July 27th, 2024

Windows Recovery Environment and Bootable USB Creator in 200KB

Windick is a command shell tool for customizing Windows images. The latest release is on GitHub, with additional downloads on MajorGeeks and Softpedia, and tutorials available on YouTube.

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Windows Recovery Environment and Bootable USB Creator in 200KB

Windick is a native command shell tool designed for customizing and deploying Windows images. The latest release can be downloaded from its GitHub repository. Additional download options are available through mirrors on MajorGeeks and Softpedia. For users seeking guidance, tutorials are accessible on a dedicated YouTube channel, and further documentation can be found on Microsoft Learn, which provides instructions for implementing a bootable Windows PE recovery deployment environment. The repository also features several images that demonstrate the tool's functionality, which can be viewed directly on the GitHub page.

AI: What people are saying
The comments on the Windick tool reveal a mix of admiration, curiosity, and inquiries about its functionality.
  • Users express respect for the complexity and size of the batch file used in Windick.
  • There are questions regarding the tool's capabilities compared to the standard Windows Recovery Environment.
  • Some users are curious about practical applications, such as installing drivers from a bootable USB.
  • Concerns about licensing and the lack of specified terms are raised.
  • Overall, the tool is seen as complex yet intriguing, with comparisons to other recovery tools.
Link Icon 15 comments
By @torphedo - 3 months
Wow, this is the largest batchfile I've ever seen! And I thought my 200-ish line one from high school was pushing it. Honestly huge respect for having the dedication to go this far with batch. I knew about the pseudo-function-calling features and a little bit of the weird syntax, but just skimming there's a lot of stuff in here I haven't seen before. Usually people saying "X in Y KiB" are doing some crazy linker shenanigans, so this was refreshing.

Also, "Windows To Go" and "Windows To Stay" are really funny feature names.

By @rosywoozlechan - 3 months
There's no license specified for what it's worth.
By @userbinator - 3 months
AFAIK the "Windows Recovery Environment" is actually a stripped-down minimal version of Windows missing most of the normal userland and parts of the kernel, which people have extended and customised in various ways.
By @holysheet - 3 months
One of the more impressive shell based tools that I've tried. Fitting into 200 kilobytes is an accomplishment in and of itself. Clever.
By @arthur2e5 - 3 months
Really bad nitpick, but: I cringe at FOO'S-type plurals. Just break out of the uppercase and say VHDXs if you find VHDXS too confusing.

https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/writing/seven-sin...

By @firecall - 3 months
Looks cool, but what does this do that the standard Windows Recovery Environment Partition doesnt do?

Maybe situations where the standard recovery env is borked? Was that the case in the recent CrowdStrike debacle?

By @4jck - 3 months
can I use this to install monitor drivers? make a bootable usb, add the installer onto the bootable usb and install the firmware? https://www.lg.com/au/support/product-support/cs-32GS95UE-B....

I thought about doing it through WINE, but that kinda scares me.

unfortunately my monitor received new firmware only installable through an exe, I only have my linux desktop

By @proneb1rd - 3 months
Insane. 3k loc shell script. I admire people that can maintain things like this. For me it’s unapproachable hot mess.
By @letaem77 - 3 months
What a name!
By @heraldgeezer - 3 months
Reminds me of stuff like hirens boot cd but this seems more complex to use
By @kosolam - 3 months
Eli5?
By @zx1000 - 3 months
Dude...