Win 7 install CD/USB stick :/

[1Kurgan1]

A few days back I made a Win 7 build 7077 USB stick and used it to put on my gf's comp. It worked fantastic. And that is what I am now using to post. Then 2 days ago I decide I'm going to use this same USB stick on my comp.

Pop the stick in and format the drive, then start the install. Eventually it errors out :/ At that time I was lost as I had used this exact stick/files on my gf's comp. So I once again wiped it and put the files back on, now it didn't even boot.

I have been fiddling with this for 2 days and it's killing me, really about to break something. I had given up on the USB stick and current was trying vLite to make a disc, and that isn't working either.

Any help/tips would be fantastic!

 

[95Viper]

If you haven't read this thread http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=90696&highlight=windows+install+usb, it might help you.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Yep, thats how I made my first working USB stick, then when it didnt work on my comp I used DaMulta's method both are not working, and not even on her comp now.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Well trying the USB method again. got the the part where I select my disk, then I clean it, then I make it active. it goes smooth until I try and make it active then it tells me I have no disk selected. So I do a list disk again and it shows an arrow in front of the USB stick (even though it says I had no disk selected).

 

[1Kurgan1]

Ok, so I couldn't get kyle's way to work so I used the HP USB format util and formatted the USB stick, Dropped Win 7 on there. That just got done, put it in my comp and I am seeing...

"DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"

 

[95Viper]

Are you?
1. Select it
2. Clean it
3. Partitioning it
4. Make it active
5. Format it in fat 32
6. Assign a drive letter

Then copying your files to it and setting your bios to boot the usb drive?

Just asking.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Yep. Like I said the first one I made worked great on my gf's comp, I then went to use that exact stick I used on her comp in mine and it didn't work.

I then brought that stick back to her comp where it previously worked and it didn't work there... And I have gone through many formats with that stick since then, they either tell me...

"DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"

or

"BOOTMGR IS MISSING"

So I made a DVD and that didn't work, but bootable dvd's need boot files and thats always been a bit confusing. So that could have been me.

If I cant figure this out soon I'm going to put my HDD in her comp and install Win 7. Problem with that is it puts the boot files on her HDD so every time I wanna start my comp I have to use her HDD then yank it after I'm in Windows and put it back in her comp. Really don't feel like doing that all the time.

 

[95Viper]

Try following this guide:http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/how_to_install_windows_7_beta_a_usb_key

Another guide:http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-install-windows-7vista-from-usb-drive-detailed-100-working-guide/

Hope this works...

 

[Polarman]

What is your USB stick? Does the manufacturer have it's own format tool?

 

[Mussels]

disk boot failure simply means the wrong boot device is set in your BIOS.

You need to change the boot device to the USB stick when you boot to install, and thne change it back to boot from the HDD when done.

 

[1Kurgan1]

I'll look at those guides when I get home.

The USB stick is a Kingston 4GB. I'll have to take a look if they got one. Just seems weird it worked the first time.

And I had the boot device set as the Kingston. I even had thought that myself to I unplugged all my HDD's and he CD drives so there was zero other bootable devices and the samething still happened.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Posting on my comp now. I tried both those links and followed the instructions to a T and all I got was "BOOTMGR MISSING", so I said F it. Last ditch effort I put my HDD in her comp, unzipped the ISO to a folder, grabbed all those files and dropped them on my freshly formatted HDD.

Tossed my HDD back in my comp and install win 7, once booted up I deleted the install files from the C drive. Wish I could have figured some other way, but well this worked.

 

[kyle2020]

woo, a guide I made kinda helped someone

 

[Mussels]

it can be a pain if you cant get it working, i have an 8GB with vista on it and a 128MB with DOS, and just leave em be... i'm yet to have a machine where it didnt work, but then again they were all modern systems (P35 and up, AM2+)

 

[Hayder_Master]

If you haven't read this thread http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=90696&highlight=windows+install+usb, it might help you.

agree , kyle do nice thread about it