HOW TO: Install Windows 7 from a USB stick

[Mindstorm]

This might have been covered earlier, but I guess a fresh post would be in order as many of you have recently acquired a beta product key and the latest ISO image of Windows 7. This guide is good if you want to install to a netbook or laptop that doesn't have a CD-ROM or if you'd like to get a speedier install on your desktop PC

See also: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2432-usb-windows-7-installation-key-drive-create.html

1. Download the latest ISO image of Windows 7
2. Use MagicISO or any other SW that can read and extract the contents of the ISO.
3. Extract all the files to a folder of your choice ( ex. C:\Win7). If you use MagicISO you'd want to right click on the ISO file and then select "Extract to..."
4. attach a USB stick of at least 4 GB size
5. Select "Start->Run..." and type "cmd.exe"
6. At the DOS prompt type " diskpart"
7. type "list disk"

You will now see a list of all installed hard drives and any attached USB drives, please make sure that you select the correct disk at the next step. If you select the wrong disk you will loose any data on that disk and potentially erase your entire system. Be double sure you know what you're doing before continuing!

For the rest of this guide I will assume that my USB drive is "Disk 3" and that I've extracted the ISO to e:\

Now, continue to type, in sequence, at the diskpart prompt (without qoutation marks):
8. "select disk 3"
9. "clean"
10. "create partition primary"
11. "select partion 1"
12. "active"
13. "format fs=fat32"
14. "assign"
15. "exit"

You should now have a clean and bootable USB drive Now we need to get the Windows install files on to the USB drive:

16. At the DOS prompt type "xcopy e:\*.* /s/e/f f:\" ( in this set of commands we assume that your USB drive is mounted as F:\ )

That's it! Safely unplugg your USB drive and boot your netbook/laptop/desktop from it. The install we be done in no time...

I've used this method to install WinXP, OSX and Win7 on my netbook that. It should work with any CD/DVD based installation.

Happy hunting!

 

[sevsman]

I tried this once or twice and it didn't like me so all i do is format the stick like above then just highlight the files in my Win 7 dvd and copy them over to the usb like normal..

Also if you've got an asus board just press F8 at boot and select the usb from the list..
No need to go into the bios and change anything

 

[limneos]

Hello Mindstorm...

I use the same method myself for months...

One question though:

Have you managed to make ONE stick with all 3 installations of Vista, OSX, and Win7? That's what I'm working on now..

 

[limneos]

Found it!!! That's why I spent hours in vain... You cannot have 2 installations of Vista and/or Win7 on the same partition...We must have 2 partitions on the USB stick for that to work!

Repartitioning...

Whoever is interested, take a look here...

How to install from USB- WinSetupFromUSB with GUI - MSFN Forums

 

[Dinesh]

in this tutorial, can anyone tell me if its ok to directy copy the extracted files to the usb drive instead of "xcopy e:\*.* /s/e/f f:\" ?

 

[Antman]

in this tutorial, can anyone tell me if its ok to directy copy the extracted files to the usb drive instead of "xcopy e:\*.* /s/e/f f:\" ?

Actually, the xcopy command line is sloppy. /e includes /s.

 

[Dinesh]

Hell yeah, i directly copied the files to usb drive without any commands. Now i m ready to restart my pc and boot with usb drive. Lets see what happens.

 

[StonR]

All i do is use ImgBurn And put all the files on my Ipod and Just run setup.exe Works like a charm..

 

[sevenrulz]

you don't need to extract the files from the disk image, you could actualy mount it with virtual clone drive (or any DVD emulation software) and select that partition as the source drive.

 

[Matt88]

Here's an easier way to make a bootable USB to install Win 7, Vista etc

A Bootable USB: Utility to Create Bootable USB Drive to Install Windows Vista, Server 2008 and 7 - Tweaking with Vishal

 

[sevenrulz]

That utility rocks!

 

[BigFanWin7]

Hey, your tutorial is very helpful, but I was wondering, how can I convert it back to a flash drive?

It turns out it would work that way on my computer

 

[iseeuu]

Hey, your tutorial is very helpful, but I was wondering, how can I convert it back to a flash drive?

It turns out it would work that way on my computer

Use Windows to reformat the flash drive to restore it to its original state.

 

[BigFanWin7]

My windows just sees it as a flash hard drive. I guess I should be putting this in a different forum.

 

[iseeuu]

My windows just sees it as a flash hard drive. I guess I should be putting this in a different forum.

Right click on the flash drive icon and see if there is a menu entry to format. If not, right click on the "Computer" icon, select "Manage", and then "Disk Management". You can format hard drives from here.

 

[Dorfdad]

DO any of these methods allow Multiple Operating Systems to be selected for install or booted?

Im looking to makje a USB that has the following

1. Windows 7 x64 install
2. Windows 7 32Bit Install
3. Windows XP Install
4. Hirens Boot CD 9.9

All bootable and installable or runable from the USB (Runable meaning starts an install) not run the OS from the USB of course.

 

[retiredat44]

I have been trying the Win7 install method using a USB Flash Drive:

I was trying to 'list disk' with my HP Flash Drive, and it will not show up... apparently List Disk only shows USB flash drives in Windows Vista and not in WinXP!

I wish someone would have pointed this out without me searching it out after 2 hours of hitting a dead end.. maybe no one knew?

I installed Win7 RC3 with no problem a couple months back and had it on a spare drive on my computer, then I was trying to re-install it after I wiped that drive, so far all I hit are road blaocks dead ends and error messages trying to install it again..

 

[kensiko]

Hello,

I created a 8 GB SDHC card with Win7 setup and I tested it on my own computer, but it can't find the boot on the SD card. It's strange because it does work on a MSI wind, I installed Win7 on it yesterday with the same card.

My computer is able to boot on a flash disk, I use a 16MB SD card to boot into DOS.

Does anybody here have an idea of why my computer would not boot with win7 on the SD card?

 

[iseeuu]

Hello,

I created a 8 GB SDHC card with Win7 setup and I tested it on my own computer, but it can't find the boot on the SD card. It's strange because it does work on a MSI wind, I installed Win7 on it yesterday with the same card.

My computer is able to boot on a flash disk, I use a 16MB SD card to boot into DOS.

Does anybody here have an idea of why my computer would not boot with win7 on the SD card?

kensiko;

My ASRock MB uses "F12" to bring up a boot menu. You should look to see if you have something like that, and to see if your SD card appears on the list. Also, you can go to the "Boot" section of the bios and look for the SD card there. You might need a bios upgrade. Or your MB might not support SD cards?

Cheers!

Robert

 

[kensiko]

kensiko;

My ASRock MB uses "F12" to bring up a boot menu. You should look to see if you have something like that, and to see if your SD card appears on the list. Also, you can go to the "Boot" section of the bios and look for the SD card there. You might need a bios upgrade. Or your MB might not support SD cards?

Cheers!

Robert

Thanks Robert for your help, but you didn't notice that I said I often boot on a 16MB SD card. So, yes I know how to boot from a USB stick.