How to Install Windows XP From USB Drive [Part-2]

7/25/2019 How to Install Windows XP From USB Drive [Part-2]

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Install Windows XP From USB Drive Part-II

Posted by Tanmay

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I previously wrote an article Install Windows XP from USB Flash/Pen Drive part-I. This process allows you

make a USB flash disk/drive bootable and exactly the same as the XP installation CD. To make the whole

process you should have a PC/Computer/Laptop with CD/DVD Rom. Once you make your USB drive

ready to boot windows XP setup from it then you can start Installing Windows XP from that USB Disk/drive

in any computer.

Also read how to Install Any Software You need In Your USB Flash Drive With Mojopac.

I shall describe the process how to make the USB drive ready to install XP in your computer step by step.

Requirements:

1. At first you have to get a USB flash drive/disk(at least 1 GB).

2. XP_FROM_USB.rar from the given link below:

Download link

Update:You should have XP installed computer for this process.

The procedure

1. Extract theXP_FROM_USB.rararchive in a folder named Softslas(Say) in C: drive. Now navigate to


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C:SoftslasPeToUSB and double-click on the peToUSB.exe.

The appearing window will be like this:

Set the following values:

select USB Removable as Destination Drive.

select Enable Disk Format.

select Quick Format.

select Enable LBA (FAT 16x).

Finally, put XP-Softslas (or whatever you want) as Drive Label and click Start.

A message appears and click Yes .

Another message box will again appear and clickYes.


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Immediate after that the USB disk will be formatted. Wait for few seconds and then click on Ok and

Close.

3. Open the windows Command prompt by typing cmdat theRunbox. The cmd.exe console appears.

Now type the following syntax and hit theEnterbutton from your keyboard.

cd c:softslasbootsect

Again, type the following command and press Enter.

bootsect /nt52 I:

Type cd..and press Enter and also type cd usb_prep8and press Enter.


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Now type usb_prep8 and press Enter.

4. Press any key to continue.

Now the command prompt window will look like this.


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Prepares Windows XP LocalSource for Copy to USB-Drive:

0) Change Type of USB-Drive, currently [USB-stick]1) Change XP Setup Source Path, currently []

2) Change Virtual TempDrive, currently [T:]

3) Change Target USB-Drive Letter, currently []

4) Make New Tempimage with XP LocalSource and Copy to USB-Drive

5) Use Existing Tempimage with XP LocalSource and Copy to USB-Drive

F) Change Log File Simple OR Extended, currently [Simple]

Q) Quit

Enter your choice:_

Insert the XP installation CD in you CD/DVD ROM and in command prompt window,type 1 and pressEnter. A Browse For Folder window will appear and here select the CD/DVD drive and then click OK.

Similarly, for the choice field enter 2 and if there assigned the letter T for your computer then change it

otherwise do not alter it. After typing 2 in the choice option it will prompt Enter Available Virtual Drive

Letter.

Here, type a letter that is not any drive letter of your computer.

Let us say S is not a drive letter in your computer. So put S then press Enter.

Now it will get back to the Command prompt and then type 3 where it prompts for the choice . Then it willprompt Please give Target USB-Drive Letter e.g type U.

Now, put your USB drive letter and press Enter. Here, my USB drive label is I so I put I.

Again, input 4 and press Enter. It creates the new temporary image and makes a copy of it to the USBFlash Drive .

Please wait for a few seconds..

A warning message will appear like this:


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WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK DRIVE T: WILL BE LOST! Proceed with

Format (Y/N)?

Type Y and press Enter.

Please wait..

After completing Format it will prompt Press any key to continueand to continue hit any key .

Please wait..

It will again prompt Press any key to continue and obviously press any key to continue.

5. Now a message box will appear showing

Copy TempDrive Files to USB-Drive in about 15 minutes = Yes OR STOP = End Program = No

Click Yes.

Now after this a message box will appear showing Would you like USB-stick to be preferred Boot Drive

U.

Click Yes.

The next one asking Would you like to unmount the Virtual Drive ?


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Click Yes.

Now wait some time and press any key.

Press any key again to close usb_prep8.

Now your USB you can Install Windows XP from the USB drive.

6. Insert your USB drive in the USB port and Reboot your computer. When starts the computer enter in the

BIOS Setup and set the first boot preference as USB Hard Disk.Now Save and Exit from the BIOS Setup.

Your computer will again restart and the following screen will appear.

Now Chose The TXT Mode Setup.After completing the partition, formatting and copying file the computer

will restart again.

Now chose the GUI Mode Setup Option.


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Wait for completing your installation.

I think this will help you to install XP from USB flash disk/drive especially in those computer without

CD/DVD-ROM.

Thanks Cahya.

Related content:

1. How to Install Windows 7 from Usb Flash Drive Without Any Software

2. Install Windows 7 Directly from Your Hard Drive

3. Install Windows XP from USB Flash/Pen Drive

4. Install Any Software You need In Your USB Flash Drive With Mojopac

5. How to Protect Your Data Hiding a Drive

This post was written by Tanmay

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Me gusta 147

Comments (147)


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Reader Comments

1. The Best Spinner

Great post, I couldnt agree more with you. This is a cool site with good content. Ill definitely be

backThanks

2. The Best Spinner

I really am impressed with this post. You talk about some great information. Ill definitely be back

when your site is updatedThank You

3. Rico

Im impressed. I just installed WinXP on a Compaq mini cq10 with this tool and guide. I hated Vista

so much that I looked everywhere for a solution to get XP back. A big Thanks.

4. Manab

Its really appriciable. Windows XP installation using USB Flash Drive helped me to get back Xp.

Thanks a lot..

5. Gilbertz

I tried all the steps and works but after the installation and boot to GUI xp the message error

mentioned file is missing or corupt hal.dll. try reinstalling windows.

I install windows xp home sp3 to Lg X110 ung 1 GB flash disk.

Please if anyone got the sulotion for this?

many thanks..

6. Tanmay

@Gilbertz

After reading your proposition I can guess that the setup disk of windows xp home sp3 has some

problem. Arrange a fresh copy.

7. badoo

i have tried but my compaq mini cq10 does not have the option to boot from USB.

Anyone help please.

8. Tanmay

Badoo: There should be a Removable devices under boot menu option in your compaq mini cq10

bios.

9. Thaslim

I am trying to make the XP installable USB from a laptop which is having Windows 7 as OS . I am not


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succesful . Is this because i am using the Windows 7 OS to make the USB ?

10. Tanmay

@Thaslim: Yes! Your prediction is write. The application that we are using to make your USB

bootable is not compatible with Windows 7. We are sorry that we did not focused this point. We shall

make some workarounds on this issue. In the mean time you can arrange a xp installed pc and make

your USB bootable for installing Windows XP from it. This method works fine. Thanks for sharing.

11. Pradeep

Hi, I have looked around for this solution for last two days, I found the details in here very elaborative.

I had this TOSHIBA bought with Windows Vista Premium installed but obviously not being happy

with it chose to install XP on it. Initially I had to struggle a lot to find a way around it as SATA HDD

would not get detected by Original XP CD, so used liteon to create a CD to include SATA drivers init

and was successful. The laptop now was much faster than earlier. The other day I had sound problem

and reinstalled the sound driver and rebooted the laptop but it would not reboot with

UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME. Have tried so many work arounds but nothing seems towork, Can not go in recovery console to repair it by using CHKDSK, MBRFIX. Can you please tell

me a way out as I have lots of Data on this three partitioned HDD. I have tried booting from Flash

Drive but it does not seem to work. Is there a way to have windows XP run from flash drive itself so

that I can access the HDD and use CHKDSK and fix the MBR. Any help would be highly

appreciated.

12. Tanmay

@Pradeep: Did you tried to install Linux on your system? You can also use a Linux live CD. Let me

know if this solves your problem. Thanks for sharing here. Will be happy to help further.

13. pankhs

Hi,

Tanmay,

As you described in Install Windows XP From USB Flash Drive Part-II petousb is fine worked

upto pendrive format.as I type in cmd prompt cd c:softslasbootsect enter it shows

The system cannot find the path specified again further

>bootsect /nt52 I: enter it showsbootsect is not recognized as an internal or external command,This not worked for me. Or am I

following any wrong procedure. And I want to know that is it happening cuz Im using currently

windows vista as OS. or this method is appropriate for windows XP only. please help.Thanx in

advance

14. Tanmay

@Pankh: Sorry for that you are still in problem. You might not read the comment section fully. One of

the reder had the same problem. This procedure does not support the Vista or Windows 7 system.

You need a xp installed Computer to get ready your pen drive bootable for XP. We have testedseveral time this process in Windows XP and it works fine. Try in a XP machine.

15. pankhs


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Aight Tanmay Thanx I appreciate. Is there anyway That I could resolve this issue on VISTA cuz my

CD/DVD Rom Not working. So Im in need of XP cuz vista Ruin my PC. Anyways THANKS

tanmay you doing great JOB. Inform me if theres any update on VISTA format using Flash. Thanks a

lot.

16. Tanmay

@Pankhs: I can understand your situation. But friend you need the CD/DVD Rom atleast one time tomake your Pen drive capable to install Windows XP. So my suggestion is that if you have not the

CD/DVD Rom then arrange a XP installed machine with CD/DVD ROM from your friends. Also I

will find some stuffs so that the vista users can create the XP installation Pen drive.

17. Asaph Murfin

I followed the directions exactly, all occurred as you have described, but when I try to choose the

TXT mode at boot, it

goes through two blue XP setup screens. when it gets to Setup is loading files, it fails with:$WIN_NT$.~BTntkrnlmp.exe could not be loaded. Error code 4.

I tried to find this file, but it does not exist except as NTKRNLMP.EX_. I tried changing its name to

.exe and placing it in the $WIN_NT$.~BT directory, but it did not work.

I have a laptop with a failed CD ROM, and this is the only way to recover it. Please help!

18. Asaph Murfin

I failed to mention: the above failure is in TXT mode, which goes directly to the first blue XP installscreen (3rd party RAID driver), then the second (Automated System Recovery), then fails as above.

There is nothing like a DOS prompt or any opportunity to format the HDD.

If I choose the GUI it fails with:

file is missing or corrupt:

system32hal.dll

19. Tanmay

Murfin: After reading you comments, I can guess some reasons of the failure.

1. The XP source file may be corrupted.2. The USB drive might have some problem.

3. If you are using any other computer to prepare the USB, the CD/DVD drive to copy the xp file,

may be the CD/DVD drive is not able read properly.

Check all of the above points. The procedure is pretty good and me and my friends apply this method

very often to install XP from the USB drive.

let me know if those can solve your problem.

20. Nayaar Hussain

Hi Tammy

I tried to install xp on my HCl Laptop.

All the step are very cleared and no problem occured during there steps.

But it take long time to copy XP on USB drive.


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I am using 1 GB pendrive.

It take 1 minute for 1 mb. pls reduce the time. However all the work is fine. Hepl me!

21. Tanmay

Nayaar: It is normal. We shall try to reduce the time in some other procedure. Thanks for your

comment.

22. sarang

following the method step by step, though at the time of volume updation with NTLDR, i get the

following error :

Could not map drive partitions .. : Access is denied .

is that a permission issue ? How do i fix it..

thanks in advance.

23. Tanmay

@Sarang: Are you applying this method as an admin user of the Os that you are using? If no then that

may be an issue. If yes, then check your USB drive is working properly. Some time the USB drives

become write protect due to virus. Is the host computer virus free?

24. sarang

hey thnx for the prompt reply.

i am on admin logon, yet somehow i am getting this error, any other way of accomplishing the task ?

Need to install the OS urgentlyKindly help.

25. sarang

Or is there a way to create usable partitions for windows Xp, DOS partitions ? I am trying to install

windows XP on top of ubuntu

26. Tanmay

This is the best and 100% working method. It seems that your usb drive is not working properly. Try

another pen drive.

27. sarang

alrite, i shall give it another try. thnx.. :)

28. Tanmay

To create partition you need DiskPart. Unfortunately that is not available in XP. But you can get it inWindows 7. If you have Windows 7 installed then follow this link: http://www.techtipsgeek.com/install-

windows-7-from-usb-flash-drive-without-software/1694/

29. sarang


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yup .. forgot to mention i am running on Windows7 the machine am installing on is asus eee pc ,

1000H following the mentioned link..thnx..

30. Tanmay

So this is the reason that you were getting error when making the USB drive ready to boot XP. This

method does not work on Windows 7. You might not notice Update: You should have XP installed

computer for this process.

31. adrian

Sir, may be you could me when i install xp sp3.. on the installation process.. when formating the c:

drive, where im goin to install the OS. it says that the drive maybe be corrupt and cannot be

formatted. But actually its working.

Tanmay

I dont know about your hardware configuration. But you can try by disabling the SATA native

mode from your Computer BIOS.

32. suman

Hi, When i try to boot my laptop using the TXT mode setupI`m getting this error please re-install a

copy of the above file i.e system 32hal.dll

33. suman

hey..sorryactually it was my faulti have selected option 2.

But, I`m facing same old problem my Hard disk not getting detected, only my USB drive is shown in

the list during SETUP..please help me i`m trying to solve this problem from past 1 week.

regards.

34. Joe

Hi There

Am having the same problem as Suman. Any ideas how to resolve this.

Thanks

35. johhnnie

hi there , ive done what you say to get the usb stick ready to install xp on a compaq mini cq10 but

when choosing the txt mode first i get a blue screen just after it starts copying windows files to the

netbook .

in the blue screen it says basically that the computer was shut down to prevent damage .

tech info stop 0x0000007b (0xf7a22524,0xc0000034,000000000,000000000

can you help ?

36. Tanmay


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johhnnie: It seems your hardware problem. Though the exact problem can not be guessed with

knowing the details you can follow this post: http://www.techtipsgeek.com/windows-xp-crashes-with-

blue-screen-and-restarts-automatically/4270/. Also follow the comments on that post. Drop your

comment if any further help is needed

37. johhnnie

Hi tanmay , Ok i got passed my last problem but now i have another , Just after formating it goes onto

the examine disc routine then just as it starts it fails saying ,, The following value 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.

That is as far as in getting , does that mean that the file is missing from the usb stick ?

Thanks for your help in this so far .

38. Tanmay

This problem is happening at the time of usb stick processing procedure.Either the source file is

corrupted or having problem when copying the files from the CD drive (if you are copying directly

from there ). My suggestion is to try to arrange a fresh copy of XP and also use a good CD/DVD

drive.

39. johhnnie

Hi tanmay , Had another go at it and its still the same , But i think i have sorted it out as its installing xp

right now , If you look in the ( txtsetup sif file ) on the usb stick after it has finish copying files onto it

and look for these lines ..

[SourceDisksFiles]

binifix4.cmd = 100,,,,,,_x,2,0,0

undoren.cmd = 100,,,,,,_x,2,0,0

ren_fold.cmd = 100,,,,,,_x,2,0,0

Now im not sure of the problem, maybe you can explain but in the 3 lines above where they start with

100 i changed them to look like the rest and starting with 1 .

[SourceDisksFiles]

binifix4.cmd = 1,,,,,,_x,2,0,0

undoren.cmd = 1,,,,,,_x,2,0,0

ren_fold.cmd = 1,,,,,,_x,2,0,0

This worked for me .

Cheers

Asdas


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Thank you for my solution!

:)

40. Tanmay

johhnnie: Glad that atlast it worked for you. Thanks for the information.

41. Kiran

Hi tanmay,

thanks for the support

can i ask help if any further problem persists.

42. Tanmay

@Kiran: You are always welcome. We are happy to help you.

43. best wp theme

i think the part1 is easier than this, thanks a lot

44. ALOK SINGH

hi..i used ur method 3-4 times to install winXP2 in my laptop (HP 530) BY 1 GB pendrive.

whn blue screen viewed , i clicked TEXT MODE, Than its works properly i.e.- formating, copeing,

restarting. but when it restart & i pressed GUI MODE it shows error WINDOWS ROOT>

SYSTEM32/HAL.DLL IS MISSING OR CURROPT PLS RE INSTALL.

BUT whn i tried this to another laptop it works & successfully installed the windows.

one thing more . before this i had widows 7 os installed in my laptop.

i checked everything the solution that u have said before to another applicant but anable to get installed

win xp in my lappy .

so plss help me to solve this problemits very urgent,

hope u understand

45. Tanmay

Try to re-create the bootable pen drive from a fresh XP installed machine.

46. Raitis

I prepare 2GB flash without any problem, but cant get work with 16GB flash. disc error when try

to boot

Tanmay

Yes, there is still a booting problem with more than 4 GB pen drive. Sorry for the inconvenient.

We recommend to use max 4GB Usb flash drive.


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47. Rahul

Your article was very good. But i have a question, can i use the software WinToFlash for installing

Windows XP and will i be able to re-format my pendrive back after making it bootable, so that i can

use it for transfering data as i used to do it before. And one more question, on many sites i have read

that we have to boot from the pendrive everytime to start windows, even if the installation of the

windows is completed successfully. Is it True ??

48. Tanmay

Yes, you can use WinToFlas, but I recommend this article. In both the case that you use the

WinToFlas or follow this current method (part-ii), the pen drive remains fine, usable, unaltered and re-

formatable. When you are finished with the installation, just re-format your pen drive, though it works

fine if you do not format.

Both the method I published here on installing Windows XP from pen drive, do not need the pen drive

to be pinned any more after the complete installation. For your information, I am using my XP installed

from a pen drive and later I lost that.

49. Rahul

Thanx, for your fast reply. I have one more question. I have read other articles also to install Windows

XP from a pendrive and in most of the article they mention that if we create a new partition during the

windows installation, then after formatting it. We have to restart the process of installation from Text

mode, just have a look at this page

http://www.techrena.net/computers/install-windows-xp-usb-disk-drive-pen-drive/

Check the 15th step of this article and tell me whether is it necessary to quit the installation and restart

or we can go on without restarting. And what about if we already have a drive partitioned. Then still do

we have to restart the installation??? and plz tell me which is more easy, flexible, harmless and bug-free

method to make pendrive bootable. Which one should i opt for WinToFlash or this current method of

Command Prompt ??

And also tell me that after the installation of Window Complete. Then if i want to reformat my pendrive

back. How should i format it back ?? Should i again use PeToUSB to format the pendrive, or format it

normally as i do??

50. Tanmay

Follow this: http://www.techtipsgeek.com/install-windows-xp-from-usb-flash-drive-part-ii/ . it is totallybug free, the procedure is exactly similar with installing xp from a CD drive. Do not mix it with other

blogs; may be their process is different.

Reformat the pen drive as usual from the right click menu. No problem.

51. Rahul

Okay thnx. I have one more question. I have downloaded XP Professional Service Pack 3 from

internet. But it is an Image file that is, the format of the file is .iso I know that we have to mount or burn

to use this types of Files. When i double click on it, it opens Nero and prompts me to burn a CD. But ijust wanna ask whether it will make the CD bootable or not?? Should i burn the disc directly by

double clicking on the image file or should i mount the image file first and then Make a bootable CD

from the Nero menu ???

Plz suggest me the correct method.


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52. Tanmay

No the ISO file itself is a bootable image. So just burn it by double clicking on the ISO file.

53. Rahul

Thanx again.

But the problem is that i have a laptop with Windows 7 installed and i have read in the above

comments that this method doesnt work with window 7. So what do you suggest should i use

WinToFlash now ??

And i one more question, after making the pendrive bootable with WinToFlash. Will the rest of the

process of installing Windows Xp will remain same or will it change ????

54. Tanmay

Rahul: Every thing has been described well enough into the articles. Please do read them carefully.

55. veerappan

hi tanmay,

this is wat i got while installing wat shall i do now

Setup cannot access the cd containing the win xp installation files

To retry ,press Enter .If you are not successful after several times,quit setup.Then to restart setup,copy

the windows xp installation files from the hard disk

Plzzzzzzzzzz help me wat shall i do now its urgent

56. veerappan

hi tanmay

I tried the second process but its saying tat hal.dll is missing wt shal i do plz help me

57. Tanmay

It seems that the CD from where you are creating the USb, is not working properly. This may happenfor several reason. One of the reason is the virus. If your computer has any virus then they also use

those files. So try in a virus free computer. otherwise you have to replace the installation CD and

arrange a different one.

58. apel

thanks to you boss for share this article.

59. kaush

hey friend i have installed with this method but i got a message of corrupt os after ntfs or no change

option..

what am i do now?

i use all oprating(newely installed) and more pen drive of 4 gB..


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tell me plz imiddiatly

60. Abhash

I cant format the pendrive using this softwarey?

61. Abhash

I used xp os to format the pendrive.

62. m.rdgz

hi.i follow the instructions in cmd but in step #3bootsect /nt52 I: enteri get the follow message

could not map drive I. to an associated volume object device.what i can do in this case.thanks you.

63. prabin k gopal

really great job dude.thx alot

64. simon

hello,

i am trying to reinstall windows Xp on my mini compaq cq10-120ca, i have followed your tutorial but

now this is what is happenning when i try to boot it up and install xp with the usb device:

it say:

a problem as been detected and windows has been shut to prevent damage to your computer.

if this is the first time youve seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. if this screen appears

again, follow these steps:

check for viruses on your computer. remove any newly installed hard drives or hard dives contollers.

check your hard drive to make sure it is propely configured and terminated. run CHKDSK /F to

check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.

technical information:

*** stop: 0x0000007B (0xf7a22524, 000000034, 000000000, 000000000)

i dont know what to do, i have restarted it and it shows the same error message, and i dont know

how to check the CHKDSK thing!

thanks for your help!!!

65. cosmin

Setup cannot access CD containing the Windows XP Installation files.

To retry, press ENTER. If you are not successful after several tries,

quit Setup. Then, to restart Setup, copy the Windows XP installation files

to your hard disk.


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To quit Setup, press F3.

what to do next?..please help

66. Harry

hiiicompleted 1st part and when try to run petousb part 2nd2 times yes yes and then got error

while formating after 50%.Format Ex Error{11}:an error occurred formating the drive.

i am using new pen drive and it is 8GB drivewhts wrong with it ?

67. noor

i did every single part but the problem is the same remove ur media that what my laptop shows

when i want to boot from the flash

and i did the sitting from the bios and the same

68. Ron Goter

I got xp installed and working, but I cannot load it without the flash drive. My boot.ini reads as follows:

[boot loeader]

timeout -30

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS

[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS=Midrosoft Windows XP Professional

/NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT

Any suggestions to remedy this would be greatly appreciated. Ron

69. meraz

i have tried the above method but i had win 7 as os.after reading the posts i can understand that it does

not work.ok im using win 7 in laptop asus eee pc r101 i want to install xp if i follow the above

instructions on an xp os the can it be useful.then can in install xp on win 7 plz suggest

70. Tanmay

@Meraz: Following the steps above on a XP installed PC you can make any USB drive bootable with

Windows XP i.e you can install now XP from that USB drive in any computer that supports USBbooting (almost all modern computer do that.

Now if you try ti install windows XP from that USB or any other media like Bootable CD on computer

that is already installed with Windows 7 or any version later of XP, you need to first format the

installed drive as you can not install over a latest version of Windows. But the opposite is true. That is

you can install Windows 7 after installing Windows XP.

In this situation you can install Windows XP by formatting the Windows 7 drive with your USB drive

that you make for installation. Later install Windows 7 on that computer in another derive. If you want

to use your USB drive to install Windows 7 then you can follow this article:http://www.techtipsgeek.com/install-windows-7-from-usb-flash-drive-without-software/1694/

Hope I could describe things properly.


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80. puja

it says ntldr misisng

81. puja

i also tried falshboot i feel now my pendrive will get spoiled so many times of formatting

82. Tanmay

Puja: First make sure that the source Disk of Windows XP is not corrupted and your CD drive is

reading the data from it properly (in the computer where you preparing your USB disk). Also make

sure that you have followed every step properly without any error.

You can find in this comment section, many of the users have successfully made their USB drive

bootable to install Windows XP, where some people did not. So it is impossible to say exactly what is

happening with you. But the method is 100 percent perfect and I still use this for installing XP in my

own laptop.

However, you can give this a try: http://www.techtipsgeek.com/create-multiboot-usb-drive-install-

windows-7-xp-from-same-usb-drive/13085/

What about your USB drives health is just dont worry about that. 3-5 formatting wont spoil your

pen drive.

83. puja

i installed xp on my laptop using sata drive used sata to usb converter cable and installed xp from

external drive.thanx ya for reply

84. Jon

Hi Tanmay,

I followed your directions to the letter successfully only substituting drive letters where necessary to

continue, I entered the bios and set my lexmark 4g usb stick to 1st boot source. When the computer

reboots it tries to boot from usb stick but all I see is the letter j followed by a flashing cursor in the top

left hand corner. Incidentally the drive letter of this stick is also J: Furthermore I also tried Part 1 of this

article first before trying this part with exactly the same result just a j followed by a flashing cursor inthe top left hand corner. Please help me, I have an Advent 7060 laptop that will not start just keep

booting over and over normal and safe, the CD/DVD Drive has failed so I can not boot from CD, I

even took the drive out and loaded I386 to the drive in another computer but cannot access it because

I can not get to the command prompt, I know if I could access the recovery console I could repair the

boot sector etc. Thanks Jon.

85. sanjya

pls help format ex error [11]an error occurred formatting the drive

i wnt install win xp in pen drive

86. Mohsin

Whenever i use PetoUsb,it comes till half and says enable to format.And after using the usb as a


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bootable drive,would it roll back to as a normal usb by formating it?

87. Tanmay

It seems that your USB drive has a problem or your computer is virus effected.

88. Jon

Hi Tanmay, Thanks for your reply but my USB drive is brand new never used until now and before I

started this process I removed the drive from my laptop and installed it into my desktop and virus

scanned the drive completely cleaning it before placing back in the laptop to try this process, so it can

not be either, why do I have the letter J followed by a flashing cursor and nothing else. Thanks Jon.

89. Tanmay

Sorry Jon!! Actually I forgot to mention. I said Mohsins usb drive may be with some problem.

What about your problem is that your computer from which you are creating the bootable USB is virus

effected(most probably).

90. Jon

Hi Tanmay, Absolutely not, I am very careful and thorough with this desktop, it is my Server for all the

other computers in my network and consequently it is scanned daily by several different programs

including AVG 2011, Spyware Doctor, Registry Mechanic, etc to make sure this unit remains clean. I

need this USB Boot to work as this is the only way I can fix my laptop, please read my entries further

up to see what my problems are. I appreciate your help. Thanks Jon.

91. sulasno

after creating the bootable USB, can I copy the contents to another USB stick or do I need the whole

process ?

92. Shijin

Am using samsung netbook, I have already installed win 7 ultimate. Could you plez let me know

whether I can downgrade to win XP by the same procedure?

93. Shijin

Am using samsung netbook, I have already installed win 7 ultimate. Could you plese let me know

whether I can downgrade to win XP by the above procedure discussed?

94. Shijin

I tried but after entering usb_prep8 Im getting an error message that usb_prep8 is not recognized as

internal or external command, operable program or batch file. Can you please help me for this?

95. Tanmay

Shijin: Nope! You cant install the earlier version of Windows on a computer which has already the

latest version.


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Note carefully, you need to run the above method in a computer with Windows XP.

If you still want to create the bootable XP USB drive from the Windows 7 installed computer, check it

out: http://www.techtipsgeek.com/create-multiboot-usb-drive-install-windows-7-xp-from-same-usb-

drive/13085/

96. Kwesi

Thank you for the write up. I followed all the instructions but when i try to load from the USB i get this

error message: File $WIN_NT$.~BTbiosinfo.inf could not be loaded. The error code is 14. Setup

cannot continue. Press any key to exit. Can you help with this error. Thanks for all your help.

97. Shijin

Thank you Tanmay, I have installed Win XP in my samsung netbook successfully using pendrive. Now

Im getting a message to activate Windows, Actually I dont want to activate, Is there any option to

skip without activating? I think if we delete some files, we wont get that message, Could you please let

me know the files to delete so that I can continue to use win XP without activation. Now Im gettingthe message that 25 days left to activate.

98. Jon

Hi, This is for all those who were unable to make their USB Flash Drive boot as a CD Rom. Tanmay

thanks for all your help but unfortunately I was unable to successfully use this process, HOWEVER I

did find another solution, I had an old EXTERNAL IDE hard drive case that I was not using, I opened

it up and removed the board inside, I removed an old DVD rom from a desktop computer I was using

for parts and plugged it onto the connectors from the External Hard Drive board. I then plugged in the

power supply and USB cables to the External Hard Drive board and plugged the other end of theUSB cable into my laptop that would not boot. Surprisingly the laptop found this setup as a USB DVD

rom in the Bios and I instructed the computer to use this as the 1st boot device, I restarted the

computer and it booted straight into my windows XP CD rom enabling me to access all options on the

windows CD as if it was in the laptops internal CD Rom (which in my case was not functioning) Unlike

the USB Flash Drive I see no reason why this method would not work for all bootable media including

all versions of Windows. I know this kind of defeats the purpose of trying to have a bootable USB

Flash Drive but when that doesnt work, this will. I hope this helps some of you.

99. Tanmay

Thanks Jon for the head ups. Hope this may help the readers.

100. fyrb0t

Tanmay thank you for this method but it is not complete

everybody, guys,

listen up i found a way to address the problem that after successful install of WinXP you still have to

boot your netbook with the usb stick in!(it seems like a netbook problem). after successful installation

and boot finish, return usb stick to normal computer with CDDVD and start the XP_FROM_USB

procedure again. but when you get to Would you like USB-stick to be preferred Boot Drive

U.


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Click NO.

Then Continue as normal to the end.

Load WinXP again like you did before but at first setup screen where it says Please select the

operating system to start, select 1. Txt Mode setup Windows XP

It will start again but when it stops at the first blue screen asking you to press Enter to install Win XP,

dont do that, select RecoveryRepair by pressing R on your keyboard. Then it will run and repair yourmaster boot record. wait for all Win XP to install again. Then click on Safely Remove Hardware, let

it stop the usb stick then remove it. Switch off your computer, wait 5 minutes, switch on again and it

will boot without asking for the USB.

that is what i found.

101. Jack

Hi I tried following all the methods and I cant see any of my C: partition. Only Im able to see is (U:

Partition 1)then i contionue until i got message saying U: is corrupted and cannnot repaired.

Pls help

102. fyrb0t

jack.

you have to start all over again. this method is good but difficult, you just keep trying until it works.

there are slight diferences in BIOS and hardware installed that is why people are getting differing

results.

if you previously had win7/vista then you must delete everything or else when you install winXP the old

windows will move itself to the small partition it made, allow you to continue, then take over when you

are about to start. winXP cannot control vista or win7.

103. fyrb0t

jack..

actually you must have done a lot wrong because U: is your USB not your harddisk!! your harddisk is

C: therefore I think you partitioned the flashdrive. to partion the computer, you have to start again, and

follow the instructions of Part II above exactly, sorry.

104. Sandeep

After doing the second step it says (PeToUSBEx Error[11]: An Error Occurred Formating the Drive.

Please suggest what would be the priblem.

105. Jack

Fyrb0t thanks for the prompt reply.

actually i just followed everything as mentioned in the step by step. What ive realized is, is it because

my HDD is SATA and win xp has no driver to load the necessary SATA driver for the HDD during

the setup process. And previous OS which i was using is XP.


25/32



I think it could be the reason where im not getting the HDD.

Any suggestion.plz help methanks again Fyrb0t.

106. Jack

Guys found the solution for my problem..finaly,

All what I did was, I download a software called NLITE and SATA Drivers from Intel and slipstream

the SATA driver into the Windows XP setup and finally i got the C: drive.

Again thanks to all the suggestion and help provided.

Thank You So much.

107. fyrb0t

jack..

fantastic, i am really happy you got your system to work. nice.

108. Sword

Have yet to try the pendrive out, but for those of you who dont have a CD/DVD rom I just wanted to

suggest DAEMON lite tools, allows you to mount the ISO from a copy (or download) of your XP and

use it as such. I used this method since my XP cd was so badly scratched.

109. Required name is required

I have a problem.

You mention it multiple times, but I cant find it.

Wheres the any key?

110. that guy

Thanks for this tutorial it really helped alot. Worked perfectly to :D

111. siddharth

when i restart my pc , the following error occurs:-

NTDLR is missing Press any key to restart

and after pressing the key windows starts normally and no screen like choosing an operating system

appears

whats the matter ?

112. quagmire

I have the same problem that Kwesi has.

113. Holax

Hello Tanmay Dear im also having Problem of hal32.dll, it says Corrupted or missing etc.


26/32



Disc from which i copied the Windows is perfectly Fine because i tried to install windows on my other

PC & CD Worked goodly, kindly give some suggestions..

Thank U

114. Danial

I follow the step but when I choose text-mode, the eee-lap-top pop up a message that there is no

drive, although there are option to choose create partition, but it doesnt work.and if i choose GUI

mode, it pops up Please re-install hal.dll at rootsystem32. and i have tried several methods, but comes

out same result. I have install ubantu successfully to the eee-lap-top. is there any one can advice me

how to partition the eee-laptop to install xp? thanks.

115. Danial

I have a ee-laptop. I dont have a xp cd but a copy of that. I tried to install a ME before install xp, but

the ME cd cant recognize dvd drive, so there is no drive. and I cant install a ME even. However, I

managed to partition only 1G out of 250G. and format it to FAT. I stuck there. then I try to install xpthrough USB drive. But when I try to boot up the eee-laptop, it opops up either no drive in text mode

or re-instal lhal.dll. I was stuck. Please advice me how? thanks.

116. Tanmay

Youll have to use another computer to make a bootable cd/usb drive.

117. Tanmay

Sorry Danial, I overlooked your previous comment. If you are getting such message that there is nodrive in your computer, then you should disable the SATA native mode from the BIOS setup. then try

reinstalling from the usb drive and of-course start TXT mode first.

118. Holax

Hello Danial

Dear, go to some Internet Cafe or some friends home & Insert Win XP Cd in his CD ROM

right click & open the cd & copy All the files in some folder suppose u created folder in MyDocuments, create folder named as Win XP & then Paste all things in that Folder

now just follow above steps, i tried and hal.dll problem Solved ;)

Enjoy!

119. Danial

hi guys, thanks for the response. I have checked the BIOS but there is not a option for sata setting. I

have tried to use MULTIBOOT and other software to install xp, but get the same result, it ask either

NO DRIVE in text mode or RE-INSTALL DAL.DLL in seconde part of installation. I read quite

some from the forum, and try to follow, but still stuck. Please help me. Thanks again.

120. Danial


27/32



Dear Tanmay, I have tried your method step by step, and I got that USB drive. but still stuck at the the

process. when I choose to install in text mode, the machine load some files to the eee-laptop, and it

shows WINDOWS IS STARTING UP, but then hang, and most of the time pops up message of no

drive, or PRESS [S] FOR SPECIFY A DRIVE, OR PRESS ENTER FOR NOT SURE. Can you

help me? thank you..

121. Tanmay

Danial: It is not the problem of the USB drive from where you are installing Windows XP. After

reading the comments from you, I can guess that the problem is with your hardware. The new laptops

are enabled with Sata drive, But XP does not have the hard disk driver in itself. That is why you can

install UBUNTU as it comes with all the necessary drivers in its installation file. If you try to install

Windows 7, you can do that without performing any BIOS setup. But to install Windows XP, you

must have to disable native sata mode from the BIOS. You should find this in BIOS under Disk

management or something like that. I can not tell you the exact path of disabling SATA native mode in

your BIOS as it differs computer to computer. Try again to find out that. Also try to find that in your

manufacturer website.

122. raul manugas

the method posted in this section how to install win xp using usb was absolutely wonderful,great and

excellent, tnx!

123. shashwat

hey friends..can i use virtual drive instead of proper cd drive to copy xp files to usb using dis

procedure??

124. shashwat

eg power iso.

125. shivam

thanks

126. Nikunj

hey tanmay its cool stuff but

I need sum help of you

do you tell me windows 8 is lunch on website

its

send me that link

127. gitguptha

hi,

really i thanking you, and it is very useful and grate. thank u again

128. B.K.BALI

I heartly thanks you for this useful tips..


28/32



129. Md. Amjad Hossain

I have followed the method which you described clearly and I became able to make a bootable pen

drive ( 4gb). After that I tried to setup windows xp in samsung netbook and c: drive was deleted but

can not be copied windows. It says, set up can not find . file. If I retry, then again it says, set up

can not find .. Plesse give me a easy solution to solve the problem

130. Faisal

Following your clearly described method, I became able to make a bootale pen drive ( 4GB). After

that I tried to setup windows xp with that pen drive. It can boot but can not copy windows file. It

says, can not find ..file. I retried but I could not install windows xp from that pen drive. What was

my wrong? Please inform me how to solve the problem.

131. shiv

Hi Tanmay,

I followed all the steps mentioned above, and i am able to get a screen where in i deleted some old

paritions and selected a partion to install the XP. So it formated the partition and afterwards ,got an

message saying couldnt locate the windows XP Source cant access CDROM Press enter to retry

OR F3 to quit

So why its not recognizing the USB Drive as source after formating the partition ?

Any pointers would be helpful.

ThanksSHIV

132. conrad

woooow i am de happiest man on earth, it works 100000% tanks

133. Pleata

all works fine until it asks for the product key (during the installation process in GUI mode).I type the

key, hit enter and get the message the product id you entered is not valid. Any advice on thismatter.thanks

134. Pleata

all works fine until it asks for the product key (during the installation process in GUI mode).I type the

key, hit enter and get the message the product id you entered is not valid. Any advice on this

matter.thanks

Anonymous

Try a new product ID.

Pleata


29/32



Thanks! although I tried yesterday several IDs without luck, when I saw your response I

was a little skeptic, but said to myself lets give it another try and for my surprise it

actually worked, as if it needed you confirmation :).

Pleata


was a little skeptic, but said to myself lets give it another try and for my surprise itactually worked, as if it needed you confirmation :).

Pleata


was a little skeptic, but said to myself lets give it another try and for my surprise it

actually worked, as if it needed you confirmation :).

Anonymous

Glad it worked Pleata! Cheers!!

135. Kevluck

Hello,

Ive got a lot of integrated XP updates on the DVD Im using, and the DVD is around 1.2 gig total.

I use the T drive as the temp drive, but it seems the T creates itself almost 1 gig but thats it.

Is there anyway to increase the initial size of T to more than 1 gig?

Thanks

Anonymous

Better, you select another drive which have enough space.

136. s3rp3nt6666

Wont work. It just hangs on Temporary Virtual Drive S: Created, lets Format it and I cantcontinue..

137. Imohammadfahad

Sir I have 6 pc 3old and 3 new sir I can install xp from pendrive in my new pc but I cant install xp from

pendrive in my old pc as there is no any option in bios so kindly help me what should I do to install in

my old pc. One more question i want to ask can I install xp in my old from USB CD ROM. All my pc

is PIV with 512DDR RAM. Thanks a lot

138. Anil

When I open cmd.exe and type cd c:softslasbootsect and hit enter it say The system cannot find the

path specified Please help asap.ThanksAnil


30/32



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How to Install Windows XP From USB Drive [Part-2]

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