For the geek in us all
Published on November 14, 2011 By Larry Kuperman In Personal Computing

If you are like me and people ask you to fix their computers, you probably carry a set of applications on a USB drive, your PC toolkit. SARDU, developed by Davide Costa, is a meta-tool, an application that lets you create and customize a bootable USB or CD/DVD toolkit. Get it? It is a tool for making a really cool toolkit.

You download and unzip SARDU to your computer. Using a very simple interface, you can add components, as you wish, to create a really powerful and customized bootable USB drive or disc. You can have, for example, more than a dozen anti-virus Rescue discs residing on the same USB, for example. The AVG Rescue disc didn't clean everything? Well, just run the Bit-Defender Rescue disc.

Can't get everything sorted that way? Well try going in running one of the Live Linux distros available. Not a Linx fan? There are Windows utilities available as well.

SARDU doesn't force you to use one over the other. The application lets you pick and choose (although it does manage downloads for some or point you to the websites for others) to create what you want.

SARDU is free for download, although it is certainly worthy of support via donation.


Comments
on Nov 14, 2011

  An excellent post. Thanks, Larry. I'm sure it'll help folks in general as well as the family's go to 'designated techie' ("Help! My computer died!").  

 

on Nov 14, 2011

Nice one

on Nov 14, 2011

I really had a lot of fun making my version up. I didn't realize how may rescue disks there are.

on Nov 14, 2011

Thanks, Larry.  I'll have to give this a shot.

on Nov 14, 2011

This utility might help the techies out there a good deal:

1. http://www.thewindowsclub.com/rmprepusb-install-windows-usb-speed-up RMPrepUSB can do a great deal:

RMPrepUSB has a very good interface, which is easy to use. You don’t need any help in using this software as the steps are marked on-screen. You can install different operating systems on your USB drive with this free tool.

2. http://www.intowindows.com/install-windows-7-on-usb/ 

Although MS doesn't like you doing it for various valid reasons, you will be using a virtual box on the USB to install W7 there and be able to run it on the PC needing repair. This MS does not object to.

4. http://www.intowindows.com/bootable-usb/  How to make a bootable USB.... not hard if you get the utility mentioned in 1 (above).

5. Don't forget to add your repair tools to the USB.

 

on Nov 14, 2011

bookmark

on Nov 14, 2011

Any chance we can use these to run an archived Sins installation?

on Nov 14, 2011

I don't see the download button for it. Its a 2.0 mb download?

on Nov 15, 2011

I don't see the download button for it. Its a 2.0 mb download?

which one are you talking about you know there are 4 links here, Right?

 

SARDU  7.4MB will take to right to it.. or

you can click on the OP link then on the Left side click Downloads then scroll to the bottom

look for >> Downloads SARDU 2.0.3 << Not in BOLD  (NOTE: you have to wait like 6 Seconds then an ad will open but you can click in the upper right to skip the ad)

 

RMPrepUSB v2.1.630   5.8MB you'll have to Scroll down  this one takes you right to there Download page

or you can click here > Download and it will open this one Install_RMPrepUSB_Full_2.1.630.zip will open the download box to save it. it's 5867K but if you click the first link for this one you will see a lot more stuff

 

Portable-VirtualBox_v4.1.4-Starter_v6.4.7-Win_all.exe

1.9MB clicking this one will open the download box to save it.



  hope this helps you out

 

on Nov 15, 2011

Yes, like most freeware apps....you need to navigate around/through what allows it to be freeware....

on Nov 15, 2011

That's half the fun of a good scavenger hunt! Let's you know it's worthwhile!