How to Create Bootable USB Drive to Install Windows Vista?

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This tutorial will help you in creating a bootable USB drive of Windows Vista which you can use to install Vista in any system. It might become very useful when you don't have access to DVD drive.

1. First format your USB drive in NTFS file system. You can do it by attaching your USB drive to your system and then format it from My Computer window.

2. Now open Command Prompt window from Start menu. Right-click on Command Prompt entry in start menu and select "Run as administrator" option.

3. Now type diskpart in Command Prompt window and press Enter. It'll launch DiskPart program:

4. Now provide following command:

list volume

It'll show a list of all drives in your system. Look for your USB drive entry. As in the below screenshot, the USB drive is "G" which you can determine from its "Type" entry.

Now you have to select the USB drive volume by providing select volume no. command. Since in our case volume no. of USB drive is "Volume 4", the command would be:

select volume 4

Now we have to make this drive active. So provide active command:

active

Now exit from DiskPart using exit command.

5. Now we need to create Boot sector on USB drive. We'll use "bootsect.exe" utility for this task. You can find this utility in Windows Vista setup disk. It'll be present in "Boot" directory.

Now provide following command in Command Prompt:

bootsect /nt60 G:

Here G is drive letter of USB drive. Replace it with the correct drive letter if your system has some other letter for USB drive.

6. At last, copy all files/folders from Vista Setup DVD to your USB drive and you have done.

Now you can boot using your USB drive and can install Windows Vista in any system.

PS: You can also take a look at some free tools to automatically create bootable USB drives to install Windows using following link:

Ultimate Collection of Best Freeware to Create Bootable USB Drive to Install Windows and Linux

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This article was posted by VG in following section: Windows Vista.

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Hlony

This a lot Man. it works marvelously
Hlony

thanks a lot Man. it worked marverlously
valy

ok man....everything Ok until i get to the "bootsect.exe" file...i try to open it but nothing happens...it just pops up a new CMD windows and disappear so fast that i can't see anything....please help me!!!!!!
a

when i get to the active part it says that ther is no partition selected please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!
a

when i get to the active part it says that ther is no partition selected please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kamal

"it says that ther is no partition selected" <-- this error happen because u can only use command "active" when u use account administrator ..

Look at the picture correctly..it say C:/Users/Administrator ..

if u are using window xp to do this thing..u need to have administrator account..not an account with administrator role ..

if vista or window 7..just run command prompt as administrator ..

cheers..:-)
clowncub

this is what i get please help but if im right i just have to copy over vista and then when my computer starts load from usb am i right ?

C:\Users\CLOWNCUB>bootsect/nt60 H:
'bootsect' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
VG

^^ Put a blank space between bootsect and /nt60
ToysAreForBoys

I had to use the command:

bootsect /nt60 g: /mbr

In order to get my stick to boot with SBS 2008! I was just getting a black screen with flashing cursor.

-Jamie M.
narith

it useful