Flash Drive USB.

[Take151]

Hello,

I'm using a sandisk cruzer to try to install windows on my new rig. I've got a legit windows key, and serial number. Just lost the CD a long time ago, and don't have a sata Drive. Now, there is windows XP on my current sata harddrive but it is incompatable with the system (it was installed on another system.) So sense I don't got any DVD/CD burners, or any way of buying one for a month. I looked into making my USB flash drive bootable.

I've used the HP USB Disk Formating tool to format it with FAT32, and dos Windows 98 files (Command,IO.sys,MSDOS.sys) thinking this would make it bootable. Tossed A version of windows XP I downloaded SP3, onto the drive, appatempted to boot it, but when I boot the flash drive with my gigabyte X38 DS4, it just loads windows 98 for half a second and brings me to a DOS C:\. which was similer when I tried to install windows 7 from my USB drive where as that brought me 2 windows ME dos screen. It seems not to autorun so I don't really know how to partition my disk, format, and install a fresh coppy of windows.

Could anyone provide any help on this please? I'd like to have my rig atleast running tonight.

 

[tigsounds]

You had everything right, you just didn't go far enough.

When you boot the USB memory stick, and it boots, leaving you with a command prompt, enter this:

CD /I386      (and of course, press enter)
(the prompt should show you are in the I386 directory now)

Enter Winnt.exe and press enter..

Windows setup is now running,
Proceed to install windows.

 

[Take151]

Thank you very much. I actually got somewhere, but I got stuck.

When I ran the windows set up, it inspected my hardware, than inspected my harddrive, an error came up saying something about me not having "quick disk" or something for the installation, it sujesteded I restart with this feature, as the installition would go quicker, also it asked for a DIR, I kept the C:\I386 dir as it was the default, that might have been where I went wrong... Boy were they right about it taking alot longer, the setup proceded seemingly fine untill it 'finshed' putting the setup files onto my harddrive and hanged. I let it hang for about 20 minutes? It just saying "Windows setup is installing blahblah to your harddrive" Blue screen, and the bottom 'task bar thing'; we'll say, didn't have anything on it.

I let it hang for at least 20-30 minutes, before I reset. When I reset, it auto booted the flash drive, instead of me having to do what you said above, into a new setup window diferent from the blue screen (it was a blackscreen) asking my options, which were something like as follows: Install windows, Repair Windows, Exit without installing windows.

I tried first installing windows, It first asked if I was going to RAID and to press f6 if so, and then loaded some files. Examined harddrive for a few minutes, than said "Setup could not find EULA User End Agreement, cannot continue. f6 to quit.

Reset again, sense my current drive HAS windows on it though faulty, I tried repair. It did the exact same boot as the paragraph up above, but without the error. Instead once loaded, brought me to a Dis screen where it asked something like 'what windows do you wish to use? (PRESS ENTER)' above that it had c:\windows, I pressed enter, and basicly gave me an error message I don't remember. It didn't crash, but I can't remember the error. I tried booting my computer up normally, XP screen came up for about 3- 4 seconds of loading, blue screen crash (usual).

Honestly, I believe I need to first format my harddrive, than attempt installing windows. Other than that, right now I'm formating my USB Flash Drive, and going to put windows 7 on it, and see if that works. Either or would work for me though.

Above you showed me how to run windows XP though windows 98 C:\, could you help me with the windows 7 setup?

and or where I went wrong on my attempts at putting windows XP on the hd.

Thank you.

 

[tigsounds]

I'm not proficient at Windows 7 and probably never will be. I'm from the "olden days" when a computer was just that.


Windows setup advises you to have "smartdrv" installed on the boot device.
I would have had you put it on the USB Flashdrive, but I didn't know where to send you to get a copy of it.
Setup will run without it, but it does take longer to copy files into your HD.
The location of the setup files should remain the USB drive.

When Windows Setup re-boots, it gets a bit tricky because you don't really want it to boot from the USB device again.
When Setup shuts down your machine to do it's re-boot, Go To The BIOS... Don't let it boot from the USB device.
Change your BIOS Boot sequence to boot from the Hard drive from now on, but do leave the USB device connected.
Save & Exit BIOS and re-boot. Windows will for a very brief instant ask what you want to load, the obvious answer is Windows XP installation and setup.

 

[Take151]

Alright, I'll do that. Just during the initial setup of windows, the blue screen part, it freezed at the insalling setup files, it seemed like it finished, but I don't think it did, because it didn't really do anything, it just said the same thing and I alt + ctrl'd + delete after 30 minutes of the taskbar not installing it. I think it was because i had the dir c:\I386.

in windows ME how do i format my C:\ ?
or windows 98 would work, but I'd perfer ME, and an idea how I'd boot windows 7 though ME, lol.

 

[tigsounds]

Alright, I'll do that. Just during the initial setup of windows, the blue screen part, it freezed at the insalling setup files, it seemed like it finished, but I don't think it did, because it didn't really do anything, it just said the same thing and I alt + ctrl'd + delete after 30 minutes of the taskbar not installing it. I think it was because i had the dir c:\I386.

in windows ME how do i format my C:\ ?
or windows 98 would work, but I'd perfer ME, and an idea how I'd boot windows 7 though ME, lol.

Woa.. forget all that. I wish I could right-click and delete this entire post. No, I'm not angry or anything near it.

Proper credit to the original poster... and BTW, he deserves best answer of the month award (if there was one).

Go here... and be sure to thank the man that made this information known:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248709-45-flash-drive-installing-windows

 

[Take151]

finally got my computer working.
burned a usb HDD+ drive.
thank you,