Creating Windows Sev7n Bootable USB drive

Ok , we are here again,

How to create Windows 7 Bootable USB ?

why we need USB Bootable ?

1. If we do not have any Optical Drive (CD/DVDROM).
2. If CD/DVD rom is not in Working Condition.
3. If Media is corrupted or un-readable.


Requirements:-

• 4GB Pendrive and more,
• Windows 7 Setup /installation Files.

Lets Start -

1. Plug-in our USB flash drive to USB Port and move all the contents from USB drive to a safe location on our system.

2. Open Command Prompt with admin rights.

*Type cmd in Start menu search box.

3. We need to know about the USB drive a little bit. Type in the following commands in the command prompt:

First type DISKPART and hit enter to see the below message.

Next type LIST DISK command and note down the Disk number (ex: Disk 1) of USB flash drive. In the below screenshot my Flash Drive Disk no is Disk 1.

4. Next type all the below commands one by one. Our disk drive no is “Disk 0”.So our USB drive is "DISK 1"

So below are the commands we need to type and execute one by one:

SELECT DISK 1

CLEAN

CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

SELECT PARTITION 1

ACTIVE

FORMAT FS=NTFS /Q

(Format process may take few seconds)

ASSIGN

EXIT

Don’t close the command prompt as we need to execute one more command at the next step. Just minimize it.

5. Next we need to insert Windows 7 DVD into the optical drive and check the drive letter of the DVD drive. In this guide my DVD drive is “D” and USB drive letter is “H”.

6. Maximize the minimized Command Prompt in the 4th step.Type the following command now:

D: CD BOOT and hit enter.Where “D” is DVD drive letter.

CD BOOT and hit enter to see the below message.

7. Type another command given below to update the USB drive with BOOTMGR compatible code.

BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 H:

Where “H” is our USB drive letter. Once you enter the above command we see the below message.

8. We Need to copy Windows 7 DVD contents to the USB flash drive.

9. Afterthat our USB drive is ready to boot and install Windows 7. Only thing we need to change the boot priority at the BIOS to USB from the HDD or CD ROM drive. I won’t explain it as it’s just the matter the changing the boot priority or enabling the USB boot option in the BIOS.

Note: If you are not able to boot after following this guide means you haven’t set the BIOS priority to USB. If you got any problem in following this guide feel free to ask questions by leaving comment.

Here we are created successfully Win 7 Bootable USB drive.

Windows 7 Installation Source

Guy's, Windows Seven installation we have many option to choose Installation source,

• DVD Installation
• USB Drive installation
  
• WDS (Windows Deployment Services )Installation.

1. DVD based installation.

DVD Installation is very easy steps for installation, and many people installation with DVD installation. We need to boot our computer with CD/DVD ROM support and start installation.

2.USB based Installation.

For USB based installation we need one 4 GB Pen Drive formatted with FAT32 File system.

Follow these steps:

• Connect the USB storage device to a computer running Windows 7 or Windows Vista. Ensure that the storage device has no data stored on it that you want to keep (or that you have moved such data to another storage device) because this procedure removes all existing data.

• Open an elevated command prompt and type diskpart.

• At the DISKPART> prompt, type list disk. Identify which disk connected to the computer represents the USB storage device.

• At the DISKPART> prompt, type select disk X where X is the number of the disk that you have identified as the USB storage device.

• At the DISKPART> prompt, type clean. When the disk is clean, type create partition primary.

• At the DISKPART> prompt, type format fs=fat32 quick. When the format is completed type active and then exit.

• You have completed these steps, copy all the files located on the Windows 7 installation DVD to the USB storage device.

• The BIOS computer on which you want to install Windows 7 to boot from the USB storage device. Attach the USB storage device and then reboot the computer to start installation.

3. WDS Based Installation.

For WDS based installation we need Server based infrastructure.Like AD DS , DNS , DHCP and WDS roles added.

1st we need to understand WDS system.
Windows Deployment services is one of the best utility for network based installation of Microsoft Operating system. With WDS system we can deploy Operating system through Network. WDS, a role that is available to a computer running Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2. For WDS installation we need PXE Boot feature in our NIC(Network Interface Card AKA network card). PXE compliant network card discover Image.

We talk about later How To Install WDS on Server.

Windows 7 Editions , What is the differences ?

Lets start with Windows 7-

There are 6 different version of MS Windows Seven :

1. Win 7 Starter
   
2. Home Basic
3. Home Premium
4. Win 7 Professional
   
5. Win 7 Enterprise
6. Win 7 Ultimate

Question in our mind "What is the differences?"

So we need to understand why MS released 6 version of Win 7 OS.

1. What is Win 7 Starter?

Windows 7 starter is available from retailers and on new computers installed by manufacturers. Windows 7 starter dose not support , AERO USER INTERFACE/DVD PLAYBACK/WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER/IIS WEB SERVER/ICS-(Internet Connection Sharing)/ Cannot Join with domain, and some of the Win Seven features not supported-

• EFS - Encrypting File System
  
• App- Locker
• Direct Access
• BIT Locker
• Remote Desktop Host
• Branch Cache
  
• Supports 1 Physical Processor

2. What is Windows 7 Home Basic

Windows 7 Home basic Version is available only in rising market.Home Basic also comes with some limitations.AERO USER INTERFACE/DVD PLAYBACK/WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER/IIS WEB SERVER/ICS-(Internet Connection Sharing) / Windows 7 domain joining not supported.
The x86 version supports a maximum of 4 GB of RAM, whereas the x64 version supports a maximum of 8 GB of RAM.
Features not supported:-

• EFS - Encrypting File System
  
• App- Locker
• Direct Access
• BIT Locker
• Remote Desktop Host
• Branch Cache
• Supports 1 Physical Processor
  

What is Windows 7 Home Premium ?

Windows 7 Home Premium is available from retailers and on new computers installed by manufacturers. Good news for Users , its supports lots of features which is not supported by Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic editions.
Home premium supports Windows Aero UI, DVD playback, Windows Media Center, Internet connection sharing, and the IIS Web Server. But Home premium does not support enterprises features like :-

• EFS - Encrypting File System
  
• App- Locker
• Direct Access
• BIT Locker
• Remote Desktop Host
• Branch Cache

The x86 version of Windows 7 Home Premium supports a maximum of 4 GB of RAM, whereas the x64 version supports a maximum of 16 GB of RAM. Windows 7 Home Premium supports up to two physical processors.

Windows 7 Professionals Version !

Windows 7 Professional is available from retailers and on new computers installed by manufacturers. Its supports all the features which is supported by Home Premium. And we can able to join with domain also.Its supports EFS and Remote Desktop host but does not support enterprise features AppLocker, Direct Access, Bit Locker, and Branch Cache. Windows 7 Professional supports up to two physical processors.

Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate Editions !

The Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate editions are identical except for the fact that Windows 7 Enterprise is available only to Microsoft's volume licensing customers, and Windows 7 Ultimate is available from retailers and on new computers installed by manufacturers.
The both Operating system supports all enterprise features and supports 2 physical Processors.