Possible to install Windows PRO from USB drive?

Its all in my guides.

Digital River does indeed host retail versions of Windows 7. I don't have the links handy. But I was able google it a few months ago, when I needed an ISO image in the absence of a Dell restore disk.

I've installed all the different versions of Windows by USB. Using a DVD or ISO, I just follow the method detailed here: http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-in...working-guide/

All my windows installs have been USB only for about 4yrs or more now. Found it easier just to keep a small dedicated thumb drive around with windows + additional drivers for my machines + core software like office, photoshop, etc on it vs a DVD. Besides the couple machines with no optical drive, it would also come in handy if I ever had to do an emergency re-install on the laptop offline somewhere to at least have something going again vs a dead useless machine.

pretty easy to convert a win7 dvd to bootable flash drive.. I goggled it and had a working flash in about 10 minutes.. no iso needed..

You can download the iso or create your own iso from a Win7 installation DVD.

I've done 2 Windows Ultimate installations via the USB drive. The only issue I had was that I created the drive on 32-bit XP so it had the wrong bootsector dll. The fix was to copy the 64-bit version into the program folders and recreate it.

I created my own iso and just used Microsoft's USB download tool from here:

http://download.cnet.com/Windows-7-U...-10972600.html

I know how to make a bootable USB stick with Win7. How do you make a bootable USB stick with Win7 and all the other programs such as Office, Adobe, (and such)? It'd be great to have a stick with the MOBO drivers, OS, Win Defender, and a few other programs to make a fresh instal sweet and simple. I could easily dedicate an 8 GB drive.

After the initial making the windows usb drive, just add a directory to the drive to add the rest of the stuff into as normal. I keep a directory for drivers, and another for software which I typicly do in ripped ISO form (extract ISO with winrar or the like) as to not need anything to mount the images.

If you install Windows frequently you should look into getting a Zalman VE200 or VE300 (USB 3.0) hard drive enclosure. They act as a virtual CD drive, so you can load all your ISOs on them & boot straight from them. There's no need to create a bootable drive like you do with a USB flash drive, just create a _ISO folder in the root directory & copy all your ISOs there. Throw a 500gb hard drive in there & you won't run out of room for a while.

I've got every version of Windows from XP through 7, Service Packs, AV rescue CDs, etc. on mine.

http://systembash.com/content/zalman...ive-enclosure/

Granted those things are in no way gigantic or anything, but still not as small and convenient as a simple thumb drive. You dont need near that much space unless you are doing full system images complete with maybe a pile of music and pictures and such. As far as just having a convenient 'windows disk', drivers, and core handfull of frequently used software, a cheap 16gb thumb drive or less works out just fine, not to mention only costs $10-$20.

I recommended the Zalman VE200 in part because I remember Mfusick in another thread talking about how his 32 or 64 gb flash drive is always full of programs, drivers, etc. If you just want to install Win 7 then yes a 16gb usb flash drive is fine.

What happens when you want to install Win 8 or check your memory with Memtest86+ or a friend's pc is infected with malware & won't boot? With the VE200 you can do so much more than a flash drive & it's about the size of a deck of cards so it's plenty portable. I'd venture to say most people on avsforum are tech oriented & have many more ISOs than just Win 7. This is a great way to easily access them all on one device.

here is a link to how to do it.. basicly you copy the dvd to your flash drive and then open a command line window, enter a few commands and it works. Note: if you are trying to make a 64bit flash, the pc you use has to have a 64bit OS installed.



http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-in...working-guide/

That's not correct. I have made a 64 bit windows 7 boot stick on 32bit xp. The only issue was having to copy some boot sector dll for 64 bits to the program folder.

Thank you. I'll have to google around a bit more as I apparently have the mistaken belief once the drive is made bootable, I can't add to it. Maybe from the days of making bootable CDs....

Old dog learn new tricks. woof.

Found the Digital River link:

Windows 7 Professional x64 English

• http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-24281.iso

I have the Zalman ZM-VE300 (USB 3.0 version) with a 500GB drive I pulled from a laptop. It is quite the convenient gadget. One big benefit of this drive is that it works in "dual" mode. So it is simultaneously a USB CD-Rom drive and a USB hard drive. I can boot my Acronis ISO file from the virtual CD drive, and then have Acronis create a system backup on the hdd drive. Same thing with restores. For around $50, it's a bargain.

There's no need to have separate isos for the home premium, pro or ultimate versions. Just delete the ei.cfg file and you'll be asked which version you want to install during setup.

You do need to download separate x86 and x64 isos though, but they can be combined on the same usb drive. During setup you can choose Profession 32bit, professional 64bit, etc. It'll fit on a 4gb drive as well.

1) Download any iso from the digitalriver link. Choose either 64 or 32 bit depending on what you want to install.
2) Use the microsoft usb tool to create a bootable usb drive and copy the files from the iso to the drive http://wudt.codeplex.com/
3) Browse the contents of the usb drive. Go to the /sources/ folder and delete the ei.cfg file (it might be hidden.) This file tells windows which version to install, and if the file isn't there it'll ask you during setup to select a version. You can also edit the file using these instructions
4) Boot from the thumb drive and install windows

The combined 64 and 32 bit version is a bit trickier, there are instructions here or here. You need both isos, then combine them using the windows admin kit.

I tried this today (combining 32 & 64) and found that the resulting install.wim will not fit on a 4GB USB stick. Perhaps it is because I tried with Win7 SP1 and it is bigger than Win7 RTM. I think you're gonna need an 8GB stick.