Windows 7: Need major help installing Windows ONTO a Usb drive..

Well I've already used recuva heaps of times. It works well and I suggested that but it doesn't work with wine. I don't have another hard drive to plug this one into along side with. It's a 'LAPTOP' like I specified up at the top of the thread.

I just need to know a way that I can install XP or Vista/7 ONTO a Usb. It's 2010 there should be a relatively easy way even if it isn't a long lasting or 100% supported way, we are ahead enough to have this possible and I've heard of many people doing it. I just want to know what guide worked for who etc.

I remember some guy figured out how to do it, but it is no easy task. A lot of work goes into it that even I wouldn't trust myself to do, and I play around in the registry at least once a week and do a number of other things I wouldn't recommend any of my friends or family to attempt.

Well luckily for me I'm not family . You see my computer is more or less dead, and the data on the disk is really precious to me. It would take 4x as much time to re work everything I have lost. Sadly enough this is the case.

I will look at the link Lemur just sent me in the BartPE forums and see if the directions one of the Mods there posted for a member work for me. Will post back if it works and I might write up on my blog about it or something for future reference because all of these seem to be at least 2-3+ years old.

Nevermind the post in that forum is for something totally different. It doesn't help me at all..

Oh, I forgot to mention. Do to it, you have to do a clean install of XP on to a hard drive, which seems out of the question for you. Seriously, I would google it. It has been a long time since I looked into, and after finding the only guide on how to do it, I gave up on that route.

PS, this goes beyond "wouldn't recommend it to a friend." This is "wouldn't do it unless you paid me" territory, but obviously, you seriously need a way to get your files back.

Well I have another computer I can use to make the bootable USB stick. So that isn't a problem for me. I've heard of people who have the same issue and then did what I am going to try to do. The disk they had was damaged and corrupted and they recovered almost all of their files from it before the USB died due to all of the read/write operations. (After 100,000 they die).

You can copy files out of an unbootable Windows 7 using the DVD Repair console or Repair CD:
Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console

System Repair Disc - Create