A Boot DVD, or bootable DVD, is a medium that makes it possible to boot / launch an application or environment contained on that medium independently of the installed operating system – even on a computer that does not contain any operating system. A classic example of bootable media is Windows operating system installation media.
What is boot media used for?
Boot media is always intended for a specific purpose. There is no universal boot medium. Probably the most commonly used boot media are those intended for operating system installation. There are also various boot media containing diagnostic tools, utilities, and disk tools. For example, Acronis True Image software makes it possible to create bootable media that can be used to create and restore a system backup. Acronis Disk Director Suite software makes it possible to create boot media that can be used to split a disk partition, merge disk partitions, create disk partitions, and delete disk partitions.
Bart-PE CDs and Live CDs are a separate category. A Bart-PE CD contains a standalone Windows installation that can be run independently of the installed operating system. The term Live CD usually refers to a CD containing a standalone Linux distribution that can be run independently of the installed operating system.
What types of portable media can be bootable?
The most common boot media are bootable CDs, bootable DVDs, and USB flash drives. To boot from boot media, the BIOS or UEFI must be configured to boot the system from the required device.
What Acronis boot media can do
Acronis Disk Director boot media
After booting from this media, it is possible to create and delete disk partitions and resize disk partitions without data loss. This boot media (CD, DVD, or USB) can be created after purchasing an Acronis Disk Director license.
Acronis True Image boot media
After booting from this media, it is possible to create and restore backups of disks, disk partitions, and data, and clone basic (MBR) disks using the disk-to-disk method. The boot media makes it possible to restore a backup even to a machine with different hardware. This boot media supports desktop operating systems only (Windows 7 – Windows 10 and Mac). This boot media (CD, DVD, or USB) can be created after purchasing an Acronis True Image license.
Acronis Backup boot media
After booting from this media, it is possible to create and restore backups of disks, disk partitions, and data. The boot media makes it possible to restore a backup even to a machine with different hardware. This medium supports both desktop and server operating systems. This boot media (CD, DVD, or USB) can be created after purchasing the relevant Acronis Backup license.