today my laptop crashed, got the blue screen of death, now i find myself trying to get my data back before i attempt any recovery.

if found you can actually create your own windows xp live cd.

this is how i did it.

download: pebuilder at http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

download the latest version, for this tutorial i will download and install: pebuilder3110a.exe

1. install pebuilder:

2. download: sherpva windows XPE for pebuilder: sourceforge.net/projects/winpe/files/windows%20XPE
the current version is: xpe-1.0.7.cab

3. start pebuilder and accept license

4. insert a copy of windows xp setup cd, note it must be a full, not an upgarde version

5. add the plugin you downloaded it, you can disable the a43,nu2shell and penetcfg plugins.

6. select 'Create ISO image) and enter the path name where you want the iso file to be created. or just leave the default,

7. click build

8. once it completes, you can burn the iso into a cd and boot from it. you will be able to recover you files from the computer that crashed


a good resource would be: makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-create-your-own-custom-windows-live-cd