This is a discussion of making a bootable Windows 7 Installation USB-stick Media. It might apply to making other USB connected 'Disks' like Smartcards bootable too. I recently had to do this (a Laptop with no build-in DVD drive and no USB DVD drive around). And it turned out to be surprisingly simple, using nothing but build in Windows tools from the Disk. I only found and nothing in english (but I might just have searched after the wrong terms, google has been wierd regarding langauge lately), so I thought I write it up (along with some problems I ran into).

How to Install Windows 7 From USB Drive without Windows 7 ISO DVD. Small guide to install windows 7 from usb pen drive, flash drive.

Making a USB-Stick into a bootable Windows 7 (and propably Vista) Media is a 3 step process: 1. Create a Active, Primary, FAT32 Partition of 4+ GB on the stick 2.

Use bootsect.exe from Windows Disk to create the MBR and Partition Boot Record for that Partition 3. Copy all files from the Disk to said Partition 4. Test if it boots Detail analysis: Step 1 is so simple I doubt it needs explanations. Rpg Maker Xp Mode 7 Script Download Site. Create enough free space on the USB disk (at worst delete all previous Partitions). Make a Priamry Partition of 4+ GiB.

Mark it as Active. Format it in FAT32. The Guide used Diskpart, but this step can be done with any Partition Tool under any Windows, Linux, UNIX or DOS. While the choice of FAT32 seems a bit outdated, theye propably did not gave the relevant bootlaoder the ability to read NTFS. Or maybe they just though FAT32 is enough for a media that is mostly read. I have not tried what happens if I format it in NTFS, but it might be possible. Step 2 was the only tricky part.

You need the programm 'boot bootsect.exe' from the Installation Media. It also must be run on a non-UEFI booted OS (otherwise it cancels out). I had a Windows 8 on a new Laptop so I had a UEFI booted system. Luckily I also had a VMWare Windows 7 lying around. I just assigned the Windows 7 ISO image to the Windows 7 VM, then connected the USB drive to the host.

Advanced things: Need to check if the partition could be formated as NTFS. I prefer a Journalling Filesystem for my USB-sticks. [.] Windows 7 can be installed on a (U)EFI system, but I have not checked if I can use the boot from teh stick on such a Computer.

Latest for Windows 8 Media UEFI compatibilty is nessesary. I converted the stick to NTFS using the convert.exe and it continued booting. So chances are high they only choose FAT32 in the example because no feature of NTFS was per nessesary in a 'almost only reading' scenario like installation media. The second part depends on the BIOS.

I have a more advanced one where I can choose legacy boot options (like USB stick) in the boot option menu even when the default setting is UEFI, as long as I don't need Secure boot (wich I do not). Another question arose: Windows 7 has the Kernel/BCD level ability to boot from.VHD Files. The only thing preventing version below corporate from using this feature is a license check that is run just before the login (so way after the booting has been completed). Starting with 3.0 Windows PE is based on the kernel of Windows 7. So the instlaltion system might have the ability to boot from.VHD too and might have no such check in place. If so, I could put both versions of the Windows 7 installer into.VHD, reducing the need to have physical primary partitions for those.

Windows bootprocess vs. Linux boot process under BIOS: The BIOS goes over all the boot media.

If it finds one with a MBR, that one is executed and the BIOS part of the boot process is officially over. ->Under Windows the MBR contains the 'generic boot loader'. A simple piece of code as old as BIOS (25 Years) that looks for the primary partition with 'Active' Flag on 'it's' disk. If it finds one, the Partition Boot Record of that parition is executed. The MBR has done it's part ->NTLDR (NT too 2000), this one reads the boot.ini file and gives/executeds apropirate options ->BOOTMGR (Vista, 7), this one reads the BCD files ->Since Windows 7 BOOTMGR can also chainload the Partition Boot Record that is inside a.VHD File ->Wicher was used in Windows 3.X/95/98/ME Higher versions can chainload lower versions, but must be designed for this and (re)installed in the proper 'order'. The sometimes odd behavior that Windows 7 tries to keep 100 MiB in a seperate primary partition is there to have proper places for later additions to the BOOTMGR settings. Specifically it allows multiple BOOTMGR OS to use/edit the same BOOTMGR instace without running into problems with 'whose partition is active?'

(since it is always the System Reserved one). It's not disimilar to having an extra /boot partition in Linux or how a GRUB's stage 2 works. ->Under a typical Grub Legacy the MBR contains the Stage 1. It directly reads the Stage 2 from the proper partition/file system with a hardcoded path, but due to size limit of the MBR cannot do more. In some cases it starts a stage 1.5 wich has more space to do work (63 sectors between MBR and first partition), but I never used this Setup ->Stage 2 loads the Grub Configuration from the disk.

From here it depends on what OS you want to boot. ->For Linux or Unix the kernel is started directly. ->Any Windows OS up to 7 can be booted using the chainloader command. For the OS this is identical to having the partition choosen by the Generic Bootloader. While it can be chainloaded by the Generic Bootloader from the active primary partition, GRUB and thus Linux has no requirement for any Primary Partitions. Stage 1 is designed to directly access the specific File System containng the Stage 2.

In fact it does not even need to reside on the same disk (as the Generic Bootloader has to). If one does not need the Active Flag to control the Generic Bootloader (because a proper Stage 1 is installed in MBR) it is adviseable to mark wichever Windows Partition is chainloaded as active (up to Vista at least I had very odd behavior if the Windows boot partition was not marked active, down to randomly shredded Partition boot managers).

After running a Windows Setup usually the Stage 1 has to be restored, as Windwos Setup will always write it's Generic Bootloader in the MBR. In order to get 'rid' of a Grub all one has to do is overwrite the MBR with the Generic Bootloader and set the active flag properly.

Let's talk about MVVM: Please mark post as helpfull and answers respectively. This process has them galore: Apparently I do have to use FAT32.

While it does boot and run from NTFS on BIOS computers without hitch, Setup won't be able to find the disk if I boot from NTFS on a EFI computer. And I have no idea how this could even be possible. Second problem is that for some reason MS thought nobody ever would need more then 1, non-hidden primary partition per USB stick (it will simply not detect others as Volumes to mount). On top of that while the active flag seems nessesary, just switching it and the hidden flag around does not seem to work to boot from variable partitions. So much for using GRUB to just switch between the partitions. That leaves me two (maybe three) evenues to put multiple Windows onto one stick: Integrating the other Windows into the sticks instal.wim.

Wich is an issue as it is 1. Inima De Tigan Serial Episodul 125 more. 9 GiB large for Windwos 7 x32 without service pack and FAT32 has a file size limit of 4 GiB. Or try my luck with the 'boot from VHD approach' and hope Windows PE and it's bootmanager can deal with it. There might be a third way using sub-directories if BCD can chainload into the directory structure (one dir per DVD-content, properly setup BCD config). Let's talk about MVVM: Please mark post as helpfull and answers respectively. Anoter day, another insight. There are 3 parts of interest for making the stick/a custom DVD: 1. Bootability 2.

The version of the Setup/PE you use 3. The contents of the sources install.wim 1. The partition can be NTFS or FAT32. It must be marked active. You have to write a BCD bootsector using 'boot bootsect.exe' onto it. Once that is done you can simply copy the contents of any DVD (Vista, 7, 8, 8.1) into the root of the stick.

As long as it uses BCD at it's core the setup will start, without any extra work. If Win 9 uses BCD too, it will propably work too. So you can switch out wich version setup/file contents you are installing via Copy&Paste or Move. And with the ways to modify the install.wim you don't even need seperate media for x32 and x64 version. That one is tricky. You want to choose one from a x32 DVD.

You don't need the x64 Setup to install a x64 version and the x32 setup is downward compatible. The Windows 7 PE/Setup will on certain computers, under certain BIOS/EFI settings and with a NTFS formated USB-Stick Parition not be able to work. It will start but once you try to install setup.exe will claim it 'could not find a device' and won't let you proceed to the Version selection. It does have full access to the Disk, DVD and USB stick in my tests - it just won't continue and I have no idea how to fix that. The Windows 8.1 x64 Setup does not seem to have the issues with NTFS+certain BIOS/EFI settings. But with it's own pitfalls: First, I have to try to get a x32 version of the disk.

I am not sure they even exist. Second you need a specific ei.cfg* (instead of no one) to be able to select the version without having to enter the Key during install. Also the Enterprise version of 8.1 again seems to need a seperate medium so I could not test it as well. The setup can instal any version that has a image for in the instal.wim file. Bitnumber of setup and the image in the wim File does not need to match up. Propably the version of the Installed Windows and the Setup do not need to match up either (you might use the Vista PE/Setup to install a 8.1), but I would prefer the most current setup (it's job is to write/edit the boot manager).

The install.wim can be edited using the ImageX tool of the WAIK (Vista/7) and WADK for Win 8.1 The compression is outright impressive. I put every version (Starter too Ultimate) of Win7 SP1 (except for Entperprise, had none around) in both x32 and x64 into a single.WIM file and it is only 3,707,791,694 Bytes (3,28 GiB) small. Unfortuantely the Filesystem can dictate stuff about the.wim file. FAT32 has a 4 GiB File limit. There seems to be a way to split.wim files using the.swm format and ImageX, but not sure the setup would continue to work then.

*Version selection without nessesary key entering seems to work with a sources ei.cfg looking like this: [Channel] Retail Let's talk about MVVM: Please mark post as helpfull and answers respectively.

Technical Level: Intermediate Summary With one DVD or USB Flash Drive you can install or re-install any version of Windows that you have a valid product key for. This comes in handy if you have multiple computers and no longer have the recovery media or your recovery partition is damaged. Note: Windows 7 Starter edition is only available in 32Bit, so if you need a ‘Starter edition’ installation DVD or USB Flash drive, you need to download the Windows 7 Ultimate 32Bit.ISO file. Notice: As of February 6th, 2015 the links to the various versions of Windows 7 listed in step #1 below are no longer functioning, as an alternative (as long as you have your product key) you can use the link to Microsoft's Software Recovery web page: Please be aware that this link often fails to provide the correct language download for your product key. ( Only 2 of 3 keys I entered returned the proper 'English' language option). If you experience this issue then try the following alternative: As an alternative read this Wiki article on how to create your own ISO file After you create your own ISO file you can skip steps #1 and #2 and begin at step #3.

Details Step by Step guide: 1) Download the Windows 7 Ultimate 32 or 64Bit.ISO file. Note: The default download location to your computer is: C: Users User account name Downloads a) If you want to create a 32Bit universal installation DVD download this file: Windows 7 Ultimate 32Bit: SHA1 Hash value: 65fce0f445d9bf7e78e43f17e42657 b) If you want to create a 64Bit universal installation DVD download this file: Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit: SHA1 Hash value: 36ae90defbad9d9539e649b193ae573b77a71c83 2) Verify the.ISO file downloaded is not corrupt by validating the SHA1 hash value is correct. A utility named ‘HashCalc’ which checks the file and returns a SHA1 value that should match the value listed in step 1a or 1b if the download is not corrupt. A) Download and install HashCalc: b) Launch HashCalc and navigate to the location of the.iso file you downloaded. C) Remove all check marks from the list of HashCalc options except for SHA1.

D) Click the ‘Calculate’ button and wait for the SHA1 string of numbers and letters to be displayed. E) Compare the string of numbers and letters displayed in HashCalc with the SHA1 value listed in step #1 above. The entire string must match from beginning to end, if it does not match then the.ISO file you downloaded is corrupt and you must try the download link again. 3) Download, install and run the ‘ei.cfg’ utility.

I choose the default location for the download. A) Extract the contents of the eicfg_removal_utility.zip file to a destination of your choice. Start by double clicking on the.zip file and then double click on the eicfg_remover.exe file. Click the ‘Extract all’ button and browse to a location where you want the zip file extracted to. Then click on the ‘Extract’ button. A standard folder with the name: eicfg_removal_utility will be created.

B) Open the ‘eicfg_removal_utility’ folder and click on the ‘eicfg_remover.exe’ file and click the ‘Run’ button. C) Navigate to the folder where the Windows 7.ISO file is located and click on the.iso file to select it.

D) Click the ‘Open’ button to disable ei.cfg located inside the.iso file. Finally click the ‘OK’ button to exit the eicfg utility. What does eicfg do: From the eicfg ‘Readme.txt’ file: “This works by toggling the deletion bit in the UDF file table, which instructs the operating system to ignore the file and to treat it as if it does not exist.

By not physically removing the file, this eliminates the need to rebuild the ISO, and makes this sort of fast, un-intrusive patching possible. This also makes it possible to reverse the patch and to restore the image to its original state, if so desired.” In short you do not need to manually edit the contents of the Windows 7.ISO file you downloaded. Now that you have modified the.ISO file using the eicfg utility, the next step is to use the modified.ISO to create a universal Windows 7 installation DVD.

4) Create the universal Windows 7 installation DVD or USB Flash drive: To create a Windows 7 installation flash drive read the following: Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool How to create a bootable Windows 7 USB flash drive To create a Windows 7 installation DVD perform steps a through g: a) Download and install ImgBurn (current version 2.5.8.0) to create a bootable Windows 7 installation DVD. Notes: a) If you created your own.ISO file using the instructions in the Wiki article titled ' then ImgBurn is already installed and need not be re-installed. B) Windows 7 does have built in software that allows you to create an installation DVD but it does not offer any control over the burn speed: Choose the “Custom Installation (advanced)” option and remove the check mark to eliminate unwanted options. B) Next start ImgBurn, 2 windows will open.

The lower window (ImgBurn Log) displays the status of your DVD creation. The top window is where you select what action you want to perform. Choose the “Write Image file to disc” option. C) Next navigate to the ‘Source’ (.ISO file) location.

D) Set the ‘Write Speed’ to either 2 or 4X (or the lowest speed your DVD supports, which may be 8X) to insure a good burn and then insert high quality DVD+R media into your DVD drive. The ‘Verify’ box should be checked by default. Wait for the status located in the lower left corner to display ‘Ready’. E) Click on the Blue ImgBurn arrow to start the creation of your DVD. At a 4X write speed the creation of the DVD should take about 10 minutes. F) Check the ImgBurn log in the lower Window for the ‘Finalizing’ disk task to compete, the DVD tray will open and close quickly and the ‘Verification’ process begins.

Time to complete verification is about 5 minutes. G) Upon successfully completion remove the DVD and insert it into a labeled paper or plastic sleeve. Then close out / exit the ImgBurn utility. There is a guide published by NeoSmart which also shows the steps you need to perform and some trouble shooting tips: 5) Install Windows using your newly created installation DVD. A) Verify that the boot order in your BIOS is set to boot from the DVD first and then 2nd in the list should be your disk drive.

B) Power up your computer and quickly insert Windows 7 installation DVD you created into your DVD drive. Press any key when prompted to do so, and in a few seconds Windows 7 will start loading files. C) Now select the ‘Language to install’, ‘Time and currency format’ and the ‘Keyboard or input method’ options. Then click the ‘Next’ button to continue. D) Choose / click on the ‘Install Now’ option to install Windows 7. E) Select the operating system you want to install: You will see the list of versions you have to choose from.

Move the mouse cursor or use the Up /Down arrow key to select the Windows 7 version that you want to install then click next. ( Note: Windows 7 Starter is only available when installing a 32Bit edition of Windows) As a reminder, if your product key is for Windows 7 Home Premium then you cannot select a higher (Professional) or lesser (Home Basic) version of Windows as your product key will only activate Home Premium. The version you install must be for the product key you have! F) Click ‘Next’ to proceed with the installation. Read and accept the license terms.

G) Click ‘Next’ to continue with and complete the installation of Windows 7. There is a notice I included in the Wiki on Feb. 6th about this problem, It reads as follows: Notice: As of February 6th, 2015 the links to the various versions of Windows 7 listed in step #1 below are no longer functioning, this may or may not be a temporary condition, as an alternative (as long as you have your product key) you can use the link to Microsoft's Software Recovery web page: Note: You may receive a notice to contact the PC manufacture if you have an OEM key that came with your computer, but it can't hurt to try.

After you verify your product key below, you will download a disc image (ISO file) and use it to create a bootable USB or DVD. After the ISO file has been downloaded start at step #2 below. J W Stuart: Never be afraid to ask. This forum has some of the best people in the world available to help. One benefit of using a USB flash drive to install from, is that it is write-enabled at all times. So once you have written the ISO file to a USB flash drive, and you are at the initial setup screen, press Shift+F10 to drop to the command prompt.

Then, you can use diskpart and issue the list volume command to figure out what drive letter your USB flash drive has been assigned. Look for 'removable drive'.

Exit out of diskpart, and switch over to that drive letter. Then cd down to the sources folder and issue del ei.cfg to remove the file. Exit out of command prompt and click the big Install button to proceed with the installation as you normally would. You will be prompted now to select your Windows edition. Note: This will not work if you are using a DVD disc to install from. In that case you have to remove the file beforehand, using the 'deletion bit' trick as described in this article, or extract the ISO file and remove the file, then build a modified ISO file and write that to the DVD disc. You will need dedicated software for extracting and building ISO files.

You said you 'created bootable USB using Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool'. This is why it did not work for you.

If you read the readme.txt file for the utility, or if you just refer to it in the quote above, you can see that it says 'works by toggling the deletion bit in the UDF file table'. A bootable USB flash drive uses NTFS file system, not UDF. Universal Disk Format is commonly used for DVD discs. Bootable Windows USB flash drives commonly use NTFS, and bootable Linux drives commonly use FAT32. So go ahead and write that ISO file to a DVD-R or a DVD-RW and you will see that it works.

I just tested and verified this. The utility modified 4 bytes in my original ISO file (so it's really a 32 bit change, not 1 bit, or 4 bit at very least). The SHA-1 value of the original file should not match the SHA-1 value of the modified ISO file. If they match, then you're not doing it right. But the SHA-1 value of the modified file should match to that of a second copy, or third copy, or forth copy.

It doesn't matter how many times you do it, the result should be the same. But of course, only UDF and DVD discs count. Not USB flash drives and NTFS.

I just thought you should know why you had that odd result. For a USB flash drive, you can always remove that ei.cfg file whenever you enter command prompt during setup, as I said earlier.