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install vista from a usb drive

by Dave Thu 16 October 2008 @ 13:21

This one is mostly for me. Kurt Shintaku put some instructions on the net some time about installing Vista from a USB Key. I’ve reproduced them here as I just got an error when loading his website, and I use these with some regularity. These instructions have been tested only on Windows XP and Vista. You will need a large fast USB key and the original Vista (or Vista plus SP1) installation DVD.

Open a command prompt, in elevated mode if you’re using Vista. Go through the following :

diskpart
list disk (Look to see which disk is your USB key. Make sure you get this right, or you’ll end up wiping something else.)
select disk x (where x is your USB key).
clean
create partition primary
active
format fs=fat32
assign
exit
xcopy d:\*.* /s/e/f h:\ OR robocopy d:\ h:\ /MIR (where d:\ is your Vista DVD and h:\ is the newly formatted USB Key. xcopy for Windows XP, robocopy for Vista)

That’s basically it. You now have a USB Key that installs Vista.

Kurt Shintaku's Blog: HOWTO: Install Windows Vista from a high speed USB 2.0 Flash Drive

Categorised : Technologising, Using
Tagged with : tech, vista, software, installation

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Comments

10/18/2008 5:39:59 AM #

I can imagine you in a Gordon Ramsay style "installation montage"...

"Clean... partition... format... assign... Windows Vista installed from a USB drive... DONE!"

:o)

James | Reply

10/19/2008 1:45:45 AM #

thanks for that info...

webmilenia | Reply

10/19/2008 3:40:53 AM #

@webmilenia, You're welcome

I hope you found it useful.

Dave | Reply

12/9/2008 3:43:36 PM #

1. Fails to mention that 100% of "thumb drives"(you called it a USB key) will NOT even appear in the disk list(under XP) --- This method ONLY WORK UNDER VISTA's Diskpart ... even if you put the driver into performance mode(caches data to memory and allows NTFS partitions on the thumb drive).

2. For something like that you need a USB external HDD or a USB thumb Drive oldschool style without the 'removable media bit' (RMB) in their device descriptor. Windows then handles them as 'Local drive' as known from USB harddrives.

3. Windows 2000 and higher does not support partitioning 'removable' drives. Even if multiple partitions exist on a 'removable' drive, Windows will see the first one only.

4. Instead of farting around with microsoft's inability to get along nicely with removable devices... Swissknife - www.compuapps.com/.../swissknife.htm or HP's USB drive utility is the way to go...

5. If this doesn't help you then don't ask me for more info... google it yourself.

Isiah | Reply

12/12/2008 11:02:55 AM #

Thanks for the comment. I should have realised that it wouldn't work under XP, but then again I never use this under XP and really have no need for it. It works perfectly well under Vista, and in fact did so tonight when I installed a new hard disk in my laptop. Interestingly enough I have a very modern USB stick that arrived with my new hard disk today and it worked with that.

Dave | Reply

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