How to create a bootable USB flash drive using ISO. Burn an image to an ultraiso flash drive: making the complex simple. The process of installing Windows xp from a flash drive

Development computer equipment and new technologies is moving towards a complete abandonment of CDs and DVD discs and the need to equip a computer optical drive. It is increasingly more convenient to boot Windows XP from a flash drive, and sometimes this is the only possible variant. Owners of laptops, netbooks and tablets were the first to master this technology, and other users appreciated all the advantages of this method.

Creating a bootable USB flash drive is easy, but not everyone succeeds the first time. It's all about the little things and yet important nuances that are simply overlooked as a matter of course.

Why create a bootable USB flash drive?

A bootable USB flash drive is necessary for convenient and quick installation Not only operating system Windows XP, but also any other program. The operating principle is the same as a boot disk, but the information is saved more compactly. One more thing important advantage– this is reliability. A flash drive cannot be damaged by a couple of scratches and you don’t have to store it so carefully or worry about letting someone use it.

Multi bootable flash drive is a bootable USB flash drive that contains several installation programs under one shell. Before transferring the disk image to a flash drive, which was previously downloaded in finished form, it can be supplemented. You can also create a disk image yourself, where you can add all the necessary programs of your choice.

A Windows resuscitation disk can also be written to flash drives, which, if necessary, will allow you to start the system directly from a USB drive.

Not the easiest option, but very convenient when creating a bootable flash drive, use the UltraISO program.

Preliminary preparation for creating a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP

To create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows we will need:

Original boot disk image in ISO format

When creating your first bootable flash drive, it is better not to experiment, but to hone your actions on a ready-made and proven product.

Important: download the image of the selected Windows XP assembly with the activator.

UltraISO program

This is a utility with which you can create a bootable USB flash drive, of course it is not the only one. Choice similar programs quite wide, but everyone chooses according to their needs.

Important: When installing the program and running it, you must do this as an administrator. Right button mouse (not the usual one!) and the “run as administrator” option.

A work computer with an operating system already installed

There are important nuances here:

If you are going to create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 7 or Windows 8, then it is better to do this on a computer running the Windows 7 operating system.
If you are using a computer with Windows XP, then to create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 7 you need to install packages on your computer NET Framework 2.0 and Microsoft image Mastering API V2, which can be downloaded from the official website.
If you are using Windows XP with a 32-bit system, and are going to create Windows 7 with a 64-bit system, then a more complex series of actions will be required, which does not guarantee a successful result. It is better to refuse this option.

Regular USB flash drive, which you will make bootable

The volume of a clean (not necessarily new!) flash drive is at least 4 GB, but 8 GB is preferable for some Windows builds XP. For loading mobile version For Windows XP, a 256 MB flash drive is sufficient, but 512 MB is better.

Important: It is advisable (even necessary) to format the flash drive: file FAT system 32 is suitable for Windows XP, FAT 16 system is suitable for mobile Windows versions XP.

After preparing everything you need, all that remains is to make sure of the following:

The flash drive is working and the computer sees it.
Not necessary, but it is advisable to go into the BIOS and check if the “USB 2.0 Controller” function is enabled.
What for Windows boot XP you have one of the following options available.

Options for loading Windows XP onto a USB flash drive

To boot from a prepared disk image

Needed to create:

Flash drive(min 4Gb);
image Windows disk XP (ISO file);
UltraISO program.

Step-by-step instruction:

To boot from a boot disk

Needed to create:

Flash drive;
Bootable CD with Windows XP;
UltraISO program.

Step-by-step instruction:

To boot from the windows xp file folder

Needed to create:

Flash drive;
folder with windows files xp;
UltraISO program.

Step-by-step instruction:

In order to check the flash drive, just disconnect it and reconnect it. If it appears with an icon saying what's on it boot files or operating room windows system xp, then most likely everything is fine. You can try and run through bios windows xp from a flash drive, but this does not fully guarantee that everything will go perfectly during installation. If any hiccups occur during installation using a bootable USB flash drive, it should be formatted and rewritten.

Why do you need a bootable USB flash drive?

When we turn on the computer, it first boots software, which is responsible for the internal “iron” as people say. That is, initialization comes first motherboard, processor, random access memory, video cards and so on. This software is called .

This process usually takes a few seconds. After this there is an access to the memory medium (S/DVD disk, floppy disk, hard drive, flash memory, network drive) and searching for information about MBR (master boot records) - special code, which is responsible for loading the operating system. Further loading operating system (Windows/Linux, DOS). At this stage we may need a bootable USB flash drive.

For example, to install an operating system, or download a portable independent (live) operating system.
We remember that for a flash drive to be bootable, it must contain the correct MBR; if the ISO image that we want to burn does not contain the correct MBR, then the flash drive WILL NOT be bootable.

Those. It’s not enough to just write an image of the operating system onto a flash drive (it won’t become bootable), but you need to “stick” the main one there in a special way boot entry(MBR).
Therefore, now you will learn one of the options on how to make such a bootable USB flash drive with using UltraISO Portable.
In the example, the operating system will be used Windows system 7, USB drive 4 GB, UltraISO 9.6.0 Portable, ISO file boot image OS.

Now, where and what do we take.

Windows 7 itself (or even the tenth one) is bought (extremely rarely), mostly downloaded from . Such images of the system are usually so well “split” there that the “small ones” themselves recognize it as their own. (When the system first starts, a connection is made to Microsoft and Windows authentication occurs.)
A flash drive is the main requirement that its volume accommodate Windows image.
Download the UltraISO program itself. The program is in English, and even with a key, so you will have to download from a file sharing service, but it will also be in Russian with a key. We choose.

Unpack the archived file and run the file UltraISO_Portable_unpack.exe

We determine the location where the files will be extracted and click the Extract button. In this package we find the file UltraISOPortable.exe and run it.

After the utility is installed, look through the program menu for the ISO image you need (this may be a disk image for Windows installations, or Linux, or any other utilities, such as antiviruses, error scanners, various editors).
After that, you will see the Windows image at the top left and its contents on the right.

In order for Windows to be installed from a flash drive, it is not enough to simply copy the files from the Windows 7 installation disk to the flash drive. First you need to format the flash drive and make it active (that is, indicate that it is bootable).
If you have a disk image and you don't know what to do with it. Then install free program daemon tools light. This application allows you to open disk images as if they were virtual.
Now let's proceed directly to writing the disk image to a flash card. To do this, run UltraISO and select the section labeled “Bootboot” in the menu, select “Burn image” in the drop-down submenu Hard drive" and click on it.
Now you need to make some settings so that the flash drive becomes bootable after recording. You will see a recording window in which you need to select the USB-HDD+ recording type and after that you can start recording. But first, let’s format the flash drive if we haven’t done so before.

After formatting, click the “Write” button

After you have indicated to burn the ISO image to a flash drive in the UltraISO utility, you will have to wait some time until the process is completely completed.

And we look...

That's all. Windows 7 ultraiso bootable flash drive created

Now let's reinstall Windows...

Next, we reboot the computer, if it does not boot from the flash, then in the BIOS we indicate that the boot should be done primarily from the flash drive (here it all depends on your BIOS) and then install Windows 7 as from a regular disk.

As you can see, making a bootable one from an ordinary flash drive is not at all a difficult task; the main thing is to understand the functions of the UltraISO utility, of which there are not so many. If you were unable to make the flash drive bootable the first time, then try formatting it in UltraISO first and then only writing the image onto it.

If for some reason you cannot activate the USB boot option in the bios, you can restart the computer and press the F11 key. A menu of devices you can boot from should appear. The key to call this menu may differ, so you can try several test reboots, and you will definitely be able to boot from the flash drive.

Thinking about self-installation(reinstalling) Windows on their laptop, many users rush to quickly acquire a disk with a licensed edition of their favorite operating system, believing that this, in fact, is their mission completed. However, unfortunately, the matter does not end with just a successful purchase. Alas, quite often when installing Windows on a laptop, it suddenly turns out that there is no disk drive in sight, and accordingly there can be no talk of reinstalling the system directly from the disk. Naturally, at this very moment one very burning question arises: how, in this case, to install on your Windows computer.

In principle, the answer to this is not difficult to find. The “almighty” UltraISO program will help you cope with this problem, with which you can create a full-fledged bootable USB flash drive with Windows in a matter of minutes.

Step #1: Install UltraISO

Before you start writing a Windows image to a flash drive using the UltraISO program, you will, of course, have to take care of installing this utility on your computer. In principle, there should not be any difficulties with this. Why? Yes, because the whole process consists of performing several simple and ordinary actions. So, first, download the distribution kit with UltraISO to your PC using , then double-click on the downloaded file and click the “Run” button in the window that opens to open the program installation wizard:

After this, select the “Next” option in the window that appears, agree to the terms of use of the utility and click “Next” again:

Then we determine where to install the program on the computer using the “Browse” button, and click the “Next” button twice, as shown below:

Deciding on additional parameters UltraISO installations, go to the new window by clicking “Next” and click “Install”:

After this, we wait until the program is installed on the computer, and then proceed to next step– direct preparation of a bootable flash drive using UltraISO.

Step #2: Burn Windows to a Flash Drive

So, having in hand external storage, suitable for recording a volume, a Windows image and a ready-to-use UltraISO utility, we can safely begin preparing a bootable flash drive. To do this, we first run the program just installed on the computer as administrator. How? Quite simple: click on the UltraISO shortcut right key mouse, and then select the appropriate item in the list of tasks that opens:

Next, after launching the program, go to the “File” section, click on the “Open” option in it and use it to add a file with Windows iso image. In this case, I note that you can use a working image of any version of Windows: from XP to 8.

One way or another, if all the steps are performed correctly, the operating system data will appear in the main window of the program:

What do we do next? We connect the USB flash drive to the computer on which we plan to burn the Windows image (for Windows 7/8 with a memory capacity of at least 4 GB), open the “Boot” tab in UltraISO and click on the “Burn Hard Image...” item in it:

As a result of such simple manipulations, the Write Disk Image window should appear. Has it appeared? Great! Then, one by one in it:

indicate the access path to the flash drive on which Windows will be recorded;
select USB-HDD as the recording method;
Click the “Format” button to delete all data from the selected flash drive:

After this, all that remains is to start the process of copying data to the flash drive. Is it difficult? Are you kidding? As easy as pie! To start, just click the “Write” button in the Write Disk Image window, then confirm the start of writing the image to the flash drive by clicking “Yes”, and just wait until the data is copied:

As you can see, we didn’t have to perform any dances with a tambourine: everything was quite easy and simple. At the same time, it is also easy to check the functionality of the bootable USB flash drive with Windows prepared by us in UltraISO. In this case, we only need to launch the standard Windows Explorer and see whether the data has been copied to the external drive or not:

That's basically all! But if you suddenly have questions, you know where to find me! Good luck!

This article describes key feature UltraIso programs. A bootable USB flash drive can be created without any problems. It is the algorithm for performing this operation that will be discussed further.

In what cases can you not do without such a flash drive?

First, let's define those cases when we cannot do without this important feature of UltraIso. A bootable flash drive allows you to install an operating system on a computer that does not have a CD-ROM drive. First of all, these are some models of ultrabooks and all netbooks. But, again, this does not mean that this method cannot be applied to a stationary personal computer (not on every system unit Nowadays you can find a device for reading CDs) or a laptop. In general, this universal solution for all cases. All modern computers Without exception, they are equipped with a USB connector. So there will be no problems connecting a flash drive. In this case, the installation speed of the operating system will be many times higher. Data transfers faster from a flash drive than from a CD. Therefore, this installation method is the future.

Choosing an image

Before you make a bootable UltraIso flash drive, you need to select the correct installation version of the operating system. Its demo version can be downloaded from the Internet. It is recommended to use the *.iso format (that is, the file must have this extension). If necessary, it can be made from a CD. To do this, install it in the drive, launch UltraIso, press “F8” and, following the instructions, create a copy on the hard drive of the installation version of the operating system. It is important that the installer source is autoloadable. Although rare, there are times when this important option is missing from the installation version. Therefore, you must definitely pay attention to this.

Which version of the program is better?

UltraIso comes in two versions. The first one is demo and free. Some functions are not available, but the ability to create bootable flash drives is present. The second version is paid. It has more options, but to create such a flash drive, its purchase is not justified. Therefore, most users are recommended to take the first modification of UltraIso.

Installing UltraIso

First you need to download and install UltraIso. without this stage it is impossible. First you need to download this program from the official website. Other versions are not recommended to be used, as their performance leaves much to be desired. Then run the downloaded installer. Following the instructions of the wizard, install this program on your local computer. Some kind of additional settings there is no need to execute to create a bootable drive. After this, UltraIso is ready for use.

Creating a bootable flash drive using UltraIso

How to create a bootable USB flash drive? After installation is complete, the order of performing this operation will be as follows.

Once the manipulations are complete, the process can be considered complete, and now you can easily install the operating system from the flash drive. Do not forget that the size of the flash drive must be larger than the operating system installer. That is, if the image occupies 4.4 GB, then the drive is in this case must be at least 8 GB. This nuance must be taken into account in mandatory. Otherwise you won't be able to create boot drive, and the operating system will display a corresponding message.

Preparing to install the operating system

At the next stage you will no longer have to use the UltraIso program. The bootable USB flash drive is ready. But in order to start the operating system installation process, you need to correctly configure the BIOS personal computer. We install the prepared drive in any of the rectangular connectors of the personal computer. Next, when you turn it on, you need to pay attention to the inscription: Press X to setup. In this case, “X” will be the key that you need to press to enter basic settings personal computer. If at the hardware testing stage the logo of the motherboard manufacturer is displayed, then you need to press “Esc”. It is not always possible to figure out the login key the first time and have time to enter the BIOS. Therefore, if you did not have time to click and the operating system started loading, then you need to restart the personal computer and repeat the operation of entering the basic settings, already knowing necessary information. Then, using the navigation keys (they have arrows on them), go to the item Boot menu(loading). In it we find the First Boot item. Point the marker at it using the down arrow. At the next stage, using PgUp and PgDn, we indicate to the PC that the first boot source is, for example, a bootable Windows 7 flash drive. UltraIso has already placed the image on it, and it is ready for the installation process. The volume label will be the same as previously specified. Once this manipulation has been completed, press F10. Then you should be asked to save the changes. We answer it positively. After this, the personal computer will restart and boot from the flash drive will begin.

Installation

The installation process from such an operating system drive is identical to exactly the same procedure from a CD made in the same UltraIso program. A bootable Windows USB flash drive is his an exact copy. When the PC starts booting, press any key when the corresponding message appears. Then set the language, country, monetary units and click “Next”. At the next stage, click on “Install”. We select the one for which we have a key. Then we agree to the terms license agreement. To do this, check the box at the bottom of the window and click the “Next” button. At the next stage, select the installation type: complete or update. Then select the logical partition on which the OS will be installed. If necessary, format it using the appropriate command. Further, all operations are performed automatically until you need to set the PC name. Enter it and click “Next”. If necessary, set a password for protection. Then you need to enter the registration key. You can skip this step, but then you will have trial version for 31 days. Then select security settings, time and system date. Then we set up local computer network. At the final stage, drivers and application programs are installed.

Summary

This article describes one of the most important features UltraIso programs. Using it, a bootable flash drive can be created without any problems, and even a novice user can solve this problem. To do this, just follow the previously described steps, and you should not have any problems with this procedure. So, feel free to take it and do it.

For Windows installations is necessary either boot disk with the distribution kit, or bootable flash drive. Flash drives in Lately are very popular and convenient, so it makes more sense to download from them.

There are many ways and applications to create bootable flash drives. The easiest way to do this is with the Ultraiso program.

It is very functional and at the same time easy to use software tool . For it to function, you must first complete the installation by downloading the program distribution kit, and also prepare an operating system image.

Why make an installation flash drive?

Often, during the operation of the operating system, unforeseen situations occur, as a result of which the operating system either does not load at all or works with critical failures. It is impossible to completely protect yourself from such situations, so you need to know how to behave.

IN best case scenario Operating system problems can be fixed through a built-in function Windows recovery, which naturally needs to be launched if this feature is present.

In a situation where this is not possible, you should try to boot through the installation disk or installation flash drive.

Photo: create a bootable USB flash drive in UltraISO

An extreme situation that occurs when there is no backup copy operating system and user data, implies its reinstallation. Based on this, you always need to have an OS image. It can be used for new installation, restoring the old OS or reinstalling it.

In most situations Windows distribution saved on DVD. But the probability of data loss on a DVD disc is significant due to the fact that it is subject to physical influences. After all, just one small scratch can render the disk inoperative.

A flash drive does not have this drawback, so it is more advisable to save the operating system on it. In this case, the process of installing Windows from a USB drive is similar to the installation process from a DVD. Additional benefit flash drives in front DVD is its more compact size.

We will need

For creating bootable USB media, in addition to the data carrier itself, you will need an operating system image and a specialized program with similar functionality. There are many such programs, but we will look at the UltraISO utility, which must first be downloaded and installed on your hard drive.

It is designed specifically for working with ISO images and recording them on storage media; it allows you to make bootable disks and flash drives. The undoubted advantage of the utility in question is its friendly Russian-language interface.

In addition to generating and recording image files, it also allows you to make changes to disk images. Its important feature, which is of great value, is the ability to create bootable media - disks and flash drives. In addition to this, the utility is capable of converting image files to ISO format if the existing OS disk image is saved in a different format.

A certain disadvantage of this utility can be considered that it is paid, but there is a trial period for free use. You can use a version of the UltraISO program free of charge with certain restrictions.

It is important to know that all information from the flash drive must be saved to another safe place, since all data when created installation flash drive will be destroyed.

Video: bootable USB flash drive using Ultraiso

If there is no OS image

Situations often occur when the operating system image is missing. The solution to this problem is very trivial. It can be created either using installation disk Windows, or through specialized programs, of which there are a great many, some of them are completely free.

The sequence of actions is as follows:

Create a bootable USB flash drive using UltraISO

Let's look at the sequence of steps to create a bootable Windows flash drives 8 of ISO image. Bootable flash drives with previous operating systems are created similarly without any visible differences.

Algorithm:

you should run the UltraISO utility as a user with administrator rights workstation;
at the top of the utility window you need to click the “Open” button;
in the explorer that opens, select the required (previously saved) operating system image (in our Windows case 8 Pro) and confirm the action by clicking on the “Open” button. In this case, an image of the operating system will be displayed in the right half of the utility window;
Insert the flash drive into the appropriate slot, which will later become bootable. Its volume should not be less than 4 GB, otherwise the OS image simply will not fit on it. It is also important that it is formatted as file system FAT32. You can format it directly before recording the image, or regular means Windows or using UltraISO;
then in active window application, you should select “Bootboot”, and then in the context menu select the menu item “Burn image of a tough disk...";
after opening the window, you need to check that you have selected the correct disk to create installation media. It is important to make sure that the flash drive corresponds to the correct letter of the alphabet;
On the “Recording Method” tab, you must check "USB-HDD+", and then either format the storage media or record the Windows OS image;
if external media information has already been pre-formatted, then you should click on the “Write” button;
A “Hint” window will open with a warning about the possible loss of all data on USB drive. In this window you need to click on the “Yes” button;
Then the stage of forming the OS image on the flash drive begins. An installation flash drive for Windows is being created. The length of time it takes to create installation media depends on the performance of your workstation. After some time, the OS image will be written to the flash drive. A message will appear in the window that opens, informing you that the installation media generation process has been successfully completed;
When you finish creating the installation drive, it is recommended to close the utility.

At the end of these steps, it is recommended to make sure that the Windows OS image is correctly formed on the USB drive. When you open it, the saved Windows 8 image will be displayed. The sequence of actions when creating a Windows 7 OS image is similar and does not contain any significant differences.

It is important to know that to install Windows in the BIOS you need to set the boot order various devices. You need to start attempting to boot from a flash drive.

Photo: boot order of various devices

The need for a bootable USB flash drive arises periodically. The reason for this need may be failures in the operating system itself and interruptions in the operation of the hardware. No one can protect themselves one hundred percent from such problems, but having a pre-created bootable flash drive will help solve the problems that arise without time loss and significant labor costs.

There are several basic ways to make a bootable disk or flash drive.

The main ones:

with help specialized programs, such as UltraISO;
full-time using Windows via the command line console.

Even the most untrained user can easily create a bootable USB flash drive with Ultraiso, since the program is very clear and convenient.