How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive
Summary: Bootable USB flash drives are far more convenient than DVD discs.
This has become a popular question as of late so I thought I'd throw a quick page up outlining how to do it.
Note: This procedure also works for Windows 7.
I'll warn you in advance that there are a lot of steps involved to do this! Also, you'll need an 8GB or larger USB flash drive.
- Download the Windows 8 .ISO from the Microsoft website.
- Mount the .ISO file as a drive ... if you don't have a tool to do this, I suggest SlySoft's Virtual CloneDrive - it's free! Alternatively, you can burn it to a DVD using a tool such as ImgBurn and pop the disc in your drive.
- Format your USB flash drive ready like this: - Insert a USB flash drive into your computer - Start a Command Prompt as an administrator (right-click on the entry and select Run as administrator) and type diskpart and then press ENTER - Next, type the following BOLD lines a line at a time, pressing ENTER at the end of each line after the command has completed: DISKPART> list disk DISKPART> select disk X Note: X is the number for your USB flash drive you obtained from the list command from the previous step. DISKPART> clean DISKPART> create partition primary DISKPART> select partition 1 DISKPART> active DISKPART> format FS=NTFS DISKPART> assign DISKPART> exit
- Next you need to make your USB flash drive bootable. Start another Command Prompt as an administrator and navigate to the boot folder of the Windows 8 ISO image then type the following: bootsect /nt60 X: Note: Where X is the drive letter for your USB flash drive
- From a Command Prompt type the following: XCOPY X:\*.* Y:\ /E /J /H Note: Where Y is the drive letter for your USB flash drive and X is the drive letter of your mounted Windows 8 .ISO file
- Boot your PC up from your USB flash drive. If your PC won't boot from your USB flash drive then you'll need to dig out your motherboard manual and twiddle with the boot device settings.
And you're done!
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
Talkback
RE: How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive
Unetbootin does not work for creating a bootable USB Windows 8
RE: How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive
other than that - nice, useful post.
Same old NT6 trick....
Inciting Intellectual Property Theft
I think you have that wrong
The instructions are for copying installation media onto a different installation media type. What you are referring to is the actual installation. You aren't allowed to have multiple installs as a multi-boot option using the same license. The wording you are talking about is in the EULA, but these steps refer to OEM or System Builder licensing terms.
Re: Inciting Intellectual Property Theft
You don't get it
No, it isn't, because that wording is not even mentioned in the OEM or SB license agreement, and that is the only license agreement that coincides with the install bits, which is what these instructions are for. Microsoft has different licensing terms for the installation software than it does for the actual product bits.
If you want to read the SBLA, go to the regular OEM website.
A system builder or non-contract OEM can use any copy of Windows to install from. The rule is that the must include the original hologram media as a deliverable, AND there must be some way for the end-user to reinstall the product. A hard drive recovery partition is allowed by the system builder, but they are not allowed to deliver any removeable discs for reinstall aside from the original hologram media. I asked about systems without optical drives, and they said so long as the hologram DVD is included and there is a recovery partition, the conditions are met. There is another way to include reinstallation media though: on a desktop, you can take a USB thumbdrive, customize an install image and recover option to run from it, buy a USB female type-A to motherboard header adapter, and pop the thumbdrive in the case. That also meets the "non-removeable" requirement.
End-users are allowed to make backup copies of the installation media, just as system builders can (you'd have to otherwise you couldn't use software like the OPK, WDS, AIK, and MDT for deployment). However, you just can't transfer that customized removeable media to a third-party. THEN it would be breaching the license agreement.
Re: Inciting Intellectual Property Theft
So all you're doing by switching licences is trading one form of Intellectual Property Theft for another.
It is perfectly legal
The Windows 8 developer preview is free to use in this way (but time limited).
The final Windows 8 will also allow <i>Windows to Go</i> as Microsoft has dubbed this. There is actually a little more to it than just placing it all on an USB stick - e.g. Windows 8 will allow accidental removal of the stick - as long as you plug it in again within 60 seconds.
Just FYI
Also, I never have had to use the BOOTSECT command because the DISKPART ACTIVE command is supposed to resolve the boot sector for you.
Also FYI to anybody asking: Windows 7 doesn't support boot from removeable disks like USB thumbdrives or SD cards. Windows Embedded Standard 7 does though, but I've tried it, and it's SLOOOOW. It isn't like booting a WinPE image....
RE: How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive
RE: How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive
RE: How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive
RE: How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive
Correction: Step 5's X and Y definition are reversed.
From a Command Prompt type the following:
XCOPY X:\*.* Y:\ /E /F /H
Note: Where Y is the drive letter for your USB flash drive and X is the drive letter of your mounted Windows 8 .ISO file
RE: How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive
RE: How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive
John
Seriously? Burn a DVD?
You can use 7-Zip to extract the contents of the .iso without having to waste a DVD or the time to burn one
RE: How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive