How to make a bootable USB medium?

[Humble]

I would like tips about tools and steps to follow for windows vista.
(and yes I am aware that OS is no longer supported by MS )

there is so much info on the web that I got confused and could use simple
step by step instructions. thank you.

 

[Tekno Venus]

Hi,

I have had issues installing Vista using a bootable USB due to the way the installer detects which drive is the primary drive. This was the error I had: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...ume-which-meets-its-criteria-for-installation

Normally I recommend Rufus for creating bootable USBs from an ISO: Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way. Works very well normally. You may have success installing Vista with it, it depends mainly on how the BIOS treats USB drives.

Personally, I ended up using a PxE boot server on my network to install it, but that's beyond the scope for this post I feel! Was far too much work!

-Stephen

 

[Humble]

Hi Stephen!
thank you very much for your helpful reply.
Matter of fact, I had heard of rufus and tried to try it.
Alas, the program didn't even work on my machine.
there was no error code so I am not sure what the issue might be.
I guess I'll keep looking for alternatives.

Hi,

I have had issues installing Vista using a bootable USB due to the way the installer detects which drive is the primary drive. This was the error I had: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...ume-which-meets-its-criteria-for-installation

Normally I recommend Rufus for creating bootable USBs from an ISO: Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way. Works very well normally. You may have success installing Vista with it, it depends mainly on how the BIOS treats USB drives.

Personally, I ended up using a PxE boot server on my network to install it, but that's beyond the scope for this post I feel! Was far too much work!

-Stephen

 

[plodr]

Several years ago, I tried to make a bootable USB stick for either Windows 7 or XP. (I don't remember which one - I do have MS disks with both OSes).
I make bootable sticks all the time because I run linux live on several computers. So I am no stranger to creating workable/bootable USB sticks.
My tools of choice are: Universal Installer, UnetBootin and LinuxLive. These only work for Linux, not Windows. (I make the sticks on a Windows computer but choose a linux ISO to "burn" to the stick).
Universal USB Installer - Easy as 1 2 3 | USB Pen Drive Linux
UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads
Download

I had to give up on making a Windows stick because I could not get it working. I tried several times and nothing!

What is it you need to do with Vista? Perhaps someone here can offer a better solution.

 

[zamsder]

Your question is one of i found on Google, We had the same problem about making bootable USB ,
The Rufus didn't work for me ,burnned the iso images to USB but it can not boot computer ,
Other approaches are being tried and are awaiting your Suggestions .

 

[SleepyDude]

Hi,

I suppose you are trying to boot Vista on a old machine?

What exactly happens during the boot? the BIOS detects the flash drive and is it detected as Floppy, HDD, ZIP???


Usually the problem is the different USB boot BIOS implementations...

 

[zamsder]

I created a bootable usb drive on Win 7 computer with Rufus, but it's strange that my computer wasn't booted.
I searched for something on Google -- Windows computer were not booted by USB drive
Google gave me this : [Solved] Windows 7/8/10 Won't Boot from USB Flash Drive!
If i am not allowed to use the USB , i can make a new one with DVD /CD ,
Then Google gave me this : how to create a bootable dvd in windows 7? ? - Microsoft Community
I'm confused right now, I admit I don't know much about them, or I should recreate a bootable USB drive with Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

 

[plodr]

If you want to boot from a DVD, you don't have to buy that paid program mentioned. I never heard of it and didn't find any reviews except from the site wanting to sell it to you.

1. Download a Windows 7 ISO
2. Right click it and select Burn disc image
3. Make sure your BIOS is set to boot from the DVD drive.

USB gets trickier. I've never used Rufus. Some have had success and others not so much.
I tried creating a bootable USB stick, it might have been Windows 7. I was never able to create a bootable USB stick.
Bootable linux USB sticks work fine but Windows no. I gave up.

 

[jcgriff2]

Take a look at - Create installation media for Windows 8.1

Obviously, that tutorial was written for Windows 8.1 but I know it definitely works with Windows 10 as well as I have used it for such; however, I am not sure if the Windows media creation tool can be used for Windows 7 and Vista, but it cannot hurt to try.

Everything that I read about it tells me that it should work for Vista and Windows 7 too.

I would not recommend it for Windows XP as many systems from the [early to mid-range] XP era cannot boot from USB sticks (at least one Gateway desktop system that I used to own could not boot from a USB stick, regardless of what version of Windows was on the USB stick).

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

 

[jcgriff2]

Here are a few other tools I found on Google - 4 Free Tools To Create Bootable Windows 7/Vista/XP USB Flash Pen Drives

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

Plop takes care of USB boot on XP beautifully :)

 

[Piter101]

[FONT=&quot]In order to create a bootable Windows 10 Technical Preview USB drive you will need to prepare the following, before we can go any further:[/FONT]

In order to create a bootable Windows 10 Technical Preview USB drive you will need to prepare the following, before we can go any further:

• Windows 10 Technical Preview ISO, which you can download from here;
• Windows 10 Technical Preview product key;
• Archiving tool;
• USB drive -- the minimum size is 4 GB for the 32-bit version and 8 GB for the 64-bit version. Also, the faster the USB drive is the less time everything takes;
• Windows PC.

After you have ticked every item on that list, you will have to install the archiving tool of your choosing (if you do not have one installed already) and then extract the contents of the Windows 10 Technical Preview ISO to a folder on your Windows PC. This option is revealed by right-clicking on the said file. Keep in mind that the partition you will use needs to have enough free space to accommodate the extra content.

Afterwards, you will need to attach the USB drive, and follow the next steps to make a bootable Windows 10 Technical Preview USB media:
1. Open a Command Prompt window. To do this, trigger Run (Windows key + R will do the trick, or you can find it in the Start menu), type "cmd" and then hit the OK button.
2. Use the "diskpart" command to open the disk partitioning software. Validate the UAC prompt, if asked, to carry on.
3. Use the "listdisk" command to reveal the list of attached physical storage media. This will show all the HDDs, SSDs, USB drives and so on.
4. Identify the disk number of the USB drive you are using for this process (look at the size column for easy identification; based on my experience, it is usually listed last).
5. Use the "select disk X" command to select it, where "X" is the disk number of your USB drive.
6. Use the "clean" command to erase the contents of the USB drive.
7. Use the "create partition primary" command to create a primary partition on the USB drive.
8. Use the "select partition 1" command to select the previously created partition.
9. Use the "active" command to make said partition appear active, or validated.
10. Use the "format fs=ntfs quick" command to format the said partition as NTFS, using the Quick routine.
11. Use the "assign" command to assign a drive letter to the USB drive. Afterwards, it will show up as a drive under My Computer.
12. Copy the extracted contents of the Windows 10 Technical Preview ISO to the USB drive

To make thing easy, a third-party software like MiniTool Bootable Media Builder is necessary.
Check out the visual step-by-step guide of how to create a bootable USB Medium with the amazing utility.

 

[Piter101]

[FONT=&quot]Prerequisites for creation of a bootable USB[/FONT]

1. An ISO file of the operating system with the bootmgr or the boot manager.
2. A USB Drive (Pendrive) with a minimum capacity of 8GB depending on the size of your ISO.
3. You need to know if your system supports UEFI Booting. Depending on this, you can create a UEFI Capable bootable disk or a Legacy Capable bootable disk.

[FONT=&quot]Using CMD is a great way to make a bootable USB drive. And you can also use a reliable third-party software to be run to make things easy.

Check out these methods"
[/FONT]How to Build Boot CD/DVD Discs and Boot Flash Drive with Bootable Media Builder?
How to Create a WinPE-based Bootable Media?

Hope this helps.


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