Installing Windows 7 From USB Stick

[AWS]

Follow these steps to install Windows 7 from a USB stick. This method is a fast way to install Windows 7. In my tests it takes 20-30 minutes on my system to install Windows 7 from the DVD. With this method it takes 10-15 minutes for a clean install. Upgrade installs are also much faster. Follow these steps to install Windows 7 from a USB stick.


You need a USB stick 4 gigs capacity or more. Once you have the USB stick you need to prep it by following these steps.

1. Click Start > Accessories > Command Prompt.
   
2. Right click command prompt and select Run As Administrator
   

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Once you have cmd running as administrator use these commands to prep the USB stick.

1. diskpart
   
2. list disks ( this will give you a list of all disks on your system. The usb stick should be the last listed. See note and attachment below. )
   
3. select disk # ( this should be the disk number listed in list disk options )
   
4. clean
   
5. create partition primary
   
6. select partition 1
   
7. active
   
8. format fs=fat32
   
9. assign
   
10. exit
    

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Once you follow these steps to prep the drive then copy all the files from the Windows 7 ISO to the USB drive. I use UltraISO to open the ISO and extract the files. You could also burn the ISO to DVD and then use Windows Explorer to copy the files from the DVD to the USB drive. I prefer using UtraISO since I have no use for a DVD copy.


After all the files are copied to the USB stick then restart, enter the bios and set it to boot from removable disk. On most computers you can hit F12 to get the boot menu. If your motherboard has this option then select the USB disk you prepared. Windows 7 Install will start. You'll be amazed at the speed it will install.


If you prefer to do an upgrade install then just open the USB drive in Windows Explorer and start the installer.


Make sure you select the correct disk when you format. You could erase data on the wrong drive and make your system unbootable.


If you have any problems or questions post them and I'll help you with them.

 

[Noles]

Excellent tutorial! I'll definitely be using this.

 

[Noles]

I need serious help. I installed it, and it's now at the desktop screen. It keeps trying to run Windows Explorer but keeps failing, and won't let me do anything. I'm on another computer right now.

 

[AWS]

Did you get this sorted out?

I haven't seen that type of problem. I did have a hang similar to that, but, then it reverted back to Vista. maybe that is what is happening.

 

[Noles]

Did you get this sorted out?

I haven't seen that type of problem. I did have a hang similar to that, but, then it reverted back to Vista. maybe that is what is happening.

Alright the problem is with the explorer.exe process. I kept trying to end it and I guess it finally worked, but now obviously I have no desktop/taskbar/start menu. I got programs running through the task manager, and if I try and open explorer.exe it just keeps failing to work. It will just start, stop running, and try and restart. Every time.

Here's a picture of my computer:

I tried running my computer if safe mode last night and it worked fine, which led me to believe that something in the full mode was interfering with the explorer process, thus making it faulty. Safe mode doesn't even work anymore though, and a lot of other problems seem to be arising now as well.

 

[AWS]

I have never seen that. I used that exact same download to upgrade one of my Vista installs. The only thing I can think of is to boot from the usb stick again and do a repair install. It should fix the problem.

You could also try using windows update to see if there is any drivers that need updating.

 

[AWS]

Just to add I'm not home. I am on my way to Vegas for a conference. Once I land I'll log into my home computer so I have access to the MSN.

 

[Noles]

I have never seen that. I used that exact same download to upgrade one of my Vista installs. The only thing I can think of is to boot from the usb stick again and do a repair install. It should fix the problem.

You could also try using windows update to see if there is any drivers that need updating.

I was thinking, do I actually need the USB for anything? I think the USB/disk would be needed if you're taking the Windows 7 installation to another computer... but you need it when you're using it on the one you downloaded the .iso for? I guess I shouldn't have ran a beta on my home computer anyway...

As for repair install, could you explain to me what you mean?

 

[AWS]

You can remove the usb stick. In fact it could be causing the problems. Shutdown, remove the usb and then reboot.

 

[Noles]

You can remove the usb stick. In fact it could be causing the problems. Shutdown, remove the usb and then reboot.

I've had the usb removed from the start.

The "repair install" is this?

 

[Noles]

YouTube - Windows 7 explorer.exe error

 

[Noles]

I think I'll just do a clean install of the RC provided by Microsoft, and see if that fixes things.

 

[Andrew]

Hi, when I try to run command prompt as Administrator (Right Click>Run As>Administrator)
It says the service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

Im using XP Professional SP3

EDIT: Ok, I got diskpart to work, but it doesn't show my flash drive. Any help?

 

[AWS]

You need to do this from in Windows Vista. There is another way to it with XP and I haven't had time to write up that one.

 

[Andrew]

Oh ok.
But don't worry, I won't need the XP guide, I got it installed by mounting it and running it