Install Windows 7 From USB Flashdrive

Windows 7 is the latest release of Microsoft Windows operating system, a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs, and media center PCs. Windows 7 was released on July 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista. Windows 7’s server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released at the same time.

To install Windows 7, usually you get the original DVD from the case and install it. But DVDs can easily be broken or scratched. So there is an alternative to install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive. This way you can keep your original DVD safe, and when you need to reinstall Windows you can use your USB flash drive instead of your DVD. And USB flash drive read/write speed is much faster than an optical DVD drive, so it will also speed up your installation process.

Requirements:
* USB Flash Drive (Minimum 4 GB)
* Windows 7 or Vista original DVD.

Steps to install Windows 7 from USB flash drive:

1. Plug in your USB flash drive.

2. Open Command Prompt with administrator rights.

3. Enter the commands below one by one:

DISKPART

LIST DISK  #Find your USB flashdrive number, in my case it was Disk 1

SELECT DISK 1

CLEAN #this command will clean all the partition, be sure you don't have any important data inside

CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

SELECT PARTITION 1

ACTIVE

FORMAT FS=NTFS

ASSIGN

EXIT

4. Next insert your Windows 7/Vista DVD into the DVD drive. In my case my DVD drive letter is “G” and USB drive letter is “H”.

5. Make the USB flash drive bootable (open command prompt again):

G:
CD BOOT
BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 H:   # "H" is my USB drive letter

6. Copy your Windows 7/Vista DVD contents to the USB flash drive.

7. Your USB drive is ready to boot and install Windows 7/Vista.

Note: Change your BIOS setting to boot from USB flash drive. For some notebooks or PCs with RAID or newer SATA drives, you might need to include the driver in your USB flash drive to install it prior to the Windows 7/Vista installation.