USB Bootable Vista Installation Flash Thumb Drive

How to Create a Vista Installation USB Key​

   Information

This will show you how to create a USB flash key drive that you can boot from to install Vista with.

   Tip

If the USB flash drive is of sufficient capacity, say 8GB, then after copying the Vista installation DVD onto it, you can create a new folder (ex: Device Drivers) in the USB key and place all of your latest driver installation files in it. This way you will have them handy to manually install the drivers after installing Vista from the USB key.

   Warning

• You can only create a 32-bit Vista USB key from within a 32-bit OS (ex: Vista or XP).
• You can only create a 64-bit Vista USB key from within a 64-bit OS (ex: Vista or XP).
• The USB key needs to be at least 4 GB in size.
• You must have a Retail Vista installation DVD, not a OEM Vista recovery CD.
• This will delete everything on the USB key. Be sure to save anything that you do not want to lose on it somewhere else.
• Before installing Vista from the USB key, you will need to:
  • Enable Legacy USB storage detect in the BIOS
  • Temporarily set the USB FDD (USB Flash Disk Drive) to be listed right before the hard drive (or partition) that you will be installing Vista on in the hard drive Boot Priority order list in the BIOS.
  • After you are finished installing Vista from the USB key, make the Vista hard drive (or partition) listed first in the hard drive Boot Priority order list in the BIOS.

METHOD ONE

Create Vista Installation USB Key using Vista ISO

   Note

You will need to have a Vista ISO file to do this option.

If you like, you can use the Create image file from disc feature of the free program ImgBurn with a retail Vista installation DVD to create a Vista ISO file.

If you do not have a retail Vista installation DVD, then you can download and create an official Vista ISO file using the tutorial here: Installation & Upgrade - Vista ISO - Download and Create Installation DVD or USB

1. Download and install the trial version of UltraIso.​

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2. Plug in your USB key.​

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3. Right click on the UltraIso shortcut, and click on Run as administrator.​

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4. Click on File (menu bar) and Open. (See screenshot below)​

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5. Navigate to your Vista ISO file and select it and click on the Open button. (See screenshot below)​

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6. In the bottom Local pane, select your USB flash key drive. (See screenshot below)​

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7. Click on Bootable (menu bar) and Write Disk Image. (See screenshot above)​

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8. Make sure the locations are correct, and check the Verify box and click on the Write button. (See screenshot below)​

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9. Click on Yes to confirm writing to the USB drive.​

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10. When it's done, click on the Close button. (See screenshot below)​

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11. You now have a Vista installation USB flash key drive. ​

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METHOD TWO

Manually Create Vista Installation USB Key

1. Plug the USB key in.​

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2. If AutoPlay opens a pop-up for the USB key, then just close it.​

NOTE: Make note of what the drive size is for the USB key for step 6 below. You can also open Computer (step 21) to see what the drive size is to. For example, mine is 3920 MB.​

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3. Open an elevated command prompt.​

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4. In the elevated command prompt, type diskpart and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

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5. In the elevated command prompt, type list disk and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: Make note of what disk # your USB key is listed as for step 6 below. You can also look for the drive size (step 2) for the USB key to help ID the disk number. For example, mine is listed as Disk 1 here for the 3920 MB disk.​

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6. In the elevated command prompt, type select disk # (your USB disk #) and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: You can also look for the drive size (step 2) for the USB key to help ID the disk number. For example, my USB key is listed as Disk 1, so I would type select disk 1 and press Enter.​

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7. In the elevated command prompt, type clean and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

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8. In the elevated command prompt, type create partition primary and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

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9. In the elevated command prompt, type select partition 1 and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

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10. In the elevated command prompt, type active and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

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11. In the elevated command prompt, type format fs=ntfs and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: This may take a few moments to finish formatting the USB key.​

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12. If AutoPlay opens a pop-up for the USB key, then just close it. ​

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13. In the elevated command prompt, type assign and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: This will assign a new drive letter to the USB key. Make note of the new USB drive letter for step 19 below. For example, mine is now H.​

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14. If AutoPlay opens a pop-up for the USB key, then just close it.​

NOTE: Make note of the new USB drive letter for step 18 below. For example, mine is now H.​

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15. In the elevated command prompt, type exit and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: This will exit you from DiskPart from step 4.​

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16. Insert your retail Vista installation DVD into the DVD drive.​

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17. If AutoPlay opens a pop-up for the retail Vista installation DVD, then just close it.​

NOTE: Make note of what the drive letter is for the DVD drive that has the retail Vista installation DVD in for step 19 below. You can also open Computer (step 21) to see what the drive letter is to. (See right screenshot below)​

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18. In the elevated command prompt, type cd\ and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

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19. In the elevated command prompt, type the command below, and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

WARNING: Subtitute the letter F with your actual DVD drive letter (step 17), and substitute H with your actual USB key drive letter (step 13).​

F:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt60 H:​

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20. When it finishes, close the elevated command prompt.​

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21. Open the Start Menu, and right click on the Computer button and click on Open.​

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22. Right click on the DVD drive (ex: F: ) that has the retail Vista installation DVD, and click on Open. (See screenshot below)​

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23. Highlight all of the contents, right click on the highlighted contents, and click on Copy. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: You will need to copy all of the files and folders on the retail Vista installation DVD to the USB key.​

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24. Go back to Computer, right click on the USB key drive (ex: H ), and click on Paste. (See screenshot below)​

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25. The contents of the retail Vista installation DVD will now start copying over to the USB key.​

NOTE: This may take a few moments to complete.​

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26. When finished, you can close the Computer window and unplug the USB key.​

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27. You now have a Vista installation USB flash drive.​

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   Warning

Before installing Vista from the USB key, you will need to:

   Warning

• Enable Legacy USB storage detect in the BIOS
• Temporarily set the USB FDD (USB Flash Disk Drive) to be listed right before the hard drive (or partition) that you will be installing Vista on in the hard drive Boot Priority order list in the BIOS.
• After you are finished installing Vista from the USB key, make the Vista hard drive (or partition) listed first in the hard drive Boot Priority order list in the BIOS.

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That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Download a Vista ISO and Create an Installation DVD or USB
• How to Create a Vista SP1 Slipstream Installation DVD
• How to Create a Vista Recovery Disc
• How to Do a Clean Install of Vista with a Upgrade Version
• How to Do a Clean Install with a Full Version of Vista
• How to Do a Dual Boot Installation with Windows Vista and XP
• How to Do a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and Vista
• How to Do a Custom Installation of Vista
• How to Create a YUMI MultiBoot USB Flash Drive for Windows

 

[snadge]

i done it exactly as you said ?

it has bootmgr file in there? 325Kb

it autoruns in vista

........well Vista autorun asks if i wanna launch the setup.exe


infact - i dont think it does Autoplay - infact - it doesnt cos right-clicking on it doesn't have AUTOPLAY in bold...

I dont think it will work if i do it again cos I followed the steps thoroughly and it all worked - the only problem was step 21 but that fixed after i used CLEAN and PARTITION the usb stick (then step 21 worked)

 

[Brink]

Did you have more than one partition on the USB?

Did it AutoPlay?

If it does, then it's some setting in the BIOS.

Look in the Integrated Peripherals section in the BIOS and double check to see if there is a Legacy USB or Legacy USB storage detect option. If there is, enable it.

 

[snadge]

nah it doesnt autoplay & no its just the 8Gb partition
the files on the drive are:

setup
bootmgr
autorun
support/
upgrade/
boot/
efi/
sources/


...sorry - it does the same as the DVD - windows asks what u would like to do and when i right-click it has Autoplay or install but not highlighted or at the top like the DVD but it still there and setup starts if i select it...

why do u think its doing this is the laptop (Acer Aspire 5050/5051) has option to boot from
HDD
DVD
FDD
USB Key
USB HDD
USB Floppy
Network Boot

 

[Brink]

Snadge,

Did you look for a separate Integrated Peripherals section in the BIOS and double check to see if there is a Legacy USB or Legacy USB storage detect option? If there is, enable it.

 

[snadge]

theres not much in the BIOS which is the norm with laptops
it IS possible to boot from USB with my laptop cos others are doing it with XPSP2
Unofficial Acer Aspire 5051 AWXMi howto: Setup

I have boot order set:
USB
DVD
HDD

and it launches windows so it doesnt boot and when forced booting it using F12 it says NO OPERATING SYSTEM

 

[Brink]

Snadge,

As a test, see if you can boot into the Safe Mode with Command Prompt option and run the setup.exe file from the USB drive.

 

[snadge]

i did and wasnt sure of any commands
i tried:
E:\setup.exe
E:\setup
E:\

and all said something along the lines of VOLUME NOT ACCESSIBLE

 

[Brink]

It's starting to sound like you have some sort of permission issue with the USB drive itself stemming back to your first post with the "Acces Denied" message when you tried step 21.

I would say try and format the USB key and try creating it again to see if it will work. Something had gone wrong the first time.

 

[snadge]

im trying again - step 21 worked first time this time - I dont think its the USB stick I think its Vista - ive noticed compared to your screen shot that yours has a bootmgr and bootmgr.efi file - well mine doesnt have the bootmgr.efi file? - its Windows Vista Ultimate 32+64 Retail

 

[Brink]

Snadge,

Are you able to boot from the USB stick this time?

 

[snadge]

yes it worked the 2nd time thanks very much for your help....

I require help with bios flashing can u help?

I have Acer Aspire 5051 that bios is 2yr old almost and has 50 fixes and 3 bios releases - iam running vista64 on it and would like to update the bios but am scared incase it goes wrong - is there a program I can use to re-flash from USB or CD with the earliest fw (which is still newer than one in) if the latest doesnt work?

 

[Brink]

Snadge,

I'm happy to hear that you got that issued sorted.

However, you will need to post the BIOS question in the General Discussion forum instead so that this tutorial will stay on track.

Thank you,
Shawn

 

[bratboy1]

Okay I went ahead and ordered a new Flash drive to try this method but am worried about something. It seems like it would be useful to do/have everything for installing Vista64 on a lil ol USB thumb drive. However my current computer is XPsp2 would I still do everything the same way as the guide says from my XP computer or is this something thats not doable?

 

[Brink]

Hi Bratboy,

It will work fine the same way doing it in XP since the files you are using are from the Vista installation DVD instead.

Hope it goes smoothly for you.

Shawn

 

[bratboy1]

Okay I started the process but running into a snag. I get to the step where you type active but when I hit enter I get a message:

"there is no partition selected. Please select a partition and try again"

What am I doing wrong?

I tried following the steps you gave someone else:

diskpart
select volume 9
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
active
format fs=fat32
assign (note that this changes the USB drive letter)
list volume (to see what the new USB drive letter is)
exit

but when I get to the "clean" command I get the following error mssg:
"There is no disk selected. Please select a disk and try again"

 

[bratboy1]

Some additional info in case it helps. After I did the quick format step of my new 8 gig removable drive if I right click on the drive it say under available space:
"Free Space 8,019,476,480 7.46 GB"

Am I doing something wrong or should I try to do a full format?

 

[Brink]

That would be about the right size bratboy. It all depends on what method the manufacturer did on calculating the size. If you enter 8019476480 bytes at this site, you will see the different GB sizes for each standard.

 

[bratboy1]

Can't imagine why Im having problems unless its because my computer is running XP. Is there a command to view partitions on the USB drive so I can see if its even got one? I may give up and try it from a diffrent computer. My roomy has a Vista computer so maybe I'll just try and do it from his computer next. Then will reconnect to mine to copy the drivers into a folder later

 

[Brink]

Doing the clean command should have wiped everything (ex: partitions) on the USB drive.

To check use:

• diskpart
• list disk
• select disk # (for the USB drive)
• list partition (you will have a list of any partitions on the disk)
• exit

 

[bratboy1]

Okay following your commands in the last post
type diskpart - goes fine

typed list disk - It only lists my 3 hard drives and the flash drive doesnt show, only
Disk 0-2 (Dsk 0 and 1 are my 2 HD's and Disk 3 is my hd in a usb external case)

If I go into I go into the computer mng console it shows my new thumb drive as Disk3 so I know the system is seeing the drive at least. Its just not showing/working when I try the diskpart stuff.

Tried to type select Disk 3 and get the mssg
"the disk you specified is not valid. There is no disk selected."

When I do a diskpart command "list volume" the thumb drive shows as Volume 13
"Volume 13 P Vista FAT32 Removable 7663 MB"

Then I type "select select volume 13" and get a response of:
"Volume 13 is the selected volume" - So far so good

Then I type "active" and get response:
"there is no partition selected. Please select a partition and try again"

Trying to use the steps outlined in the other select volume 13
when I type "clean" I get that error mssg of:
"there is no disk selected. Please select a disk and try again"

I thought maybe I just needed to skip the "clean command and just do the next step but when I tried to just "create Partition" command I get the same mssg of:
""there is no partition selected. Please select a partition and try again"

Am going to try this from my room mates computer which has Vista on it instead of XP and see if I get any further