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Install Windows 7/Vista From USB Drive


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#1 Brito

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Posted 17 January 2009 - 10:18 PM

The steps for preparing the USB Disk.

First you will need to open a cmd.exe window (type cmd.exe on your search box at the start menu, if you have doubts, just watch the video linked on the bottom).

Then type the following commands following the given order:

Diskpart
List Disk
Select Disk 1 (Replace 1 with number reflecting your USB Drive)
clean
create partition primary
active
format fs=fat32 quick
assign

Now, a drive letter reflecting the drive should appear. Copy the bits from the DVD to the USB Stick.
If you get errors along the way, simply remove the drive and repeat the process.

Author's article:
http://edge.technet....ng-a-USB-Stick/

There's also a video tutorial - http://mschnlnine.vo...7onUSB_edge.mp4

One note: diskpart doesn't allow this operation when running under XP.

:)

#2 steve6375

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 09:46 AM

When using DISKPART you only need to specify the first three letters for most commands e.g. FOR for FORMAT, CRE for CREATE - helps to speed up the process.

HTH

#3 was_jaclaz

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 11:32 AM

When using DISKPART you only need to specify the first three letters for most commands e.g. FOR for FORMAT, CRE for CREATE - helps to speed up the process.

HTH


and writing a txt command file:
http://www.ss64.com/nt/diskpart.html

The diskpart commands may be placed in a text file (one command per line) and used as an input file to diskpart.exe:
DiskPart.exe < diskpart.txt


will speed it even more.

FYI, I found a way to include diskpart commands in a batch, so that you can write a batch with the options you want:
http://www.msfn.org/...o...26069&st=19

jaclaz

#4 steve6375

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 11:50 AM

I use diskpart /s myscript.txt
:cheers:

#5 ilko

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 09:20 PM

Slightly more 'universal' way:
1. Format USB stick using HP USB format tool, FAT32 or NTFS
2. Copy contents of the DVD to the USB stick
3. If this is performed on 2000/XP/2003 system- rename BOOTMGR to NTLDR in USB stick root, or use bootsect.exe /nt60 U:, where U: is USB stick drive letter. Bootsect.exe can be found in the Vista/7 DVD.

#6 Brito

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 09:27 PM

The goal is booting without the HP tool since it's not legal to redistribute.. B)

diskpart works good in Vista/7, just too bad that XP doesn't like USB, wonder if there is a way to fix this? :cheers:

:cheers:

#7 ilko

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Posted 02 February 2009 - 11:41 AM

The goal is booting without the HP tool

Ohh, this must have been written elsewhere I didn't look at B)

since it's not legal to redistribute

Umm, it seems quite a lot of respectable internet sites are breaking this, not an excuse though. I wonder is there any EULA with the previous versions, 2.0.6 for example? :cheers:

XP doesn't like USB, wonder if there is a way to fix this?

Usage of dummydisk.sys or cfadisk.sys in order to present removable disks as fixed. Then partitioning operations are allowed as normal.
Or you meant something else?

#8 Brito

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Posted 02 February 2009 - 12:03 PM

Ohh, this must have been written elsewhere I didn't look at

It's not written but would be nice to use a tool perfectly legal and acessible for everyone, the HP tool has quite a reputation but I know we can do far better.. :cheers:

Umm, it seems quite a lot of respectable internet sites are breaking this, not an excuse though. I wonder is there any EULA with the previous versions, 2.0.6 for example

what a bumch of lazy guys.. B)

Usage of dummydisk.sys or cfadisk.sys in order to present removable disks as fixed. Then partitioning operations are allowed as normal.
Or you meant something else?

Hmm.. bright idea.. :cheers: Could this become a good solution?

Do you know if would it be possible to install and run the driver without reboot?

If so, we could have a good solution to install and uninstall on demand when using XP.

One could even do a little wizard wrapper to help users use diskpart and select the right USB drive.

This is an interesting thought, I wouldn't mind seeing a simple solution based on diskpart for all recent NT's.

:cheers:

#9 was_jaclaz

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Posted 02 February 2009 - 12:35 PM

@ilko

The HP USB Formatting tool comes with an EULA allright, also VERSION: 2.1.8 Rev. A

Find it attached, or download the package from here:
http://www.bay-wolf....usbmemstick.htm
and find it inside (open files with 7zip) as lic_US.rtf.

The EULA is shown when running SPSP27608.exe and you have to accept it to go on.

And just to add to the reason why I am currently :cheers: with Nuno (no, I am not, just kidding :cheers:):
http://www.boot-land...?...429&st=1078


you may find this interesting (should you have missed it at the time):
http://www.boot-land...?...=4902&st=48

to expand on it, there is a "version" of the HP USB utility that is just 34 Kb, simply because the embedded DOS 7.1 files were removed....:cheers:

As said, "technology" and info is already available, all that is missing is someone with propgramming skills to actually write a few lines of code....:cheers:

B)

jaclaz

Attached Files



#10 steve6375

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Posted 02 February 2009 - 03:20 PM

I have written an XP command line program RMPARTUSB to partition and format USB drives (FAT16 only so less than 2GB) and place on bootmgr boot code all in one go. It also has a GUI XP front end RMPREPUSB which calls the command line program.
I wrote this for the company I work for but it is free to use.
I intend to add FAT32 support to it at some time.

#11 steve6375

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Posted 02 February 2009 - 03:50 PM

here are the files. If you run RMPREPUSB you need RMPARTUSB too.

REMOVED - latest version posted in
RMPrepUSB

#12 MedEvil

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Posted 02 February 2009 - 04:20 PM

@jaclaz
Why don't you use one of those bat compilers and be done with it?

:cheers:

#13 ilko

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Posted 02 February 2009 - 05:55 PM

@Nuno- dummydisk.sys can be loaded dynamically, using DrvLoad for example. But cannot be unloaded. Deleting the service and reboot is needed.
cfadisk installation maybe a little more troublesome for novices.
Both does NOT have x64 versions, this is a serious downside IMO. I was told that dummydisk.sys cannot be (easily?) ported to x64 as it uses IDT (Interrupt Descriptor Table), which in x64 kernels is protected by PatchGuard. None of this is familiar to me, so cannot comment any further.
No idea if cfadisk can be changed and compiled for x64.

@jaclaz- thanks, I didn't even remember that the tool required installation, always used it as a single file.
I've noticed the stripped down version some time ago at 911cd.net forum, I guess will be as legal as redistributing the original one.

@steve6375- thanks for sharing this.

#14 was_jaclaz

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Posted 02 February 2009 - 07:53 PM

@jaclaz
Why don't you use one of those bat compilers and be done with it?

:cheers:


Why don't you read how my batches use a number of third party apps? :cheers:

And you misunderstood me, I do not need/want to "be done with it", I am perfectly familiar with the tools that I use, and can even make a USB stick bootable by hand, with just a hex/disk editor: it's not my problem.

I already did all I could in putting together the batch files, in a form that is usable even by non-experts, and shared the result to the Community.

Besides, I offered, if needed, my modest knowledge on the matter to any programmer willing to write the app, as long as the app is released with a Freeware/Careware license.

None of the programmers (or in some cases self-declared programmers) members of this board is interested in the matter, and it seems like everyone prefers to go on using the existing apps, and also in some cases redistributing them making use of "gray areas" or simply ignoring EULA's: that's perfectly allright with me :cheers:, but cannot avoid to remark this fact.

If you had actually had a look at it, before posting the first idea that crossed your mind, evidently just to see how much you could irritate me (for the record 11 in a scale from 0 to 10 :cheers: ), you would have seen how the batches use some features of the NT scripting that are not available in Freeware batch compilers.

I cannot see a reason in the world why I should buy a Commercial batch compiler license, thus consequently force everyone needing to modify something to buy another one. (IF a Commercial batch compiler can actually compile them).

@ilko
Now we are entering an even grayer area. B)

Actually while redistributing the "full" app, you break two EULA's, the HP one and the MS one (though most probably very few knew they had the 9x files within it)

Redistributing the patched file, you only break the HP one (twice, as you not only redistribute the file, but you also hacked it)

And I won't even name where the original patched file came from. :cheers:

Curiously enough, it is debatable whether the HP EULA is valid, I have reasons to believe that the utility was not written by HP at all. :cheers:

I am pretty sure that HP or MS won't sue anyone for redistributing the file, as they would have to sue half the internet, but still, it is not fair/correct to break an EULA or any other kind of agreement, even if you fear not the possible consequences.


jaclaz

#15 MedEvil

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Posted 02 February 2009 - 10:02 PM

just to see how much you could irritate me (for the record 11 in a scale from 0 to 10 :cheers: ),

Yippeee! Goal reached for today! Wasn't that hard after all. :cheers:

B)

#16 was_jaclaz

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Posted 03 February 2009 - 08:48 AM

Yippeee! Goal reached for today! Wasn't that hard after all. B)

:cheers:


Yep, it would be much harder if you tried to get the same result while avoiding to post first thing that comes to your mind, and actually use your brain in a productive way.

jaclaz

#17 MedEvil

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Posted 03 February 2009 - 11:52 AM

jaclaz, are you trying to annoy me? :cheers:

#18 was_jaclaz

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Posted 03 February 2009 - 11:26 PM

jaclaz, are you trying to annoy me? B)


Far from it :cheers:. I am trying to help you focusing your energies into irritating me as a side effect of an actual contribution, as opposed to irritating me just for the sake of it.

I mean, I do understand, though I cannot see an actual reason for it :cheers:, your general approach to introduce, one way or the other, some form of carping, taunting or mocking in every odd post of yours, and I am perfectly ok to bear a large part of these "collateral damages", as long as they actually appear, even remotely, productive.

In other words, I think "green" and since your body roughly consumes the same amount of calories whether you connect your brain or not, I'm trying to convince you in keeping it connected for longer periods, thus getting with the same increase of entropy, a better by-product.

See here:
http://www.boot-land...?...c=6867&st=8

I have great expectations from you, all I'm trying to do is to make you fully express your potentialities. :cheers:

:cheers:

jaclaz

#19 Christian

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 07:11 PM

Any chance of this making it's way to grub4dos? does it have to be placed on the root of the usb or can it be a directory?

#20 was_jaclaz

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 07:40 PM

Any chance of this making it's way to grub4dos? does it have to be placed on the root of the usb or can it be a directory?


What? :poke:

Sorry but I cannot understand what you are referring to. :poke:

The original "howto", the HP tool,the app posted by steve6375 ?

What relation is there between a formatting program/method and grub4dos?

jaclaz

#21 Christian

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 08:01 PM

What? :poke:

Sorry but I cannot understand what you are referring to. :poke:

The original "howto", the HP tool,the app posted by steve6375 ?

What relation is there between a formatting program/method and grub4dos?

jaclaz


My USB drive is already bootable, formatted with NTFS, and grldr + menu.lst. From what I gathered from the tutorial and video, it simply makes the usb device bootable and copies all the directories to the root of the drive. Since I already have Vista files and folders copied to the root of my usb drive I was wondering if this could be placed in a subdirectory and started someway or run as an ISO from grub or aero studio.

#22 was_jaclaz

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 08:05 PM

Since I already have Vista files and folders copied to the root of my usb drive I was wondering if this could be placed in a subdirectory and started someway or run as an ISO from grub or aero studio.


And still I do not understand what are you refeering to with this....:poke:

jaclaz

#23 ilko

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 08:38 PM

Just leave Vista/7 files in USB root and add to menu.lst:

title Start Vista Setup

chainloader /bootmgr

Is this what you asked for?

#24 Christian

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 08:47 PM

Just leave Vista/7 files in USB root and add to menu.lst:

title Start Vista Setup

chainloader /bootmgr

Is this what you asked for?


Thanks ilko, but if I copy the Win7 files to the root where Vista resides, will it try to over write any of the files?

#25 Christian

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 08:50 PM

And still I do not understand what are you refeering to with this....:poke:

jaclaz


Sorry Jaclaz, this meaning Windows 7 source files.




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