How many times have you reloaded your system and wished there was an easier and faster way of doing it?
How many times have you had troubles installing Windows because of a scratched CD or DVD, or had to reload your PC or Laptop only to find out that the DVD Drive was bad?
Are you a Netbook owner? Then keep reading because you do not need to spend $60 on an external DVD drive to install Windows.
All the worries & headaches end here, as I am about to show you how to install Windows XP and Windows Vista from a USB flash drive.
Yes, that’s correct, you can put those CDs and DVDs away and use nothing more than a $7.00 4GB USB flash drive.
I have been using this method for some time now and it is a God send. I am always reloading my machines, either for myself or for a review, and it was a nightmare to have piles of CDs all over my desk.
Not only that, but I no longer need to download or keep track of where drivers and certain applications are, as those get put into their own folder right on the same USB drive (if you have a large enough drive).
Not only do I no longer need to have CDs scattered all over my desk, I do not even need a DVD drive installed in my PC.
If I am in a rush, or running out of room on my test bench, or even building a mini system or HTPC, I can just leave the DVD drive in its box, grab my USB drive with XP or Vista on it and just install Windows that way.
The Hardware
The very first thing you need is a PC or laptop that is capable of booting from a USB device. If you have a machine that is 4 years old or older, there is a chance you may not be able to do this, as your BIOS may not be capable of booting from a USB device. I would consult your user manual or contact the hardware vendor’s technical support if you are unsure.
Most, if not all, newer hardware (motherboards and laptops) have no issues at all booting from a USB flash drive, but I have seen a few laptops and the rare motherboard that cannot.
Once you know that your hardware can boot from a USB flash device, let’s go find some flash drives!
Right now, many online websites have 4GB flash drives on sale for as low as $5.00! Most decent drives will run you around $7-10 though.
For my tests, I went with 3 different types of flash drives. An OCZ Rally2 8GB drive, a Super Talent 4GB drive, and an HP v100w 4GB drive.
The Super Talent cost me $7/ea and the HP drives came as a 2-pack for $14. The OCZ 8GB Rally 2 was $20.99 and had a $10 mail-in rebate for an ending total of $10.99.
All of the drives performed extremely similar, so similar that I am hard pressed to tell which one was faster.
Windows XP is small enough that you can do this with a 1GB drive. I recommend no less than a 2GB, simply because we will be loading it up with more than just Windows.
Remember I mentioned the ability to add a folder with all your drivers and some favorite applications on it? All of that can easily add up to near 2GB.
Windows Vista, on the other hand, takes over 3GB just to store the data from the CD. 4GB is more than enough, but leaves you with less room to store drivers and applications.
There would be no harm in purchasing an 8GB drive for Vista but I have mine on a 4GB drive without any issues.
USB Drive Preparation – Windows XP
Getting your USB Flash drive ready to install Windows XP on your PC is a pretty quick and painless process. It is not fool proof though, so just follow along with me and in the end you will have a fully functioning USB flash drive that can install Windows XP on nearly any PC.
Be aware that you can NOT use a flash drive larger than 4GB for the XP tutorial. PEToUSB.exe uses FAT16 which is limited to a max of only 4GB.
Please note that to complete this tutorial you must have a PC or laptop running a 32bit version of Windows XP or Vista.
The Programs needed to complete this procedure are:
USB_PREP8
PeToUSB
Bootsect.exe
Simply save that file to your hard drive. Open it and extract the folder inside your C: drive.
Once done, you should have only a folder on your C: drive called usb_prep8 with a bunch of files in it.
For those who like to use nLite to slipstream drivers and updates into your XP cd, please note that I have had issues using nLite in conjunction with this method.
You should keep your manual install files when using nLite, or this will not work.
Plug in your USB flash drive and write down what drive letter Windows assigned it.
(mine was G)
Open the folder that you just created from the file you downloaded called usb_prep8.
Inside the usb_prep8 folder, double click the executable named usb_prep8.cmd.
Source:http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/howto/227-xpnvistausb?start=3
