There will come a time when your PC won't boot up. And when it comes, you won't be able to find your original Windows boot disk, if you have one at all. For those times, I recommend Boot Disk, an aptly named CD that will at least bring you to a usable version of Windows, allow you to connect to the Internet, and, one hopes, helps you boot up normally.
About all you have to know to run this program is how to boot from your CD-ROM drive. On my Dell, that means pressing the F2 key, changing the boot sequence and exiting. Sounds hard, but it's pretty basic, even for newbies.
Once you've booted up (into Windows XP), you can connect to the Internet and perform many other tasks until you locate your original CDs and DVDs to repair your Windows operating system.
If that were all this CD does, it would pay for itself. But there are dozens of little freeware utilities on the CD that let you repair or format your hard drive, recover lost files, burn CDs and DVDs, create new partitions (for advanced users), recover your Windows password (thank you very, very much), re-install Windows, detect and clean viruses (except the ones that make you sneeze), browse the Internet, back up your hard drive (even if you can't boot into Windows), test your RAM and get information about your system, figure out how fast your system is running and even analyze your registry, securely get rid of files you never want anyone to see, and more.
That's a lot for one CD, especially one that rescues your hard drive. The ancillary programs all work well, are easy to use and don't cost a penny more. Quite a deal.
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Boot Disk will run on Windows Vista, XP, 2000, Me and 98. To order, send $25, plus $6 for shipping, to WashingtonCD, PO Box 351531, Los Angeles, CA 90035, or online at www.washingtoncd.net .
