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Place a bootable ISO on a USB drive?

I have an 8GB USB Flash Drive, and the .iso file for XP Home edition (along with a valid CD key). One of my computers doesn't have an optical drive.

How do I put the .iso file on the flash drive, and reinstall Windows on the computer that doesn't have the optical drive?

Thanks!

Community
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Barry White
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4 Answers4

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Before you go trying any other fancy methods, I suggest you simply format the flash drive as FAT32 and mark it as bootable. Finally, copy the contents of the ISO to the flash drive. Don't copy the ISO itself, only its content. All of this procedure can be achieved with decent partitioning software and a tool to mount the ISO.

I know this sounds cheap, but I tried it with my Windows 7 ISO and it works perfectly. I can't guarantee it'll work with XP, but it's worth a try.

If it doesn't work, a simple Google search will return tons of results. This was the first result when I searched.

Gareth
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Malabarba
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There are a few ways do to this, a good place to start would be: Install XP from USB

There's also a lot of useful information here: Install Windows from USB

Pulse
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There is a useful guide (HERE) it's a little basic but does the job. You will need (THIS SOFTWARE)

Very Thorough Guide to Creating a Bootable Flash Drive with Multiple Methods (HERE). Then unpack the ISO and copy the installation files to the drive

I also found (THIS) guide {KUDOS 'D Connors' - He beat me to posting that one}

BearGriz72
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http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool

as long as you have a valid iso and key this will do the trick

user33788
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  • No, from that same website, it won't work for XP Home:

    "Can I use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool to backup other files? No. This tool is only for use with the Windows 7 ISO file purchased from Microsoft Store. "

     – rxmnnxfpvg May 25 '10 at 05:19
  • yup your right! – user33788 May 25 '10 at 14:55