Install Windows XP from USB Disk Drive
Installing Windows XP from a USB drive(pen Drive) has been an issue with less number of ideal solutions available. Here we have given a solution which is easy to follow and which works. The reason why should anybody want to install Windows from a USB drive is that using a bootable CD is always been a problem. Sometimes our CD ROM may not work. Some mini laptops like Asus Eee PC may not have CD ROMs where installation is possible only through USB or an external Drive. One of the main reason why we were interested in this topic is that in the current trend Using a CD is considered primitive. A USB drive is much more easy and more portable. Hence why should anybody not want to carry their Installation files in a bootable USB drive and why would anybody rely on a CD which is easily damageable by rough handling.
The method given here is tested successfully for Windows XP 32 bit installation with SP2 and SP3. It may work with other versions of Windows like Vista and Windows 7 but we have not tested it yet.
[Update: Refer to this guide on How To Install Windows 7 or Vista Using Bootable USB Disk]
Requirements:
1. A USB Drive of minimum 2GB
2. Windows XP installation CD (Back Up will also do)
The method consists of two parts and one file download (around 499KB). We will have touse tools like PeToUSB to format your pen drive and copy the Windows XP installation files to the USB Disk using usb_prep8.cmd. Then we will boot up from the USB Drive and prepare for installation. After the process is completed your XP install is ready for the process.
Now we will start the process:
Step 1: Download the File from the link given below:
Size: 499KB
Name: usb_boot_prep_xp.zip
http://www.techrena.net/downloads/usb_boot_prep_xp.zip
Password: techrena.net
Step 2: Extract the usb_boot_prep_xp.zip file in your C drive. It will give you two folders named bootsect and usb_prep8. Plug in your USB drive to your computer and put the Windows XP CD also.
Step 3: Go to the usb-prep8 folder and double click usb_prep8.cmd file. Press any key to continue.
Step 4: Now it will open PeToUSB. Format your USB drive using it. Select the options as in the image below. Note that after formatting do not close the PeToUSB or the cmd console.
Step 5: Now open a new cmd console manually (press Start+L, type cmd and enter). And type the following command in the commands prompt. Note that you should type your own USB drive letter instead of ‘h’.
| Sl. No. | Command: | Action: |
| 1 | cd | Enter |
| 2 | cd bootsect | Enter |
| 3 | bootsect.exe /nt52 h: | Enter |
I had copied the folder in D drive. So the image will be somewhat different with the actual display of your console. Don’t worry copy the folder in your C drive only. Now close this cmd console but not the other one.
Step 6. Close PeToUSB. Now the usb_prep8.cmd console will continue. Select 1 to set the source location. Select the CD ROM containing the XP CD.
Step 7: If you have a drive called T in your computer then check option 2 to change it to any letter which is not present. Otherwise no need to change. Select 3 to set the destination drive. Enter your USB Drive letter as shown below:
Step 8: Now select choice 4 as we don’t have any Tempimage previously. It may ask you to delete the existing tempimage. select Yes.
Step 9: It will ask you to format the T drive. Enter y and it will format your temp drive. Press any key to continue. Now it will start copying the XP files to the tempdrive.
Step 10: After the completion of the file copy process Press any key to continue. Now it will ask you to copy the files to your USB drive or not. Select Yes.
Step 11: During the copy process it will ask whether to change migrate.inf file or not. Is you are using a USB stick then Select Yes. If you are using a USB hard drive then Select No. 
Step 12: After the successful completion of copying the files to your USB drive it will ask whether to unmount the Virtual temp drive or not. As you do not need it Select Yes.
Step 13: After the successful completion of the process close the cmd console. Now your pen drive is ready for the installation process.
Step 14: Plug in the USB drive to the computer you want to install XP. While start up make sure that you set the first boot choice as your USB drive. To do this you have to enter to the bios and change the boot order to USB Disk as the first choice. For entering to BIOS press the BIOS setup key while start up. This key is usually seen in the screen in the boot screen. For most of the systems it is DEL key. For HP and Compaq it is F10 etc. Go to the boot configuration tab and change the boot order.
Step 15: While booting up from the USB it will ask you to choose between GUI and TXT mode of setup. Select TXT mode for now.
Step 16: Follow the onscreen instructions. It is same as the usual setup process. In the partition selection screen do not select you USB drive for install. And if you are installing in a new RAW hard disk then your USB Drive will be the C drive. Now first create a new partition and format your HDD using the setup. And again restart the process from step 15 by Quitting the current Install(Press F3). Then you should get your HDD partition as C drive. Continue your installation.
Step 17: Now it will copy a set of files to the hard disk. It usually takes lesser time than a CD ROM installation. After the process it will ask for reboot. Press Enter to reboot immediately.
Step 18: Now while start up select the GUI mode of setup to continue setup.
Now you can continue your usual setup process. Follow the onscreen instructions carefully. After the setup process which usually takes 39 minutes, it will restart. Now boot from your Hard drive not the USB drive. Again use BIOS settings to make this happen.
Congratulations you have successfully installed Windows XP via a USB Drive.
Important:
1. You can copy the contents of your pen drive if you want for future use. To use in future just format your USB drive with FAT, run the commands given in Step 5 and simply copy paste the files you had saved earlier. No need to run the whole process again.
2. While unmounting the Virtual Temp Drive T, it may fail and ask you to try again. Select No. And when it asks you to Force unmount select yes.
3. This Method is for informational purpose only and should not be used for Software Piracy and illegal practices.
4. We are not responsible for any loss or damage resulting from this information.
5. This method will not work if your motherboard or your BIOS does not support USB booting.
6. This method is an implementation of the guide given in http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=20089. And PeToUSB is a property of http://gocoding.com/page.php?al=petousb
Featured Post:
Install Windows 7 or Vista Using Bootable USB Disk Drive
April 6th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Just wanted to say thanks. I’m currently halfway thru GUI setup on a Thinkpad X31 and its working well. Much quicker than CD.
I intially had trouble getting it to work using a 8GB USB Stick. Had to follow the process at below link to make the USB appear fixed to XP so I could repartition to 1900MB FAT, then PEtoUSB worked ok (errored otherwise).
http://www.lancelhoff.com/make-windows-see-any-usb-flash-drive-as-local-disk/
April 6th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Hi, I have a problem. The setup was ok but when Step 17 occurs it can’t find the source for copying. The OS that I’ve used on the USB disk is XP Pro SP2. I’m trying it on a Dell Inspiron 910. Thank you very much for the time.
April 12th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Thanks a lot..I tried this and it worked..
April 14th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
dear sir/madam
please send me password of your zip file
thanking you
vikas
April 14th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Dear Vikas,
The password is already given below the download link. It is:
April 17th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
i have completed step 8 but not reach in step p. cmd window see that USB_PREP.CMD will be closed. plz solve my problem.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
i have completed step 8 but not reach in step 9. cmd window shoes that USB_PREP>CMD will be closed .Plz solve my Problem
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:53 am
nice..
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:55 pm
all procceses completed succesfully but iam unable to boot my USB device on startup..
April 24th, 2009 at 12:12 am
@ashan
You should change the boot order in your bios settings….Go to your BIOS by pressing your bios key during Boot up…select USB diskette as the 1st boot option
April 29th, 2009 at 1:27 am
hi.. i wonder i still in 2 step.. my 2 external drives are not detecting in ur apps.. but it detects by vista
May 9th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Hi sir/Madame i follow whatu have show just couldnt reach bootsect from what u had there so i only could use C:>bootsect could only locate ths way hope it doesnt have probleme.Now my problem is when i get to run the usb stick on the pc it says that mises a file called NTSF or somethin like that could u help me with this plz
May 9th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
The file is called NTLDR
May 10th, 2009 at 3:43 am
I make all the steps u mencioned but when i try the txt as it refer on step 15 i get missing ntdlr message what can i do plz
May 12th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Hi Sir,
I have created USB with XP. It is working fine. It installed XP on a machine but after successfull installation when I boot machine (I changed boot order to HDD) it is giving error like:-
“Windows could not start because of computer disk hardware configuration problem.
Could not read from the selected hard disk. Check boot path and disk hardware.”
Kindly let me know the reason. I will appreciate your help.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Kumar
May 12th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Hi All,
Cheersssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to Author who has given this solution. It is really very good solution.
But after 18th step kindly follow this as I was facing the problem.
Now restart the system with USB (Option 2.) and after login in XP change boot.ini file
For changing in boot.ini file follow these steps:-
Right click on My ComputeràPropertiesàAdvancedàIn Startup & Recovery click on Settings button
Now click on Edit button you will get boot.ini file in notepad
Delete line contains “Never unplug USB-Drive until after Logon”
Save the boot.ini file.
Now boot from your Hard drive not the USB drive. Again use BIOS settings to make this happen..
It is working for me….
Thanks
Kumar
May 15th, 2009 at 1:57 am
I have a different problem. I am Vista installed. I turned off the UAC and still it shows only my pen drive as the available drive to install xp. I want to install it in the c drive. Please help.
May 15th, 2009 at 9:50 am
@Kunal
The problem you are facing is due to Non SATA support in your XP installation. You need to disable your native sata support or slipstream the sata drivers to your XP CD. Otherwise it will not detect your SATA HDD for the installation of XP. Check the posts below:
http://techrena.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-to-install-your-own-wndows-xp-in-hp.html
http://techrena.blogspot.com/2009/01/integrate-your-own-drivers-or.html
May 19th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Hdd not detected during installation
May 20th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Hi, please help me! I did it all correctly but when I start to install the WinXP via flash disk an error appeared “NTLDR is missing” of course my MOBO supports USB booting.
May 20th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Dear friends
here i am getting one error massage while installing windows xp from usb pen drive to laptop ,error
File\ $WIN_NT$.~BT\biosinfo.inf could not be loaded
The error code is 14
Setup cannot continue.Press any key to exit
May 21st, 2009 at 12:59 am
thanx man , i really need this becoz my pc is sucks me , and i need to format that , thank for wonderful tricks , but i am using linux ubuntu 8.10 , so how can i use this trick on that
thank you!
pratikroom.blogspot.com
May 29th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Thanks a lot….., good job. keep it up. I tried this and it worked fine for me. Thanks again.
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:16 am
Thanks a lot….this post really helped me out of trouble from my friends bad dvd rom..
I got through all the steps but the problem for the non recognition of sata drive still persisted and displaying only the drive of my pen drive… later the post by dennis (shown below..) really helped me out….thanks a lot again.
___________________________
Dennis Says:
May 15th, 2009 at 9:50 am
@Kunal
The problem you are facing is due to Non SATA support in your XP installation. You need to disable your native sata support or slipstream the sata drivers to your XP CD. Otherwise it will not detect your SATA HDD for the installation of XP. Check the posts below:
http://techrena.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-to-install-your-own-wndows-xp-in-hp.html
http://techrena.blogspot.com/2009/01/integrate-your-own-drivers-or.html
_______________________________
June 5th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
thanks for the tutorials it really works. thanks mate..
June 8th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Hello, I’m trying to boot my acer aspire 5100 laptop via usb key. I have reached the stage where you choose GUI mode of setup. when i selected the option it says (windows root/system32/hal.dll) file corrupt or missing. Please help me how to solve this problem. Thanx
June 12th, 2009 at 6:26 am
This was a very good tutorial for installing from a USB stick/thumb. I only hit one problem as I have a diagnostics partition (1) on the harddrive I used this tutorial on. It kept hitting me with the hal file not found thing. A quick change to the boot line and making the partition 2 fixed it.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Great post! I’ll subscribe right now wth my feedreader software!
June 13th, 2009 at 8:27 am
when it asks to type cd bootsect, it says the system cannot find the patch specified. Please help.
June 13th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
i have made a usb bootable disk, but when the steup is about to start.. it says:
following setup cannot continue file .STF
value 0
a line of code [sourcedisksfiles]
June 13th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
the following value in the .SIF file used by setup is corrupted or missing:
value 0 on the line in section [sourcedisksfiles]
with the key “binifix4.cmd.”
setup cannot continue. To quit setup, press F3
June 16th, 2009 at 12:34 am
@mus
Hi you have to copy the file “bootsect” which you unzip in step 2 to the the root of the harddrive/partition to run that command.
June 17th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Dear friends
here i am getting one error massage while installing windows xp from usb pen drive to laptop ,error
File\ $WIN_NT$.~BT\biosinfo.inf could not be loaded
The error code is 14
Setup cannot continue.Press any key to exit
June 30th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
i have prepared a bootable usb stick for windows installation as per the above tutorial. Its boots fine, but when i try to install, it says ” setup could not access the xp installation cd on ur computer.”
the installation files already exits in the usb stick.
plz help me with this problem.
thnx
July 3rd, 2009 at 9:06 am
have reached the stage where you choose GUI mode of setup. when i selected the option it says (windows root/system32/hal.dll) file corrupt or missing. Please help me how to solve this problem. Thanx
July 7th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
ntldr is missing
July 11th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Hi,
Quite nice, its really works……
VIJAY
Hewlett-Packard
July 12th, 2009 at 9:52 am
i changed my bootdevice to pendriver…after that it is showing
remove disks or other media
press any key to restart.
what i have to do now?
please help
July 12th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
NTLDR is missing
Press any key…
HElp…..
July 18th, 2009 at 1:12 am
hey it says cant detect any usb drive. Although my drive is connected.So cant proceed…SOS please
July 21st, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Hi
I get stuck in step 8 i cant reach step 9 the program usb_prep close
please help me
July 21st, 2009 at 1:30 pm
once I select option 4 this message appears:
The virtual disk driver is not installed
temporary drive t : created lets format it
specified drive does not exist program will be ended
July 25th, 2009 at 11:28 am
hi all,
i dont want’s to install via pen drive i want to install win xp on the pen drive. Pen drive must be work as hard disk plz help me someone if possible….
July 25th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
have same problem in the stage where you choose GUI mode of setup. when i selected the option it says (windows root/system32/hal.dll) file corrupt or missing. Please help me how to solve this problem.
SALAMAT MABUHAY!!!
Thanx
July 27th, 2009 at 10:12 am
NTLDR is missing
Press any key…
how can solve this problem
August 16th, 2009 at 6:02 am
After the format, I get this.
The following value is in the .SIF file used by Setup is corrupted or missing:
Value 0 on the line in section [SourceDisksFiles] with key “binifix4.cmd.”
Setup cannot continue. To quit Setup, press F3.
August 18th, 2009 at 1:46 am
Great! your tutorial worked perfectly! thank you very much!
August 21st, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Hi.
I hope not be abusing; but you are very knowledgeable on Flash Drives, so I submit this question to you.
I have a Micro Vault 2GB flashdisk.
I have a Text File notepad where I keep daily notes; it grew up to 1.7 MB; trying to always carry it with me, I save it to this Micro Vault, sometimes from Word, or from Notepad or copying it via Explorer, always as a .TXT file. Well, when I try to read it back, through any application of those mentioned or even others, I just get little squares throughout the 1.7MB file.
Could you help me to understand (and overcome) this problem?
Thank you for your attention.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:30 pm
I Keep getting the same error as someone else that doesn’t seem to have a resolution – after booting ok & formatting the drive, the following comes up as it goes to copy files:
The following value in the .SIF file used by Setup is corrupted or missing:
Value 0 on the line in section [SourceDisksFiles] with the key “binifix4.cmd.”
I’ve gone through the whole USB setup process 3 times and always get the same error – what can I do?
August 26th, 2009 at 7:42 am
How do i know whether my motherboard supports pendrive installation?
i use a acer aspire 4520G laptop…
amd turion 64X2 processor…..
Thanks…
August 31st, 2009 at 12:20 am
Ok ,, everytime I try C:\>cd bootsect
I get (The system cannot find the path specified)
What am I doing wrong????
September 7th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
@ dennis
gr8 job but im not able to boot from the usb I’m not getting an option “press any key ”
I have a HP Compaq dx & Transcend 2gb pen drive and still it doesn’t work
plz help me i hope there must be some way out….thnx
September 8th, 2009 at 1:05 am
PROBLEM
when you are selecting GUI option it says (windows root/system32/hal.dll) file corrupt or missing.
SOLUTION
After TXT mode installation select boot device Hard Disk.
Then during reboot press down arrow to select appropriate Windoes Xp installation
select last windows xp from menu
This is because you may have previous version xp in your machine
I think it will work.
bcoz i solved this problem in my case
cheers!!!!!!
September 8th, 2009 at 1:07 am
many many thanks to ALL of you for this thread……..
It is really helpful
September 11th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I did everything to the tee, but still no joy when I load it ony dell mini 910 I get “File \$win_nt$.~BT\biosinfo.inf could not be loaded the error code is 14
setup cannot continue. Press any key to exit”
is there anyone with some suggestions plz help.
I’m using a kingston g2 4gb usb pen drive but i followed every step to the letter and still no joy.
could it be that it’s looking to load xp from a pata drive?
thanks for the info though I’ved tried just about everything.
imho it cannot be done.
September 13th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Hi,
After I select “TXT Mode Setup Windows XP” for the first time after my Dell Mini boot from the USB stick, the “setup is inspecting your computer’s hardware configuration” message shows up and it takes so long for the setup to inspect my computer’s hardware and configuration. What is wrong with it? I think the setup “hangs” instead of doing what it suppose to do. Any idea why?. Thanks in advance!
September 14th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Hi guys!
I’m added to NTDLR is missing, after the following steps:
* Disable SATA in bios.
* Download SATA drivers, nLite, prepare ISO, burn into a USB (WinRar).
Do you have solve this throuble?
September 16th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
You may have much better success using the programs and ask for support where all those applications for installing from USB are coming from:
http://www.msfn.org/board/install-xp-usb-f157.html
All this is developed by bunch of folks, who gladly answer any questions, there are also much newer programs for the purpose.
September 18th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I also get this error
The virtual disk driver is not installed
temporary drive t : created lets format it
specified drive does not exist program will be ended
Has anyone got around this yet?
Thank you.
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:04 pm
hiii sir did all step right but after choosing 1 text mode i gt blue screen while starting the window…
October 8th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
i tried dis one , but it shows only the pen drive partition, it dint show my HDD partition, please tell how to solve dis problem,
thanks
Senthil
October 8th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
i tried dis one , when i create a partition, it shows only the pen drive partition, it dint show my HDD partition, please tell how to solve dis problem,
thanks
Senthil
October 8th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
sir,
My problem is that when i am fallow 5th setp & give the command 2 bootstep then
my cmd promt says path does not recognised.
pls give me sallution of it.
October 24th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
here i am getting one error massage while installing windows xp from usb pen drive to laptop ,error
File\ $WIN_NT$.~BT\biosinfo.inf could not be loaded
The error code is 14
Setup cannot continue.Press any key to exit
October 25th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Any one can help me regarding plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz …
October 25th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Any one can help me plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz …
October 29th, 2009 at 4:24 am
Really excellent piece of help! Many thanks – learned quite a lot from one of my kids latest disasters. Managed to load windows on the usb stick on my pc then migrate the hard drive to his pc simply by repairing the boot sector with xp recovery console.
Errr took 3 evenings of working it out because the sons pc didnt support booting from usb stick!
Great help,
Thanks again!
Hopefully will never be troubled by NTLDR problem again!!
November 16th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
HELP!!!! i did everything over 40 times i know and everytime i go and enter in the
bootsect.exe /nt52 j: it shows up “the update may be unreliable since the volume could not be locked during the updeate: Access is denied”
what can i do to fix this i went on with all the other steps and i went ot the install and chose TXT etc. and it loaded up but wouldnt get to the partisan part the blue screen of death showed up i have a 2gb flash drive and stil nothing please help
November 21st, 2009 at 1:09 am
First of all thanx for the steps.
But i am facing a wierd problem. I successfully completed all the above steps and changed the BIOS settings. After that, whenever it boots, ‘j’ comes after Intel Inside and nothing happens. I waited for more than 5 minutes. I am doing a minor mistake.
Can someone help ???
November 24th, 2009 at 1:59 am
AWESOME MAN!!!! U DID IT FOR EVERYTHING!!! I OWE U MANN!!!!! AWESOME TOTALLY AWESOME!!! U ROCK LIKE HELL!!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Help!
I have a 20GB usb HD from which I partioned a 2GB, then I followed all steps, even changed USB type by pressing 0, but when XP starts to install, It sees my USB as C: and my HD as D: drive, even though my HD is already partioned and formated. When I select D: for installing XP, it says that drive c: (my usb) is corroupted and cannot be fixed and then Installation ends.. please help…
December 9th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
in the blue screen there is no option for create partititon and format can anybody help me ?
thanks..
December 11th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
The following error is occured
The virtual disk driver is not installed
temporary drive t : created lets format it
specified drive does not exist program will be ended
Has any solution.
December 16th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
下列.SIF檔案中,安裝程式所使用的值已毀損或遺失:
區段[Source Disks Files]中含機碼 binifix4.cmd;那一行的值 0 .
安裝程式無法繼續執行.
??@@@, 真煩!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 16th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
thanks a lot sir,
i was just serching the same thing. today i got it. this will make feel comfotable.
i used it. its working for me.
M happy to have it.
December 17th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
For those having issues with binifix4.cmd, here is a post that would help:
http://www.msfn.org/board/lofiversion/index.php/t131659.html
It worked for me, turns out it is because I have an old version of Windows XP (with no service pack).
January 9th, 2010 at 6:23 am
Everytime i try this everything looks great and then i get the 0×0000007B error that i get if i try to use a usb CD-Rom…
January 31st, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Hi, im using a 4gb flash drive but the petousb program it doesnt recognize it, I already formated it and its all clear and good to go but im still having that issue, do i have to format it some other ways? .. can somebody help meee???
February 1st, 2010 at 1:41 am
I finally resolve the usb flash drive problem and now on step 9 I click yes to format tempdrive and the command prompt tells me TEMPDRIVE T: Not formatted – Program will be ended then I press any key and the windows close and thats it, nothing else happens.. What can I do there to solve that problem? PLEASE HEEEELPPP!!! I need to install this windows ASAP!!!
March 11th, 2010 at 5:44 am
The error also mentioned the file binifix4.cmd under [SourceDisksFiles] (i cannot remember the exact wording of the error)
To fix it i removed the usb plugged it into my laptop and opened up txtsetup.sif in notepad and ctrl+F’d sourcedisksfiles. I noticed that the code for binifix4.cmd along with undoren.cmd and ren_fold.cmd read:
100,,,,,,_x,2,0,0
which differed from the other million files which read:
1,,,,,,3_,2,0,0,,1,2
simply changing the 100 to a 1 (on all three) and then saving the .sif file fixed the corrupt .sif problem. I don’t know if this is a mistake in the .sif or not but it fixed my problem. Hopefully this will help anyone who gets this error, i think its pretty rare as a google brought up few relevant hits.