How To Install Windows Xp Using Flash Drive

Here'southward how to create a bootable Windows SD card or USB flash drive. This is perfect for installing windows on a Netbook or Tablet PC.

Update: Windows 7 is no longer supported past Microsoft. Bank check out our article on how to create a bootable Windows 10 drive.

If you're working with a netbook or a tablet computer, you likely won't take an included DVD-ROM bulldoze. Normally this is fantastic! Information technology makes your overall device lighter, and less expensive. Merely, if yous need to install or reformat Windows, then yous run into some problems rather apace. No DVD drive means you can't simply burn a copy of Windows and throw information technology in in that location. Fortunately, most netbooks accept an SD Card slot, and all of them support USB Pen Drives. Let'southward use that to our advantage and get Windows running.

What you demand to do this:

A minimum of an8GB* removable storage disk. This storage tin be an SD menu or a USB Flash Drive.
A estimator that is already running Windows.
A Windows 7, Vista, or XP installation disk, or .iso file equivalent.

Although you only need 8GB, merely grab a 32GB or 64GB from Amazon. As of 2022, it'southward probably more expensive to buy a smaller drive vs. a 64GB or larger. Also, don't forget to verify the motherboard you're installing Windows on supports booting from a USB / removable storage bulldoze. This is fairly common now but if you're trying to install Windows on an older machine, something to think about if you run into issues.

Step 1

Alright, so you lot have your SD Card or a USB Pen Drive (some people call either of these flash drives.) Keep in mind that if yous go the SD Card route, make certain your estimator has an SD Bill of fare reader. The good news, they are cheap on Amazon and then not a large deal if you need to order i existent rapidly.

Once you have procured yourself ane of these, plug it into your computer. If you have annihilation valuable saved on your portable storage, back up any data you lot have saved on your SD/USB before we get started. In the steps that follow we'll be formatting and completely cleaning information technology out in the process of turning it into a windows boot deejay.

*Oh, before I forget, agreat thing most USB Flash Drives, I suppose a 3GB drive would work, but as far equally I know, that is a very unusual size. And besides, one time yous are done installing you can apply the 4GB drive for ReadyBoost to meliorate your system operation.

Pace 2

Go to the Commencement carte and type cmd in the search box to open upward the command prompt.

In this tutorial we'll come across a lot of command-line, so to go on information technology piece of cake I'll just list the command for each step. You'll demand to press Enter after each command is typed out.

First, we need to open diskpart, which is a cmd-line program built-in to Windows.

Type: Diskpart

Step three

A new window should announced with the system32\diskpart.exe in the championship bar.

Type: list disk

Some disks should appear in a small matrix (chart.) Expect for the 1 that matches the size of your SD Card/USB drive. It might not be an exact match since actual usable disk infinite is nearly five% less than what is advertised. For the side by side command, you need to enter the number that corresponds to that drive.

Type: select disk two

Step iv

At present that the disk is selected, we can start cleaning information technology up and getting it ready. These commands should exist the same for everyone, so just enter them one afterwards the other.

Blazon: make clean Type: create partition chief Type: select partition one Type: active Type: format fs=fat32

Footstep 5

Formatting will take a couple of minutes, then at present is a good time to grab a snack. ;)

In one case it is done, we'll assign a drive alphabetic character to your newly formatted removable storage disk.*

Type: assign letter of the alphabet=y Type: exit

*You don't have to use the letter of the alphabet "y" but since that is likely non taken we'll utilise information technology for this tutorial to keep things simple.

Stride half dozen

If you have a Windows 7 installation DVD, insert it into your DVD bulldoze. If instead, you take an installation .ISO, so mount it on your computer using a virtual disk bulldoze.

Once your disk is inserted, Click the Beginning Bill of fare and and then click Computer. A window should pop upwards listing all of your hard drives and removable storage. Look for your DVD bulldoze and make a notation of what letter is assigned to information technology. If you lot are using a virtual drive, it might exist called the BD-ROM drive instead of a DVD. In my instance, the DVD drive is assigned the letter "e," so that is what I'll be using in the adjacent step.

Step vii

Now, all we have to do is copy the files from the installation disk to the sd card. In the example beneath, e:\ is my DVD drive and y:\ is my SD bill of fare.

Type: xcopy e:\* y:\ /southward /eastward /f

This process might accept a while since you are transferring a little over 2GB worth of files.

Washed!

Later on the files ultimately transfer, you are done! You now have yourself a Windows installation portable drive.

At present for the reckoner that you desire to install Windows on using this, all y'all need to do is restart the reckoner and spam-press the F2 key while it is booting up; or whatsoever the setup key is, merely F2 is the standard for many systems. Pushing the F2 key should load up the system Bios. Here you lot have to get into the Boot Device Priority section and change the USB/SD card to #1 on the priority listing. In one case this is set up, your computer should care for your SD/USB just like a Windows 7 Installation DVD.