For many years, the installation process of Windows has been the privilege of optical drives, but with the advent of convenient and compact USB-drives and memory cards, the problem of using them as not only the storage location of the OS distribution, but also the installation source, has become increasingly common. And if earlier the problem of installing Windows from a flash drive was only in the convenience and comfort of this method, then with the advent of compact laptop tops, it got up especially sharply. Most laptops were not equipped with an optical drive in order to save money, and for netbooks that have recently become widespread, they are not provided at all.
Even the concern of laptop developers about users by creating hidden boot sectors did not reduce the severity of the question, is it possible to install Windows from a flash drive? In fact, this problem is surmountable and accessible even for ordinary users. In order to proceed with its solution, it is necessary to acquire a small set of tools and to understand a simple algorithm of actions. For example, consider installing Windows from a USB flash drive for XP. This operating system is perfect for working on low-power devices, but it is with its installation that a number of difficulties arise.
Before starting work, we buy a flash drive with a capacity of more than one gigabyte, download the distribution image (.iso) from the Internet or create it ourselves. It is advisable to use a licensed version or clean and untouched builds. Variants of Loner, Zver, Black, Game are not recommended to be used, since errors are inevitable. We will talk about additional software as the need arises.
To prepare the flash drive, you must unpack the distribution image files in a separate folder. We use the utility 7-Zip. We also install the SATA driver package on the disk. We will need to integrate the necessary elements into the distribution using the nLite program, which requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 2 package. If this is not done, the new system will not see the hard drive.
The nLite tool provides an intuitive interface with many tips.
After we get the distribution with integrated drivers, the time has come to transfer it to a USB flash drive. At the first stage, we format the drive up to 4GB with the PeToUSB utility. For devices with a large volume, use the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool.
Using winsetupfromusb 0.2.3, we write the distribution files with the drivers from the folder directly to the USB flash drive.
After all the above procedures, you can safely proceed to installing Windows from a USB flash drive. Traditionally, before starting work, we manipulate the BIOS, find the boot priority destination in the menu, where we put our drive in first place. Sometimes it is set in the form of a logical drive, so you need to be careful in the settings.
At the beginning of the installation, a menu will be displayed in which we select TXT Mode Setup Windows XP as the operating system. After formatting and installing files, the window for selecting the OS will be displayed again. Now select the GUI Mode Setup Windows XP.
The installation of the system is completed, but the work is not finished yet. We look for the boot.ini file and replace disk (1) with disk (0) in it. If there is a hidden boot sector, we additionally change partition (1) to partition (2).
In addition to installing the necessary programs and applications, you will have to take care of finding drivers for additional equipment. This installation method using Windows on a USB flash drive allows you to expand the user's ability to choose software equipment. This is also a very valuable way in cases where the hidden boot sector for laptop computers or optical drive in stationary systems is missing or out of order.
There is a very simple and affordable WinToFlash utility. With its help, the problem is solved even easier, but the description of this utility is the topic of another article. Also, you can not integrate SATA drivers into the distribution kit if you change the BIOS settings and set the IDE emulation mode. Or you can do the opposite and integrate all the necessary drivers into the distribution package before starting the installation.