Many times we need to install fresh Windows or a Linux distro in a computer system but we don't have access to a working CD/DVD drive. Sometimes the computer system doesn't have any CD/DVD drive attached or sometimes the drive might be faulty or can't read your setup disc.
Then what to do in such situation? How to install Windows or Linux in the system without a working CD/DVD drive? Here comes bootable USB drive to the rescue!
You can create a bootable USB drive to install Windows or Linux in your computer system. It'll allow you to boot your system using it and then it'll run the OS setup just like you do with a CD or DVD.
There are also many other benefits in installing Windows or Linux using a bootable USB drive. It makes the OS installation faster as it takes less time in copying the files from USB to hard disk compared to a CD/DVD. Also there is no need to worry about scratches or "can't copy files" error messages in case of a USB drive which we always do while installing the OS using a CD or DVD.
But creating a bootable USB drive is not very easy task. You need to run a few commands and need to follow a few steps to make it working. That's why we have shared lots of free software in past to create bootable USB drives to install Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2003, Server 2008 and many Linux distro like Ubuntu, Fedora, Linux Mint, Mandriva, etc.
For your convenience, we are putting all these free tools together in this single place so that you don't need to waste your time in searching for them.
So without wasting time lets share all freeware which help you in creating bootable USB drives to install Windows and Linux:
A Bootable USB:
"A Bootable USB" is an AskVG exclusive free tool which allows you to create bootable USB drive to install Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7.
WBI Creator:
"WBI Creator" is another freeware released by us which allows you to create bootable ISO image file of Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 setup which can be copied to a USB drive using other freeware mentioned in this topic.
Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool:
"Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool" is an official freeware from Microsoft which allows you to create a bootable USB drive to install Windows 7 and Windows 8. It also allows you to create bootable DVD.
Download Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool
WinToFlash:
"WinToFlash" is a free software to create bootable USB drives for Windows XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008 and 7 setup. WinToFlash can also transfer your live CD or DVD to USB card.
Setup from USB:
"Setup from USB" is a free tool to convert your USB flash drive into Windows Vista or Windows 7 bootable setup disk. You can make your USB drive as bootable and setup Windows Vista or Windows 7 on any computer that supports booting from USB.
XBoot:
"XBoot" is a free utility for creating Multiboot USB drives or ISO image files. XBoot can combine ISO files in to one Multiboot ISO file or create Multiboot USB in just few clicks.
Win32 Disk Imager:
"Win32 Disk Imager" is a free utility available for Windows which can be used for writing and restoring images to/from removable drives (USB drives, SD Memory cards, etc). It can be used to write bootable images to a usb drive, making it bootable.
UNetbootin:
"UNetbootin" allows you to create bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux distributions without burning a CD. It runs on both Windows and Linux.
Rufus:
"Rufus" is a small and portable tool which allows you to format and create bootable USB drives for Windows and Linux OS. The most impressive thing about this tool is its interface. It looks very close to default format window which is shown by Windows whenever you try to format a hard disk partition or a USB drive.
That's all for now guys. If you know about any other good and free tool to create bootable USB drive for Windows or Linux, please feel free to share it in your comment. Also let us know your valuable feedback about the above mentioned freeware...
Posted by: Vishal Gupta | Categories: Linux, Software, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP
mohamad
thanks for your effort.u did a big affair
what about "FlashBoot.v2.1c".It is a nice tool but isnt free.prime-expert.com/flashboot/
shahab
thank you so much i added this post and your site address to my blog
fragger
i have an in-built SD card reader in my laptop. can i make an SD card as a bootabe setup disk. i want to install Windows 7 as soon as possible.
Lokesh
Really good tools.. Thanks a lot for this info...
Mike Sims
Hello,
Can you provide instructions for or comment on creating a single USB drive that holds many Windows installation ISO's and maybe other ISOs so that we can use a single thumb drive (like a 32 gig USB 3.0 thumb drive) and when it boots, be given a menu with the different Windows flavors as menu items, and when we select which flavor we wish to install, that ISO takes over and becomes the machines main boot ISO? For example, after the thumb drive boots, we see a menu that looks something like this:
1. Windows XP x86 w/SP3
2. Windows XP x64 w/SP3
3. Windows Vista x86 w/SP1
4. Windows Vista x64 w/SP1
5. Windows 7 x86 w/SP1
6. Windows 7 x64 w/SP1
7. Windows 8 x86
8. Windows 8 x64
9. Utilities (Hirams, UBCD etc.)
This would be off the hook! :-)
Thank You,
Mike Sims
VG
^^ I have not tried but did you try XBoot?
http://www.askvg.com/xboot-free-utility-to-create-multiboot-usb-and-cd/
srajan
Sir,
I downloaded your vistaVG theme for my win xp.But when I run it ,it shows me an win98 style theme.But previously when I ran this theme it was working all right.Please help me.
Thanks
VG
^^ You'll need to run UXTheme patcher again. Did you reinstall Windows?
Meet Patel
PowerISO and SUSE Studio Image Writer are very good to make USB bootable for Linux ...
Niraj
Best software is Format factory to convert everything ,from videos to iso images. Also to burn iso,nero or imgburn is best
Sbronzo di Riace
SARDU creates a multiboot USB drive, a multiboot DVD or CD (all-in-one) for free (personal and non commercial use, read the license). Hard disks (internal and external), SSD, USB flash drive and all removable memory disk and media are supported.
The multi bootable device can include comprehensive collections of antivirus rescue CD, utilities and popular Linux live distributions. Windows PE can also be included, as well as recovery disks and install media for Windows XP (Professional, Home and 64 Bit), Windows Vista, Windows Seven and Windows Eight.
sarducd.it
bobopiu
For create usb with Windows Xp? (sorry for my english,I'm Italian)
thanks