How to Setup Windows XP From USB Drive
How to Setup Windows XP From USB Drive
First we�ll prep the USB drive we�ll be using for booting. This is by far the
largest step in the process, though it shouldn�t be difficult for anyone to follow.
It requires a functional Windows system.
Start PE Builder from the Start Menu. Point "Source:" to the location of your
Windows XP setup files containing SP3.
Hit "Build".
Choose the menu "Tools > Create Bootable USB Drive". The "Create Bootable USB
Drive" dialog will popup. If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating
system, you need confirm the UAC dialog to continue.
In "Create Bootable USB Drive" dialog, click "..." button to open the iso file "c:\
pebuilder\pebuilder.iso".
Select the correct USB drive from the "Destination USB Drive" list if multiple USB
drives are connected to the computer.
When it's done, copy the Windows XP setup files to the USB drive. Please note that
you'll only need the i386 folder.
If no errors occurred in the above process, you should now be all set to setup
Windows xp from USB drive!
You should now reboot and go into the BIOS configuration to boot from USB.
Instructions for doing so wildly from system to system, but generally entail the
following:
Reboot the system.
While booting (before Windows starts loading), get into the BIOS configuration
screen by hitting something like F1, F2, Delete or Escape. Hotkey instructions are
generally provided on the screen.
With your USB drive plugged in, the USB drive should be listed. If it isn�t, your
system might not support booting from USB. Assuming that it is supported (as is the
case with virtually all modern hardware), promote your USB drive to the primary
boot device.
If you�re completely new to BIOS configuration, BIOS for Beginners over at Tom�s
Hardware might be a good primer. Be aware though, that you can seriously screw up
your system by providing incorrect settings!
Assuming that you properly configured your BIOS and your USB drive supports
booting, BartPE should now load. Depending on the speed of your USB drive, this
may take a while.
Is your BIOS properly configured for booting from the USB device? (Is the USB
device listed and does it have top priority?)
Have you correctly prepared the USB drive in step one? (Restart the procedure.)
Does your USB drive properly support being booted from? (Try another one!)
You need to make sure that your hard drive is partitioned and formatted properly.
Especially if you've had Linux or some other operating system on it, you'll need to
repartition and format it. BartPE contains DiskPart for disk partitioning and A43
File Manager to format your drive.
If you are sure that your hard drive is set up properly (i.e. it has only run
Windows, it contains a valid FAT or NTFS partition) then you can safe yourself the
hassle and skip this step.
To repartition (This procedure will destroy any data on the hard drive):
Enter the commands needed to repartition your drive. For example, try the
following: select disk 0 (select the first disk), clean (purges the entire drive,
essentially resetting it), create partition primary (creates a single partition
from the entire disk), assign (assign the partition a drive letter), exit (quits
DiskPart).
To format (This procedure will destroy any data on the hard drive):
Right-click on the target drive (e.g. C:) and click Format. Should be self-
explanatory.
With your drive all ready, you can now launch the Windows XP setup with a few
custom parameters. Let's assume that the files are available at X:\i386.
Plugging in a device now won�t work. Remember that all USB devices will need to be
plugged in right from the start while using BartPE.
Proceed with the installation. When asked to convert the installation volume to
NTFS, answer No. The setup program incorrectly believes that your USB drive (which
is formatted as FAT) needs conversion.
The setup program will then silently close, which might make you think that
something went wrong. Don't worry though.
Change your BIOS settings back to boot from hard disk again as needed.
Note: The above guide works with Windows XP only. For Windows 7 / Windows 8 /
Windows Vista please refer to another guide at
http://www.poweriso.com/tutorials/how-to-make-win7-bootable-usb-drive.htm .