How to Make a Bootable USB Flash Drive or Memory Card for Windows XP
Jun 20
This tutorail is for making a Bootable USB Flash Drive or Memory Card that can be used to install Windows XP on Netbooks that do not have optical drives. To complete this tutorial you need a PC with a version of Windows XP / Vista / 7, and a USB Flash Drive or Memory Card that is at least 1GB in size or more.
Download you will need:
Extract the files in ‘flash-drive-prep.zip’.
You will get two folders, ‘bootsect’ and ‘usb_prep8′.
Inside of the USB_prep8 folder double click the executable named ‘usb_prep8.cmd‘ You will get a window that looks like this
Press a key and you will get another window, as shown below
These settings are preconfigured for you all you need to do now is click start. Please ensure that you select the correct flash drive or Memory Card drive.
Once the format is complete DO NOT close the window just leave everything as it is and open a command prompt from your start menu (type ‘cmd‘ in the search bar or run box depending on your version of windows.).
Inside of the command windows go to the bootsect directory, extracted from the above downloaded zip file. In that folder, you should find 2 files, ‘bootsect.exe’ and ‘bootmgr’.
(use the ‘cd <directoryname>’ command to switch folders and ‘dir’ command to list contents of a directory you are in.)
Now type ‘bootsect.exe /nt52 X:‘ NOTE ‘X:‘ is the drive letter for the USB Flash Drive or Memory Card that you just formatted. Please change this value accordingly. What this does is write the correct boot sector to your USB Flash Drive or Memory Card, this allows your PC to boot from the USB Flash Drive or Memory Card. Without it nothing works.
Please note: When running the bootsect.exe command you cannot have any windows open displaying the content of your USB Flash Drive or Memory Card. If you have a window open bootsect.exe will be unable to lock the drive and write the bootsector correctly.
If all went well you should see "Bootcode was successfully updated on all targeted volumes." Now, close this command prompt (don’t close the usbprep8 one by mistake) and the petousb window.
Your usbprep8 windows should now look like this. If it does not, try pressing enter.
Now you need to enter the correct information for numbers 1-3.
Press 1 and then enter. A folder browse window will open for you to browse to the location of you XP setup files. This could be your physical or virtual cdrom drive with xp cd or image inside it, or a folder in the computer with the XP setup files.
Please note that for the Compaq Mini 110, you will need to slipstream Intel SATA Drivers into your XP install CD or ISO otherwise, you will get a BSD (blue screen of death) as you try to boot from the USB Flash Drive/Memory Card or you will not be able to see a your hard disk in the XP setup. Click here to view a tutorial on how to slip stream the Intel SATA Drivers into you Windows XP Install CD or Image (iso).
Press 2 and enter a letter not currently assigned to a drive on your PC. Warning: If you select a drive letter that is assigned to a device on your PC, this device will be formated and you will lose all your data on that drive. The system will not work if you select a network drive.
Press 3 and enter the drive letter of your USB stick
Press 4 to start the process.
The script will ask you if its ok to format the drive whose letter you selected in 2 above. This is just a temp drive the program creates to cache the windows installation files. Press Y then enter.
Once it’s done formating press enter to continue again, you can now see the program copying files to the temp drive it created. Once this is done press enter to continue again.
Next you will see a box pop up asking you to copy the files to USB drive yes/no you want to click yes.
Once the script has completed copy files a popup window asking if you would like to USB drive to be preferred boot drive. Select YES on this window.
Now select yes to unmount the virtual drive.
And we are done. You now have a USB Flash Drive or Memory Card that is bootable and can be used to install windows XP on a variety of computers.
END
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I have tried but usbprep8 windows does not change. Pressing the enter doesn’t work.
Sorry it works just I closed the petousb window then usbprep8 windows changed.
sucessfully done!! if u have to edit boot.ini just use ubuntu… i had one and used it…. now everything is fine
Hello great article but when PeToUSB pops up it says no usb disks found even though its connect. Help?
I got the usb show and pressed start now im confused on what to do on this part
(use the ‘cd ’ command to switch folders and ‘dir’ command to list contents of a directory you are in.)
Now type ‘bootsect.exe /nt52 X:‘ NOTE ‘X:‘ is the drive letter for the USB Flash Drive or Memory Card that you just formatted. Please change this value accordingly. What this does is write the correct boot sector to your USB Flash Drive or Memory Card, this allows your PC to boot from the USB Flash Drive or Memory Card. Without it nothing works.
Click here to view a tutorial on how to slip stream the Intel SATA Drivers into you Windows XP Install CD or Image (iso).
There is no link. Where can I find it ? SATA Driver on xp install CD
@Marcos
@Marcos
how did u get the usb to show i cant it say usb not detected
@Marcos
Hey Marcos, how did you get the USB to show? I’m still getting “No USB Disk Found! I inserted in different USB ports and still not working.
No script engine associated with .vbs fix:
Replace all instances of “CSCRIPT.EXE” with “CSCRIPT.EXE //E:vbscript” in usb_prep8.cmd and Mount_TempImage.cmd.
To resolve missing hal.dll, read this thread:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=461084
The answer is covered in detail there. Edit boot.ini after install and set the correct drive and partition.
GUYS IF UR FLASH DRIVE IS NOT GETTING DETECTED, JUST OPEN THE “usb_prep8″ AND RIGHT CLICK ON “PeToUSB” {280 KB WITH BLUE ICON} AND GOTO ITS PROPERTIES>COMPATIBILITY AND TICK THE “RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR” HIT “APPLY” THEN “OK”
NOW MOVE TO YOUR PREVIOUS PROCESS FROM BEGINING YOUR PeToUSB WILL BE ABLE TO DETECT YOUE FLASH DRIVE.
I keep getting an error when I click start. It says “FormatEx Error[11]: An Error Occurred Formatting the Drive”.
Any suggestings?
Had the same eror and format disk manually, now still seeing through why cmd not showing the menu but it wasnt untill the tool dialog box was closed? will follow through on this, the steps are not working 100% with everyone until minor changes are made to it, like some using ubuntu(Linux) for some are imune to this O/S
But will follow through maybe post back with changes and help the original thread master with it?
@Charlie
@erok
Version: v3.0.0.6
(28-10-2005)
Partition/Disk size limit now removed for USB removable devices
(ie Sticks) this is because different manufacturers are
producing different size variations of 2Gb. If the format fails
its because MS’s format utility library can’t do it.
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found in petousb_changes script, so I doubt it it would change since the thread is over a year and script wrote back in 05.
Interesting fact. Could you enumerate or link me to flash disks that do not work because of these different 2gb variations?