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How To: Install Windows 7 from a USB Key!

Posted 10/22/2009 at 5:00am | by Norman Chan

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So after reading our review of Windows 7, youre ready to take the plunge and upgrade to Microsoft's new OS. Youve read our upgrade guide, decided whether you want 32- or 64-bit Windows 7, and bought your retail box. But what if you want to install Windows 7 on a netbook or other computer without an optical drive? Fortunately, youre not out of luck, because Windows 7 (and Vista, for that matter) can be installed from a USB storage key. Not only does installing from a USB key remove the need for a DVD drive, the install time is also greatly reduced we shaved off minutes from the total install time. Our step-by-step guide will have you rocking the new version of Windows in no time!

Time = 1 hour
What you need:
4GB USB key $10, www.newegg.com WinRAR Free Evaluation Copy, www.rarlab.com Windows 7 $99 (OEM)

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Note: This guide will only work within Windows Vista or 7.

1. Format Your USB Key

Plug in your USB key and back up any existing data stored on it. Youll need to format the key before you can make it a bootable device. Best Windows 8 Apps - March Update
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Open up a Command Prompt as an Administrator. You can do this by finding the cmd.exe in yoru Windows/System32 folder, right-clicking the executable, and selecting Run as Administrator. Alternatively, type CMD in the Start Menu search field and activate the Command Prompt using Ctrl + Shift + Enter.

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Feature You should be under c:\Windows\system32 (assuming your Windows partition is the C drive). Type diskpart in the command line to enter the Disk Partition command line tool, which lets you format and create partitions on active disks. Type list disk to reveal a list of all your active disks, each of which is associated with a number. Make a note of which one is your USB key, based on the capacity. In our screenshot below, our USB drive is Disk 6 (8GB).
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Address:

Address 2:

City:

Next, type the following commands, one at a time: Select Disk # (Where # is the number of your USB disk. We typed Select Disk 6) Clean (removes any existing partitions from the USB disk, including any hidden sectors) Create Partition Primary (Creates a new primary partition with default parameters) Select Partition 1 (Focus on the newly created partition) Active (Sets the in-focus partition to active, informing the disk firmware that this is a valid system partition) Format FS=NTFS (Formats the partition with the NTFS file system. This may take several minutes to complete, depending on the size of your USB key.) Assign (Gives the USB drive a Windows volume and next available drive letter, which you should write down. In our case, drive L was assigned.) Exit (Quits the DiskPart tool)

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takingmytime
January 04, 2012 at 1:04am

Maximum PC
mi place 61.212 persoane apreciaz Maximum PC.

I'm getting stuck at the boot/bootsect part.

My command line will be like

C:\Users\Brit\Desktop\Win7

but when I type cd boot it says 'The system cannot find the path specificed"
P lugin social F acebook

If I just leave it at c:\Windows\System32 then CD boot will work but the whole bootsect stuff won't work.

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Mendryz
February 08, 2012 at 9:16am

I got the same thing did you find a fix ?

hoop11
December 04, 2011 at 7:16pm

At the step where I had to copy the files from the disc over, it prompted me to keep the auto run on the usb, use the auto run from the disc, or use both. I guess somewhere during the guide i made an auto run file on the USB drive i didn't know about...which one should i have used?
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hamzuz
November 30, 2011 at 12:20am

Did every thing you said but couldn't get it to work. after searching found a web site that i had to translate from hebrew. It's a computer hardware web site called www.pcpc.co.il Go to the laptop section and look for the guide called "Win 7 To USB - 3 Easy Steps & Less Than 2 Min". Good Luck !!

silent_sentinel
November 13, 2011 at 11:27pm

Barely fits on my 4GB USB drive Microsoft must use one hell of a compressing program to fit ~20GB of OS onto 4GB of DVD

Mesh24
November 02, 2011 at 10:15am

My attempt also failed. It got pretty much to the end when it gave me "invalid license key" so I had to reformat and do it over with just the disc... then it was ok. I guess you cannot use an OEM disc, it has to be files from the downloaded ISO image.

pot
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Thank you for the leading information.

aspergers
August 23, 2011 at 9:44am

Hey everyone, I followed those instructions to a T and had no issues until I plugged in the usb stick. I get this error: Intel UNDI, PXE-2.1 (build 082) Copyright 1997-2000 Intel Corporation This Product is covered by one or more of the following patents: US5,307,459, etc For Realtek RTL8101E/8102E(L)/8103E(L) PCI-E Ethernet Controller v1.13 (081016) PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable PXE-M0F: Exiting PXE ROM.

I'm trying to load from a Corsair 64gb Survivor GTR (yep its big) to a Toshiba NB205-N310BN-G (NetBook). We have a corporate license for 32bit Windows 7 and just can't get it to boot properly from the USB as that message is the first thing that comes up as it attempts to boot.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

pot
October 27, 2011 at 2:13am

Hi. This site is nice. Nice to meet you! http://musyuuseiadarutdouga.blog104.fc2.com/

rainhard
June 27, 2011 at 12:08pm

The simpler way to install Windows 7/Vista/XP from USB is FlashBoot utility. It automates everything. http://www.prime-expert.com/flashboot/

david77
May 30, 2011 at 2:42am

The maximum pc is the magazine that every computer nerd, pc gamer or content creator must read.Thanks for sharing the informative post. Regards. david77- double memory foam mattresses

cartzar
May 17, 2011 at 1:22pm

it doesnt work!!! i followed all the steps, it even showed on the cmd prompt it said that bootcode was successfully updated on all targeted volumes. and i plugged it into the my desktop and it says BOOTMGR IS MISSING. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!! my old hard drive has some sort of partition issue, so i cant upgrade windows. i bought a brand new 500gb hard drive, and its not recognizing the flash drive...

Anonymous1980
May 16, 2011 at 8:10am

Wonderful to be visiting your blog again, it has been months for me. Well this article that ive been waited for so long. I require this article to complete my assignment in the college, and it has exact same topic with your article. Thanks, amazing share Generic drug list

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patjebond
February 25, 2011 at 2:49am

Can this be done the same way with a windows XP install?

xxxbillybobxxx
February 19, 2011 at 9:58pm

The guide works great until it asks me for my product key. I have a Win7 Pro 64-bit .iso file I got from MS when they did the student discount. I extracted the files using ISO Buster, then copied them to the USB key as described in the guide. Win7 installed fine from the USB key, rebooted, then when it got to the product key input part, it said it was invalid (quadruple checked I typed it correctly). I ended up installing with the same ISO burned to a DVD with the same product key successfully. Any ideas why the key wouldn't work when installed from a USB key, but would work when installed from a DVD?

Compaqsonly
February 01, 2011 at 4:41pm

This is a great article. Very helpful. But I'm wondering, how do I make it so I can install windows ONTO a flash drive so I can use it as the C: drive in a pc? Instead of installing from the USB.

nekollx
February 20, 2011 at 12:48pm

look up bootice

BeVar
January 16, 2011 at 10:31am

IDIOT MAC user. We like PC's BECAUSE we can tinker.

Nice article Norm.

monaco
January 14, 2011 at 8:33pm

1. Open Disk Utility (it's in your Utilities folder) and click the "Restore" tab. 2. Select your USB drive from the list and then select your disk image and you're done. Oh wait, that only works for Mac. :( It must realy suck to be a Windows user. Sitting around all day, endlessly configuring your computer to do simple time saving tasks, only to find... You've wasted more time configuring your computer. I guess that's the price you pay to be a hardcore gamer... That is what PCs are for, right? Playing video games? o_0

Zantozuken
April 21, 2011 at 11:26am

It's not every day I find a reason to join a forum and comment, but I have to say, this is worthy. I am an avid Mac user; in fact, Macs are my primary work machines. Coupled with my iPhone and iPad, I'm pretty much always connected away from the office. I manage three different Mac Labs, and support over 800 Mac Notebooks. My personal laptop is a MacBook. In short, I love Macs, and use them all the time. I also have a custom built PC (from the ground up) that does the things my Macs can't. And I love it. That being said, I'm not sure you understand how the process you provided is both incorrect and fulfills the stereotype that hardcore PC users see Mac users as. Although it is true that Disk Utility can easily create a bootable disk image (.dmg) from an .iso, it would not function for this process. First the USB drive has to be formatted with a Master Boot Record (MBR) so that non-Apple device can even boot from it. Without this step you are dead in the water. Secondly, Macs are incapable of natively partitioning a drive with NTFS (New Technology File System) that was created and patented by Microsoft in 1993. To do so, you'll have to purchase software that allows

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you to format the Thumb Drive correctly. You can attempt to use FAT32, but I'm not confident that it will compile correctly (it hasn't ever worked for me). In truth, I prefer GParted for Linux to do my partitioning work. Both Windows partitioning options and Disk Utility are curiously limited. You have to realize that while Macs may be easier to use and may require less knowledge of how it works to operate it, it's changing us as a culture and making us more ignorant to a computer's basic operating process. These people who build, tinker, explore, fail, break, rebuild, and tweak will ultimately be the people you come to for help when you can't figure out why your Mac is beeping at you when you press the power button (three beeps means memory problem, five means battery problem). Macs appeal less to PC users not because of the OS (Operating System), but because Macs are closed, non-customizable systems. No, you cannot have a Mac that is liquid cooled (unless you have a G5 tower!) with blue LED's running through it. No, you may not have more than two case fans. No, you may not upgrade the components - what you bought it what you have. You will never go beyond using your computer as more than a giant calculator until you get underneath the GUI (Graphical User Interface), or break open the case and get to learning. I understand if you don't have that kind of time, but it's tough to tolerate pop-shots against Windows users when you can't even get the details of your Mac down correctly.

Teknobenji
January 28, 2011 at 7:00am

I believe you should redirect your comment to the " Maximum MAC" website, hosted by the same people as Geometroracing.com and imadbag.org Feel free to enjoy your 2nd generation double the price hardware that requires you to personally stroke Steve Jobs if you want to make any changes, modifications, additions, subtractions, or "gulp"....be productive at more than misguided hatred of the "PC" which worldwide still holds >92% (that means "greater than" in case you are not familiar with such symbols) of the market and a staggering 98% in business. Compatibility, usability, and END USER CONFIGURABILTY will always be king for the same reasons democracy trumps communism....that's right - I just made that analogy. If ignorance is bliss then why do MAC users seem to carry such big chips on their shoulders? (that's rhetorical - which means I don't want an answer, I just want you to think about it, if you are allowed to do that on your own) GFY DB FF

BTW thanks for this article (and every other thing I have learned and used!), it works like a champ and makes one hell of a quick install!

Compaqsonly
February 01, 2011 at 4:44pm

LOL well said Teknobenji, well said. :)

jareddd
January 06, 2011 at 5:30pm

THANK YOU!!! This worked perfectly! BUT, I had trouble with step 2 where you say "Use the 'CD command..." I had no idea how to do that, so I had to google how to use cmd. Please update this step to say: "Enter: "cd C:\Users\Username\Desktop\Windows 7". THEN it will be a perfect guide for any non-tech savvy person. THANKS!

furrybadit
December 22, 2010 at 2:54pm

works great thanks to the poster.

roman horol
November 14, 2010 at 3:30pm

i am using 32-bit edition of windows 7 and needed to upgrade to 64-bit, just for work with adobe aftereffects cs5my pc is an I5- quad core 760 - 2.80 GHZ , with 4 gigs of ram , iam actually using autodesk maya , and after effects graphic application , and really needed to know how much i can get from this pc, i think this 64-bit will help alot , your instruction was really good , though i think you should need to add this 32- 64 bootsect to the instruction for people to know how to fix this , thanks to one of the persons that remind this part, i got actually to do it , thank for this man ! so thanks again it was intresting knowledge and i was register my self to this site just to say thank you, so .... have anice day ! cya

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rawr
October 23, 2010 at 9:46pm

Im running windows 7 on my laptop, can i use this method to create a windows XP bootable usb? (i need to repair my desktop but my CD drive is broken on the desktop - which is why i need to make a xp usb). btw, I have the windows XP CD disk

Midien
October 11, 2010 at 1:09pm

I'm another who registered just to say thanks. XD You saved my install, sir. Thanks a million. :)

Jenny James
September 19, 2010 at 10:27pm

Honestly i was tired of searching step by step instructions to install windows, just found this articles. thanks much

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blindhorizon
September 14, 2010 at 10:15am

tracking this message for future use.

prema11
August 17, 2010 at 5:38am

I heard that the above method is applicable for Os above Xp Am I right?I firmly believe that its better to use some softwares to get the job done otherwise you might end up loosing valuable data.I heard that WintoFlash can get your job done like this guy who has posted it in his blog:http://sunilbhaskar.blogspot.com/2010/08/windows-7-installation-from-usbflash.html

halloween2010
July 08, 2010 at 1:27pm

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angelsix
July 01, 2010 at 5:07pm

Really, I have read the article and the comments. I can't see how/when/where extracting (with Winrar or otherwise) comes into it. When I put in the Win7 disk, I don't see ISO files, just a lot of directories and files. I copied those to my hard drive (in a Windows 7 named subdirectory of Desktop). Windows Explorer now reports that I this Windows 7 directory has 3.01 GB, consisting of 874 files in 199 folders. Does having Winzip installed mean somehow that it skipped the extract phase and just gave me the files? Or, ...??? I was dealing with the USB key installation in preparation to installation, which I haven't tried yet (haven't finished building the system), but am bothered that I can't see what everyone else apparently can see (extraction using Winrar). If there's a step saying all the files have to be compressed into an .iso file, please let me know. Gently, if possibly. Could some nice, patient person explain what I fear is going to be pointed out as obvious for me? Thanks.

lc084302
July 08, 2010 at 9:34am

Winrar is for folks that downloaded the iso. Mine was downloaded as an iso from Microsoft's college discount program. Well, MS provided a tool to make a bootable usb

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from the iso so those people really don't need to go through all these. If you have the physical disc, don't worry about it. MSI X58 Pro-E, Intel core i7 920, HIS Radeon HD 5850, 6GB Corsair Dominator 1600 MHz

itzabo
June 23, 2010 at 3:23pm

I followed the instructions. It worked 1st time. Awesome!!!

Thanks for the article.

Big_MARK
June 19, 2010 at 8:05am

These instructions didn't work for me either until I tried it at work and built the installer from one of our Win7 iso images downloaded directly from MS.

kamikaze33
June 17, 2010 at 3:07pm

my desktop doesnt have a cd drive, this command prompt is confusing the hell out of me. im trying to do this except with a version of linux. its in a folder called 'puppy'. heres what the console tells me: c:\users\joel\desktop\puppy\cd bootsect.exe /nt60 j: ' bootsect.ex' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

jakesty@aol.com
June 29, 2010 at 12:01am

Before the file BOOTSEC.exe, remove the CH.

barberbarianbob
May 17, 2010 at 9:44pm

every time i try to type in the commands to make the folder with the iso image to be found all i get is "the system cannot find the path specified" i don't know what else to doBob K

corourke
April 15, 2010 at 2:42pm

@plam plam

type cd C:/ and then cd users, then just follow the rest

corourke
April 15, 2010 at 2:42pm

@plam plam

type cd C:/ and then cd users, then just follow the rest

plamplam
April 04, 2010 at 10:14am

please help. it says: "could not map drive partitions to the associated volume device obhects: Accesss is denied."

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WWHYY???????? also, when i run as admin it shows prompt as C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe instead of the c:\users... etc etc..

please help, thanks. also i have email: michael_c223@yahoo.com pls send any thing to help :'(

tysonius
March 04, 2010 at 4:49pm

Win XP recognizes my usb devices, both in the front panel and at the rear. They show up in explorer, system info, etc., and I can freely transfer files to and from them. Diskpart doesn't show them in "list disk." Is there something I'm forgetting?

Big_MARK
June 19, 2010 at 8:05am

Yeah, you forgot to do this IN WINDOWS7!! these instructions won't work in XP, linux or OSX! Sheesh people are you all that ignant?

scotthomas
January 25, 2010 at 3:26am

Really a very great article explains about the instalation in a very effective way.I have been wondering to get the solution for this problem for a long time.So could you explain the upgadation of vista to windows 7.It really helped me a lot.Thanks ..........

S3v3n11
January 17, 2010 at 8:55am

No one has mentioned the MS tool to do this: http://images2.store.microsoft.com/prod/clustera/framework/w7udt/1.0/en-us/Windows7-USBDVD-tool.exe

Arnot
January 11, 2010 at 9:28pm

i did the best i could to follow everything but for some reason when i restart it and booted it from my usb it just says boot "mgr missing press ctrl+alt+del to restart"

Trebuche
January 13, 2010 at 3:56pm

So this problem plagued me for a very long time what i found is this. 1. Your computer can't boot from usb sticks. or 2. Your copy of windows 7 doesnt have the required boot files there is a boot folder and a file called bootmgr hope that helps

kathik123
March 23, 2010 at 4:33am

Thanks for the post. Keep the great work. buy laptop (http://www.logicalblueone.com.au/store/)

patrioticparadox
January 10, 2010 at 3:28pm

First and foremost great article, extremely clear and concise My question is in regards to the additional space on the drive. I used an 8 GB like you and I want to

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fill the additional space with program installers such as Spybot and other programs to prevent me from having to redownload or even require internet access. I believe the answer is yes and it will have no impact on installation but need some confirmation. Thanks again for the incredibly useful article

pellier
December 02, 2009 at 7:01am

I might have to try that some time.

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