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As described in the first article of this series, DaRT provides tools for troubleshooting and
repairing Windows-based computers that won't boot because of system file corruption, driver
incompatibility issues, malware infection, and other types of problems. With DaRT 6.5, which is
part of MDOP 2009 R2, you can troubleshoot computers running Windows 7, Windows Server
2008 R2, or earlier versions of Microsoft Windows.

Before you can use DaRT, you must first install it on a computer, typically an administrator's
workstation. You can then use this workstation to create bootable DaRT media you can use to
boot Windows-based computers that won't boot using the Windows Recovery Environment
(WinRE). Once in the WinRE, you then have access to the various tools and wizards provided by
DaRT and can attempt to repair the problem computer. This article walks you through the first
two steps of installing DaRT and creating bootable DaRT media.


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We're going to install DaRT on an administrator's workstation running Windows 7 x64
Enterprise edition and then use it to troubleshoot computers running Windows 7 that fail to boot
properly. Begin by inserting your MDOP 2009 R2 CD into your CD-ROM drive or using an .iso
file mounting utility to mount the DaRT .iso file you downloaded from the volume licensing site
(or MSDN/TechNet site if you're just evaluating DaRT). The splash screen is displayed:
Ö   Step 1 of installing DaRT.

Clicking on the Microsoft Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset icon in the splash screen above
displays a screen that lets you install the version of DaRT you want to use:
Ö   Step 2 of installing DaRT.

Clicking on Install DaRT 6.5 (64-bit) in the above screen launches the Setup wizard shown next:
Ö   Step 3 of installing DaRT.

Proceed through the wizard, performing the type of install you choose:
Ö   Step 4 of installing DaRT.

After DaRT is installed on your workstation, you should install the Windows Debugging Tools
so you can access these tools when using DaRT to troubleshoot Windows 7 x64 Enterprise
edition computers that won't boot. To install the Windows Debugging Tools for 64-bit Windows,
open the URL http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/ using Windows Internet
Explorer:
Ö   Step 1 of installing the Debugging Tools for 64-bit Windows.

Scroll down this page and click on the link that says Debugging Tools for Windows 64-bit
Versions:

Ö   Step 2 of installing the Debugging Tools for 64-bit Windows.

On the Debugging Tools for Windows 64-bit Version page that appears next, click the link that
says Download Debugging Tools from the Windows SDK:
Ö   Step 3 of installing the Debugging Tools for 64-bit Windows.

The Microsoft Download Center now opens, displaying the Microsoft Windows SDK for
Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4 page:
Ö   Step 4 of installing the Debugging Tools for 64-bit Windows.

After clicking the Download button on the above page, the Windows SDK Setup Wizard begins:
Ö   Step 5 of installing the Debugging Tools for 64-bit Windows.

On the Installation Options wizard page, clear all the checkboxes except for Debugging Tools for
Windows:
Ö    Step 6 of installing the Debugging Tools for 64-bit Windows.

After installation of the Debugging Tools is finished, the All Programs group of your Start menu
should look something like this:
Ö   DaRT and the Windows Debugging Tools are now installed.

At this point you're now ready to create bootable DaRT media you can use to start an unbootable
Windows-based computer to attempt to repair the computer.

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We'll create a bootable DaRT CD we will use later for troubleshooting computers running
Windows 7 x64 Enterprise edition that won't start properly. Begin by launching the ERD
Commander Boot Media Wizard from your Start menu:
Ö   Step 1 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

Click Next when the wizard appears:

Ö   Step 2 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

Insert your Windows 7 x64 Enterprise product media in your DVD drive. Then on the Select
Boot Image wizard page, click Browse and select your DVD drive:

Ö   Step 3 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

Clicking OK in the dialog above returns you to the Select Boot Image wizard page:
Ö   Step 4 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

On the Preparing Files wizard page, click Next:

Ö   Step 5 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

The wizard will now expand the boot image from your Windows 7 product media (this may take
a few minutes):

Ö  Step 6 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

On the Tool Selection page, you can either install all DaRT tools (the default) or choose to
exclude certain tools from your bootable DaRT CD. For example, if you don't want Helpdesk to
be able to wipe disks or reset local passwords because of your corporate security policy, you can
exclude these two tools from your CD. We'll install all the DaRT tools:
Ö   Step 7 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

On the Crash Analyzer Wizard page, the wizard should have automatically found the Debugging
Tools you installed previously on your workstation, so simply click Next on this page:

Ö  Step 8 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

On the Standalone System Sweeper Definition Download page, we'll leave the Yes option
selected since we want the latest malware signature file on our DaRT CD:

Ö    Step 9 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

At this point the malware signature file for Standalone System Sweeper will be downloaded (this
may take a few minutes):
Ö   Step 10 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

On the Additional Drivers page, you can select .inf files for any drives you want to include on
your DaRT CD. In most cases you won't need to do this, but if you plan on using DaRT to
troubleshoot Windows servers you may need to add mass storage drivers here. We'll just leave
this blank and click Next:
Ö   Step 11 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

The Additional Files page lets you add files to your DaRT CD such as specialized
troubleshooting utilities if you have any you want to include:

Ö   Step 12 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

The next page shows the path to where the .iso file for your DaRT CD will be placed once it has
been generated by the wizard. The default location is the desktop of the current user:

Ö   Step 13 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

At this point, the DaRT boot image is created:

Ö   Step 14 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

Once the .iso file has been created, the next page lets you burn the image to recordable CD
media. This particular workstation I'm using doesn't have a writable CD drive, which is why the
option to burn the image is grayed out below:

Ö   Step 15 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

The wizard now finishes:

Ö   Step 16 of creating a bootable DaRT CD.

At this point I copied my .iso file to another computer that had a writeable CD drive and burn the
image to writable CD media. Now I'm ready to use my bootable DaRT CD to try and repair a
Windows 7 computer that won't boot properly.