How To: Install Windows From a USB Drive

Yes i know about the Tool From Microsoft but for some reason it goes a tad nuts sometimes and cant see the drive you'd like to use.

I just used this method and installed Windows 7. The main advantage is that by using a USB drive you will be able to install Windows7/Vista in just 15 minutes. You can also use this if you dont have a DVD  drive.

Needless to say that your motherboard should support USB Booting to make use of the bootable USB drive.

Requirements:

*USB Hard drive/Flash Drive (Minimum 4GB)

*Windows 7,8 or Vista installation files.(XP may work but i haven't tested it yet)

1. Plug-in your drive and move all the contents to a safe location on your system.

2. Open Command Prompt with admin rights. Use any of the following methods to open the Command Prompt window with admin rights.

*Type cmd in Start menu search box and hit Ctrl+ Shift+ Enter.

Or

*Go to Start menu > All programs > Accessories,  right click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

3. You need to know about the USB drive a little bit. Type in the following commands in the command prompt:

First type DISKPART and hit enter to see the below message.

Next type LIST DISK and note down the Disk number (ex: Disk 1). In the below screenshot my Flash Drive Disk no is Disk 1.

4. Next type all the below commands one by one. Here I assume that your disk drive no is “Disk 1”.If you have Disk 2 as your USB flash drive then use Disk 2.Refer the above step to confirm it.

You need to type and execute these one by one:

SELECT DISK 1

CLEAN

CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

SELECT PARTITION 1

ACTIVE

FORMAT FS=NTFS

(Format may take awhile)

ASSIGN

EXIT

Don’t close the command prompt window yet, we need to execute one more command at the next step. Just minimize it.

5. Next insert your Windows7/Vista DVD into the optical drive and check the drive letter of the DVD drive.

In this guide I will assume that your DVD drive letter is “D” and USB drive letter is “H” (open my computer to check).

6. Now in the Command Prompt window,  Type :

D: CD BOOT and hit enter.Where “D” is your DVD drive letter.

7.To update the USB drive with BOOTMGR compatible code Type: 

BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 H:

Where “H” is your USB drive letter. Once you enter the above command you will see the above message.

8. Copy your Windows 7/Vista DVD contents to the USB flash drive.

9. All done, Your drive is ready to boot and install Windows 7/Vista. Only thing you need to change is the boot priority in the BIOS to USB from the HDD or CD ROM drive.

Note: If you are not able to boot after following this guide means you haven’t set the BIOS priority to USB. If you got any problems in following this guide feel free to ask questions by leaving a comment.