Microsoft Releases Win 7 USB/DVD Download Tool
Make your DVD fit into your USB key.
It's been a bit of a wait for those with netbooks trying to get Windows 7 installed on their little machines, but Microsoft has finally released its USB/DVD download tool – open source, of course.
As the name suggests, the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool creates a bootable USB stick from a Windows 7 install DVD for use with systems that do not contain an optical drive.
"As we previously explained, the testing and localization took longer than we expected, but the project is now hosted on CodePlex.com, Microsoft's Open Source software project hosting repository, and the code can be found here," explained Peter Galli, Open Source Community Manager for Microsoft.
The tool can also now be downloaded from the Microsoft Store here.
Let us know how the new tool works out in your Windows 7 installation adventures!
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I'm giong to try it soon. sometimes i just dont have an extra optical drive laying around for new systems or ones i'm troubleshooting.
Now if only they didn't just restrict it to Windows 7, this tool could be very useful for other OS Installations or other applications.
I don't think that it has anything to do with license as much as it does with hardware compatibility.
So now they open sourced it, like they should have to begin with.
I just use an external DVD/RW to install the os on my netbook. Or you could use the Linux "dd" comand to get similar results with Flash media. Haven't tried it with windows yet though. It works great for LiveCD iso files.
Did this months ago with UltraISO.
http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-install-windows-7vista-from-usb-drive-detailed-100-working-guide/
or
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/windowsxpusb
or even
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/install-and-boot-ultimate-boot-cd-ubcd-from-a-usb-device/
There are many more as well.
Buy it from their store or make one yourself from a Win7 install disc.
I walked my grandmother through this, there was not a chance in hell she could do it without the tool
Actually, a week ago, my windows 7 installation got corrupted somehow, but I could log into it using safe mode. And, my DVD drive was gone for repairs. I just ran the setup from the iso by extracting it with winrar in my internal HDD (safe mode). It was just a desperate try, that worked.....
USB, definitely. That's how I installed mine