Installing Windows Vista/7 Via flash drive (Mussels Method)

Velvet Wafer · Apr 20, 2010

i personally like the WinSetup from USB method... after making a DOS bootable with HP Disk Format tool!
hasnt failed me once, since the people from TPU explained it to me!

overclocking101 · May 22, 2010

will this work using a usb external hdd?? I dont have a 16gb flash drive and my dvd drive is all fecked up

AsRock · May 22, 2010

Cool, should work with a HDD too huh ?. If i partition enough space for the files to goto should be good to go.

Remember some thing like this with win98 were you could install of the HDD with added commands and stuff..

Mussels · May 23, 2010

it should work off a HDD too, so long as you get the boot order of the HDD's right (boot from the install drive, and after the first reboot swap the order back to the one the OS is now installed on)

AsRock · May 23, 2010

Mussels said:
it should work off a HDD too, so long as you get the boot order of the HDD's right (boot from the install drive, and after the first reboot swap the order back to the one the OS is now installed on)

Just what i was thinking

.

overclocking101 · May 23, 2010

yep it does work! i tried it out before you guys commented and it works, only thing is I forgot partitioning it so the win 7 files are mixed in with my other folders but it sill boots and installs fine. Thank god! my orginal disk got all scratched up (kids

) but before hand I managed to rip the iso off it but when I try and burn it my dvdrw wont burn it right keeps giving errors, I think its time for a new rw drive.

Mussels · May 23, 2010

overclocking101 said:
yep it does work! i tried it out before you guys commented and it works, only thing is I forgot partitioning it so the win 7 files are mixed in with my other folders but it sill boots and installs fine. Thank god! my orginal disk got all scratched up (kids ) but before hand I managed to rip the iso off it but when I try and burn it my dvdrw wont burn it right keeps giving errors, I think its time for a new rw drive.

was it LIGHTNING FAST install time?

brandonwh64 · Jun 11, 2010

Mussels, do you know how to do this with XP as well? I would like to make a XP flash drive that its only intent in life is to install an OS

Mussels · Jun 12, 2010

brandonwh64 said:
Mussels, do you know how to do this with XP as well? I would like to make a XP flash drive that its only intent in life is to install an OS

my method doesnt work for XP, but i'm pretty sure the first post has a link to a program that works with XP (quote at bottom of post)

overclocking101 · Jun 12, 2010

the install time literally cut more than half the time off compared to the standard cd method, thanks mussels! now i use my ehdd for my instal/repairs and it literally take less than 15 min. its like installing xp but a little faster!

Wile E · Jun 12, 2010

brandonwh64 said:
Mussels, do you know how to do this with XP as well? I would like to make a XP flash drive that its only intent in life is to install an OS

It can be done, but it's a bit more difficult, as the XP install resets the USB bus multiple times.

Mussels · Jun 12, 2010

overclocking101 said:
the install time literally cut more than half the time off compared to the standard cd method, thanks mussels! now i use my ehdd for my instal/repairs and it literally take less than 15 min. its like installing xp but a little faster!

I know, how great is it to install an OS in <20 minutes? once you get drivers in and copy-pasta steam (in my case its on my second partition so it doesnt move) you can have an OS up to date and ready for gaming in less than 30 minutes.

Wile E said:
It can be done, but it's a bit more difficult, as the XP install resets the USB bus multiple times.

yeah, exactly why its trickier. it resets the bus so the drive letters change, and XP doesnt like it. Vista/7 copy all files to the HDD in the first step, and it installs from there.

mrigom · Jun 13, 2010

xp method

found out for u guys please say thanks if u liked it

u need a xp sp2 or 3 non modified disk

read instructions carefully as follows in below links if u miss out even 1 step it wont work.

links below

http://www.eeeguides.com/2007/11/installing-windows-xp-from-usb-thumb.html

http://www.pctipsbox.com/installing-windows-xp-using-a-usb-flash-drive/

enjoy.

AsRock · Mar 13, 2011

Maybe you should list the flash drives you had luck with and the ones you did not. Why is i just tried 3 of mine and all fail one way or another.

Drives in question

Patriot XT 4GB ( see's it then skips it )
OCZ Rally 2 4GB ( Please use a bootable disk blah blah )
Transend USB 3.0 8GB ( hangs with a flashing line at top of the screen ).

About to try them in my other system if the reaction is different.

EDIT:
Other system
Patriot XT 4GB ( askes for bootable drive)
OCZ Rally 2 4GB (askes for bootable drive )
Transend USB 3.0 8GB ( hangs with a flashing line at top of the screen ).

slyfox2151 · Mar 14, 2011

i have my windows install perminently on the first 4GB partition on my HDD, installs ways faster then from a DVD.... a little bit faster then a USB flash drive.

works just like a dual boot system... asks if i want to boot windows 7 or install windows 7

AsRock · Mar 14, 2011

Seems like a edit button issue cannot change and save :|.. But anyways after doing that test very shortly after thought that was a bit to fast and then noticed that the command that Mussel posted was not working right for what ever as it's not copying all the files over :|....

Mussels · Mar 14, 2011

i actually found a new tool to automate the process, from microsoft themselves i think. uploading it to megaupload, since its too large to attach on the forum.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X8RCPPZD

slyfox2151 · Mar 14, 2011

an alternative option to that,

open up your DVD/folder containing the windows files,
Press ALT and click tools, select folder options.
then click the View tab.
make sure "Show Hidden Files" is turned on.

press OK.

now all you need to do is COPY/Paste the files onto the device you want to boot from.
make sure the device is set to NTFS or FAT32 and ACTIVE partition.

open up Command Promt with admin mode. (hold CTRL + SHIFT when you open it)
now navigate to the device drive letter.. Lets call it D:
so you would type the following,
D:
cd D:/Boot
Bootsec.exe /NT60 D:

and your done, restart your PC and select the proper boot device.

for a proper guide go here: http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-install-windows-7vista-from-usb-drive-detailed-100-working-guide/

same instructions for Flash drives as it is for a HDD or even a SSD.

micropage7 · Mar 14, 2011

Mussels said:
legalities are unrelated here: this thread is not related to pirating copies of an OS, merely for how to install your OS that you already have via a flash drive

yeah it just a tutorial how if you wanna install it in netbook or tablet that doesnt have any optical drive and its kinda wasting buying external dvd drive. why dont you use your flashdisk to install it
about legallity i guess theres ok as long as you have the original os (buy that)

RejZoR · Mar 14, 2011

Bah, never bothered with these complicated guides. Just use program "WinToFlash", point to required sources and you're done in 3 clicks. Am using it for ages and is awesome.

Mussels · Mar 14, 2011

RejZoR said:
Bah, never bothered with these complicated guides. Just use program "WinToFlash", point to required sources and you're done in 3 clicks. Am using it for ages and is awesome.

my guide wasnt that complicated, you merely had to copy paste one line of text. the benefit was that it worked even if you didnt have admin rights, or couldnt see hidden files/folders for some reason.

as you said however, there are also tools out there that do it automagically these days.

AsRock · Mar 14, 2011

Mussels said:
my guide wasnt that complicated, you merely had to copy paste one line of text. the benefit was that it worked even if you didnt have admin rights, or couldnt see hidden files/folders for some reason.

as you said however, there are also tools out there that do it automagically these days.

Which either that command don't work right in Vista or another DVD player i have is playing ass..

Mussels · Mar 14, 2011

AsRock said:
Which either that command don't work right in Vista or another DVD player i have is playing ass..

true. thats why i linked to the new program a few posts back. the command isnt needed anymore.

LifeOnMars · Mar 15, 2011

Nice one Steveo, Installing windows 7 tonight again using this method as I have just got a cheap as chips HD 5870 and prefer a nice clean install after my previous Nvidia card.

Mussels · Aug 28, 2014

Thread updated with a newer method that allows multiple windows OS's on the one USB. nice little windows GUI, but a few more steps than the old method.

This method supports XP.

System Name	Nexus PC
Processor	Intel Xeon E3-1231 v3, 3600 MHz
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-H97-HD3
Cooling	Thermalright Macho V2
Memory	24GB DDR3, 1400MHZ CL8
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Radeon R9 290
Storage	Samsung EVO 960 250gb, EVO 850 250gb, Vertex 3 128gb. 2 TB of Rotational.
Display(s)	1xAsus MX299, 2x Asus MX239, Oculus Rift CV1
Case	Sunflower Tower
Audio Device(s)	C-Media CMI8738/C3DX
Power Supply	Corsair TX850
Mouse	Cyborg R.A.T. 7
Software	Win7 64Bit Ultimate

System Name	The wifes worst enemy
Processor	i5-9600k
Motherboard	Asrock z390 phantom gaming 4
Cooling	water
Memory	16gb G.skill ripjaw DDR4 2400 4X4GB 15-15-15-35-2T
Video Card(s)	Asrock 5600xt phantom gaming 6gb 14gb/s
Storage	crucial M500 120GB SSD, Pny 256GB SSD, seagate 750GB, seagate 2TB HDD, WD blue 1TB 2.5" HDD
Display(s)	27 inch samsung @ 1080p but capable of much more ;)
Case	Corsair AIR 540 Cube Mid tower
Audio Device(s)	onboard
Power Supply	EVGA GQ1000W MODULAR
Mouse	generic for now
Keyboard	generic for now
Software	gotta love steam, origin etc etc
Benchmark Scores	http://hwbot.org/user/philbrown_23/

Processor	AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard	ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling	D15
Memory	Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s)	eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage	Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s)	Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case	Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse	Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard	Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores	Meh benchmarks.

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

Processor	AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard	ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling	D15
Memory	Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s)	eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage	Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s)	Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case	Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse	Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard	Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores	Meh benchmarks.

System Name	The ClusterF**k
Processor	980X @ 4Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 BIOS F12
Cooling	MCR-320, DDC-1 pump w/Bitspower res top (1/2" fittings), Koolance CPU-360
Memory	3x2GB Mushkin Redlines 1600Mhz 6-8-6-24 1T
Video Card(s)	Evga GTX 580
Storage	Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB, 2xSeagate 320GB RAID0; 2xSeagate 3TB; 2xSamsung 2TB; Samsung 1.5TB
Display(s)	HP LP2475w 24" 1920x1200 IPS
Case	Technofront Bench Station
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Fi Forte into Onkyo SR606 and Polk TSi200's + RM6750
Power Supply	ENERMAX Galaxy EVO EGX1250EWT 1250W
Software	Win7 Ultimate N x64, OSX 10.8.4

System Name	SPEEDSTER TECHSTER TECHKNOW SPEEDOUT
Processor	i3540@3.8 l e2180@3.0 l p42.66@3.0 l p4 2.0 l
Motherboard	p7p55d l G41-ES2L l g31-S2L l intel 845gl l
Cooling	H50push pull NZXT fans l cm tx3 l glacialtech igloo l oem intel
Memory	vs1333d3 dc 4gb l transcend dc 2gb l 1gb sc kingmax l 512mb IBM
Video Card(s)	sapphire 5850 non ref l ax4890 l palit green 9600GT 512 l onboard intel extreem shit l
Storage	WD GREEN 2TB l WD GREEN 640 l barracuda 500 \ barracuda 250 \ barracuda 200\ 40 SAMSUNG l 80 samsung
Display(s)	ACER AL1916W l LG E700s l AOC S5G10 l
Case	NZXT HADES l IBALL GENERIC l iball workhorse l Zenith OEM l
Audio Device(s)	All onboard REALTEK 7.1 l 7.1 REALTEK l 5.1 REALTEK l 4CH SOUND MAX l
Power Supply	SILVERSTONE ST50F l SIVERSTONE ST50EF l Richtech 450W l Oddssey 300W
Software	Win 7 Ultimate 32bit \ win XP PRO SP3 32bit \ win XP corp sp3 32bit \ win XP home sp3 32bit
Benchmark Scores	razer da 3500dpi logitech g15 v2 \umax keyboard mouse \samsung keyboard mouse \intex usb keyboard mi

System Name	MRCOMP!
Processor	5800X3D
Motherboard	MSI Gaming Plus
Cooling	Corsair 280 AIO
Memory	64GB 3600mhz
Video Card(s)	GTX3060
Storage	1TB SSD
Display(s)	Samsung Neo
Case	No Case... just sitting on cardboard :D
Power Supply	Antec 650w

System Name	micropage7
Processor	Intel Xeon X3470
Motherboard	Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. P55A-UD3R (Socket 1156)
Cooling	Enermax ETS-T40F
Memory	Samsung 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Video Card(s)	NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800
Storage	V-GEN03AS18EU120GB, Seagate 2 x 1TB and Seagate 4TB
Display(s)	Samsung 21 inch LCD Wide Screen
Case	Icute Super 18
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Fi Forte
Power Supply	Silverstone 600 Watt
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Sades Excalibur + Taihao keycaps
Software	Win 7 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	Classified

System Name	Bad Moon Ryzen
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard	Asrock B450M Pro4-F
Cooling	Vetroo V5
Memory	Crucial Ballistix 32Gb (8gb x 4) 3200 MHz DDR 4
Video Card(s)	6700 XT
Storage	Samsung 860 Evo 1Tb, Samsung 860 Evo 500Gb,WD Black 8Tb, WD Blue 2Tb
Display(s)	Gigabyte G24F-2 (180Hz Freesync) & 4K Samsung TV
Case	Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact w/Dark Tempered Glass
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	MSI MPG A850GF (850w)
VR HMD	Rift S

Installing Windows Vista/7 Via flash drive (Mussels Method)

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