User Guides Install Windows 7 on a Netbook

Install Windows 7/Vista on a Netbook using USB Pen Drive - Easy as 1-2-3

So, Netbooks are very popular these days. The problem is that Netbooks don’t have Optical Drives (DVD Drives) and so, installation had to be via a USB Pen Drive. I had a 4GB pen drive at hand and also a Windows 7 Installation Disk. So, here’s how I went about it:

Things Required:

1) A USB Pen Drive (4GB or more Capacity)

2) Windows 7/Vista Installation Disk

3) A spare PC with a DVD Drive and USB Port

3) Little knowledge of Command Prompt

So, here is how one goes about it:

1) Connect the USB Pen Drive to an empty USB port on the spare PC. Note the Drive Letter that gets assigned to the USB Pen Drive in My Computer. For me, it is “I”. Also note the Drive letter for the DVD Drive. For me, it is “F”.

2) Go to Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt and Right Click on Command Prompt and Select ‘Run As Administrator’.

3) In Command Prompt, type DISKPART and press the <Enter> key. It will look like this:

1+DISKPART.jpg


4) Then type LIST DISK and press <Enter> in the same Command Prompt Window. It will list the Disk Number of your USB Pen Drive. Note this number. For me it was Disk 1. It looks like this:

2+LIST+DISK.jpg


5) Now type and execute the following commands one by one where <Enter> indicates pressing the Enter Key:

SELECT DISK 1 <Enter>

CLEAN <Enter>

CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY <Enter>

SELECT PARTITION 1 <Enter>

ACTIVE <Enter>

FORMAT FS=NTFS <Enter> (Wait for format to complete before typing next command)

ASSIGN <Enter>

EXIT <Enter>

It should look like this:

3+EXIT+DISKPART.jpg


Now, Minimise the Command Prompt Window.

6) Now, insert your Windows 7/Vista Installation Disk in the Optical (DVD) Drive. For me, this is Drive “F” as already noted in Step 1.

7) Maximise Command Prompt and type the following:

F: CD BOOT <Enter> (Here, F is my Optical (DVD)Drive Letter)

CD BOOT <Enter>

BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 I <Enter> (Here, I is my USB Pen Drive Letter)

It will look like this:

4+CD+BOOT.jpg


Now, one can close Command Prompt.

8) Go to My Computer and Copy-Paste all the contents of the Windows 7/Vista Installation Disk to the USB Pen Drive.

9) The USB Pen Drive is now ready. One can boot from this drive and install Windows on any Netbook that can boot from a USB Pen Drive.

I still had a problem booting from this Pen Drive but that was due to the fact that my Netbook was not configured to boot from a USB Drive. So, I went into the Netbook BIOS, and set the Boot Priority to USB and then installing Windows 7 was a breeze!

I originally wrote this article for my blog on 6th January, 2011. But I couldn't be regular on my blog... :ashamed:

Link for the Blog Post: iDE@ - It's all in the Brain!: Install Windows 7/Vista on a Netbook using USB Pen Drive - Easy as 1-2-3

Today, a query from neojjjk made me post this here.

Query Link: http://www.techenclave.com/laptops/how-to-install-win7-in-netbook-186057.html
 
Click to expand...
#Mohit What pen drive are you using?

I think the issue is with your pendrive. I used WintoFlash on a number of pendrives and never had any issues.

Try a full format of the drive. If that doesn't work, try using another drive.
 
I have tried 2 pen drives. Anyways I will do a full format of the drive now again using the HP USB Format tool. What file system should I choose? NTFS or FAT32? Its a 16GB drive.

EDIT: I am using a San Disk Cruzer 16GB now. Earlier I tried with a San Disk Cruzer 8GB. Not working on both.
 
I did a full format of the drive and tried again. It does not work still. My DVD drive has conked up and I need to install Windows XP somehow. Any other ways to do it?
 
#Mohit

try these steps
  • Insert a flash drive (say 2GB )
  • Start WinSetupFromUSB
  • Check USB Disk Selection, your pen drive should be listed
  • Click on RMprepUSB button
  • in the next window, select XP Bootable from boot option and hit Prepare Drive button

Next perform the usual steps to make it bootable
 
CA50 said:
#Mohit

try these steps
  • Insert a flash drive (say 2GB )
  • Start WinSetupFromUSB
  • Check USB Disk Selection, your pen drive should be listed
  • Click on RMprepUSB button
  • in the next window, select XP Bootable from boot option and hit Prepare Drive button

Next perform the usual steps to make it bootable
Click to expand...

I had done that only. I first prepared the drive and then selected the source and destination and tried to create the bootable USB XP but it popped that grubinst error.
 
this is the best.. i dont need all those nifty crappy UTILITIES.. this is the kind of tutorial i've been looking for ages.. i wanted to know that its possible to boot windows from a pen drive without using some UTILITY made by some person i dont even know..
 
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