Free ERD Commander 2007 for Windows XP

ERD Commander 2005 to USB (year 2008)

• A USB Flash drive- a 1GB one
  The drive has to be under 2GB, or it won't be detected (pe2usb wont format FAT16 greater than 2Gb)
  
• PE2USB, and is necessary to copy ERD Commander to the USB drive
• (of course ) ERD commander 2005
• An ISO disassembly program. I use isobuster
• A RAR/ZIP archiving program. WinRAR is an obvious choice for this one.
• Knowledge of how to do basic stuff like creating folders, and using a web browser.

ms-DaRT with Grub4Dos 
you can grub4dos with iso in ram optiom just copying the iso on the media and make a proper menu.lst 

Integrate-DaRT-onto-Multiboot-USB
Windows XP Reparatur mit DaRT
mehr
ERD Commander 2009 R2 Recovery Disk
Source
Download the Trial Version of ERD Commander 2007 for Windows XP and follow the instructions below to remove the 30 day time-limit using a utility supplied with the trial version. This gives you a full, free working version of ERD Commander for Windows XP.
Click here for Info on ERD Commander 2010 for Vista and Windows 7
The Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT ) contains  a trial version of ERD Commander 2007 (also known as ERD 50 – and very similar to Winternals ERD Commander 2005) which “Provides utilities and wizards that will help you to perform system diagnosis and repair procedures, such as recovering data, disabling problematic drivers, and removing hotfixes”

ERD Commander is a very powerful tool. It comes in the form of an ISO file which is burned to a CD. The CD can then be used to start a non-bootable installation of Windows XP. This is one of the most useful PC diagnostic tools I have ever used.
It can be used to perform the following tasks:

• ERD Registry editor: edit or restore Windows registry
• Run System Restore – to restore the system to a bootable state
• Diagnose and fix problems preventing the system from booting
• Locksmith: reset a password (without knowing the administrator’s password) – great if you’re locked out
• Crash Analyzer: analyze crash dumps
• File Restore: Restore deleted files
• Disk Commander: Repair volumes, MBR, partitions
• Disk Wipe: Erase data from hard disk
• Computer Management: System Information, Autoruns (configure autostarting applications), Event Viewer, Disk Management (format, manage partitions, etc.), Services and Drivers (enable, disable, etc.)
• Explorer: Browse the hard drive,
• Move data from the hard drive onto a USB memory key (plug in the key before booting the system with ERD Commander)
• Solution Wizard : Choose the proper repair tool
• TCP/IP Config: Display and set TCP/IP configuration
• Hotfix Uninstall: uninstall hotfixes
• SFC Scan: System file repair
• Search: Search disk for files
• Standalone System Sweeper: Scan your system for malware, rootkits, and potentially unwanted software
• Download ERD User Guide

 Microsoft DaRT (MSDaRT50Eval.msi) is a 30 day evaluation version, but it also contains a utility which can be used to extend the evaluation period to whatever is desired. The original Microsoft download link which appears in a number of articles about ERD Commander now no longer functions.
However 
MSDaRT50Eval.msi can be downloaded from:
http://www.chip.de/downloads/Microsoft-Diagnostics-and-Recovery-Toolset_35181963.html
(German site – click on “Zum Download” and then “Download-Server Chip Online”)
It is a three stage process to get to the download:
First screen: Click on >>>Zum Download

Second screen: Click on >>>Download-Server Chip Online

Third screen: There is a three second countdown, then the download starts automatically

In Internet Explorer 9 and Google Chrome the download shows at the bottom of the screen
30 day evaluation ERD Commander ISO file
The Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT ) downloads as a file – MSDaRT50Eval.msi which contains a 30 day trial version of ERD Commander 2007.
When this MSDaRT50Eval.msi   is installed it creates an ISO image – erd50.iso – which is located at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset\erd50.iso
You can use erd50.iso to burn Live CD of ERD Commander 2007
This will work for 30 days, after which the following dialog box will appear when an attempt is made to boot a PC from the CD:
The usage period for this boot image has expired


Burning another CD will make no difference, as the time limitation is encoded into the erd50.iso file. During the installation process a time limit of 30 days from the date of installation is encoded into the erd50.iso file, so even if you try burning another CD from erd50.iso the encoded time limit will still commence from the date of original installation. I am not sure if uninstalling MSDaRT50Eval.msi and subsequently reinstalling it will create a new erd50.iso with a 30 day limit that runs from the subsequent installation date, but I suspect that it will still run from the date of first installation.
One way around this would be to note the date on which MSDaRT50Eval.msi was first created, and then if you wished to use it after it had expired, you could set back the date in the bios of the PC you are working on. (This would prevent the use of System Restore – which is date-sensitive)
However, Microsoft included in the installation package a file – Binary.updexp which can be used to extend the 30 day time limit.

“UpdateExp can be used to update the expiration time of a ERD50.iso file. In order to have an iso file with an expiration, you must create the iso by launching erdc with the special /e numDays switch.”

How to extend the evaluation period by 99 years (!) We can use the above instructions to extend the 30 day evaluation period to however long we choose. For this we need the installation file which contains the erd50.iso file,  Universal Extractor software to extract Binary.updexp.exe with which we extend the time limit, and some ISO recording software, to burn the modified erd50.iso to a blank CD.
Here is the recipe: 

1. Download and install Universal Extractor http://legroom.net/software/uniextract#download (Freeware)
2. Download and save MSDaRT50Eval.msi from here to your PC
3. You will need Two Files = erd50.iso and Binary.updexp
4. The ERD Commander ISO file is erd50.iso
5. For extending the expiry date, you need Binary.updexp.exe
6. Extract these files with Universal Extractor = Right click on MSDaRT50Eval.msi –> UniExtract to Subdir
   
   
7. Select MSI Administrative Installer and press OK.
8. This will create a subdirectory called MSDaRT50Eval
9. Repeat, selecting MsiX extraction and press OK
10. erd50.iso and Binary.updexp can now be found in the subdirectory MSDaRT50Eval
    Right Click on MSDaRT50Eval.msi (above) and use the first two Extract Methods (below)
    
    
11. If you cannot find Binary.updexp you can download it from http://dl.dropbox.com/u/677812/Binary.updexp.exe
12. You can also obtain the ERD Commander ISO file by installing MSDaRT50Eval.msi: double click on MSDaRT50Eval.msi to install it as normal
13. Go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset\ and locate the erd50.iso file
14. Move erd50.iso and Binary.updexp into the Root Directory -  C:\
    
15. Bring up a Command Window (go to Start –> Run ,  type cmd and hit return)
16. In the command window  type in cd\ to change to the root directory
17. Type UpdateExp.exe C:\erd50.iso 36135 and hit Return (see screenshot below)
18. If this fails try Binary.Updexp.exe C:\erd50.iso 36135
    
19. UpdateExp.exe C:\erd50.iso 36135 File loaded, searching for expiration in winpeshl.ini
    Current time in file is
    New time will be 36135 day(s) from now.
    all done
    
20. 
21. This procedure has modified the erd50.iso file, so that its original 30 day evaluation period is extended to 36135 days = 99 years
22. Having done this, you need to burn the erd50.iso file to a CD
23. Refer to this article or this article on how to burn ISO images to a disc or use http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm or http://www.imgburn.com/
24. You now have an ERD Commander Live CD with which you can boot into non-booting systems (Note: this should only be used on Windows XP 32 bit systems. I have successfully used it on Vista 32 bit to reset passwords – but it wipes off all the System Restore points. If you can live with that you can still use it to do other things, like move precious files off your hard drive onto a USB memory key….)

Using ERD Commander

1. To boot from the CD, the boot order needs to be changed, so that the computer will try and boot from the CD before the hard drive
2. It is often possible to change the boot order by pressing F12 or F8 just after the system starts to power up.
3. If the system won’t boot from the CD – you need to change the boot order in the bios.
4. Just after the system starts, press Del or F1 to enter the Bios. The boot order can be set usually from the Advanced Boot Configuration menu.
5. If the bios is password protected, open the PC and remove the CMOS battery for a moment or so. This should remove the password protection (and all other bios settings – which will need to be set up again – usually only the Date and Boot order are essential)
6. Allow the system to boot from the CD
7. Select the installation you wish to attach to (i.e. to repair) 
   
8. Select the tool or tools you wish to use.

• I have sometimes found that just booting from the ERD Commander CD will fix a non bootable system, even though I didn’t run any repair procedures
• This Article and this article might be worth a look
• This Article covers using System Restore with ERD Commander 2007
• This Article covers using Locksmith to reset a user password (particularly useful if you’ve gotten locked out of your computer)
• This Article covers  making a ERD Commander USB bootable memory stick.
• Versions of ERD Commander exist for Windows Vista and Windows 7 – both 32 & 64 bit but are not easily obtainable – see here
• You now have a MAGIC CD, which you can use to revive dead XP systems, or at least recover data!

---------------------
using 32bit XP.
UpdateExp.exe C:\erd50.iso 36135
resulted in:
‘UpdateExp.exe’ is not recognised as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
After many frustrating attempts I tried:
Binary.Updexp.exe C:\erd50.iso 36135
which resulted in the file being processed