Using a Thumb Drive to Install Windows 7

Rob Williams · 02-02-2010, 10:17 PM

Microsoft may be selling Windows 7 exclusively on DVD's, but did you realize that it takes very little effort to create a bootable thumb drive and install from that? We're taking a look at two popular methods of accomplishing this, and as you'll see, it couldn't be easier to install Microsoft's latest OS onto a PC with no DVD-ROM. It's faster, too!

You can read Robert's guide here, and discuss it here!

Rob Williams · 02-02-2010, 10:22 PM

Here's a bonus tip.

Unlike Windows Vista, Windows 7 removed the ability to choose which edition you want to install, due to confusion by the average consumer I'm sure. But, this is easy to fix, especially since you'll be installing the OS from a thumb drive. After your drive is completely prepared and you verify that it boots fine, boot into an OS and open up the 'ei.cfg' file under the Sources folder.

Because Windows doesn't open this by default, you can choose to open it with Notepad, or right-click the file and use the "Open With" option. Once its open, the layout will be like this:

[EditionID]
Ultimate
[Channel]
Retail
[VL]
0

Notice the "Ultimate"? That means it will default to that version of the OS during the installation. You can either change this to another version, or delete the entire file, which will cause you to see the version choice during the installer. See? Now that's an easy problem to fix!

The proper version names are:

Ultimate
Professional
HomePremium
HomeBasic
Starter

werty316 · 02-03-2010, 11:25 AM

Great article.

As a side tip, you can also use UltraISO to make a Win7 bootable USB drive.

Kougar · 02-03-2010, 04:03 PM

Ah, thanks for the tip Rob! It slipped my mind but really I should have added it in the article! With the ISO extracted it only takes a few seconds to find and edit (or outright delete) that file.

killem2 · 02-03-2010, 05:39 PM

When I downloaded win7 online they wanted me to pay to have a real disk sent.. PFT USB booting for the win.

05-25-2010, 07:00 PM

Is it possible to have the same flash drive do 32 and 64 bit installations?

Kougar · 05-26-2010, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Is it possible to have the same flash drive do 32 and 64 bit installations?

Interesting question. Microsoft ships Retail boxes with individual 32 / 64 bit discs inside, they aren't in fact on the same media. I am fairly sure the answer is no, given there isn't away to differentiate between which version is booted and which files are loaded when starting the bootloader itself.

Flash drives are cheap and many people have them laying around, ya could make one drive for each, though!

Optix · 02-07-2011, 06:49 PM

Ahem...

Thread necro from a believer! Testify!

9 minutes from the start of the install to a useable desktop.

Kougar · 02-16-2011, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Optix

Ahem...

Thread necro from a believer! Testify!

9 minutes from the start of the install to a useable desktop.

Haha, the more converts the better!

Unfortunately there STILL aren't any "official" tools to do this by Microsoft. This seems to be because they are concerned about piracy. Enterprise system admins can use a program to roll out installs via this method but it's not tailored for a single user making the occasional install.

Since I made that guide I've converted my own USB key toolkit into a bootable Win 7 installer. It doesn't hurt anything to have gigabytes of random programs, data, tools, and folders on the flash drive whatsoever.

TheCrimsonStar · 02-16-2011, 12:09 PM

I have a bootable BackTrack Linux USB drive. Me likey.

Using it to gain SYSTEM (yes you read that right) privileges on a Vista/7 machine that's password protected is lots of fun

02-02-2010, 10:17 PM	#1
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Using a Thumb Drive to Install Windows 7 Microsoft may be selling Windows 7 exclusively on DVD's, but did you realize that it takes very little effort to create a bootable thumb drive and install from that? We're taking a look at two popular methods of accomplishing this, and as you'll see, it couldn't be easier to install Microsoft's latest OS onto a PC with no DVD-ROM. It's faster, too! You can read Robert's guide here, and discuss it here! __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

02-02-2010, 10:22 PM	#2
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Here's a bonus tip. Unlike Windows Vista, Windows 7 removed the ability to choose which edition you want to install, due to confusion by the average consumer I'm sure. But, this is easy to fix, especially since you'll be installing the OS from a thumb drive. After your drive is completely prepared and you verify that it boots fine, boot into an OS and open up the 'ei.cfg' file under the Sources folder. Because Windows doesn't open this by default, you can choose to open it with Notepad, or right-click the file and use the "Open With" option. Once its open, the layout will be like this: [EditionID] Ultimate [Channel] Retail [VL] 0 Notice the "Ultimate"? That means it will default to that version of the OS during the installation. You can either change this to another version, or delete the entire file, which will cause you to see the version choice during the installer. See? Now that's an easy problem to fix! The proper version names are: Ultimate Professional HomePremium HomeBasic Starter __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

02-03-2010, 11:25 AM	#3
werty316 Partition Master Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 431	Great article. As a side tip, you can also use UltraISO to make a Win7 bootable USB drive. __________________ Chuck Norris doesn't go hunting.... CHUCK NORRIS GOES KILLING

02-16-2011, 12:09 PM	#10
TheCrimsonStar Tech Monkey Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Strawberry Plains, TN Posts: 816	I have a bootable BackTrack Linux USB drive. Me likey. Using it to gain SYSTEM (yes you read that right) privileges on a Vista/7 machine that's password protected is lots of fun __________________ Intel Core i5-2500k @ 3.3GHz ASUS Sabertooth P67 Corsair XMS 1600 8GB (2 x 4GB) XFX Radeon HD 6970 Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850W Corsair H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler Windows 7 Professional (x64)

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02-03-2010, 05:39 PM	#5
killem2 Coastermaker Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 216	When I downloaded win7 online they wanted me to pay to have a real disk sent.. PFT USB booting for the win.

05-25-2010, 07:00 PM	#6
Unregistered Guest Poster Posts: n/a	Is it possible to have the same flash drive do 32 and 64 bit installations?