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 wonder why MS did not just bundle the Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate with a boot stick. Its not like they would be giving out 2 licenses.
Sounds awesome!!!!
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.
Newbie here, but it says "To create a bootable DVD or USB flash drive, download the ISO file and then run the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool"... where do I download the ISO file?
About time they re-released the USB tool
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.
? So this is just the official Microsoft tool right? I've seen bootable Win7 USB flash drives before using other bootloaders...
I don't think that it has anything to do with license as much as it does with hardware compatibility.
Actually they released it earlier, but they got caught breaking the GPL license d'oh!
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.
Nice.
Did this months ago with UltraISO.
it would be nice if they made one for windows xp as well
You only need winrar to do this in the first place. Wipe your flash drive, extract the ISO with Winrar, and stick the resulting files right on that flash drive. It boots.
Anyone with a bit of a brain can setup a bootable USB stick for ANY OS, you don't need this utility, just google.
http://www.intowindows.com/how-to- [...] ing-guide/
or
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/windowsxpusb
or even
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/insta [...] sb-device/
There are many more as well.
Uh, this is something new? I installed the RTM on my netbook via a USB drive back in July...
Newbie here, but it says "To create a bootable DVD or USB flash drive, download the ISO file and then run the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool"... where do I download the ISO file?
Buy it from their store or make one yourself from a Win7 install disc.
I thought this was called copy, paste, bootsect... This must be the version for people too lazy to use google or cmd.
For the average person making your own can look intimidating, you guys shouldnt be so mean. This tool makes the process much easier.
I walked my grandmother through this, there was not a chance in hell she could do it without the tool
DVD is cheaper and less headache.
What do you think would be faster DVD or USB stick?
okay, heres the bummer. I installed windows 7 RC right from the internal hard disk. Just run the setup file. Go figure......
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.....
What do you think would be faster DVD or USB stick?
USB, definitely. That's how I installed mine
*wonders if this works with E-SATA and USB 3.0*
What do you think would be faster DVD or USB stick?
DVD @ 8x = ~10MB/s
DVD @ 16x = ~21MB/s
USB = ~30MB/s
It depends on how many you intend to install. The installation portion would definitely be faster from USB. As shown above even a 16x DVD drive is going to Average out at about 2/3 as fast as a good USB solution. But considering the time it would take to generate the iso from a DVD, create the usb install and then perform the actual install, it probably wouldnt pay off (if done only for speed sake) unless you plan to do 3 or more.
Of course if you are downloading the iso (companies with volume license as opposed to retail) then that will reduce some time. But if you are doing volume license and intend to install more than 5 systems, you may be better off using something like WAIK and MDT to create a custom install and deploy it over the network.
This is really intended for a pretty limited audience. Non-Technical consumers, with a netbook or other DVD-less computer, a regular desktop or laptop with a DVD drive and no external (USB) DVD drive. For them, it is not about speed, its about limited options that dont require technical knowledge.