{"id":35,"date":"2010-01-02T20:41:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-02T20:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/?p=35"},"modified":"2010-01-02T20:41:00","modified_gmt":"2010-01-02T20:41:00","slug":"how-to-create-a-bootable-upgrade-or-installation-usb-thumb-drive-to-install-windows-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/2010\/01\/02\/how-to-create-a-bootable-upgrade-or-installation-usb-thumb-drive-to-install-windows-7\/","title":{"rendered":"How to create a bootable upgrade or installation USB thumb drive to install Windows 7"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Before you begin, you will require the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>USB Flash Drive (4GB minimum)<\/li>\n<li>Windows 7 ISO Image file (or DVD as explained in how to create ISO section)<\/li>\n<li>Reading all of my notes completely as things change if you are doing an upgrade vs. new installation. (see the upgrade section for important info.)<\/li>\n<li>You must be careful when using any tool that formats drives &#8211; you could toast your current operating system if you are not careful!! I take no responsibility for your lack of attention to detail or inability to read and FOLLOW ALL of these instructions!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The VERY easy ways first!<br \/><b>Method one:<\/b><br \/>Use the Windows 7 USB\/DVD tool! <br \/>You will need and ISO image of Windows 7.<br \/>Installation:<br \/>To install the Windows 7 USB\/DVD Download tool:<br \/>1. Download the Windows 7 USB\/DVD <a href=\"http:\/\/images2.store.microsoft.com\/prod\/clustera\/framework\/w7udt\/1.0\/en-us\/Windows7-USB-DVD-tool.exe\">Download tool installation file.<\/a><br \/>2. When you are prompted to, either save the file to disk or run it, choose Run.<br \/>3. Follow the steps in the setup dialogs. You&#8217;ll have the option to specify where to install the Windows 7 USB\/DVD Download tool and whether to create shortcuts on your Start Menu or Windows Desktop.<br \/>[You need to be an administrator on the computer you are installing the Windows 7 USB\/DVD Download tool on.]<br \/>Launch the tool, navigate to your ISO file (usually purchased directly through Microsoft store or created by you \u2013 see the creating and ISO section), and walk through the wizard.<br \/>(Note you can use this tool with Windows Vista ISO too to create a Vista USB install)<br \/>That&#8217;s it.<br \/>The wizard lets you select your source ISO file (Win 7 install), it formats your USB drive\/stick, and then copies all your files over and makes that USB drive\/stick bootable.<\/p>\n<p>Once you have created your \u2018bootable USB Thumb drive you are ready to install.<\/p>\n<p>To do that, reboot your computer. <br \/>Now while your system is starting up press the appropriate button (usually F1, F2, F12, ESC, Backspace, or Escape) to bring up Bios Boot Menu. <br \/>Change the startup order to boot USB by default. Once done, save changes and restart the system.<br \/>On some systems (like Dell) you can just press F12 for a \u2018select boot\u2019 option too \u2013 very easy.<br \/>The install (or upgrade to) your new operating system.<br \/>&nbsp; <br \/>For Windows XP Users<br \/>The following applications must be installed prior to installing the tool:<br \/>* Microsoft .NET Framework v2 must be installed. It can be downloaded <a href=\"http:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/downloads\/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856EACB-4362-4B0D-8EDD-AAB15C5E04F5&amp;displaylang=en\">here.<\/a><br \/>* Microsoft Image Mastering API v2 must be installed. It can be downloaded <a href=\"http:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/downloads\/details.aspx?FamilyId=B5F726F1-4ACE-455D-BAD7-ABC4DD2F147B&amp;displaylang=en\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Once the USB is created, by <i>any<\/i> method describe here, search for and delete the file named &#8216;ei.cfg&#8217;. This is usually located in the &#8216;\\sources\\&#8217; directory.<\/p>\n<p>Doing this step is what makes the USB memory stick allow you to install any version of Windows 7 as it no longer has a <i>default<\/i> version configured.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><i>[Warning: This procedure will allow you to install a copy of Windows 7 that you may not be licensed to have. Therefore you need to be very careful to only select a version that you have a <b><u>licensed key for<\/u><\/b> <u>as you will not be able activate Windows without valid a key!]<\/u><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Method Two:<\/b><br \/>This is much like method one just using an open source tool.<br \/>Use the UNetbootin (Universal Netboot Installer) tool <a href=\"http:\/\/downloads.sourceforge.net\/project\/unetbootin\/UNetbootin\/377\/unetbootin-windows-377.exe?use_mirror=cdnetworks-us-1\">found here<\/a>.<br \/>Insert the USB drive, run UNetbootin, and select Disk Image as ISO. Browse your local drive for Windows 7 ISO that you downloaded and click Open. Now Select Type as USB and choose the drive. Once done, it will look like a bit similar to the screenshot shown below.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh4.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0AfxQwKkdI\/AAAAAAAAACM\/QRYVOyhYLos\/s1600-h\/clip_image002%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image002\" border=\"0\" height=\"166\" src=\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0AfxoRvsMI\/AAAAAAAAACQ\/tyau0yFn69s\/clip_image002_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image002\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Click OK and it will begin extracting all installation files to the USB drive. The whole process will take some time, so have patience.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Afx-KjijI\/AAAAAAAAACU\/vm1a6F3dIiU\/s1600-h\/clip_image004%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image004\" border=\"0\" height=\"134\" src=\"http:\/\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0AfyA_ENSI\/AAAAAAAAACY\/SNkonhcA5ek\/clip_image004_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image004\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>&nbsp;Follow same method as above to boot to the USB drive.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<b>How to create ISO:<\/b><br \/>If you have a CD or DVD and <i><u>not<\/u><\/i> an ISO you can try and create and ISO from your DVD using one of these <i><u>Freeware<\/u><\/i> tools:<br \/><b>LC ISO Creator<\/b> creates ISO files from CD\/DVD-ROM. <br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Afy7uRqUI\/AAAAAAAAACc\/ftjAd1TZMI8\/s1600-h\/clip_image005%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image005\" border=\"0\" height=\"22\" src=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0AfzFbGpxI\/AAAAAAAAACg\/Z8agqwJqczU\/clip_image005_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image005\" width=\"22\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lucersoft.com\/files\/free\/LCISOCreator.zip\">download<\/a> (LCISOCreator.zip &#8211; 14 kB)<br \/><b>ImageBurn <\/b><br \/>ImgBurn is a lightweight CD \/ DVD \/ HD DVD \/ Blu-ray burning application that everyone should have in their toolkit!<br \/>Get ImgBurn <a href=\"http:\/\/download.imgburn.com\/SetupImgBurn_2.5.0.0.exe\">here<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>About upgrading to Windows 7:<\/b><br \/>This section was taken from <a href=\"http:\/\/mycraniumdrain.blogspot.com\/2009\/10\/upgrade-windows-7-from-release.html\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>When doing an upgrade MS limits you to what &#8216;type or flavor&#8217; of the OS you can upgrade to.   <br \/>Example; Vista Home Premium can only be upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 RC(and therefore &#8216;Ultimate&#8217;) can only go to Windows 7 Ultimate etc.    <br \/>BUT HERE IS THE GREAT PART!    <br \/>That is not entirely true!    <br \/>You can upgrade to a different version with a simple registry adjustment.    <br \/>Open a command prompt on your Vista or (Windows 7 Release Candidate) machine and type in:    <br \/>Regedit    <br \/>Navigate to HKLM(HKEY_Local_Machine)Software\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\ CurrentVersion    <br \/>Change EditionID on the reg key from &#8220;Ultimate&#8221; to &#8220;[youreditionhere]&#8221;    <br \/>and     <br \/>Change ProductName on the reg key from Windows 7 Ultimate to &#8220;Windows 7 [youreditionhere]&#8221;    <br \/>(minus the quotes of course)    <br \/>Example:    <br \/>EdittionID Professional    <br \/>ProductName Windows 7 Professional<br \/>Close the registry editor, restart and do your install.    <\/p>\n<p>I have used this registry trick to upgrade some corporate Netbooks that came with Windows 7 Starter to Volume Licensed versions of Window 7 Enterprise.<\/p>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/><b>Method Three \u2013 the hard(er) way:<\/b><br \/><b><\/b><br \/><b>Creating bootable Windows 7 USB install using Vista and Windows 7 installation DVD:<\/b><br \/>Step 1. Insert the Windows 7 DVD into your computer and the USB memory stick into your computer<br \/>Step 2. Open a \u201cCommand Prompt\u201d and run \u201cDISKPART\u201d.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0AfzUOLfmI\/AAAAAAAAACk\/YBJKwQxb9YQ\/s1600-h\/clip_image007%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image007\" border=\"0\" height=\"44\" src=\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0AfzRHUnOI\/AAAAAAAAACo\/NC4r7zWtRz8\/clip_image007_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image\n007\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>This will launch the diskpart utility in a separate window and perform a UAC prompt (allow access)<br \/>Step 3. Type \u201cLIST DISK\u201d and take note what the disk number is of the USB memory stick. This will be the same size as the USB memory stick (eg. 3824 MB = 4 GB).<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Afz0_avWI\/AAAAAAAAACs\/8wtqxcacmVg\/s1600-h\/clip_image009%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image009\" border=\"0\" height=\"126\" src=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af0F6mNBI\/AAAAAAAAACw\/jXQyg3X1hF0\/clip_image009_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image009\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Step 4. Then type \u201cSELECT DISK X\u201d where X is the disk number of the USB memory stick.<a href=\"http:\/\/lh4.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af0T8uPqI\/AAAAAAAAAC0\/1LOq-BtayNk\/s1600-h\/clip_image011%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image011\" border=\"0\" height=\"125\" src=\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af0p1fX7I\/AAAAAAAAAC4\/rTdIqB6Q_qM\/clip_image011_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image011\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Step 5. Type \u201cCLEAN\u201d. Warning \u2013 This will wipe all data from the USB memory stick.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af0122_iI\/AAAAAAAAAC8\/CipIebBDdUM\/s1600-h\/clip_image013%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image013\" border=\"0\" height=\"126\" src=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af1HyuGVI\/AAAAAAAAADA\/t6AVc5IQZrA\/clip_image013_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image013\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Step 6. Type \u201cCREATE PARTITION PRIMARY\u201d<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af1TIFJcI\/AAAAAAAAADE\/VX6n_YNfgCQ\/s1600-h\/clip_image015%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image015\" border=\"0\" height=\"126\" src=\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af1o633VI\/AAAAAAAAADI\/BUoTvgqlmG4\/clip_image015_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image015\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Step 7. Type \u201cSELECT PARTITION 1\u201d<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af2I3KcMI\/AAAAAAAAADM\/S7hegh3KD18\/s1600-h\/clip_image017%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image017\" border=\"0\" height=\"126\" src=\"http:\/\/lh4.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af2TZ2H1I\/AAAAAAAAADQ\/iiIEdHPIRuM\/clip_image017_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image017\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Step 8. Type \u201cACTIVE\u201d<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af2lsYinI\/AAAAAAAAADU\/YepslrkvaWY\/s1600-h\/clip_image019%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image019\" border=\"0\" height=\"125\" src=\"http:\/\/lh4.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af2x8QMwI\/AAAAAAAAADY\/EHKvauAk8J8\/clip_image019_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image019\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Step 9. Type \u201cFORMAT FS=FAT32\u201d (and wait about 5 minutes depending on the size and speed of the USB memory stick)<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af3H-FEUI\/AAAAAAAAADc\/O0SNnGqOOmI\/s1600-h\/clip_image021%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image021\" border=\"0\" height=\"125\" src=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af3YcJRzI\/AAAAAAAAADg\/4AocmIpyCPs\/clip_image021_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image021\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Step 10. Type \u201cASSIGN\u201d.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af3fGhveI\/AAAAAAAAADk\/DtqSRkxCyvc\/s1600-h\/clip_image023%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image023\" border=\"0\" height=\"125\" src=\"http:\/\/lh4.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af3pbx2UI\/AAAAAAAAADo\/FRJ0-Y2fFM4\/clip_image023_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image023\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>You will notice the auto play window now appears. Take note of the drive letter (e.g. F:\\ ) and close this window.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh4.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af38AYrkI\/AAAAAAAAADw\/I3T9PLwWltw\/s1600-h\/clip_image025%5B3%5D.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image025\" border=\"0\" height=\"176\" src=\"http:\/\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af4djjEWI\/AAAAAAAAAD0\/TH5eLwA7A2A\/clip_image025_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image025\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Step 11. Type \u201cEXIT\u201d<br \/>Step 12. Back at the command prompt type \u201cxcopy d:*.* \/s\/e\/f F:\u201d where D: is the drive letter of you DVD and F: is the drive letter of your USB Memory stick.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af4tj2NZI\/AAAAAAAAAD4\/84YOQRGVeGU\/s1600-h\/clip_image027%5B3%5D.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image027\" border=\"0\" height=\"50\" src=\"http:\/\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af4xBtwwI\/AAAAAAAAAD8\/Rw_ThdMRffg\/clip_image027_thumb.gif?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image027\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Don\u2019t worry if it takes a long time to copy boot.wim and install.wim as these are the two largest files on the DVD.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af5Jw9eFI\/AAAAAAAAAEA\/SoVlXtrUlVc\/s1600-h\/clip_image029%5B3%5D.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image029\" border=\"0\" height=\"142\" src=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af5VsJjlI\/AAAAAAAAAEE\/l3xHMv3ph8E\/clip_image029_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image029\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>Step 13. Once the xcopy is finished&nbsp; run \u201cdel F:\\sources\\ei.cfg\u201d from the command prompt and you Windows 7 Bootable USB memory stick is ready to go. Doing this step is what makes the USB memory stick allow you to install any version of Windows 7 as it no longer has a default version configured.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af57Uvr0I\/AAAAAAAAAEI\/hCTlUtwXwLQ\/s1600-h\/clip_image031%5B3%5D.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image031\" border=\"0\" height=\"48\" src=\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af6CHZB7I\/AAAAAAAAAEM\/FTPyJw0348Y\/clip_image031_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image031\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><br \/>You can now either boot from the USB memory stick or just run setup.exe from the drive to start the install process. Either way you will now prompted for the version of Windows 7 you want to install.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af6dVjZTI\/AAAAAAAAAEQ\/ctWY_6Ngdog\/s1600-h\/clip_image033%5B3%5D.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"clip_image033\" border=\"0\" height=\"187\" src=\"http:\/\/lh4.ggpht.com\/_WjVexuqdNfY\/S0Af6lZtHRI\/AAAAAAAAAEU\/iPAnSaie4v0\/clip_image033_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800\" style=\"border: 0px none; display: inline;\" title=\"clip_image033\" width=\"244\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before you begin, you will require the following: USB Flash Drive (4GB minimum) Windows 7 ISO Image file (or DVD as explained in how to create ISO section) Reading all of my notes completely as things change if you are doing an upgrade vs. new installation. (see the upgrade section for important info.) You must &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/2010\/01\/02\/how-to-create-a-bootable-upgrade-or-installation-usb-thumb-drive-to-install-windows-7\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How to create a bootable upgrade or installation USB thumb drive to install Windows 7&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":587,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,31,13,8,59,19,1,11,15],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/587"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}