ISO image to USB flash

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thexder1

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I am trying to find a way to take an ISO image of a bootable CD and make a bootable USB flash drive from it. Has anyone done this? I have found some linux versions that have an installer to put them on a USB flash drive but nothing to take the ISO file directly to the drive and it seems like it would be mainly just converting the ISO9660 file system to fat file system.
 
The_Prophecy

The_Prophecy

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Mount your bootable ISO to an image drive. For this example I will use drive D: as the image drive, and drive E: as the flash drive. This is the command you use to create an exact copy of a disk on to another volume.

xcopy D:\*.* E: /s/e/f

This can be used for instance, to copy the Vista DVD to an appropriately sized USB flash drive to install the OS from there. I have tested this at work a few times and it installs in about the same amount of time, but without the worry of caring for the DVD (scratches) or having problems with the lens in the DVD drive reading the data. I should also note however, that the flash drive I used was not the fastest out there (it was a 4GB Patriot Signature flash drive as shown here)
 
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belvdr

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xcopy D:\*.* E: /s/e/f
Click to expand...

You don't need /s if you have /e. Those are mutually exclusive. /f just shows you the files.

However, if any file has the hidden or system attribute set, you'll need /h as well.

I'm just not seeing how the above command would copy the boot sector.
 
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guyverjab

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I was wondering, if this would be possible to use a hackintosh CD to place on a USB flash memory. For installation and booting. I ve been digging around how to get the USB to become bootable, but i haven't been able to copy all of the contents of the hackintosh Cd to the USB drive. Any help???
 
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mariorami

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What if i make the USB flash drive bootable first and then copy the image files to it. Will it work? will i need to edit the boot files. For instance, if i make the USB drive bootable with DOS, do i need to edit the autoexec and config files?
 
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jepling1

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I have tried the xcopy and it does not make the USB bootable. Please help! I am trying to get the USB version of the BackTrack 3 Final for my networking class! what should I do in order to make that USB bootable? Also, I was wondering if I could use an ISO burner to burn it to a Flash Drive.
 
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chevelle

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if your just trying to get BackTrack to boot from usb flash drive...no matter what the size....why not try to copy the BT and Boot directories into your usb flash drive's root and going into the boot directory to click the "Bootinst".bat....after that your usb should boot automatically as long as you set your bios to boot from your usb....short simple and sweet.
 
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oeyvindt

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Why not try unetbootin-windows-248.exe ? I find this program very helpfull in making different types of installation "cd`s" on a usb disk Works fine with all iso, img files that I have tried (a lot)
You can find the file on sourgeforge.net
Just start program, add ISO file you want to "burn" to usb disk, and it just works !

Regards Øyvind

 
fairlane32

fairlane32

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Actually,
The xcopy command does work. I don't think you can create a bootable USB stick in WinXP. Only Vista. At least I haven't been able to do it. It worked just fine for me in Vista. I made my flash drive bootable and copied the vista files from the DVD and now I have a bootable vista flash drive. I'm going to try to do the same with an ISO file on a cd of ShadowProtect. I hope it works. The instructions I found are these:

This operation assumes your machine can boot from a USB enabled device. Check your BIOS to make sure. You also MUST have a DVD copy of Vista to install the source files from the DVD to a USB flash drive:
1. Insert your USB flash drive and enter the following commands:
(please note this list assumes that your USB flash drive will be seen as disk 1. To confirm that it is type "list disk" after you've entered the DISKPART command) Otherwise you may wipe a different drive (such as your hard disk drive!)
2. Type:

diskpart
select disk 1
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
active
format fs=fat32
assign
exit
At this point your USB drive is formatted. DO NOT format the drive from within Windows. You MUST have a DVD copy of Vista to copy the source files from.

The final preparation step is to copy the installation files to your flash drive, this can be done by running the following command:
(Please note D: is the drive letter for the source files and E: is the drive letter for your flash drive, if they are different on your system you need to change them accordingly).
Exit DISKPART. Type:

xcopy d:\*.* /s/e/f e:\

Thats it, configure usb device as primary boot device in your bios and install.
 
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bantha3

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I have a newer EliteBook 2530p that came without a CD/DVD drive. For those who think a laptop without The steps you listed above worked great for creating a bootable USB flash drive and copying the Vista DVD files. Vista is now reloaded on the laptop.

Thanks!
 
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Zitel

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UBCD2USB

why not only use this command script?? its almost as xcopy, but with bootable part and formatting..
And you have to reroute the bootfile since this loads an menu for many options...
 
cjl

cjl

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Or, you could just use this:

http://downloads.sourceforge.net/unetbootin/unetbootin-eeeubuntu-windows-276.exe?use_mirror=

Even though it says it is for linux, I have successfully used it for both Ubuntu and Windows 7 images, and it creates a perfect bootable USB key every time.
 
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verbal007

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This worked perfectly. Nice tool with a very simple to understand interface.

Thanks!!

- Jeremy
 
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mrgr8avill

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For the xcopy thing, I think it is xcopy (sourcedriveletter):\*.* /E/Q/H (usbdriveletter):\
--the /H copies hidden and system files
--the /E copies everything, including empty directory structure, and
--the /Q does NOT list every file copied, making it go a lot faster

Still seeing if it works for my Vista.... but thanks for the tips and information to the OP and the comment writers!
 
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mrgr8avill

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Just confirming -- the DISKPART mentioned earlier, combined with XCOPY /E/Q/H between source and usb works fine. USB of Windows Vista booted fine when created on a Vista Machine from an ISO file.

No muss, no fuss. Thanks again!!
 
wuzy

wuzy

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Just like to add that it also works for any old 1.44MB floppy img too. I used it when updating all of my ST31000340AS from SD15 to SD1A firmware through a USB drive. Even though blank DVD is dirt cheap it creates necessary garbage so anytime I need to put a small img/ISO on something I use Unetbootin as well.
 
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jayedw3

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I have an ISO image of XP Tablet edition. (2 discs, 2 ISOs actually). is there a way to use this program or something like it to combine the 2 images onto one USB stick?
 
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EdNetman

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@jayedw3 First I want to ask something. Are both disks bootable? If not, then try this. Create an ISO of Disk 1. Then use a Program like WinISO to add the files and folders into the image.

Once done, you can use Unetbootin to create a bootable USB drive.

Good Luck!

Ed
 
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jayedw3

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Ya know, I'm not sure if both are. I know the 1st is because i was able to install XP Tablet on 1 of 3 of my work machines. Problem is the other 2 don't have disc drives. I tried opening both images with Daemon Tools and copying the contents of the second disc into a folder on the first image, saving it as a new iso, and using Unetbootin to copy that to a flash drive. Tried booting to the flash drive and it stopped at what looks like the Unetbootin default screen saying "automatic boot in x seconds..." with a countdown from 10 that just repeats.

Any advice?
 
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EdNetman

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The version linked to from here is a little dated.

Try this version and see if your issue goes away. :)

http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

~Ed
 
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Guest

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I have downloaded "unetbootin-eeeubuntu-windows-276.exe". Mount the windows Xp 64.iso into 2G USB thumb. Bios changed. After USB boot, only the menu of Unetbootini, with "defaults". Still can't boot wiyh USB? Pls. help
 
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