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Possible to install Windows PRO from USB drive? - Page 2

post #31 of 146
5/4/12 at 9:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeanM View Post

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.

It could be SP1 - I created mine from RTM and there's about 200MB left on a 4GB stick.
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post #32 of 146
5/5/12 at 5:40pm
Thread Starter 
why would anyone use 32bit anymore on a fresh install ?
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post #33 of 146
5/5/12 at 7:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gtmtnbiker View Post

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.


could you elaborate a bit more...from what i have been reading you couldn't make a 64b win 7 usb drive out of a win 32b system.
I will be installing a win7 soon once asrock sends me the new bios for IB.

edit: made the question clearer.
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post #34 of 146
5/6/12 at 8:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kanone View Post


could you elaborate a bit more...from what i have been reading you couldn't make a 64b win 7 usb drive out of a win 32b system.
I will be installing a win7 soon once asrock sends me the new bios for IB.

edit: made the question clearer.

The issue is that bootsec.exe is incorrect when you install it on a 32 bit system and you want to make it a 64 bit USB boot stick. The solution is to copy the 64 bit version of bootsec.exe Ito your program folder for the USB program. If you didn't do this you will get an error when you try to boot our stick. Googling the error will also point you at a solution which is how I got there.
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post #35 of 146
5/6/12 at 8:58pm
what!!!...are we talking installing win7 64bit as an upgrade from a win 32 bit xp? not a clean install using a thumb drive boot usb with win 7 made out of a 32b win OS ??
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post #36 of 146
5/6/12 at 10:56pm
If you use the Windows USB Tool to create a bootable Windows 7 USB drive, you cannot create a bootable 64 bit Windows 7 USB while on a 32 bit system.
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post #37 of 146
5/6/12 at 11:13pm
that's the whole dilemma. It appears there is a way to make a bootable 64bit win7 usb from a 32 bit system. But I keep checking online and it looks like a big confusion. Yes the windows USB tool doesn't let you do it while the other method using diskpart doesn't work on win xp (my system).

PS. I have made one from a win7 iso and Universal-USB-Installer, but I haven't tried to install it yet (waiting for Asrock to send me the new adapted bios for my new ivy bridge cpu-the whole htpc set up is new).
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post #38 of 146
5/7/12 at 6:43am
Follow this FAQ:

http://tommynation.com/installing-wi...rom-usb-stick/

That's how I was able to create a 64-bit bootable USB stick from my XP 32-bit machine. By googling, you can find the right bootsec.exe file to download.
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post #39 of 146
5/7/12 at 8:53am
Thread Starter 
I ma just confused why anyone would want a 32 bit OS at all ?

I mean if the hardware can't run 64bit then it must be worthless and belongs in the trash.

32bit can not use more than 3GB of DDR.

Isn't 4GB the standard today?

My socket 939 and socket 775 machines from years ago all ran 64 bit OS perfectly.

I just can't see why in May of 2012 anyone would ever waste their time installing a 32 bit operating system at all.

It clearly makes not sense to me from my viewpoint.

Even if you only owned the 32 bit- there is about 5 64bit downloads in this thread alone.
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post #40 of 146
5/7/12 at 9:06am
In my case, I had 2 machines with the Pentium 4 architecture. They're both 32-bit processors. One is from 2002 (desktop) and the laptop is from 2004. I was in the position of having to create the bootable USB stick from my 2002 XP machine where I ran into the bootsec.exe issue.

Both machines are still perfectly fine today for what I do which is remote desktop into work, and internet browsing. No need to toss out perfectly usable machines.
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post #41 of 146
5/7/12 at 9:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

I ma just confused why anyone would want a 32 bit OS at all ?

If you're running less than 4gb ram then 64bit has no benefit, and will run slightly slower.

There's also hardware out there with no 64 bit drivers. If you want to do firewire capture from a STB then 32 bit is the only way (unless something's changed in the last year.)

I run 32 bit on my HTPC. Video playback doesn't need more than 4gb of ram, and it was a lot easier to set up codecs for 32 bit WMC.
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post #42 of 146
5/7/12 at 11:34am
Is this possible to do using an upgrade disc? I mean can I rip an ISO off an upgrade disc to a flash/hard drive and install from that? Otherwise, can I just download the ISO from the link above and use that with my key? I have Win7 Pro 64 Upgrade.
Thanks
Mike
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post #43 of 146
5/7/12 at 1:35pm
I run 32-bit on 3 dedicated Media Center machines. They have 4GB of RAM but given that 64-bit programs are slightly larger, slightly slower, and run using slightly more memory, the extra complexity (installing/updating 32-bit and 64-bit software/filters, 32-bit & 64-bit registry bits, etc) that is created by 64-bit doesn't seem worth it. Also, they are installed on 60GB SSDs and given that a 32-bit install of Windows 7 is a fair bit smaller than 64-bit, it leaves more headroom on the SSD.

Anything over that (ie. 6GB and 8GB machines) and it makes sense to use 64-bit install. These days it seems any machine you build would likely have 8GB or more just because of the sales that can be had on 2x4GB memory packages.

I also have a laptop that has only 3GB of memory, so no justification for 64-bit.

My WHS 2011 has 8GB and is of course 64-bit (no choice there). And my main desktop is 16GB and runs Win7-64.

Also, there is firmware update software and other recovery utilities only compatible with 32-bit, so it is helpful to have a 32-bit Windows install image (on USB) around for that.
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post #44 of 146
5/7/12 at 2:13pm
i use 32 bit because i need firewire drivers that are 32bit only.

I use 12gb of ram and am able to access all of it, I have had no stability issues:

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=960087&mpage=1
http://www.geoffchappell.com/notes/w...nse/memory.htm
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post #45 of 146
5/9/12 at 6:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigLan View Post

If you're running less than 4gb ram then 64bit has no benefit, and will run slightly slower.

I guess this is where I disagree or stop here.

While everything you said after this is probably true it's non applicable since I would never own a HTPC with less than 4GB of DDR3.

4GB is the absolute minimum acceptable to me and 4GB in 2X2GB sticks costs about $19 and 4GB in a single stick can be had for $12.99.

Since 32bit won't see more than 3GB of DDR, and I can get a 4GB stick for $12 it just pointless for me to bother with it. 32bit has no use for me.

I might be unique in my thinking- but I just choose not to have a PC with less than 4GB of RAM. It makes no sense to me given ram prices and given my Extreme intolerance for a slow PC.

I have built many $200 to $300 PC's in last 6 months, and none of them had less than 8GB of RAM, or a traditional HDD based OS installation.

To me- it's just unacceptable for either. It's very inexpensive for both an SSD and 4GB or more of RAM- and the performance improvement is so extreme that I find enough value to justify the cost.

I mean we are talking about a fresh installation in May of 2012- It just makes sense to own and/or upgrade to SSD and 64bit/4GB+ RAM. Even in an older platform. If you get to the point where the older DDR2 starts to cost more- then you reach the point of a $35 G630 CPU from microcenter + $35 H61 LGA1155 motherboard and 4GB DDR3 for $20. Total cost = Under $100 shipped for a totally new motherboard, CPU, and DDR3. This would be the option a budget minded person should take that is currently using a socket939 or LGA775 PC.

There is really no point in 32bit any longer. It's time has passed.
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post #46 of 146
5/9/12 at 7:21pm
Although the OS can utilize more memory, 32 bit applications that run on a 64 bit OS run inside an emulator, and still have the same limitations they had when running on a 32 bit OS. True, the OS can use the extra memory and partition chunks of it, which will allow more applications to run simultaneously, but an individual 32 bit application cannot take advantage of any 64 bit processor. In order to take advantage of a 64 bit processor, there must be 64 bit applications.

There is also plenty of hardware that have no 64 bit drivers, period. Tons of hardware used in industrial/military/commercial applications must have a 32 bit OS in order to run. You can't alienate that segment of the population, especially since they most likely account for well over 50% of Microsoft sales.

So, until all applications are 64 bit, and all hardware uses 64 bit, there is a definite need to produce 32 bit operating systems.
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post #47 of 146
5/9/12 at 7:28pm
Mfusick did you not see the post which explains that you can use above 3.xgb of ram with 32bit and actually have windows utilize it?
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post #48 of 146
5/9/12 at 8:27pm
All i was trying to get across was that there were some valid reasons for 32bit, (i run 64bit on my main rig, i'm with you on that).
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post #49 of 146
5/9/12 at 8:33pm
Yes, Windows 8 is available in 32 bit. That was announced a long time ago.

For the average desktop user, perhaps it's easy and cheap to upgrade. However, for a large corporation/development firm/specialized hardware manufacturer, it is not, and it's completely (in most cases) unnecessary to develop for 64 bit when their customers have no need for it. Before I started working in an industry that uses very specialized hardware, I, like you, was completely unaware of the need for 32 bit operating systems. Now, I see why it's very necessary to have 32 bit operating systems and hardware that supports them. Perhaps if you take a few steps back and examine different industries, you'll also see that the world is most certainly not moving into a 64 bit world quite as quickly as you think. To reiterate, I thought much the same was as you do, but after being exposed to a very large specialized industry, I understand the need for 32 bit requirements.
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post #50 of 146
5/9/12 at 9:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kemist1117 View Post

Wow, you really sound like an elitist ass with that post and are making many many assumptions, like that all people using 32 bit have crap hardware: I'm running a Core I7, with 12gb of ram for example.

As mentioned there are drivers that are not available in 64 bit. As long as i can continue to use firestb for my purposes, I will, because its about 10x better than using an IR blaster. Others have also mentioned other valid reasons for using 32bit.

If you'd care to write a 64bit driver for Firestb i'd be much obliged.

In the mean time i will plug away with my poor mans htpc on 32bit with absolutely no impact to performance compared to if i had installed 64bit, happily changing channels with my old outdated Firestb driver.

yeah I guess you have some valid points here.

While it might not make sense for me- or even most others today- I can see where there might be a reason for a 32 bit install.

Thanks for being a point of reason.
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post #51 of 146
5/10/12 at 6:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

yeah I guess you have some valid points here.

While it might not make sense for me- or even most others today- I can see where there might be a reason for a 32 bit install.

Thanks for being a point of reason.

Thank Mfusick, thats all i meant.

Trust me, I'd prefer to use 64bit if i could as I wouldn't have to use a hex editor on the kernel just to use my ram
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post #52 of 146
5/11/12 at 5:29pm
Thread Starter 
I should have said for an ordinary HTPC new build... there is no point in 32bit.

Lol.
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post #53 of 146
5/12/12 at 3:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

I should have said for an ordinary HTPC new build... there is no point in 32bit.

Lol.

haha yes, in 99.9% of cases there is probably no need to go 32 bit anymore
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post #54 of 146
7/24/12 at 10:29am
You could just subscribe to the thread and then you can always find it in your subscription list.
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post #55 of 146
7/24/12 at 10:32am
Thread Starter 
I am but I do that with lots so it is still hard to find.

I found the old AVS much easier for that kind of thing.
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post #56 of 146
7/24/12 at 11:07am
If you want to make a customized version of Windows for install, look at this: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5753.

It's intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy. You can install Windows, install a bunch of apps, generalize the image (or not), and capture it to make a custom install.

When I built all the PCs for the school, I used this to create an image with Windows, the drivers, the apps, to deploy to multiple machines. You can also create a generalized image with apps, etc. that doesn't have the drivers to deploy to different hardware.
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post #57 of 146
7/24/12 at 11:42am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by StardogChampion View Post

If you want to make a customized version of Windows for install, look at this: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5753.
It's intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy. You can install Windows, install a bunch of apps, generalize the image (or not), and capture it to make a custom install.
When I built all the PCs for the school, I used this to create an image with Windows, the drivers, the apps, to deploy to multiple machines. You can also create a generalized image with apps, etc. that doesn't have the drivers to deploy to different hardware.

This is exactly what I am looking for.

So my question now is:

What applications should I include?

(List a few suggestions I might forget)



And,

SUPER HUGE THANK YOU FOR AWESOME POST !
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post #58 of 146
7/31/12 at 6:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

This is exactly what I am looking for.
So my question now is:
What applications should I include?
(List a few suggestions I might forget)
And,
SUPER HUGE THANK YOU FOR AWESOME POST !

There was a site that bundled common applications like winrar and adobe reader into a single installer.

Anyone know it ?
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post #59 of 146
7/31/12 at 8:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigLan View Post


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.

This worked for me.
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post #60 of 146
7/31/12 at 8:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

There was a site that bundled common applications like winrar and adobe reader into a single installer.
Anyone know it ?

Ninite?
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