Create a bootable Windows 7 USB drive

I can't remember the last time i burned a CD/DVD ! What with almost free online storage , and faster and cheaper flash drives , the optical disc too , like its magnetic kin is on its way out. So this would be the perfect time to learn how to install or repair Windows from your USB drive instead of looking around for that DVD you mislaid last month.

There are many reasons to use a bootable USB device instead of an optical disc.
Flash drives these days are much , much faster . Your notebook may not have an optical drive , or it may simply be out of order and you're probably too lazy to get it fixed ( my case ).Or you may simply have downloaded an ISO from Microsoft and don't want to burn a DVD uselessly.
Whatever , the reason , the process to create a bootable flash drive is very simple using a tool that Microsoft provides.The manual method is much more complex and not discussed in this post.


Requirements :

• Grab the Microsoft Win7 USB/DVD download tool. Get if from CNET ( it's free )
• A USB drive with at least 4 GB free space , preferably formatted ( though the tool will format it automatically )

Steps :

1. ) Install the Win7 USB/DVD tool and run it ( usually from the desktop shortcut.)
      Browse for and select the Windows 7 ISO file.Click Next.

   
2. ) Choose Media type by selecting USB device ( you can also burn to DVD but         

       I'm guessing that's not why you're looking at this tutorial )

3. ) Choose your USB device ( assuming its plugged into a port , if not , do that )  

      from the drop down box.Click Refresh if you can't find it.If it still doesn't 

      show ,use a different port and click Refresh.Click Begin Copying.

4. ) Now just wait , while the tool does its job.

5. ) There , it's done !

Now you can repair , or install Windows 7 from this USB drive. Just go to the drive from Windows Explorer and run Setup.exe.

Alternatively you can also boot directly from it. To do that you must change boot device priority to put Removable device at top priority.This can be done from BIOS setup.To enter BIOS setup press the appropriate function key( depends on your motherboard ) on start up. Another way is to enter your boot menu on start up (again by pressing the appropriate function key ) and select Removable device.

Note : To make things simpler make sure your bootable USB is the only external drive connected to the machine.

Once the start up has been configured to boot from USB the setup program should launch automatically.