Create a USB Rescue Toolkit for Windows Troubleshooting and Repair

Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security, John Allen Paulos

Occasionally, despite you take all necessary precautions, your system could crash (a buggy update) or it could become infected and locked by a virus or malware that prevents it from starting normally.

You can resolve this situation by creating a rescue USB drive that combines a bootable Windows recovery drive, system backup, and multiple rescue utilities on one stick. This guide shows how to prepare a multi-boot USB using Ventoy, create a Windows 11 recovery/installation media, back up your system image, add popular rescue OS images (MediCat USB, GParted, Clonezilla, Hiren’s BootCD PE, SystemRescue), and recover your Windows product key.

With these tools on hand, you’ll be ready to diagnose, repair, or reinstall Windows on virtually any PC.

Creating a Windows 11 Recovery Drive

A bootable Windows 11 USB drive is the best way to install (or recover from an unexpected crash) Windows 11.

1. Install Ventoy. Ventoy is an open-source tool that turns a USB drive into a multi-ISO boot device. You install Ventoy once on the USB, then simply copy ISO files to it.

2. Creating Bootable Recovery Media. Create a Windows 11 ISO File using the Media Creation Tool. Open Microsoft’s download page, scroll down to Create Windows 11 Installation Media section and click Download Now. Run “MediaCreationToolW11.exe” to start the installation.

   “Accept” terms and conditions, select language (e.g., English (United States)) and edition settings (Windows 11, the tool will likely default to your current system’s settings). Uncheck the “Use the recommended options for this PC” box so you can make your own choices. Then click “Next”.

   Choose which media to use. You will be presented with two options: “USB flash drive” and “ISO file”. Select ISO file. This will create a downloadable ISO without touching your USB drive. The tool will ask you where you want to save the Windows.iso file. Navigate to your Ventoy USB drive. You should see the main data partition (it might be named “Ventoy”). Save the Windows 11 ISO to your Ventoy USB drive’s main partition.

   

3. Add Windows 11 Disk Image to Ventoy Drive (ISO). Open Microsoft’s download page, scroll down to find the “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices” section, click the Download button below, and copy the ISO file to the main partition of your Ventoy USB drive.

Create a Full System Image Backup

To create a full system imaging of Windows 11 to an external USB drive using System Image Backup, follow these simple steps:

This makes a complete snapshot of your PC (OS, programs, and data).

1. Attach an external drive.
2. Open Backup and Restore. Open Start on Windows 11, search for Control Panel, then go to Backup and Restore (a legacy Backup and Restore from Windows 7). On the left pane, click Create a system image.
3. Choose destination. Where do you want to save the backup? Select the external drive as the backup location, e.g., On a hard disk: BackupWindows (E). Click the Next button.
4. Confirm your backup settings. Review the partitions to be backed up, then click the Start backup button. Do not disconnect the drive until it finishes. Windows will also prompt to create a system repair disc; you can skip that (no) if you prefer to just use the system image, and finally, Close.
5. When done, your USB drive holds a full system image. If Windows fails to boot, you can use the Windows Recovery Environment (boot from Windows installation media) and choose System Image Recovery to restore this image. This will revert your PC exactly to the backed-up state when your PC was working fine.

Add Rescue Operating Systems to the Ventoy Drive

With Ventoy, adding new bootable tools is as easy as copying ISO files.

They do not run from inside Windows or any other operating system because they are operating system themselves! You must restart your computer with the USB inserted in order to use them. To boot from the USB, you may need to repeatedly press a key such as F8 or F12 while your computer is starting up.

Here are some recommended rescue images, their uses, and where to get them:

• MediCat USB contains a comprehensive collection of software tools that can be used for troubleshooting and repairing a computer.
• GParted is a free partition editor for graphically managing your disk partitions. Useful for editing partitions when Windows can’t boot.
• Clonezilla is an open-source partition and disk imaging/cloning program similar to True Image® or Norton Ghost®.
• Hiren’s BootCD PE is a Windows 11 PE-based rescue environment with many diagnostic and recovery tool. It contains many free disk utilities, backup tools, and more to fix many problems related to your computer.
• SystemRescue is a Linux-based system rescue toolkit available as a bootable medium for administrating or repairing your system and data after a crash. It aims to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your computer, such as creating and editing hard disk partitions.

Install and Configure MediCat USB

Medicat USB is a bootable USB drive that contains a collection of software tools that can be used for troubleshooting and repairing a computer.

1. Prerequisites. Prepare your USB drive (128GB+), format it (exFAT or NTFS), and verify the drive letter (Disk Management, diskmgmt.msc). Turn off Windows Defender, third-party antivirus, and firewall. Add the MediCat folder to exclusions in security software.
2. Disable Program Compatibility Assistant (PCA). Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. Navigate to: Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Application Compatibility. Double-click Turn off Program Compatibility Assistant, set it to Enabled, click Apply and OK. Finally, restart your PC.
3. Download MediCat USB. Go to the official MediCat website and download the installer.
4. Right-click the script (.bat file) and select Run as Administrator. If blocked by SmartScreen: Click More info, then Run anyway.
5. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation. Accept Warnings: Press any key to proceed. Click on INSTALL MEDICAT. Select USB drive: We now need to find out what drive you will be installing to. A File Explorer window will open, select the USB drive you want to install medicat on. Confirm the drive letter with Enter. Partition Scheme: Would you like to use GPT? Select YES (for UEFI systems). Would you like to use SECUREBOOT? Select YES (unless your BIOS lacks support). Download Missing Files.Could not find the Medicat files? Would you like to download them? Select YES. How would you like to grab the files? Select TORRENT (it is a little faster).
6. Post-Installation Checks. Reboot PC, Enter your BIOS/UEFI, set USB as first boot device, and check if Secure Boot is disabled in BIOS. Re-enable PCA and turn your antivirus and firewall back on.

Retrieving Windows 11 Product Keys

This guide will walk you through multiple methods to retrieve or locate your Windows 11 product key:

1. Open Start Menu, type cmd (for Command Prompt) or powershell (for PowerShell), right-click on Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell, select Run as administrator, and enter: wmic path softwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey (Command prompt) or (Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey (PowerShell)

   If nothing appears or it shows a blank line, your key is likely stored in UEFI and not accessible this way. If your PC came with Windows 11 preinstalled, the license is usually embedded in the firmware (UEFI). This query fetches the OEM-embedded product key (if one exists in the BIOS/UEFI).

2. Using ShowKeyPlus (Third-Party Tool). ShowKeyPlus is a popular, free, user-friendly, and reliable third-party utility that can display your Windows edition, installed product key, the original OEM key from firmware, and other licensing details. You can click Save in ShowKeyPlus to export the key to a text file.

3. Using slmgr.vbs (for Activation Status and Partial Key).

   # To display license information and the partial product key
   slmgr.vbs /dli
   Windows (R), Profesional edition
   Description: Windows (R) Operating System, RETAIL channel
   License Status: License
   
   # To display the activation expiration date
   slmgr.vbs /xpr
   Windows (R), Profesional edition: The machine is permanently activated.
   
   # To display detailed licensing information, including the partial product key and activation ID, type:
   slmgr.vbs /dlv
   Name: Windows (R), Profesional edition
   Description: Windows (R) Operating System, RETAIL channel
   ...
   

4. Checking Your Microsoft Account (for Digital Licenses). If your Windows was a free upgrade or purchased online, you might have a digital license instead of a traditional key. If your Windows 11 license is linked to your Microsoft account, go to Settings, System, Activation.

If it says “Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account,” then your key is not needed separately.

OEM Keys are pre-installed by the computer manufacturer (e.g., Dell, HP, Lenovo) and are embedded in the computer’s firmware (UEFI/BIOS). Retail Keys are purchased separately.