An emergency repair disk contains software and files that can help one recover from a catastrophic event to recover important files and documents. It can be used to scrape data from the aftermath of a virus attack or to try to pull data from a failing hard disk drive.
Another use is to reinstall the boot sector to a drive in case the original one is damaged. Others allow common Windows files to be replaced in case of corruption.
You can create one with the modern versions of Windows, and if you need one, there's a free Linux-based bootable CD that will allow you to transfer files and documents. The Ultimate Boot CD is free, based on the Debian distribution, and can be downloaded from http://www.ultimatebootcd.com
Iron Noder 2017