peoples pc remotely or in person and you are not wrong about having bootable recovery USB drives.. I keep an updated version of Windows Media Creation with the latest version of Windows 10 and I have used Hiren's Boot CD and Knoppix, my goto is Win PE has a lot of recovery tools on and help me get that PC fixed. will be checking out your other videos keep them coming.
Thank you. Also, thank you for the link for the "decent and inexpensive flash drives with good ratings." They were so cheap, I just ordered two packs (one for myself and one as a gift). I am one of the .9's in your 95.9K Subscribers now :)
I'd have to recommend Ventoy for creating my bookable media, even if it is just for Windows installers. Ventoy allows you to put as many bootable isos as you can fit on the drive as you want and select which one to boot from. That way if you decide to update the image you can just copy the current iso to the drive instead of recreating the entire drive. Also since you can add any bootable iso, why not just copy the iso for Hiren's Boot CD onto Ventoy as well and have it on one drive. I definitely recommend Medicat. If Hiren's was a swiss army knife, then Medicat is a digital combat. While it is by no means small (~20GB larger than Hiren's) the extensive collection of tools it offers at times multiple ways to accomplish the same task tackling it differently though. This allows each user the flexibility to choose the tool that matches their work flow best. If I had to choose one weapon to go into the trenches with it would be Medicat.
I agree! x2 The LAST flash drive you will ever need! Ventoy FULL walk-thru and review! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MIT3w-EPA9M.html And a Medicat full walk-through is in the works!
Thanks, bro! You might wanna add the Windows ISO file to that list. It's great for doing a system refresh. It's kinda like a reset, where it brings back the main programming, though keeps your files and apps. Usually a good fix for Defender issues.
1:52 fairly certain you can spare yourself the effort of formatting the drive - the Media Creator will format it anyways. 6:42 only Rufus? No mention of/compatibility with Ventoy? I like Ventoy better because I can just chuck whatever ISOs I could/would ever use/need.
Did that on purpose. Gave me a chance to reiterate that the drive will be wiped (big complaint from the last video), but you're not wrong LOL. And yes, Rufus, only because that's the "new" way to download Hirens (based on my now-updated instructions from the last video. I agree Ventoy is better, and I made a separate video for that. This was just to correct the old video instructions 👍
Well, I only have about 500 old flash drives laying around the house LOL. Thanks for the tips. You are quite right... most people don't think about doing this until their computer croaks. Thank you!
@@AskYourComputerGuy And of course, I get a lot of looks when I tell people I use two Time Machine back up drives on all my Macs. With almost everything, I abide by the 3=2 and 2=1 and 1=0 equation.
Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. 🤓🖒 This is a God send. I know some folks that had issues with their PC's, and this video helped fix the issues. Thanks and keep up the good work 🤓🖒
True, but that's for another video. Having the tools gives someone options and opportunities to ask "ok now what". That's where I and others can assist
Love this channel. I created a usb boot disk from your instructions in the videos which you'd done previously. And it came in super handy today when I had to wipe a laptop clean to reinstall Windows. Worked like a charm! Thank you!!! ❤
Hahaha... 2 hrs too late,,LOL, I just finished making the two USB sticks from your earlier video, and also left a comment that rufus was now required... I had Rufus already. Thanks for the update. Your video from 3 months ago just appeared in my feed.
I appreciate how Scott tries to respond to all the comments. The videos ain`t bad either😏. I followed your ventoy video since i found it before seeing this one.
I've been using Windows since XP and my system never broke down, like, never really... guess I'm just lucky or too paranoid! Still going to download Hirens just in case!
12:54 use OEM recovery disk to create factory image with all drivers & preloaded software included awesome. only this was new to me, and important enough to be liked just for this lol.
I think you should make a video comparing Hirens boot utility media vs Medicat boot utility media Also, show how both can be put on a single usb using Ventoy along with a windows 10 /11 boot image
It's not one or the other. Hirens is a great troubleshooting utility, Ventoy is a utility to store multiple ISO images on one drive. You can store Hirens, Windows installer, Linux, pretty much any ISO you can find *on* the Ventoy drive. Ventoy doesn't *do* anything by itself. Hope that explains it better 👍
MBR partition only support 2tb of storage..GPT is unlimited storage capacity. Pressing -“Alt+E” doesn’t make any special trick but it only toggles partition scheme from GPT to MBR.
better option: easy2boot - put all the OS installer ISO's as well as the toolkit ISO's on one drive and allow Easy to boot to multiboot everything. Bonus, get macrium reflect free PE on the drive as well, and clone / image drives as well. A 2tb M.2 drive in a usb enclosure makes a very fast and reliable USB toolkit drive with tons of space.
With respect, I am inclined to disagree. He used to talk at a moderate pace but of late (late 2023/ early 2024) he has been noticeably faster, as if nlow in a hurry. It can make matters all the more difficult when trying to follow him and the complexities of the technology. Making (many) screenshots, in addition to written notes, helps. Otherwise, miss something and you might pay a heavy price, technology being so unforgiving.
It doesn't have to be. You can use ventoy. With ventoy u can create a flash drive that can hold all the necessary ISO files to use. When u plug the drive in to boot,u just pick the ISO file u want and it will load. Been using ventoy for yrs. Its fantastic.
@CelestialDeathscythe agreed! Ventoy is a great option as well The LAST flash drive you will ever need! Ventoy FULL walk-thru and review! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MIT3w-EPA9M.html
Oh ok so u did it. I didn't realize it. RU-vid just put this video in a compilation playlists and i had it on in the background. Keep up the good work. U earn a sub from me@@AskYourComputerGuy
I had to manually insert the ISO into Rufus. Now, Rufus will not allow : Device, partition scheme, target system, file system, or cluster size manipulation after dragging the ISO in. All of the drop downs are grayed out and contain nothing. Now what? Win10 home; version22H2
Are you planning to upload a video about "Medicat" specifically? I think you mentioned it in your previous video. I'm asking because there isn't a video about it yet. It could be a good idea for content if you're considering it.
Than ks for the video, I am using 2 32GB usb sticks for my installer usbs, making the hirens one as i type this. I made a bootable 4gb dvd-r from the image earlier as my external usb 3 disc burner still functions...
It's exceptional. Just load ventoy onto your flash drive, copy your ISO files onto the drive and u are good. When u need to boot from the ventoy drive u can pick the ISO file list u want and run it. No need for 2 or more flash drives for each ISO file. @@yasirarafat9279
Ventoy is great! The LAST flash drive you will ever need! Ventoy FULL walk-thru and review! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MIT3w-EPA9M.html
I'll have to watch this video again because I'm lost watching it once. I'm not a computer whiz. I'm getting a new Dell XPS 8960 Windows 11 PC in a couple of weeks and I got 3 SanDisk 32 GB flash drives as per your previous video for recovery drives and a system repair image on Amazon. After getting those two things done, my next adjustment will be to make Windows 11 look like Windows 7 as much as possible. I did the same with Windows 10 and it's a mix of both. I didn't like those squares on Windows 10's startup image, and I certainly don't like that large Windows 11 menu in the middle of the screen or that blue colored toilet paper image in the background.
Now I have a USB with that Hiren's thing, but there are just some folders in there, with many links, but what can I use that for? What I saw in your Hirens, there were some troubleshooting links, like eg. diagnostic which is not what I have, but that's probably me who has something wrong, even though I followed your descriptions step by step.
Hey there Scott! Thanks for the 2024 update. Always enjoy your content. A quick question, so must it be 2 USB drives? As I have Ventoy on mine. Is that not the way to go anymore? Thanks.
I am always learning new stuff from these videos. A quick question though. Am I right in thinking that if I do, say a monthly clone of my hard drive, and do regular backups of my important files to an external storage device, then I should never really have any need for the tools in this video? (I take for granted that I do not clone a faulty hard drive as that would of course be a bit of a show stopper).
I recently discovered that Dell computers seem to have RAID enabled by default even on single drive systems (which causes the SSD to not be detected by the windows installer)
Looks like Rufus has a new update, 4.5 now. Running Windows 10 pro, still coming up with "this app unable to run on this PC, check publisher for previous versions". Trying to boot the Hirens flash drive. Thanks
First: The steps for Windows 11 installation media is a little different. Second: I'm curious if you bought the Windows installation flash drive from a store. Is this Installation media flash drive necessary? Third: When creating the file in Rufus for (Windows 11) and you change to GPT, the Target System changes from BIOS or UEFI to, UEFI (non CSM) Fourth: Is this compatible with Laptop and Desktop?
Great video! Please explain where a "windows recovery" drive fits in this set of tools. I have already created the windows recovery drive from my PC, do I still need the windows installation USB drive also?? or are they the same?
The recovery drive is the same as this, except it has all your existing drivers and pre-loaded software. I'd still create the Hirens, but you don't need the Windows installer now :)
I just got my usb drives delivered today and was just about to make my boot drives with the help of your older video when I happened across this video first. Thank you.
If you've got them on Ventoy, you're good. This was an update for people who wanted separate standalone discs, because the setup process is completely different now. You're good to go 👍
I agree! For certain use cases, it absolutely is better. That's why Imsde this: The LAST flash drive you will ever need! Ventoy FULL walk-thru and review! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MIT3w-EPA9M.html
@@AskYourComputerGuy Watched and learned I've been doing the right thing making recovery USBs. Think I'll also keep updated clone NVMEs as my first option in case of hw issues too. Thank you again, awesome channel!
My PC would not automatically change the Rufus target system window to Bios or UEFI by simply choosing the ios file, I had to click and drag the file over to the Rufus window in order to get it to change. I say this for whomever might encounter this problem plus if you click Alt-E more then once it toggle's back to disabled or enabled so watch for that too. Thanks for the video it's appreciated much.
Really appreciate this comment as well as the video. Rufus confused the heck out of me because it simply did not give the option to select the iso file at all. Any disc made with the defaults is pretty useless because it contains none of the tools. Dragging the file over Rufus worked fine. But it seems that Rufus is prone to disguising its processes, at least on Windows 11, seems from the video that this was a windows 10 boot disc.
I believe it was Windows 10 that the system was filmed on, but the only one I advised using Rufus for was fir Hirens, not the Windows Media Creation Tool. If I'm understanding your comment correctly
@@AskYourComputerGuy , Yes only the Hiren's. The media was no problem. Just odd that Rufus didn't want to go look for the file and had to be nudged awake like that. Thanks for reply
Rufus is different for me, I did the target system (BIOS or UEFI), now I click GPT - "Target System" changes to "UEFI (non CSM)" ... The only way to keep the Target System to BIOS or UEFI is to choose MBR
You made a Ventoy video a few months ago which I really appreciated but I'm confused as to why this video is instructing us to make separate usb drives and not mentioning Ventoy
Great question - some people prefer everything on one drive, in which case Ventoy is fantastic. My personal preference is to have multiple points of failure (for what I do all day), in which case having multiple drives makes more sense. Neither is better than the other, the most important part is what works best for you! Stay tuned for video response on Friday - great question :)
Hi, thanks for the great video. I have been subscribed for a few months now and have learned a hell of a lot. One question I have always wondered, are paid versions of antivirus tools much better than their free counterparts? While I don't mind paying to keep my PC secure, I think the best price is always free. I'm Scottish so that should tell you all you need to know haha
Great question! It depends on your needs. If you are an "average" Windows user, maybe do the same 5-6 things every day and not much else, Windows Defender, Avast Free etc should be more than enough 👍
hi hello I have some questions Does the USB drive I use for this have to be empty? And how much storage do I need exactly? And is it possible to do all the software in one usb drive? I will appreciate your response
Hi, does combing these troubleshooting softwares on a single pen drive using Ventoy do the trick? Or do you suggest having two separate pen drives as demonstrated here?
following your directions to the tee and none of those screens pop up. **** I was able to get the first USB disck to work and I loaded the rufus file and hiern file. When I launched rufus it doesn't have anything in the first box to select (ie the drive) Im stuck at this point
One for Hirens, one for each version of Windows. Or you can use Ventoy and put them all on one drive The LAST flash drive you will ever need! Ventoy FULL walk-thru and review! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MIT3w-EPA9M.html
As of windows 10 my computer did never crash or gave me bluescreen , The IHrens cd i used way back , but never need it anymore, windows can repair itself
Now I am confused. Which method is better for a non tech, Ventoy (in your previous video) or Hirens in this video? It seems like you went from a Hirens preference, to Ventoy, then back to Hirens?
Great question! Ventoy is a good solution for those who want to just have one disc, and maybe want to experiment with different ISO images. Personally I use both, but i just prefer to keep a separate disc for each utility I need, to minimize failure points. Both are great, just depends on your specific needs 👍
@salventi5665 TronScript only removes malware and viruses. It does not "destroy" anything that isn't already malicious. If your computer didn't run correctly after it ran, it's because it was already too heavily infected and Windows should have probably been reinstalled already
so when creating the HIRENs you said you can choose MBR or GPT, you said use GPT for Windows 11. So might I surmise then that you are suggesting that we create two different HIRENS USB drives? One for WIN-10 as an MBR and one as a WIN-11 as a GPT? I simply did the MBR like you did on the video for the HIREN's USB Flash-Drive creation following your steps. DO I need to do a whole other Hiren's USB Flash-Drive creation using GPT? SO then in my bag-of-tricks I actually have two HIRENS flash-drives, or no?
Windows 11 requires a GPT file system, hence using that option for the Windows 11 disc. Windows 10 can. Be either. So you could theoretically use just the Windows 11 disc for both systems. Regarding the Windows installer discs, you need one for each OS version in case you need to reinstall Windows, but the troubleshooting parts will work on either version. So IMO, it's best to make the W11 version of each, so you can get away with just two drives. Or use Ventoy and just load them all on one drive, use whichever one is necessary at the time: The LAST flash drive you will ever need! Ventoy FULL walk-thru and review! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MIT3w-EPA9M.html
I have 2pcs, one with w11 and the other one with w10, I'm gonna need 2usb right? the one for w11 with gpt partition scheme and mbr for w10... Is there no alternative to using the same hirens on both operating systems? Thx for the video is very useful
I use both methods. Some people don't need to have a disc with a handful of ISOs, even though it's more convenient, it may not be practical for their needs. But I made a Ventoy video on how to create it, just in case: The LAST flash drive you will ever need! Ventoy FULL walk-thru and review! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MIT3w-EPA9M.html
@AskYourComputerGuy I found your Ventoy video after I made my two posts. I have seen a couple of videos claiming to be able to create a working copy of windows that runs completely from a USB drive. Have you ever heard of such a thing? If that works, I think that would be the Ultimate Rescue USB.
When I start to create the Hirens USB following your exact instructions, a few seconds into it, I get a “failed access denied”. Tried a different (new) USB - same thing. Created a simple partition on the USB it was read/write capable - get same fail. Windows 10. Dell Precision 3141 SFF. Made the Win 10 boot USB with the creation tool OK. Anybody else having a problem making the Hirens bootable?
I eventually created the two USB drives, but found the explanation a bit rushed and some of the steps were glossed over. Hope I never have to use them though.
I consider to install Windows 10 to an external SSD because I want to transition to Linux but want to keep Windows for things I can't do with Linux. Is that fine?
hello sir i have a small problem my pc is 64 bit and all was fine but recently somehow almost all programs and games have started to run as 32 bit .. is it something wrong with windows do i need to install a fresh one or is there a command to fix this ?
Hi Scott, thanks for the vid. I'm a long time Hiren's user. One of the features I used often with Hiren's 15.1 and 2 is the popup menu that you can access from the USB without having to boot to the USB. Rather, you plug the USB into a machine currently running Windows and run the menu. Is there anyway to use or enable this feature with the current version of Hiren's?