Booting MS Windows from a USB flash drive
I do not like M $ Win'skie system. Linux is installed on my computers (Fedora 9). What caused the appearance of posting, telling about the installation of my unloved OS on a flash drive? At the end of October, I was part of the “Yota team”, which received free unlimited access to the WiMax wireless network being deployed in Moscow and St. Petersburg (the claimed speed is 10 Mbit of incoming traffic and 5 Mbit of outgoing traffic, and you can read here ) . Together with the free unlimited (it will be free until March 31, 2009), we were given free Samsung WiCax modems by Samsung SWC-U200, as it was said - “for perpetual use”. It was this modem that caused me again - temporarily! - M $ Win's axis was required. The fact is that the drivers for it still exist only under Windows. According to Iota employees, Mac and Linux drivers are currently under development and will be available by the end of the year. But you need to work with the network now. Therefore, having suffered a few days with a constant change on the Linux netbook with Windows and back, I thought about a more comfortable option for me - put M $ Win on USB-Flash.
As far as I know, no one has yet managed to launch the modem's Windows drivers using ndiswrapper. Someone runs VirtualBox from Linux under Windows running on it , thus gaining access to WiMax from under Linux. But for the 701st with its 4GB drive, this is not the best option. Therefore, I decided to make a bootable flash drive with Windows - so that when I need access to the network on the way, it would be enough just to insert the flash drive and reboot. They say that using the method described below, you can put Windows on SD-cards. True, the installation process was not the most trivial and required several days to search for information.
Attention! If you try to repeat the description below, you will act solely at your own peril and risk. If any actions lead to a malfunction / damage to your system or conflict with the legislation - I do not bear any responsibility for this. .
Therefore, before starting experiments with installing MS Windows on a flash drive, it is worth making a backup of the system. The process described below requires an installed MS Windows operating system on your computer. And during the installation process, the system on the computer's hard drive will be modified on the flash drive - the necessary software will be added to it, allowing Windows to boot from the flash drive. Since this software is hardly useful to the “hard drive” version of Windows, this is another reason to restore the backup system after the steps described below. In August, I bought a Windows version of the ASUS Eee 701 netbook from my hands (Windows was replaced with Linux on the day after the purchase), so all the actions took place with exclusively licensed software.
')
This process can be unexpectedly long. Proceed to it only if you are sure that you have a couple of hours.
1. Back up the system (I recently wrote about one of the backup methods ).
2. Prepare the flash drive, to which we plan to copy the system. The flash drive must be empty and formatted in FAT32 or NTFS. Before formatting with a program like fdisk, you should make sure that there is exactly one primary partition on the flash drive that is marked as bootable. If there are several sections, we will delete them and create a single new primary partition, marking it as bootable. Several times after installing Windows on a flash drive, instead of booting the system, I had the inscription “Missing system” - only because there was a second small section on the flash drive, which for some reason neither Windows nor Linux saw, and which, of course, was not deleted by formatting flash drives
3. If your computer is not installed MS Windows - put it on your computer.
4. Download USBoot from www.usboot.org . Unpack the downloaded archive directory C: \ USBoot
The file C: \ USBoot \ QuickStart.txt contains the manual, following the instructions of which we will install Windows on the flash drive. Make sure that no external devices are connected to the computer - flash drives, etc. If they are connected, disconnect them and remove them from the sockets. Close all extraneous programs.
5. Go to the folder C: \ USBoot and run the file cmd_here.cmd. In the window with the command line type the command:
Next, I will give a sequence of proposals issued by the program and my answers to them.
Creation of a system restore point
...
<s> skip this step
Deactivation of auto reboot on system errors
...
<space> disable auto reboot on system errors
Installation of the USBoot DeviceGuard
...
<space> install and activate the USBoot DeviceGuard
Installation of the USBoot ServiceGuard
...
<space> install and activate the USBoot ServiceGuard
Installation of a generic HAL
...
<space> install files for remedial manual selection of HAL
6. After entering these responses, the program will proceed to the first phase of system configuration. At the end of the phase, press the spacebar , then restart the system, close all extraneous programs and, running C: \ USBoot \ cmd_here.cmd again, command:
Installation of drivers of class USB
...
<space> install all drivers available of class "USB"
Installation of drivers of critical classes (excluding class "SCSIAdapter")
...
<space> install only drivers for systems "System", "Keyboard" and "Mouse"
Non-present devices
...
<space> removing information regarding non-present devices of class USB
Reinstallation of present devices of class USB
...
<space> reinstall of present devices of class USB
Reinstallation of present devices preffering generic device IDs
...
<space> skip this step
Installation of USBoot ArcGuard
...
<space> install and activate the USBoot ArcGuard
Installation of USBoot DriveGuard
...
<space> install and activate the USBoot DriveGuard
Windows "dllcache" and "$ Nt ..." uninstall folders
...
<!> delete the content of the Windows "dllcache" and "$ Nt ..." uninstall folders
7. After entering these answers, the program will proceed to the second phase of system configuration. This will last about 15 minutes. At the end of the phase, press the space bar , then restart the system.
8. Connect the pre-prepared flash drive to which we plan to copy the system. Run C: \ USBoot \ cmd_here.cmd again and command:
Transfer of installation to target system volume
...
<space> copy installation to target system volume (accept only completely empty volume)
Select targetdrive
(1) -> D:
Please select an item by specifying its index: 1
Select sourcedrive
(1) -> C:
Please select an item by specifying its index: 1
Initialization of the USBoot ArcGuard
...
<space> initialize the USBoot ArcGuard
Configuration of pagefiles
...
<space> deactivate all pagefiles
Configuration of windows update
...
<space> deactivate the windows for drivers for windows downloads
Changing the computer name
...
<space> skip this step
Creation of sample boot.ini file
...
<space> create sample boot.ini file
After that, start copying files to the flash drive. This is a VERY long procedure - once it took me more than an hour. And another time - half an hour. Do not flatter yourself with the thought that after file copying is finished, everything is close to completion. "Finishing transfer of files (this may make some time)" appears in the console. And this final part can easily last more than an hour ...
After the end of the third phase, press the spacebar . Bootable flash drive ready! If your system refuses to boot from a flash drive, try experimenting. My flash drive was bootable only on the third attempt (after processing the flash drive with fdisk).
As far as I know, no one has yet managed to launch the modem's Windows drivers using ndiswrapper. Someone runs VirtualBox from Linux under Windows running on it , thus gaining access to WiMax from under Linux. But for the 701st with its 4GB drive, this is not the best option. Therefore, I decided to make a bootable flash drive with Windows - so that when I need access to the network on the way, it would be enough just to insert the flash drive and reboot. They say that using the method described below, you can put Windows on SD-cards. True, the installation process was not the most trivial and required several days to search for information.
Attention! If you try to repeat the description below, you will act solely at your own peril and risk. If any actions lead to a malfunction / damage to your system or conflict with the legislation - I do not bear any responsibility for this. .
Therefore, before starting experiments with installing MS Windows on a flash drive, it is worth making a backup of the system. The process described below requires an installed MS Windows operating system on your computer. And during the installation process, the system on the computer's hard drive will be modified on the flash drive - the necessary software will be added to it, allowing Windows to boot from the flash drive. Since this software is hardly useful to the “hard drive” version of Windows, this is another reason to restore the backup system after the steps described below. In August, I bought a Windows version of the ASUS Eee 701 netbook from my hands (Windows was replaced with Linux on the day after the purchase), so all the actions took place with exclusively licensed software.
')
This process can be unexpectedly long. Proceed to it only if you are sure that you have a couple of hours.
1. Back up the system (I recently wrote about one of the backup methods ).
2. Prepare the flash drive, to which we plan to copy the system. The flash drive must be empty and formatted in FAT32 or NTFS. Before formatting with a program like fdisk, you should make sure that there is exactly one primary partition on the flash drive that is marked as bootable. If there are several sections, we will delete them and create a single new primary partition, marking it as bootable. Several times after installing Windows on a flash drive, instead of booting the system, I had the inscription “Missing system” - only because there was a second small section on the flash drive, which for some reason neither Windows nor Linux saw, and which, of course, was not deleted by formatting flash drives
3. If your computer is not installed MS Windows - put it on your computer.
4. Download USBoot from www.usboot.org . Unpack the downloaded archive directory C: \ USBoot
The file C: \ USBoot \ QuickStart.txt contains the manual, following the instructions of which we will install Windows on the flash drive. Make sure that no external devices are connected to the computer - flash drives, etc. If they are connected, disconnect them and remove them from the sockets. Close all extraneous programs.
5. Go to the folder C: \ USBoot and run the file cmd_here.cmd. In the window with the command line type the command:
C: \ USBoot> USBoot phase-IThe program will issue a challenge code . According to this code, we get the activation code for the program. To get the activation code, open the browser, go to www.usboot.org and register. After that, a letter will be sent to the mailbox specified during registration with a link to go to in order to activate an account. Having activated an account, log in to www.usboot.org . In the menu on the left, select the item “Build response code” . Enter in the browser window issued by the challenge code program and get the activation code , which we will enter, returning to the USBoot program waiting for the activation code. If the code is entered correctly, the program will inform about it and will offer to press the spacebar to continue. After the warning that we use the program at your own risk, press the space button again, then the C key.
Next, I will give a sequence of proposals issued by the program and my answers to them.
Creation of a system restore point
...
<s> skip this step
Deactivation of auto reboot on system errors
...
<space> disable auto reboot on system errors
Installation of the USBoot DeviceGuard
...
<space> install and activate the USBoot DeviceGuard
Installation of the USBoot ServiceGuard
...
<space> install and activate the USBoot ServiceGuard
Installation of a generic HAL
...
<space> install files for remedial manual selection of HAL
6. After entering these responses, the program will proceed to the first phase of system configuration. At the end of the phase, press the spacebar , then restart the system, close all extraneous programs and, running C: \ USBoot \ cmd_here.cmd again, command:
C: \ USBoot> USBoot phase-IIPressing the space after the warning that the author of the program is not responsible for the consequences, press C. Again, a series of responses to the proposed options:
Installation of drivers of class USB
...
<space> install all drivers available of class "USB"
Installation of drivers of critical classes (excluding class "SCSIAdapter")
...
<space> install only drivers for systems "System", "Keyboard" and "Mouse"
Non-present devices
...
<space> removing information regarding non-present devices of class USB
Reinstallation of present devices of class USB
...
<space> reinstall of present devices of class USB
Reinstallation of present devices preffering generic device IDs
...
<space> skip this step
Installation of USBoot ArcGuard
...
<space> install and activate the USBoot ArcGuard
Installation of USBoot DriveGuard
...
<space> install and activate the USBoot DriveGuard
Windows "dllcache" and "$ Nt ..." uninstall folders
...
<!> delete the content of the Windows "dllcache" and "$ Nt ..." uninstall folders
7. After entering these answers, the program will proceed to the second phase of system configuration. This will last about 15 minutes. At the end of the phase, press the space bar , then restart the system.
8. Connect the pre-prepared flash drive to which we plan to copy the system. Run C: \ USBoot \ cmd_here.cmd again and command:
C: \ USBoot> USBoot phase-IIIPress space , then C.
Transfer of installation to target system volume
...
<space> copy installation to target system volume (accept only completely empty volume)
Select targetdrive
(1) -> D:
Please select an item by specifying its index: 1
Select sourcedrive
(1) -> C:
Please select an item by specifying its index: 1
Initialization of the USBoot ArcGuard
...
<space> initialize the USBoot ArcGuard
Configuration of pagefiles
...
<space> deactivate all pagefiles
Configuration of windows update
...
<space> deactivate the windows for drivers for windows downloads
Changing the computer name
...
<space> skip this step
Creation of sample boot.ini file
...
<space> create sample boot.ini file
After that, start copying files to the flash drive. This is a VERY long procedure - once it took me more than an hour. And another time - half an hour. Do not flatter yourself with the thought that after file copying is finished, everything is close to completion. "Finishing transfer of files (this may make some time)" appears in the console. And this final part can easily last more than an hour ...
After the end of the third phase, press the spacebar . Bootable flash drive ready! If your system refuses to boot from a flash drive, try experimenting. My flash drive was bootable only on the third attempt (after processing the flash drive with fdisk).
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/46107/
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