Windows vista bootable flash drive. Installing Windows Vista from a USB flash drive

Surely you have some kind of gift flash drives, if not purchased at the Gorbushkin Dvor shopping complex (the largest store in Russia selling home electronics, household appliances and media media). Okay, enough of the demagoguery, let's get down to business.

It happens that you need to load Windows, Ubuntu, and other systems from a flash drive. This is especially true for those who have a netbook and other equipment without a disk drive.

1. Installing the WinSetupFromUSB program on your computer, brief instructions and procedure.

First, let's download the program itself to install the OS for the flash drive. Free program for is possible . After downloading, unzip this program. You can put up to 10 Windows distributions on a flash drive. A flash drive can be 2 GB or more. My flash drive turned out to be 8 GB and it included XP\2000 and the Vista installer. Ability to add to a flash drive , Vista installer, as well as Gparted and SisLinux, already installed QEMU virtual machine and more.

Download, install, run the program. A working window appears:

Into the empty window where Windows 2000/XP/2003 Source indicate the path to the distribution to be prepared. After this we select USB Disk Selection- type of USB storage device. Removable– for flash drives, Fixed- For USB-HDD

Below we see the section BOOT.INI adjustments there we indicate in which folder we install the OS (by default - \ WINDOWS), the name of the disk and partition in which the installation will be performed (by default - the first partition of the first disk)

A little higher in the section we see Format target using which allows you to format a flash drive using utilities HP format tool or PEtoUSB(both programs are included in WinSetupFromUSB)

Here I will tell you in more detail, if in paragraph Test in QEMU check the box, you can check the behavior of the bootloader in virtual machineQEMU(also included in the program). This option is very useful, it helps to launch GRUB4DOS from a flash drive and look at the functionality of the menu.

And at the end of this section - You may also add– allows you to add to a flash drive BartPE/WinBulder/UBCD4Win/WinFLPC, installation Vista setip, Gparted And SisLinux. Using the WinSetupFromUSB program it is possible to install only one version BartPE/WinBulder/UBCD4Win/WinFLPC (does not support RAM version).

2. Formatting the flash drive preferably in the NTFS system

If your flash drive is new and not “kissed”, then first you need to format it, only after that the flash drive can be selected in the window USB Disk Selection. I recommend using HP format tool, because PEtoUSB does not format flash drives NTFS. Remember! When formatting a flash drive, all data is destroyed (if there was information on it), do not forget to make a backup from the flash drive, if necessary. We launch the program and see:

In the window Device select your flash drive, select the file system in NTFS, in the check box we put a tick opposite Quick Format and press the button Start. To format, the program needs only access to the media, so you need to close all programs that block access, in otherwise an error will occur:

If there are no errors, then after a certain time the formatting process will end with the message:

Click OK and return to the program window.

3 . After selecting the distribution and flash drive, click the button GO:

4 . If there are no distribution kits on the flash drive yet, then this stage will be skipped.

The program scans the flash drive for folders ~BT and ~LS. When they are found, a window appears:

Here you need to answer NO, the program will rename the folders $WIN_NT$.~LS, $WIN_NT$.~BT and file TXTSETUP.SIF, and will also patch the files SETUPLDR.BIN And SETUPDD.SYS according to the new names.

(If you answer YES, the distribution kit and the $WIN_NT$.~LS folder will be synchronized; if you answer CANCEL, the $WIN_NT$.~LS, $WIN_NT$.~BT folders existing on the flash drive will be deleted and new ones will be created from the distribution kit - it is useful if this was previously in the process there was an error while working)

5 . In the next window click YES, so that during the installation process the flash drive is assigned the letter U: to avoid problems when installing the OS on hard drive.

6 . The process of copying files to the flash drive will begin.

The status line shows from left to right: the size of the copied files (562Mb), free space on the flash drive BEFORE copying (2808Mb), current action, number of copied files (153), total number of files to copy.

7 . At the end of the procedure, a warning window will appear, click OK

This completes the creation of the distribution kit on the flash drive.

8 . After preparing three distributions, the flash drive had the following contents:

As you can see from the picture, each distribution has its own pair of folders and a file TXTSETxx.SIF, winsetup.lst– installation submenu OS V GRUB4DOS, default And windefault serve to remember the parameter default V menu.lst And winsetup.lst respectively, winsetup.lst.bak– file backup winsetup.lst.

You can try the bootloader by checking the box Test in QEMU and pressing the button GO:

Main menu (menu.lst):

I won’t give the full text of menu.lst - there are a lot of commented download options, maybe some will be useful to you, if they are not needed, you can delete them, all that remains is:

color black/cyan yellow/cyan
timeout 30
default/default

title Windows XP/2000/2003 Setup
configfile/winsetup.lst
savedefault

Windows installation menu (winsetup.lst):

color black/cyan yellow/cyan
timeout 30
default/windefault

title First part of Windows XP Home Edition setup from partition 0
root(hd0,0)

savedefault 1

title Second part of XP Home Edition setup+Start it first time from part 0
root(hd0,0)
chainloader(hd0,0)/ntldr
savedefault

root(hd0,0)

savedefault 1

root(hd0,0)
chainloader(hd0,0)/ntldr
savedefault

title First part of Windows XP Professional setup from partition 0
root(hd0,0)

savedefault 1

title Second part of XP Professional setup+Start it first time from part 0
root(hd0,0)
chainloader(hd0,0)/ntldr
savedefault

Already at this stage it is not entirely clear what OS will be installed, so for convenience you can edit the file for yourself winsetup.lst. At the same time, you can remove duplicate lines responsible for the second stage (loading ntldr) and add a return to. This is what the file looks like for me (though after adding another distribution):

color black/cyan yellow/cyan
timeout 30
default/windefault

title Install Windows XP Home Edition SP3 OEM
root(hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,0)/$WIN_00$.~BT/SETUPLDR.BIN
savedefault 4

title Install Windows XP Professional SP3 OEM
root(hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,0)/$WIN_01$.~BT/SETUPLDR.BIN
savedefault 4

title Install Windows XP Pro SP3 Zver edition
root(hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,0)/$WIN_02$.~BT/SETUPLDR.BIN
savedefault 4

title Install Windows XP Pro SP3 xTreme edition
root(hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,0)/$WIN_NT$.~BT/SETUPLDR.BIN
savedefault 4

title Continue setup + Start it first time from USB (STAGE 2)
root(hd0,0)
chainloader(hd0,0)/ntldr
savedefault

title Return to Main menu
configfile (hd0,0)/menu.lst

The number after savedefault means that the item with this number is installed by default (numbering starts from 0). It is necessary so that after the first stage of installation and reboot, the second stage will automatically start.

If you are confused large number files in the root, then the files winsetup.lst, default And windefault you can move them inside the folder by correcting the links to them.

The default and windefault files have their own format and their contents are not intended for manual modification.

This installation method is suitable if you own a netbook or your CD/DVD drive has failed and you need to install Windows 7. This method is also good because the process of installing Windows 7 from a flash card is several times faster than from a CD or DVD disk.

Before you start Windows entries 7 to a flash drive, copy all important data from the flash drive to other storage media (hard drive where Windows will not be installed, another flash card, disk, etc.), since during the process of formatting and writing the Windows 7 image to the flash drive, all data on she will be destroyed.
First way
If you create a bootable USB flash drive while in operating system Windows 7, then you will need the program Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, which can be downloaded from Of. Microsoft website following the link.
If you are creating a bootable USB flash drive under the Windows XP operating system, you will need to install Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 And Microsoft Image Mastering API 2.0. Of course, if you already have them installed (usually the first program), then you do not need to install them again.

1) Insert the USB flash drive into the laptop.
2) Launch the program. Click the button Browse.

3) Select ISO image Windows 7 and click Open.

Well, that’s all, which of the four methods of creating a bootable flash drive to use is up to you.

Inclusion in BIOS boot from a flash drive
Before you start installing Windows 7 from a flash drive, you need to go into the BIOS and enable booting from the flash drive.
To enter the BIOS you need to press a certain key when the computer boots. On desktop computers This is the Del key. On laptops, the F2 key is most often used.
Usually, when you turn on the laptop, a screen appears on which at the very bottom there is a line that says which key you need to press in order to enter the BIOS.
If you do not have such a line, then you need to look at the information on how to enter the BIOS User Manual walking with a laptop.

1) Insert the flash drive into the laptop if it is not inserted.
2) Turn on the laptop, if it is on, then reboot.
3) Go to BIOS.

Using an example, the whole process will look as shown below; if your BIOS is different, then the principle will remain the same. If you have questions, write in the comments.

Installing Windows 7 from a USB flash drive

If bootable flash drive with Windows 7 was created using the WinSetupFromUSB 1.0 Beta 7 program, a green screen will appear first. Select Start Vista/Win7/Server 2008 Setup or PE/Recovery ISO from partition 0.

Write in the comments what is not clear and what questions you have.

Installing the OS if you have a disk drive is quite simple. However, when you need to do this USB help– drive, many users have problems. In fact, this procedure is very simple, and anyone can handle it.

What do we need

In order to install Windows Vista you will need a distribution kit. It can be downloaded from the official website or from third-party resources. Commercial sales have been discontinued.

Although Vista is a relatively outdated OS, some users are interested in its minimum requirements.

They are:

1. processor with a clock frequency of at least 900 MHz;
2. RAM - at least 1 GB;
3. free disk space- 15 GB;
4. Availability of Internet access (for further registration).

Preparing a bootable flash drive

Surely, inexperienced users may think that it will be enough to just throw the distribution onto disk and that’s it. In fact, in order for the OS installation to start, you will need to perform some manipulations.

UltraISO utility

After downloading the distribution, you need to write it to a flash drive in a certain way. The lightweight and easy-to-use UltraISO utility will help us with this.

Important! Previous versions OS, for example, XP, this program will not be able to write correctly.

To make a simple USB flash drive bootable, do the following:

• download the UltraISO application. This can be done on the official website. It is distributed completely free of charge;
• open the program, and be sure to have administrator rights;
• Click on the “file” tab;
• then in the list that appears, select “open”;
• open the image we need on the hard drive;
• click “open”;
• as a result, the image will open, that is, all the files contained in it;
• After opening, you need to write to a flash drive. To do this, select the “Boot” item in the main menu;
• in it we select recording an image from the hard drive;
• A panel will open in which we select the “USB-HDD” recording method. This measure is necessary for the system to correctly identify the device to launch. Only in this case will she be able to correctly interpret the data;
• the line Disk Drive indicates the name of the future flash drive;

• Important! If you have several USB devices inserted, check this item.

• Then press the “record” button. An informational message will appear stating that this operation will delete all files from the drive. We confirm;
• We are waiting for the recording to complete.

Video: Installing Windows Vista

Command line

If you don't want to clutter up your computer with unnecessary software, you can create boot drive via the command line. Press “Win+R”. The Run application will open.

• DISKPART- denotes the launch of the command interpreter;
• list disk- display of active drives;
• select disk x (x - disk number)- selecting a specific drive;
• clean- disk formatting;
• create partition primary- creating a section;
• select partition X (x - number)- choice;
• active- section activation;
• format fs=NTFS- erasing all files from the drive
• Exit- completion of the process.

They must be entered in the same order.

Installing Windows Vista from a USB flash drive via BIOS

Having prepared everything you need, you can proceed to the main work front.

Boot priority in BIOS

To start installing Windows Vista from a flash drive to a laptop, you need to set a certain boot order.

To enter this menu, you need to press a system button immediately after starting the computer. Most likely, the name of the key will appear in a message on the screen.

If it does not appear, you can try the following options:

• Enter;
• Backspace.

Once you enter this menu, you need to find the Boot section. You will see a list there various devices, with digital designation. They indicate the loading order.

You need to make sure that USB-HDD is in first place (the name may differ depending on the version of the motherboard). To change the order, use the F5 and F6 keys (or “-” and “+”). At the end, be sure to select the “save and exit” option.

Installation process

Reboot the laptop. If everything is done correctly in the previous steps, a system message will appear asking you to press any key.

So, we do the following:

Now all you have to do is wait a while (about half an hour). The system will do everything automatically.

Pre-setting

After unpacking and copying the files, you will need to do some minor system setup.

Drivers for OS

The main work has been completed, but an equally time-consuming task remains - finding drivers. Where can I get them? The ideal option would be to have a special factory disk (this is usually given when purchasing a laptop). But what to do if it is not there? There may be several options:

We use the official website:

• go to the official Internet resource of the manufacturer.
• Then in the search window we enter the laptop identification code. It is written on its bottom and consists of 12-16 digits.

Advice: if you just enter the laptop model, there is a chance that the new software will not work. The fact is that many stores like to modify the “insides” of PCs and laptops.

• click search;
• as a result, a set of necessary drivers should appear;
• download it and install it.

However, this method is not always possible to use. The identification code may be erased, or the manufacturer may be too unknown. In this case, you will have to search for drivers manually.

We do it like this:

• click “my computer” and call up the context menu;
• in the window that appears, click on “device manager”;
• A list of all equipment will open. Here you need to select each device one by one and write down its identification code;
• To do this, call the context menu on the desired device and select the “properties” item. Next, go to the “details” tab. It will contain the ID;
• copy this set of letters and numbers into a search engine. As a result, it will provide the necessary information.

If you don't want to use this method, you can make things a little simpler. In particular, you will need to download some kind of bootloader (for example, X-Driver). This is a utility that diagnoses your computer and downloads and installs it itself. necessary drivers latest version. The only problem may be finding a working version.

Important! Such software actively cooperates with virus toolbar developers. Therefore, during installation, do not forget to uncheck unnecessary boxes.

To use the software described above, you need a fast and stable Internet connection. If it is missing, you can download the driver package. They will be packaged in a single archive. You will need to run autorun and then follow the instructions. Remember that such a package weighs quite a lot (on average from 1 to 10 GB or more).

As you can see, there is nothing complicated about this. If you strictly follow all the instructions, you can easily achieve the desired result. Don't forget to get it right away good antivirus(NOD or AVAST). The fact is that Vista is considered the most vulnerable to malicious files.

Since almost no one uses CDs and DVDs these days, it is logical that it is best to burn the Windows image for further installation onto a USB drive. This approach is indeed much more convenient, because the flash drive itself is much smaller and is very convenient to store in your pocket. Therefore, we will analyze all the most efficient methods for creating bootable media for further installation of Windows.

For reference: creating bootable media means that an operating system image is written to it. From this very drive, the OS is subsequently installed on the computer. Previously, when reinstalling the system, we inserted a disk into the computer and installed it from it. Now you can use a regular USB drive for this.

To do this, you can use proprietary Microsoft software, the already installed operating system itself, or other programs. In any case, the creation process is not difficult at all. Even a novice user can cope with it.

All the methods described below assume that you already have a downloaded ISO image of the operating system on your computer, which you will write to a flash drive. So, if you haven't downloaded the OS yet, do so. You must also have suitable removable media. Its volume should be sufficient to accommodate the image you downloaded. At the same time, some files may still be stored on the drive; it is not necessary to delete them. All the same, during the recording process, all information will be irretrievably erased.

Method 1: Use UltraISO

There is a detailed description of this program on our website, so we will not describe how to use it. There is also a link where you can download it. To create a bootable USB flash drive using Ultra ISO, do the following:

If any problems or errors appear during recording, most likely the problem is in a damaged image. But if you downloaded the program from the official website, no difficulties should arise.

Method 2: Rufus

Another very convenient program that allows you to very quickly create bootable media. To use it, follow these steps:

It is worth saying that Rufus has other settings and recording options, but they can be left as they are originally. If you wish, you can check the box "Check for bad blocks" and indicate the number of passes. Thanks to this, after recording, the installation flash drive will be checked for damaged parts. If any are detected, the system will automatically correct them.

If you understand what MBR and GPT are, you can also indicate this feature of the future image under the inscription “Partition scheme and system interface type”. But doing all this is completely optional.

Method 3: Windows USB/DVD Download Tool

After the release of Windows 7, Microsoft developers decided to create a special tool that allows you to make a bootable USB flash drive with an image of this operating system. This is how a program called . Over time, management decided that this utility could well provide recording for other operating systems. Today, this utility allows you to record Windows 7, Vista and XP. Therefore, for those who want to make media with Linux or another system other than Windows, this tool is not suitable.

To use it, follow these steps:

Method 4: Windows Installation Media Creation Tool

Microsoft specialists have also created a special tool that allows you to install on a computer or create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 7, 8 and 10. The Windows Installation Media Creation Tool is most convenient for those who decide to record an image of one of these systems. To use the program, do the following:

In the same tool, but for Windows 10, this process will look slightly different. First, check the box next to the inscription "Create installation media for another computer". Click "Next".


But then everything is exactly the same as in the Windows Installation Media Creation Tool for version 8.1. As for the seventh version, the process there is no different from that shown above for 8.1.

Method 5: UNetbootin

This tool is intended for those who need to create a bootable Linux flash drive from under Windows. To use it, do this:

Method 6: Universal USB Installer

Universal USB Installer allows you to write to drives Windows images, Linux and other OS. But it is best to use this tool for Ubuntu and other similar operating systems. To use this program, do the following:

Until recently, one of the problems associated with the Windows XP operating system was that there was no way to install it from a USB flash drive (for example, from a USB flash drive). The only thing that could be done was to download (but not install) the stripped-down version onto the computer from a USB flash drive. Windows version XP type Windows PE. And in order to make such a bootable flash drive, special software was required.
However, with the release of Windows Vista, the problem ceased to exist. To install Windows Vista on your computer, it is not necessary to use bootable dvd(the size of the distribution takes up more than 2 GB, so you can forget about CDs). You can install Windows Vista from a regular USB flash drive, and this does not require any specialized programs. In this article we will talk about how to make a bootable USB flash drive with the Windows Vista distribution, which can be used to install the operating system on a computer.

Creating a Windows Vista distribution on a flash drive

So, to make a USB flash drive with a bootable Windows Vista distribution, we will need a USB flash drive of 4 GB or more in size, as well as an operating distribution Windows systems Vista on DVD. Why do you need a flash drive of at least 4 GB in size? The fact is that the Windows Vista distribution takes up a little more than 2 GB and simply will not fit on a 2 GB flash drive. The next possible size of a flash drive is 4 GB (there are no intermediate sizes). In this case, it does not matter at all what is used as a flash drive - a USB keychain or a CompactFlash flash memory card with a corresponding card reader. Of course, to create a flash distribution of Windows Vista, it is advisable to use high-speed flash media.

In addition, it is necessary that the computer on which you plan to install the Windows Vista operating system using a USB flash drive supports booting from a USB drive (the BIOS of all modern motherboards allows you to boot from a USB drive).

To make a bootable flash disk with the Windows Vista distribution, you can use standard using Windows Vista for working with disks.

So, connect the flash drive to the computer and load the console for working with disks: Control Panel -> Administration -> Computer Management -> Disk Management(Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Disk Management Console

Next, select the disk corresponding to the flash drive (in our case it is Disk 1), click on it right click mouse and context menu select an item Delete volume(Fig. 2). Executing this command will delete the logical partition (partition) from our disk.

Rice. 2. Context menu in the Disk Management console

Then, by right-clicking on the same disk again, select the item in the context menu Create a simple volume... As a result, the Simple Volume Creation Wizard will launch, which will sequentially open dialog boxes corresponding to the different stages of creating a simple volume.

At the first stage, you will be asked to specify the size of the volume to be created. By default, the partition of the created simple volume on the disk corresponds to the maximum available disk space, and in this case nothing needs to be changed (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Setting the size of the created logical disk
(simple volume)

At the next stage of the Create Simple Volume Wizard, you will be asked to assign a letter to the newly created volume. By default, the Create Simple Volume Wizard will assign the first unallocated letter to the new volume (Figure 4). In this case, nothing needs to be changed either.

Rice. 4. Assigning a letter for the created logical drive

Next, the Simple Volume Creation Wizard will prompt you to format the created partition and select a file system. The file system must be FAT32 with the default cluster size (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. Formatting the resulting partition
with the creation of the FAT32 file system

After completing the Create Simple Volume Wizard, you must reselect the flash drive in the Disk Management console and right-click on it and select the item in the context menu Make the section active. After performing this operation, the flash drive will be fully prepared for copying the Windows Vista distribution kit from the DVD onto it. However, before you begin copying the contents of the DVD, you must use the dialog box Folder properties on the bookmark View check the box Show hidden folders and files. To access this dialog box open any drive or folder in Explorer and click on the button in the task menu Arrange. In the context menu that opens, go to the item Folder and search properties. Selecting this item opens a dialog box Folder properties. After this, all that remains is to copy the contents of the DVD with the Windows Vista distribution to a flash drive.

The described procedure for creating a Windows Vista distribution kit on flash media can also be implemented from command line by using diskpart programs included with Windows Vista. Moreover, if a CompactFlash memory card is used as a flash drive, then this method is the only possible one. The fact is that when working with CompactFlash cards standard means(Disk Management Console) may not allow you to delete a volume (logical drive) on the card. But the diskpart utility copes with this obstacle perfectly. In addition, the method described above for creating a distribution kit is not suitable for some flash media, but no problems arise when using the diskpart utility.

So, to work with the diskpart utility, launch the command line console (to do this, in the dialog box Execute recruiting a team cmd). Next, run the diskpart program. After this, in order not to make a mistake with the choice of disk, enter the command list disk. As a result, all disks connected to the system will be displayed. In this list you need to find the drive that matches the connected flash drive. In our case, this is Disk 1. Select it (command Select disk 1) and delete the logical partition on this disk (command clean). After this, we again create the main logical partition (command Create partition primary) and select it (command Select partition 1). We assign the status to the created logical partition Active(team Active) and format it with file system FAT32 (command Format fs=fat32). After that we assign it to the formatted logical drive letter (command Assign) and exit the diskpart program (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Preparing a flash drive
using diskpart program

All that remains is to find out the letter assigned to the logical partition on the flash drive and copy the distribution package of the Windows Vista operating system from the DVD into this partition. If you want to perform this procedure from the command line, you can use the command xcopy d:\*.* /s/e/f e:\, Where d:\ corresponds to a DVD drive, and e:\- a logical partition on a flash drive (the letters corresponding to the drives may be different).

• diskpart (launch a utility for working with disks from the command line)
• list disk (view available disks)
• select disk 1 (select the disk corresponding to the flash drive (in our case Disk 1)
• clean (removes a logical partition on the selected disk)
• create partition primary (creates a primary logical partition on the selected disk)
• select partition 1 (select the main logical drive)
• active (assigning the “active” status to the created logical partition)
• format fs=fat32 (formatting a disk with the FAT32 file system)
• assign (assigning a letter to the newly created logical drive)
• exit (exit diskpart program)
• xcopy d:\*.* /s/e/f e:\ (copies Windows Vista distribution from DVD d:\ to flash drive e:\)

Installing the Windows Vista operating system from a flash drive

The process of installing the Windows Vista operating system on a computer using a distribution kit on a flash drive is almost no different from the similar process using a DVD. However, it does have one feature. Before starting the installation, you need to connect the flash drive to the computer, then turn on the computer and enter the BIOS. IN BIOS settings you need to change the boot order by selecting a flash drive as the first device (if it is connected to the computer, its name will be present in the list available devices). After this, you can install the operating system in the usual way.

Benefits of Installing Windows Vista from a Flash Drive

Compared to the traditional method of installing Windows Vista from a DVD, installing using a flash drive has two obvious advantages. Firstly, its speed is much higher (assuming that high-speed flash drives with a USB 2.0 interface are used), and secondly, since the Windows Vista distribution takes up just over 2 GB, the free space on the flash drive can be used for recording necessary programs. For example, you can create a flash drive on which the Windows Vista distribution kit, updates to the operating system, Microsoft package Office 2007, antivirus program, etc. But the most important thing is that at any time you can easily change the composition of these programs and use one flash drive to deploy the entire system.