Overview
When a machine will not boot, everything you would normally use is on the drive you cannot reach. That is the whole reason this category of software exists. DLC Boot puts a complete working environment onto a stick or a disc, starts it from firmware, and gives you the same class of tools you would have on a healthy desktop, only now they are pointed at a system that is sitting there inert instead of running underneath you.
The environment is built on a Windows preinstallation base with a proper desktop shell rather than a command prompt, which matters enormously when you are working under pressure. Storage and network drivers for the common controllers are already loaded, so the target drive is usually visible the moment the desktop appears, including NVMe devices and the RAID controllers that a bare preinstallation image would not see.
What is on the stick
Partitioning and disk management sit at the front, since most recovery jobs start by working out what the layout actually is. There are tools for resizing, moving, converting between the two partition table formats, rebuilding a boot record and repairing the boot configuration store, which between them cover the majority of a machine that powers on and then stops at a black screen with a cursor.
Backup and imaging is the second group. You can take a full image of a drive before touching anything, which is the correct first step on any machine holding data that matters, and restore an image onto replacement hardware afterwards. File rescue tools handle the case where the file system is damaged but the platters or the cells are intact, and there is a separate set for pulling readable sectors off a drive that is physically failing.
The rest covers password recovery for local accounts, registry editing against an offline installation, antivirus scanning of a system that cannot be trusted to boot itself, hardware testing for memory and storage, and a driver backup tool that pulls the installed driver set out of a dead installation before you rebuild it.
Writing it and booting from it
The included writer prepares a USB stick in one pass and can leave the remaining space on the stick as a normal data partition, so the same stick still works for carrying files. It writes a layout that boots on both UEFI and legacy systems, which saves you working out which one the machine in front of you needs.
On a UEFI machine with Secure Boot enabled the stick will be refused, since the environment is not signed. Turn Secure Boot off in the firmware, do the work, and turn it back on afterwards if the installed system needs it. On older machines set the boot order or use the one time boot menu, which is usually behind one of the function keys during the vendor splash.
Working carefully on a broken machine
The single rule that saves the most data is to image first and repair second. A drive that is failing may only give you one clean read of a given sector, and spending it on a repair attempt that fails is a decision you cannot take back. Take the image onto a second drive, then experiment on the copy.
The second rule is to write down what you change. The environment lets you edit an offline registry, delete files from a system directory and rewrite a boot record, all of which are quick and none of which are obvious to undo three steps later. Keep notes as you go and the recovery stays a controlled operation rather than a guess.
What you get
- Bootable maintenance environment with a full desktop shell
- Storage drivers for NVMe, AHCI and the common RAID controllers preloaded
- Partitioning, resizing and table conversion tools
- Boot record and boot configuration repair for both firmware types
- Full drive imaging and restore, including to different hardware
- File rescue for damaged file systems and failing drives
- Local account password recovery and offline registry editing
- Offline antivirus scanning of an installed system
- Memory and storage hardware testing
- Driver backup from an installation that no longer boots
Inside the archive
- DLC Boot environment image, bootable
- USB writer that leaves the remaining space as a data partition
- Tool index describing what each utility is for
- Notes on Secure Boot and one time boot menus
- Language files for the interface list shown above
System requirements
| Firmware | UEFI or legacy BIOS, Secure Boot must be off |
|---|---|
| Memory | 2 GB minimum, 4 GB recommended for the 64-bit environment |
| Media | USB stick of 8 GB or larger, or a dual layer disc |
| Target system | Any x86 or x64 machine, the installed system need not boot |
| Second drive | Recommended for holding images taken during recovery |
| Display | Any resolution, the shell scales to what the firmware reports |
Installing it
- Unpack the archive on a working machine.
- Run the included writer, select the USB stick and confirm the layout it proposes.
- Let it write, this takes several minutes on a slow stick.
- On the broken machine, enter firmware setup and disable Secure Boot.
- Boot from the stick using the one time boot menu and wait for the desktop to appear.
- Image the target drive to a second drive before running any repair tool.
Mirrors
| Route | Region | Note | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct, primary | Europe | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Direct, secondary | North America | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Torrent magnet | Global | Recommended at this size | Online |
Release history
- Storage driver set refreshed for current NVMe controllers
- Writer now preserves a data partition on the remaining stick space
- Fixed the shell failing to start on machines reporting very high resolutions
- Added the offline registry editor to the main tool index
- Boot configuration repair reworked for machines with multiple installations
- Imaging tool updated with restore to dissimilar hardware
- Reduced environment memory use so 2 GB machines are usable again
Questions about this release
Will it boot on a UEFI machine?
Yes, the written layout covers both firmware types. Secure Boot has to be turned off first, since the environment is unsigned.
Can it recover files from a drive that will not mount?
Often, yes. Use the file rescue tools rather than the repair tools, and take an image first if the drive is making noise or reporting read errors.
Does it need the installed Windows to work?
No. The environment is self contained and runs entirely from the stick, which is the point of it.
Can I still use the stick for normal files?
Yes. The writer leaves the space it does not need as a normal partition that Windows will mount.
Is the password recovery limited to local accounts?
Yes. It clears or resets a local account password on an offline installation. Accounts backed by an online identity cannot be reset this way.
Comments
Imaged a dying laptop drive with this then pulled the files off the copy. Worked exactly as the notes said.
Stick still works as a normal stick afterwards. Small thing but it means I actually carry it.
Comments are read before they appear. If a build stops working, say so here and it gets rebuilt rather than quietly left up.
Saw the NVMe drive straight away on a machine where the plain preinstall image saw nothing. That is the whole job right there.