BOOTING WINDOWS 7/VISTA/8/8.1 x86/x64 from USB-STICK
Latest work posted on Post # 8 of this thread
I'm creating this post in a separate thread from the NT 6.x Fast Installer to address the issue after a successful installation of Windows to a USB.
After Installing Windows7 64Bit to a 7.46 GB USB (I know I only have 300 MB free in the USB drive after Installation but I had not choice as that is the only USB I have), I proceed to Reboot and the final installation came up (Setup Installing device drivers, configuring desktop, Network, etc) and finally I got the desktop with Windows7 x64 Booted from the USB. Hurray !! ... Great Job fujianabc
But then I realized that the BCDedit just listed only that OS (the USB) and nothing about the other OS's in the other 2 hard drives I have.
I desperate started looking for a solution and did a lot of Google'ing.
I learned some BCDedit commands to add an entry to the BCD store but nothing of the commands I entered worked.
Probably one of the reasons was that the USB was listed as a "Removable Device"
I installed the program "EASYBCD 2.0" and try to add an entry to BCDedit but for my surprise the Removable Letter where the USB is located was not listed as I concluded most BCDedit GUI programs only work with "Fixed Disks"
Then I saw a post on the main thread on NT 6.x Fast Installer talking about converting a "USB Removable disk" to a "Fixed disk" and "Flip the removable bit". I copied the exact phrase and pasted on Google search and I found this link almost at the beginning of the search:
This is a small tool to Flip the Removable Bit in a USB, and was written primarily to create multi-partitions on USB drives. I bet there are similar tools on the Net but this one did the job for me.
I downloaded the small program listed there, and read the instructions and I was a bit concerned as it gives a warning about data loss, but as I was not going to format it I decided to run the tool and then I clicked on a button called: "Flip Removable Bit".
I opened "My computer" and indeed the USB stick was listed under the Fixed Disks. Hurray again !!
So I proceeded and Added the entry to BCD with EasyBCD 2.0
I rebooted and the whole list of OS's was presented including the Windows7 x64 from the USB.
I started with that OS and the system started for 5 - 10 seconds and then it rebooted itself.
I did it a second time and the same issue, it rebooted just while the rotating windows icon was showing.
I think this is due to the small Free space left in the USB (just 285 MB of Free Disk)
Anyways I restarted with a "Windows7 x64 Repair CD" I had downloaded previously and went to the command prompt and issued the command: "Bootrec.exe /FixMBR" and "Bootrec.exe /FixBoot", also run "ChkDsk /F /R /V /X" just in case.
And now the USB boots normally as well as the other OS's listed.
Before this I had to go to BIOS and change either the USB or the Hard Disk to select which one to boot with, and that was a real pain.
I Hope this help someone else.
By the way I posted this thread from Windows7 x64 Booted from the USB