Bootable Flash Drive Windows 8.1
One of the most preferred way to install Windows 8 or any other operating system is to create a bootable USB/flash/pen drive. Why? Many low-configuration laptops and netbooks favor portability and they are therefore dumping the optical drive. Unlike CDs, the data contained on the booting device can be changed and additional data can be stored on the same device. Moreover, the chances of failed installation are lower.
Windows 8 USB Installer Maker isone utility that is written for Windows 8 which helps you build a Windows 8 installer using your USB pen drive and the DVD ISO image. In short, the tool allows you to create a copy of your Windows 8 ISO file on a USB flash drive.
In order to create a bootable USB drive from the Windows 8.1 Update DVD or ISO you first have to copy the contents of the DVD or ISO to a folder on the internal storage of the device you are using for the process. For the latter media, you can use 7-Zip or WinRAR in order to extract it, or mount it in Windows and manually copy the contents. Apr 28, 2019 Preparting Windows 8/8.1 bootable USB Step 1: Start the procedure by connecting your USB flash drive to your Vista or Windows 7 machine. Step 2: Next step is to download and run WinToFlash program. Step 3: Run WinToFlash.exe file to start the actual procedure.
One just needs to download the ISO file and then run the Windows 8 USB Installer Maker tool. After that, Windows 8 can be directly installed from the USB flash drive. So let’s begin the process of installing Windows 8 using a flash USB drive/flash drive/pen drive.
- Create Bootable Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 USB Flash Drive. Installing Windows O/S from a USB flash drive is actually much faster than installing from a DVD.
- Connect the USB flash drive that you want to use for this. Run the Rufus.exe file, and click/tap on Yes if prompted by UAC. Do step 6 (UEFI) or step 7 (Legacy BIOS) below depending on if you want to create a bootable USB with or without UEFI support.
- With Windows 8/8.1 The Product Key on preinstalled Operating Systems (HP, Acer, etc) is embedded in the BIOS in the Motherboard, so that the lost and/or worn C.O.A. Sticker problem is no more. When you reinstall it will pick up the Product Key and activate the system automatically.
- On Step 4 of 4: Creating bootable USB device, just wait for the Windows USB DVD Download Tool to prepare the drive and copy the Windows 8 installation files to it. The first Status you see will be Formatting, which will take anywhere from a few to several seconds, depending on how large the USB drive is that you're using.
Install Windows 8 using a USB Flash drive
Prerequisites:
- The ISO image for Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Get it from here.
- USB drive/pen drive (8GB preferred)
- Windows 8 USB Installer Maker.
Create Bootable Windows 8 USB Flash Drive
1. Download Windows 8 USB Installer Maker and extract its contents onto your computer.
2. Next, connect your USB drive properly and make sure it is recognized by your Windows.
3. Right-click on the Windows 8 USB Installer Maker and choose ‘Run as administrator’.
4. A window will pop-up on your computer screen:
5. Select your USB drive and make sure it has:
- NTFS file system format
- At least 4GB of capacity
6. Next, browse for the Windows 8 bootable ISO Image – already downloaded on your system.
7. Once done, check ‘Format drive’ option. Please note that the step becomes mandatory, if you do not have a NTFS formatted drive or if it is FAT 32, and also if you have less free space, than what is required.
8. Now, click on the ‘Create’button to format your drive. The tool will begin formatting the USB drive and copy all the Windows installation files to it to make the USB drive bootable. The process may take few minutes, depending on the speed of your USB drive.
At some point the utility will display a‘HUNG’ or ‘UNRESPONSIVE’ message. Ignore the message. However, ensure that the USB drive is in activity. This is essential.
Lastly, when the process is complete you will see a confirmation message as shown in the screenshot below.
You will also notice in the log text the following description
‘Successfully updated NTFS filesystem bootcode.’ If not, click the ‘Fix USB boot’button and check again.
In this way you can create a copy of Windows 8 ISO file on your USB drive using Windows 8 USB Installer maker.
Now, Reboot your computer.
Also, modify the BIOS. The Boot order should be:
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- USB first
- CD drive second and
- Hard drive as third.
Windows 8 USB Installer Maker download
You can download USB Installer Maker from here. The site also gives you on excellent walk-through, from where these images have been sourced.
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Windows is sold in the form of DVDs and downloadable ISOs. The Windows DVD can be put into an optical drive for easy installation. However, with the advent of ultra portable devices and tablets that do not have optical drives, installing Windows from the setup DVD becomes a problem. The only solution for these devices is to install Windows from a USB device such as a flash drive.There are many other reasons why despite having an optical drive, you might want a bootable USB device for installing Windows. One is that installing Windows from a flash drive is a lot faster than that from a DVD. Creating a flash drive for installing Windows is not as simple as copying the setup files to it as it will not be bootable. To make it bootable, you need to use special software.
There are many third party software to create bootable USB devices but given the fact that most people aren't comfortable with third party software, Microsoft has released an application called Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool. Although the program's name makes it feel that it only supports Windows 7, that isn't really the case. It works well for preparing a bootable USB device for installing Windows 8 as well.
However, if you want to install Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 from a USB device, you need to use a third party tool called Rufus, as Microsoft's tool does not support Windows 8.1 and the newer Windows 10.
Before you begin, you must make sure that your flash drive has a storage capacity of at least 4GB (8GB for 64 bit). Also, you need to make sure that you have an ISO file of the Windows setup DVD with you. If you do not have the ISO file, then you need to create an ISO file from your setup DVD using a free program like ISOCreator.
See Steps for

2. Windows 8 and Windows 7
Steps to Install Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 from USB flash drive
1. Download Rufus. The program runs perfectly on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. Also, you need to be in an administrator account.2. Start the program and locate your USB device in the Device: dropdown.
3. Give a name to your flash drive using the Volume Label option and leave all other settings unchanged.
4. Check the Create a bootable disk using checkbox if it is not already checked. In the dropdown menu next to it, select ISO image. Click on the small button right to it to locate your Windows ISO image.
5. Click on Start to format your USB device and extract all files of the ISO to it. This will delete all data on your USB device so make sure that it does not contain any important files.
6. Now, you need to boot from the USB device you just created to start the Windows 8.1 installation process. If your computer doesn't boot from it, you might need to change the boot order. Also, you must note that older computers won't boot from a USB drive that is formatted as NTFS. To overcome this, you should make sure that your device is formatted as FAT32 and your hard disk has enough free space.
Steps to Install Windows 8 and Windows 7 from USB flash drive
1. Install Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool. To install this program, you need .NET Framework version 2.0 or higher installed on your computer. The program works on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. Also, you need to be in an administrator account.
2. Open the program. Enter the location of your Windows ISO file in the source file box. Alternatively, you can browse to it and click Next. If at this step, you get an error saying 'Invalid ISO file', you can use an alternate method to make a bootable USB flash drive.
3. On the choose media type screen, select USB device to create a bootable Windows installation flash drive.
4. On the insert USB device screen, select your USB flash drive or the external hard drive to which you want to copy the setup files and click Begin copying. If your USB device does not have enough space, you will be shown a dialog box saying so. Click Erase USB device. This will format your USB device and delete all data on it.
Tip: If you accidentally delete the data in your USB device in the previous step, you could still recover it with free tools.
5. If everything goes right, you will see a Bootable USB device created successfully message on the next screen.
Boot Pendrive Windows 8.1
6. Now, you need to boot from the USB device you just created to start the Windows installation process. If your computer doesn't boot from it, you might need to change the boot order. Also, you must note that older computers won't boot from a USB drive that is formatted as NTFS which is what the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool formats it into while you select
Bootable Flash Drive Cnet
Erase USB device option. To overcome this, you should make sure that your device is formatted as FAT32 and your computer has enough disk space.If it complains that it is not a valid ISO file, you need to make sure that your Windows ISO is original and has not been modified in any way. If you are still unable to install Windows from a USB drive, just add a comment.