How To Install Windows Xp From Usb

For a long time, Microsoft didn't sell Windows install media in the form of bootable USB flash drives. Instead, information technology prefered to stick to old-school DVD media, despite the fact that many notebooks today are too pocket-size to fifty-fifty include an optical drive, and many DIYers are building PCs which forego one on purpose.

However, things take moved on, and for the first time, Microsoft has begun to sell Windows 10 on pre-configured USB drives. Previous versions of the OS (XP, 7 and eight.one), all require the user to create their own bootable USB bulldoze.

Creating a bootable Windows USB drive used to be a job, but today, one solution can pretty-well suit most people. However, in that location are times when a wink drive has some quirk that prevents it from working with a item solution, and so for that reason, this commodity takes a wait at five unlike methods.

Guide Index:

• USB Installer Tools & Successes
• Acquiring a Disc Image (ISO)
• Method 1 – Using Rufus
• Method 2 – UNetbootin
• Method iii – Using Microsoft diskpart
• Method 4 – Microsoft Windows vii USB/DVD Tool
• Method 5 – Windows x Media Creation Tool
• Windows XP Notes
• Common Issues

Benefits of USB Install Media

Even if the target desktop or notebook has an optical bulldoze, at that place are a couple of reasons to consider start creating a USB-based installer. Admittedly, the fourth dimension and effort of creating the drive might make it best-suited for organization builders, simply for people like usa, who juggle test machines, USB is a no-brainer.

To start, USB media is more durable than disc-based media. Discs can be hands scratched, while well-built USB flash drives can mostly handle a scrap of abuse. And so, there's the convenience. Ever walk around with a disc in your pocket? It looks a fleck odd.

For usa, functioning and reliability are the key reasons why we've opted to use USB-based installers in lieu of discs, peculiarly with USB 3.0 being much more common. Even if a DVD has been burned at the highest commercial speeds, information technology won't be able to compete with flash memory which offers far improved IOPS performance (operations per second) – it's the same reason why SSDs are much faster for booting an OS and loading applications than a mechanical difficult drive; the seek times are minuscule in comparing.

While it'due south across the scope of this commodity, those who truly desire a fast install experience tin slipstream USB 3.0 support into the install media, which on current chipsets and an SSD target can allow you to install Windows in nether iv minutes flat.

USB Installer Tools & Successes

Over the class of this article, nosotros're going to be looking at five unlike solutions that accomplish the exact aforementioned thing: Creating a USB-based Windows installer; if ane doesn't work, the next i should (at least, that's the hope). To requite an overview of what to expect from each solution, refer to this success tabular array:

	Windows 10	Windows 8	Windows vii	Windows XP
Rufus	Yes*	Yes	Aye	Yes
UNetbootin	Yes	Yes	Yeah	No
diskpart	Yes	Yes	Yeah	No
Microsoft USB Tool	Yep	Yes	Yep	No
Media Creation Tool	Yes	No	No	No
* Requires Rufus ii.1.6 or afterward.

Given the fact that Windows XP has reached finish-of-life status and doesn't officially back up installation over USB, we have to outline a number of bug and weather condition in order to go information technology working. Windows XP over USB is withal temperamental, and there is a good chance that it but won't work with your system, and then please proceed this in mind.

For starters, modern UEFI-equipped machines are not designed to support such an old OS, so chances are that it will not fifty-fifty install, or even be detected in the outset place. If the motherboard in question happens to support a legacy BIOS manner, so it might work. Different version of Rufus (explained later) have ameliorate luck with the XP process than others. Nosotros strongly suggest you skip to the dedicated role of this article that explains the problems with Windows XP and USB support.

What about Windows Vista? Like Windows seven, eight, and 10, Vista too can be installed from USB media with these same methods, but due to that fact that nigh have moved on from information technology in favor of 10, it's not a big focus.

We mentioned Rufus above, and that's the tool we're going to atomic number 82 in hither with, equally we consider it to be the simplest to use, and the nigh constructive. We discussed the same tool in an article from summer 2012 called 'Creating a Bootable DOS Wink Drive the Easy Way', equally it allows for simple creation of bootable MS-DOS flash drives, every bit the title suggests.

Later the wait at Rufus, nosotros'll proceed on to UNetbootin, Microsoft's diskpart (a tool built into Windows), a quick mention of another official Microsoft tool, but ane the company no longer promotes for Windows 7 and eight, equally well every bit the latest method, the Media Cosmos Tool. But outset…

Acquiring a Disc Epitome (ISO)

Some solutions listed on this page require a Windows disc image (.iso) to be nowadays. The exception is 'diskpart', as the disc's files volition demand to exist transferred over manually (information technology doesn't matter if they come up from a mounted ISO or a drive in an actual DVD-ROM). ISOs are bachelor from a number of sources, but almost people volition acquire them afterwards purchasing the Bone online through Microsoft, or through some other related Microsoft service. If you don't have an ISO, or a disc for that matter, you'll need to acquire one from a friend or elsewhere on the web.

If yous're only looking to downloadWindows x every bit an ISO, you simply demand to run the tool listed in step #v, and choose to save every bit ISO rather than to burn the image to a flash bulldoze. Note that we can't really provide an MD5 for a Windows 10 ISO, equally information technology changes every time it's downloaded through Microsoft'southward tool. Only the ISOs directly supplied past Microsoft would have static hashes.

At that place are multiple editions of any given Windows version, only we're going to listing the verbal ISOs we used along with their MD5 checksums in case they prove useful.

MD5 Checksums

• Windows XP Pro (Service Pack three): F424A52153E6E5ED4C0D44235CF545D5
• Windows 7 Ultimate (Service Pack one): 56A26636EC667799F5A7F42F142C772D
• Windows viii Pro: 0E8F2199FAE18FE510C23426E68F675A
• Windows 8.1 (MSDN; multi-version): CDADC5A76634651770A365F457702803

Please be careful where you source your OS epitome from, as about online sources volition be pirated copies and/or arranged with extra (sometimes malicious) software. How the image was captured also will accept an effect on how the final boot drive turns out, and so stick to official sources where possible.

For those who have a Windows setup DVD, a free tool like CDBurnerXP or ImgBurn tin exist used to rip information technology into an .iso file. Other tools exist that attain the aforementioned thing, but these are the only ones we can personally recommend. For mounting an ISO image, we'd recommend Virtual CloneDrive, equally it's free, and not the "free only a total nag" kind of costless.

NOTE: Some anti-virus applications might interfere with the USB creation process due to the autorun properties involved, then if issues are experienced, nosotros'd recommend temporarily disabling the anti-virus until the process is consummate.

Using Rufus

Both Rufus and UNetbootin are simple tools for this task, and exterior of Rufus' Windows XP support, both work simply the same. However, nosotros prefer Rufus because we find it loads a lot quicker, and feels a bit faster, too. For a great many reasons, this is nonetheless our preferred method of creating USB boot drives.

With Rufus loaded up, choose the appropriate device that you desire to turn into a kicking bulldoze, under the "Device" menu, and brand certain that the file organisation is NTFS (not FAT32). The other options shouldn't matter too much, although if you're planning to install Windows 8 as an official EFI OS, y'all may wish to peruse the options under the "Partition scheme and target system type" carte du jour. For Windows XP, select MBR Partition only.

To load the Windows .iso file, the pocket-sized CD icon to the right of "Create a bootable disk using:" option can exist clicked. Afterward perusing the file director for the ISO image and accepting information technology, the "Start" button can be clicked to have the tool work its magic. Annotation: As the program will country, doing this will erase all data off of the flash bulldoze – and so fill-in first.

If you lot have any issues, be certain to cheque out our Common Problems section beneath.

Using UNetbootin

UNetbootin is a well-known tool equally it's become a de facto choice for turning a bootable Linux live CD into a bootable Linux live flash drive – for that purpose, it nonetheless excels. Picayune practice most people realize, it tin can handle Windows ISOs equally well (but as the tabular array at the top of this folio shows, it doesn't support creating a bootable Windows XP drive).

Similar with Rufus, the appropriate drive should exist selected from the "Bulldoze:" card at the bottom, and then the "…" button to the right of the largest text field can be clicked to search for and accept the required ISO. At this betoken, the "OK" can be clicked, and the process will get underway.

Different Rufus, UNetbootin doesn't erase the flash drive get-go, so data remains intact – however, if you're repeatedly writing new ISOs to the drive using the tool, it's recommended you format later each i, so as to not exit unused fleck files around the drive. Annotation: Nosotros'd all the same recommend backing upwardly personal information earlier writing an ISO to it just in case.

Using Microsoft diskpart

For those who don't have an ISO, but rather a DVD, diskpart is the solution for yous. It does require some control-line usage, but as you'll meet, it's not too complicated. NOTE: This method will delete the entire flash drive, and so be certain to back up personal information first.

To make proper utilize of diskpart, you'll need to open a command prompt with ambassador rights (head to "Start", type in 'cmd', right-click it, and choose 'Open as Administrator'). Once the prompt is opened, type in 'diskpart' to load the tool, and then 'list disk' to figure out which # relates to your flash drive.

External storage should announced at the end of the list, and in our case, information technology did (nosotros're using a 32GB flash drive, which appears here as 29GB). In one case the appropriate drive is figured-out, it can be chosen using the 'select disk #' command. One time selected, it needs to be wiped clean, have a sectionalization created, and and so be formatted. The entire command process is summed-up in this cake:

list deejay – shows avaialble disks, expect carefully for the one that looks similar your flash drive
select disk # – alter # to the deejay (flash drive) y'all wish to employ
clean – removes existing partions
create partition primary
select partition one
agile
format fs=ntfs quick
assign
exit

For those who might want to come across this in action, we provide this screenshot:

Note that "quick" can exist removed off of the format command to run a full format, but that might have minutes to tens of minutes depending on the drive (as information technology'due south more thorough).

At this point, the Windows setup DVD can be inserted into the bulldoze, or the ISO mounted, and its files copied over to the root binder of the flash drive. After the process is done, opening up the flash drive in the file manager should mirror the contents of the Windows DVD/ISO.

Using Microsoft Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool

Subsequently the Windows vii launch, Microsoft released its ain USB creator tool that supported its official ISOs. While the company no longer promotes the tool, it supports at least 7 and 8 just fine, so some might prefer to utilize it over the other solutions.

Once downloaded and opened, an ISO must be chosen. After that, the "USB Device" option needs to exist clicked (this same tool tin also burn down straight to a DVD).

At the last screen, the appropriate wink dive needs to be selected from the menu, and after hitting "Begin copying", the unabridged process will be consummate after just a couple of minutes.

Truthfully, Microsoft'southward tool here might be the easiest of them all to apply, merely considering the company isn't promoting it in any fashion, shape, or form (note that it'south chosen the Windows seven USB/DVD tool, and not Windows 7 & 8 USB/DVD tool), nosotros feel that it's right to quicker recommend the other (oft updated) solutions commencement.

Using Windows ten Media Creation Tool

If you plan to install Windows 10 on a new organisation, use it to recover an existing organisation, or upgrade a previous install of Windows 7 or 8, creating a bootable flash bulldoze is the get-go step. Windows 10 is the starting time Microsoft Bone that not but natively supports USB installs, but encourages information technology and even sells USB drives set up-to-go.

The procedure with Windows x is not much unlike from Windows 7 and viii/eight.one like above, only is made simpler by the fact that you don't even need the disk image first, equally you tin download information technology directly from Microsoft, consummate with all the latest service packs already installed.

The whole procedure for creating a Windows 10 bootable USB bulldoze tin can be done by using the Media Cosmos Tool; nearly systems these days will use the 64-chip version, and then grab that.

Once y'all've downloaded the tool, run it and you'll be presented with the media creation procedure. The gallery below outlines each step of the process for the basic method. At that place are a few things you might demand to check starting time. Depending on where you programme to install Windows 10, you need to check which version you lot require, Home or Pro. NOTE: The contents of the USB flash drive volition exist erased, and then make sure you back it up first.

Select 'Create installation media for another PC'  to brainstorm the process.

We'll be creating the bootable USB wink bulldoze with the tool, so select the first pick.

Select the version of Windows 10 that you require, in this case, nosotros went with Home 64-bit.

Choose the USB bulldoze that y'all wish to turn into the bootable media. Only Flash media volition show on the list. The bulldoze will need at least 4GB of free space. NOTE: The wink drive will be formatted, so make backups start.

Wait for the tool to finish downloading. Depending on your Cyberspace connection, this could be  from a few minutes to a few hours.

Once the Windows 10 paradigm has downloaded, it will automatically begin creating the boot media on the drive you selected. This can take a few minutes.

If everything when according to plan, the Media Creation Tool will declare success and you are ready to use your new Windows x bootable USB drive.

The version you option here at the starting time really doesn't affair, since your license key will determine the version you tin can apply, and the Os volition change and configure itself based on that central. The Northward version of each Bone type is for the EU compliant version, but truth be told, there isn't annihilation different about it at this fourth dimension. You can pick 64-bit as well, or both 32/64-bit if yous are unsure or plan on using the bootable flash bulldoze on unlike systems.

The Media Creation Tool tin can can be used to but download the ISO paradigm of Windows 10, which tin can and then exist used with something like Rufus to create the bootable USB bulldoze. This offers the advantage of being able to go on a backup of the ISO paradigm, as well as create multiple boot drives without having to download the image each fourth dimension. If you run into problems with the Media Creation Tool when it comes to creating the bootable wink drive, you can use the following method.

Instead of selecting USB Flash Drive in the Media Creation Tool, just select ISO File instead, cull a location to relieve the file, and after it'due south downloaded, follow the steps outlined in the Rufus guide above. In general, nosotros found this method more reliable than using the Media Cosmos Tool to create the Windows ten bootable wink drive, and ther are a number of other advantages to using Rufus also.

Note: When you let the Media Creation Tool handle the entire process of making the USB boot bulldoze, there is a small problem when dealing with USB drives larger than 32GB. The tool will merely create a unmarried partition up to 32GB and then completely ignore the rest of the drive, and Windows-based operating systems tin but handle a single partition on USB flash drives. If you create the boot drive with Rufus, it'll use the entire drive, then 64GB and 128GB flash drives will have the total disk space made available.

Windows XP Notes

If you lot are attempting to utilize Windows XP on a USB bulldoze, there are a couple of things to deport in mind. First off, we strongly recommend using Rufus (32-bit version) to setup XP on a USB wink drive over the other methods, as its success rate is much better. If installing with Rufus doesn't piece of work the first time, change the sectionalisation mode to MBR for BIOS but. Making XP boot over USB is a footling tricky as well, because it's much more sensitive to the age of the hardware and the arrangement you lot are using it with.

As far every bit we know, the 32-bit ISO image of XP is the merely compatible version that tin be put on a bootable flash bulldoze (success for XP 64-fleck was limited). 1 of the key points though is that you can't use a USB three.0 port when installing, even with EHCI way enabled. Nosotros likewise found that a lot of modern hardware refuses to detect the drive.

If y'all are using an older arrangement, then you should accept ameliorate luck booting Windows XP from a USB flash drive. Just exist certain that your particular motherboard supports booting from USB in the first identify (it's normally off by default in older organization). Check the BIOS kick section and see if USB drives are supported.

Unfortunately, the time period in which motherboards supported USB booting on older hardware is quite short, as annihilation before didn't accept the option, and annihilation afterwards (around the fourth dimension Windows Vista and 7 took off), those boards started the transition over to UEFI, which XP does non back up.

A number of systems we have tested this with had very mixed results. Both an older Pentium D system with BIOS, and a i7-2600 with UEFI, couldn't boot into XP. The USB media does work on a couple of laptops, only with other systems, it just boots up into a blank screen. If checking your motherboard settings for USB boot support and fifty-fifty legacy modes exercise non work, so you will have to resort to using a CD/DVD. You tin read below for some more than full general advice also.

Common Problems

No Bootable Device Detected

This can be acquired by a number of things. The most mutual is that your system is not setup to detect or boot from USB devices. You will need to go into your BIOS/EFI and check whether your USB bulldoze is detected at all. If it is, make certain that it's available from the boot menu. If it isn't, and so some security pick may be enabled that prevents booting from USB devices.

As each BIOS/EFI is different, nosotros can not aid with specific options, but check various security and kicking menus to make sure that USB back up is enabled. If everything appears correct, just still tin't be detected, effort enabling USB legacy support, or a different USB port, such equally a USB 2.0 port instead of USB 3.0.

Information technology's besides possible that the install media, or ISO image you have, does not take the kicking data available. Try a different ISO image if at all possible.

Windows Installer Starts But Tin can't Discover Install Media

If the installer starts and lets you pick installation options, but an error occurs that either says information technology tin't detect the DVD or it requests you to insert media with boosted drivers, and then y'all need to use a USB 2.0 port.

Windows XP, Vista and 7, do non have native support for USB iii.0 ports. Attempting to install with your flash drive plugged into a USB 3.0 port will result in the in a higher place fault. Unplug your USB Flash Drive and insert it into a USB ii.0 port, and so begin the process again. You may nonetheless utilize a USB iii.0 Flash drive, but not plugged into a USB 3.0 port.

If no USB 2.0 ports are available (such as with more modern systems), then you will either need to go into the BIOS/EFI and enable forced legacy way or enable EHCI on the USB ports, or you will demand to 'slipstream' the USB iii.0 drivers into your Windows Install Image.

Flash Bulldoze Isn't Using All Bachelor Space

This was mentioned previously in the Windows ten section, but if you are creating a USB boot drive for Windows 10 and your 64GB drive is merely showing 32GB bachelor, then you need to recreate your boot drive with Rufus. The Media Creation Tool (MCT) merely supports drives upwards to 32GB, and anything larger will have a 2d partition made, which Windows tin can not detect usually (only is still available if you plug information technology into a Linux auto for example). So download the ISO with MCT, then flash it with Rufus.

Windows 10 'Something Happened'

Generic and oh-so-helpful error. If you are using the Media Creation Tool to create the bootable USB wink drive, and it's failing on the last step, try the alternative (and recommended) method of using the tool to download the ISO prototype and then use Rufus to create the kicking media. If the Media Cosmos Tool is failing to download the ISO, so this is likely a network issue with either your local motorcar or Microsoft'south server. Attempt using a wired/Ethernet connectedness instead of wireless, or simply wait a while and try once again later. Declining that, try to download from a unlike machine if possible.

If you have any questions about any of the steps, please leave a comment below and we'll help you lot as best we tin.

Update: This commodity was updated May 2018 past Jamie Fletcher, to include Windows 10 and additional data regarding XP and USB size bug. Originally published December 2013.

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Source: https://techgage.com/article/creating-bootable-windows-xp-7-8-flash-drive-installers/

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