How to Make a Bootable USB Flash Drive Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7 Installer

Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu

JF-Expert Member
Feb 3, 2009
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Installing an OS using USB flash drive rather than the standard optical disk drive has its advantages. It's fast, durable and reusable. A great use for Netbooks and PC's/Laptops without (or with busted) CD/DVD drives.

You can use command-line to transfer Windows setup into the USB flash drive and make it bootable. It's not at all hard but it's a bit tricky, so to help you save time is an application that automates it all with just a few clicks of a button – WinToFlash.
From WinToFlash.com:
WinToFlash is a software for transfer your Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 2008, Windows 7 setup from CD or DVD to USB in some mouse clicks. This is about you can install your Windows from flash drive, USB pen, HDD, etc to your computer or netbook.
WinToFlash starts a wizard that will help pull over the contents of a windows installation CD or DVD and prep the USB drive to become a bootable replacement for the optical drive. It can also do this with your LiveCD.
You don't have to worry about scratches on the disc or misplacing your original media discs once you transfer their contents to the flash drive. The optical drive is quickly becoming a thing of the past, especially in office environments, as media is shifted to the cloud.
What you need:
  • USB Flash Drive. 1GB for Windows XP/2003. 4GB (or more) for Windows Vista/2008/7.
  • Microsoft Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 or 7 CD/DVD installer. For image files (like iso, cue, etc.) you'll need to mount them on a virtual device. You can use DAEMON Tools Lite (free).
How to Transfer Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7 Setup Into USB Flash Drive Using WinToFlash


1. First, download WinToFlash here:
WinToFlash - Install Windows From USB - Download Page
2. Open up the downloaded file and extract its contents into a folder.
3. Go to the folder and click wintoflash.exe.
4. In the Welcome tab, click the big check sign – Windows Setup transfer Wizard.

5. Click Next.

6. In Windows files path: click the Select button. Navigate and select the drive/folder that contains either Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7 setup files. (or you can just simply type the path letter in the textbox)

(Note: I'm using Windows 7 for this demo)
7. In USB drive: click the Select button and select the USB flash drive. (or change the path letter)

8. Now click Next >.
9. Select "I Accepted the terms of the license agreement" then click Continue.

10. In Format warning click OK.

WinToFlash will now cook Windows setup into the USB flash drive. Don't remove the USB device. Wait for it to finish.
11. When done click Next > then click Exit.

It's done. You now have a bootable USB flash drive Windows installer.
(Optional) How to Boot and Install Windows From USB Flash Drive


1. Go into BIOS SETUP UTILITY -> Boot -> Boot Device Priority.

2. Then change the Boot Device Priority sequence, making Removable Device as the first priority.

3. Save its settings then reboot. I'll now boot Windows setup from USB flash drive.
 
Duh, mkuu umeniokoa sana, sasa nimeweza kurudisha XP ktk Laptop isiyo na cd rom. Naomba msaada wakurudisha data baada ya ku format maana nilikuta drive c imeshajifuta data zote, natanguliza shukrani.
 
Duh, mkuu umeniokoa sana, sasa nimeweza kurudisha XP ktk Laptop isiyo na cd rom. Naomba msaada wakurudisha data baada ya ku format maana nilikuta drive c imeshajifuta data zote, natanguliza shukrani.

How to Scan a Reformatted Hard Drive to Recover Files


hd-title.jpg
I think everyone has had that sinking feeling when you realize you’ve just made a very…big…mistake. Accidentally reformatting and/or installing a new operating system on the wrong hard drive is one of those things you could do to trigger that kind of a feeling. Or at least I have.

Let’s assume for a moment that you threw caution to the wind and have already reformatted the hard drive of your computer. Then, you suddenly realize that no backups are available.
What course of action can you take to save yourself and your entire saved data on your computer from completely drowning due to the split-second mistake? There’s still a few lifebuoys out there. Read on to find out.

First: Do not write to the drive!

The first absolute rule you need to know is – do not write to the hard drive if you are planning on recovering data off it. When you write to a hard drive the system drivers randomly write data to the disk. So, when you write to a drive there is a good chance you are overwriting any data on it that you could have possibly restored.
This means do not try to boot from the drive, or if it is an external USB drive do not store any new files on it. Next, you can start thinking of recovery by picking one of the below mentioned options.
Pick Your Recovery OS

Once you install the hard drive in a system and boot to an operating system such as Windows or Mac it will automatically try to access data on the drive. If you have already created a new partition on the drive, this means that it could be writing to the drive without you even knowing about it.
The best solution is to boot using a recovery disk that runs its own OS. This will leave all of the drives on your computer alone until the recovery process is started.
If you are uncomfortable running one of the custom tools, then some of the software listed below can still run right on top of your operating system, and it will still work to scan a reformatted hard drive to recover files.
Best Free Recovery Tools

Paragon Rescue Kit

The best utility for restoring deleted files from a formatted hard drive is Paragon’s Rescue Kit. There is a free version and a paid version. For basic tasks, the free version will do.
First you will need to register for a serial number on the site, and download the installer. The installer can either save an ISO file or burn a boot CD directly.
After you boot your system into the Rescue Kit, it will ask you which function you wish to perform.
paragon1.jpg

Select File Transfer Wizard if you want to transfer deleted files off of the drive. This will then open a menu that lets you browse the disk for deleted and non-deleted files and add them to a clipboard. Click Next and then specify where you would like to save them to.
Select Boot Corrector if you are just having problems booting from your hard drive. It will then try a few things to correct the Master Boot Record and booting process on the drive.
Finally select Undelete Partition if you accidentally deleted a whole partition, but haven’t overwritten it yet with a new one.
paragon.jpg

You can search any partition-free space on your hard drive for deleted partitions.
Paragon Rescue Kit is a must-have tool for anyone dealing with PC tech support and can be a real life (and data) saver.
Recuva

recuva.jpg

If you are already booted in Windows, or if you have a flash drive that needs to have some files restored from it, check out Recuva. It has been reviewed on MakeUseOf before, and is still in active development and a great choice if you are wanting to restore specific files that have been deleted.
For Linux: Parted Magic

extundelete.jpg

Parted Magic is a great tool in general, and it does include a few tools for helping to restore a deleted partition. First, if you want to make a mirror of the drive for data recovery purposes, you can certainly do that as it is a part of Parted Magic’s bread and butter functions.
If your computer was running Ubuntu before formatting, it also includes a program calledExtundelete. This works to restore deleted ext3 and ext4 files ystems, which Ubuntu uses by default.
Paid Tools

Finally there are a lot of tools that are paid or “Shareware”. DiskInternals is one of the best, but the free version will basically show you what it could restore, if you buy the rest of the software. If the options above fail, then it might be a good idea to check it out.
Last Resort?

As a last resort, you can send your hard drive to a recovery specialist. Ontrack is one of the best known and most reliable of these service companies, but they are also very expensive. If you really need your data back, this is probably your last resort. If it is possible to restore the data from your formatted hard drive, these guys will be able to do it.
For Further Help

If you have already formatted your hard drive and are not able to get the above tools to restore your data, head over to MakeUseOf Answers to get some help. If you have any tips or tricks for restoring files off of a formatted hard drive, or any other programs you would recommend, make sure to let us know below!
 
How to Install Windows 7 From a USB Drive

Windows-7-USB.jpg
Installing Windows from a USB flash drive has several advantages – First of all, the overall speed of the installation process will increase significantly, carrying a USB stick is much more convenient than a DVD, and finally it becomes possible to install the OS even on those systems that do not have a DVD drive, such as a netbook.In this post, I will show you how to load the Windows installation on to your USB flash drive and make it bootable just like the DVD.Tools Required:1. USB flash drive with a minimum capacity of 4 GB.2. Windows 7 set-up DVD.
Step-1: Plug-in your USB flash drive and backup all the existing data in it.
Step-2: Open the command prompt. If you are using Windows 7/Vista then open it with administrator rights*.* Goto Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as Administrator”.
Step 3: In the command prompt, type in the following command:

DISKPART


This will start the Microsoft DiskPart utility as shown below:
DiskPart.jpg
Now issue the following command:

LIST DISK


This will show you a list of available disks on your system. Disk 0 is usually the hard disk. In my case, Disk 5 is the USB drive (this can be a different one in your case). Now issue the command as shown below:

SELECT DISK 5


Capture1.jpg











NOTE: In the above command, 5 is the USB drive number on my system. If you have a different number on your system, then you need to replace 5 with that number.
Step-4: Now issue the following list of commands one by one as shown below:

CLEANCREATE PARTITION PRIMARYSELECT PARTITION 1ACTIVEFORMAT FS=NTFS QUICKASSIGNEXIT


Capture2.jpg
Minimize the command prompt and proceed to the next step.
Step 5: Insert the Windows 7/Vista installation disc and note down the “drive letter” of your DVD drive. In my case, it is “H:”. Now type the following list of commands as shown below:

H: CD BOOTCD BOOTBOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 M:(NOTE: M: is your USB drive letter)EXIT


Capture3.jpg





Step-6: Copy the contents of your Windows 7/Vista installation disk into the USB flash drive.That’s it! Your USB stick is now ready to boot and install the OS for you. Don’t forget to enable the “USB Boot” option and change the “boot priority to USB device from hard disk” in your BIOS settings.I hope you like this post. Pass your comments to express your opinion
 
[h=1]Mkuu naomba msaada hapo,nidowload file lipi kati ya haya
Your support[/h]WinToFlash is free of course but if it was useful for you - give us five bucks and get a bonus!
If you are IT professional and you need additional features buy the Professional License.
If you run a business you need to buy the Business License.


[h=1]Last version[/h]Last version via FTP: 0.7.0020 beta
Click to download via FTP protocol from download server #1

Extra link via FTP: 0.7.0020 beta
Click to download via FTP protocol from download server #2

Last version via Torrent: 0.7.0020 beta ( magnet)
Click to download via Torrent protocol. If you have problems use one of links below

Fiber download: Download WinToFlash from FiberDownload (En)
Click to visit Fiber download page
Free Download Splace download: Download WinToFlash from FDP (En)
Click to visit FDP download page
Brothersoft download: Download WinToFlash from brothersoft (En)
Click to visit brothersoft download page
DownloadRoute download: WinToFlash download from DownloadRoute (En)
Click to visit DownloadRoute download page
Place77 download: Download WinToFlash from Place77 (En)
Click to visit Place77 download page
SoftSea: Download WinToFlash from SoftSea (En)
Click to visit SoftSea download page
Computerbild: Download WinToFlash bei computerbild.de (De)
Click to visit Computer bild magazine download page
 
Aisee mkuu nimekwama kwenye stage #6 &7 nimeselect windowz lakini imezingua natumia netbook window 7. thanx in advance
 
Mkuu naomba msaada hapo,nidowload file lipi kati ya haya
Your support


WinToFlash is free of course but if it was useful for you - give us five bucks and get a bonus!
If you are IT professional and you need additional features buy the Professional License.
If you run a business you need to buy the Business License.


Last version

Last version via FTP: 0.7.0020 beta
Click to download via FTP protocol from download server #1

Extra link via FTP: 0.7.0020 beta
Click to download via FTP protocol from download server #2

Last version via Torrent: 0.7.0020 beta ( magnet)
Click to download via Torrent protocol. If you have problems use one of links below

Fiber download: Download WinToFlash from FiberDownload (En)
Click to visit Fiber download page
Free Download Splace download: Download WinToFlash from FDP (En)
Click to visit FDP download page
Brothersoft download: Download WinToFlash from brothersoft (En)
Click to visit brothersoft download page
DownloadRoute download: WinToFlash download from DownloadRoute (En)
Click to visit DownloadRoute download page
Place77 download: Download WinToFlash from Place77 (En)
Click to visit Place77 download page
SoftSea: Download WinToFlash from SoftSea (En)
Click to visit SoftSea download page
Computerbild: Download WinToFlash bei computerbild.de (De)
Click to visit Computer bild magazine download page
Tumia hii mkuu bonyeza hapa » Download free trial WinToFlash
 

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