Installing Windows XP from USB Stick

[rimmi2002]

Hi I know it is possible to boot a comp from a USB stick. Can I copy the files of my windows XP cd to the USB root directory and then boot of off there and install windows xp to my comp? Anyone tried this before...how is the speed of installation in this method? Any information will be very helpful. Thanks.

 

[NoelS]

rimmi,

Don't have any idea, but why don't you try it? You don't have to install, just check to see if it starts the install process. Only problem could be if the key is tied to the CD. If that's the case it wouldn't work. Also the BIOS has to be set to boot from a flash drive...

Noel

 

[QuixoticOne]

Actually I am virtually certain that it has been long known and generally true that you can do a full XP (and same for Win98, Win2k, WinNT) installation with *only* a copy of the files from the "I386" directory.

Typically to speed up installation one would put a copy of XP's i386 directory somewhere like on a network share or on another partition of the hard drive or whatever.

Then you just have to run "setup.exe" to kick off the install and it'll be able to find all the files needed for a normal installation from the same location.

I suppose it's possible that if you want some of the 3rd party "addins" or whatever it could be useful to have the other directories from the CD also copied to your installer accessable device/location, though I don't recall that there's anything that you'd need at installation time for the installer itself.

Now your USB stick won't *boot* into XP's install in this fashion, so you should put a bootable copy of something like DOS on the USB stick if you need it to be bootable, or just transfer the whole XP CD to a bootable USB stick with the right tools if you want a dedicated solution.

Another option is to look at something like BartPE a windows preexecution environment tool that exists for the purpose of system repair and automating installation related workflows for operating systems including XP. If you booted into (or otherwise ran) a PE (e.g. BartPE) environment you could then have all the settings / files configured to relatively automatically (or manually if you prefer) install XP and various other software onto the target system from a USB stick.

The only major concern is whether XP's default driver set will be able to have the drivers to find and access your USB stick to read its installer files; this is typically not a problem with a fairly modern BIOS and USB device.

 

[vailr]

Before beginning, copy the entire i386 directory to the (pre-formatted) hard drive.
Installing WinXP from a DOS prompt requires first running a Win98 file from the DOS prompt:
smartdrv.exe
Next, run "winnt.exe" (in the i386 directory) to begin the WinXP installation (NOT: winnt32.exe).

 

[doan]

I just saw this:

http://www.vandomburg.net/inst...g-windows-xp-from-usb/

 

[Parasitic]

This is a more updated version of how-to:

http://www.eeeguides.com/2007/...xp-from-usb-thumb.html

 

[WildHorse]

THis has been discussed in many threads over the years at MSFN.
Search around there to read up on it.

One such thread is here and there are more.

All in all, to really get it right is complicated.