• Bootable flash drive windows xp ultraiso. Ultraiso. Bootable USB flash drive: how to create

    Not all modern laptops have a DVD drive; we are silent about ultrabooks, whose manufacturers initially abandoned the ability to read/write discs for the sake of an ultra-thin body. Therefore, reinstalling the operating system from a disk, as we are all used to doing, will no longer work and we need to look for another option. That is why we decided to tell you through UltraISO - a program that allows you to work with images. Of course, there is more convenient software, tailored specifically for creating bootable flash drives. In addition, it is paid, but there are a number of analogues distributed free of charge. But if you choose the UltraISO program, we will not challenge your decision and will help you understand its functionality. Well, get your flash drive ready, let's get started!

    Create a bootable USB flash drive using UltraISO

    So, first of all, we need to acquire the image itself operating system. This could equally be Windows 7 or the newer “Ten”. As a rule, bootable media is created not only for installing the OS, but also for resuscitating the computer. However, this is no longer so important - after all, in this instruction we are considering the creation bootable version.

    It is not for nothing that the name of the program contains the prefix “ISO”, symbolizing the extension of the image file. The image itself can be downloaded on the Internet, on the official website, or borrowed from a friend. This is not so important, the main thing is that it is complete and works flawlessly.

    We will need a flash drive with a memory capacity of at least eight gigabytes. This is more than enough. Copy important data from it first, because the media will be formatted.

    Creating a bootable USB flash drive using UltraISO

    Let's assume that you already have the program installed. Let's get started:


    By exactly repeating the steps described above, you will actually write the operating system onto the flash drive and be able to install it.

    How to create a bootable USB flash drive from a DVD

    At the beginning of the article, we said that the image can be taken from anywhere: download it from the official website, from a third-party resource, or burn it from disk. So let's quickly look at the last option.

    Let's imagine that you borrowed a boot disk with Windows 10 from a friend, but for some reason you do not want to install the OS from it. It is not at all necessary to create an ISO image via third party program, and then make a bootable USB flash drive according to the instructions above - you can go the other way, shorter, by writing the bootable USB flash drive directly:


    Well, now you know how to make a flash drive bootable. All that's left to do is learn how to restore/install Windows from it. But that's another story...

    UltraISO is one of the most simple programs, which allow you to create a bootable USB flash drive. It supports all operating systems starting from Windows XP. You don't need any special skills to record an image. It is enough to follow the detailed instructions and spend a few minutes. Recording an image lasts up to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the distribution and the power of the computer.

    To create boot image on Flash drive, you need to do the following:

    1. Burn UltraISO to your computer (there are Russian versions).
    2. Download the operating system distribution.
    3. Open the CMS client and open the distribution image through it.
    4. Insert the drive into the USB connector.
    5. Select the required settings and click on the appropriate button.

    Now it’s worth considering each stage in more detail.

    Video - Creating a bootable USB flash drive in UltraISO

    The process of creating a bootable USB flash drive

    Initially, you need to select a flash drive of a certain size.

    To get the desired result you will need to do the following:


    Further actions are similar. The average recording time is 30 minutes, since DVD file transfer speeds are relatively slow.

    Bootable USB flash drive from the folder with Windows system files

    With the distribution, you can use the current operating system. However, this method is only relevant for Windows 7, 8 and 10.

    It is as follows:

    1. Launch the program and click “File” -> “New” -> “Bootable image”. You must select it in the folder with system files. It is called bootfix.bin and is located in the boot folder.
    2. Select the files from the bottom (not the entire folder, but its contents) and drag them to the top.
    3. Select the file size of 4.7 GB if a red bar appears. Indicating that the new image is full.
    4. Click on bootstrap and repeat the above steps.

    This is all available methods creating a bootable USB flash drive within 30-40 minutes.

    Since almost no one uses CDs and DVDs these days, it is logical that it is best to burn the Windows image for further installation onto a USB drive. This approach is indeed much more convenient, because the flash drive itself is much smaller and is very convenient to store in your pocket. Therefore, we will analyze all the most efficient methods for creating bootable media for further installation of Windows.

    For reference: creating bootable media means that an operating system image is written to it. From this very drive, the OS is subsequently installed on the computer. Previously, when reinstalling the system, we inserted a disk into the computer and installed it from it. Now you can use a regular USB drive for this.

    To do this, you can use a proprietary software Microsoft, the already installed operating system itself, or other programs. In any case, the creation process is not difficult at all. Even a novice user can cope with it.

    All the methods described below assume that you already have a downloaded ISO image of the operating system on your computer, which you will write to a flash drive. So, if you haven't downloaded the OS yet, do so. You must also have a suitable removable media. Its volume should be sufficient to accommodate the image you downloaded. At the same time, some files may still be stored on the drive; it is not necessary to delete them. All the same, during the recording process, all information will be irretrievably erased.

    Method 1: Use UltraISO

    There is a detailed description of this program on our website, so we will not describe how to use it. There is also a link where you can download it. To create a bootable USB flash drive using Ultra ISO, do the following:


    If any problems arise during recording, errors appear, most likely the problem is in a damaged image. But if you downloaded the program from the official website, no difficulties should arise.

    Method 2: Rufus

    Another very convenient program that allows you to very quickly create bootable media. To use it, follow these steps:

    It is worth saying that Rufus has other settings and recording options, but they can be left as they are originally. If you wish, you can check the box "Check for bad blocks" and indicate the number of passes. Thanks to this after recording installation flash drive will be checked for damaged parts. If any are detected, the system will automatically correct them.

    If you understand what MBR and GPT are, you can also indicate this feature of the future image under the inscription “Partition scheme and system interface type”. But doing all this is completely optional.

    Method 3: Windows USB/DVD Download Tool

    After Windows release 7 developers from Microsoft decided to create special remedy, which allows you to make a bootable USB flash drive with an image of this operating system. This is how a program called . Over time, management decided that this utility could well provide recording for other operating systems. Today, this utility allows you to record Windows 7, Vista and XP. Therefore, for those who want to make media with Linux or another system other than Windows, this tool is not suitable.

    To use it, follow these steps:


    Method 4: Windows Installation Media Creation Tool

    Microsoft specialists have also created a special tool that allows you to install on your computer or create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 7, 8 and 10. Windows Installation Media The Creation Tool is most convenient for those who decide to record an image of one of these systems. To use the program, do the following:


    In the same tool, but for Windows 10, this process will look slightly different. First, check the box next to the inscription "Create installation media for another computer". Click "Next".


    But then everything is exactly the same as in the Windows Installation Media Creation Tool for version 8.1. As for the seventh version, the process there is no different from that shown above for 8.1.

    Method 5: UNetbootin

    This tool is intended for those who need to create a bootable Linux flash drive from under Windows. To use it, do this:


    Method 6: Universal USB Installer

    Universal USB Installer allows you to write to drives Windows images, Linux and other OS. But it is best to use this tool for Ubuntu and other similar operating systems. To use this program, do the following:


    If the computer does not have a disk drive, then you have to use bootable flash drives to install the operating system. In this article we will talk about how to burn an ISO image to a flash drive using programs and Rufus.

    How to burn an ISO image to a USB flash drive using UltraISO

    UltraISO is equipped with many functions for working with ISO images. For example, using UltraISO you can create and edit disk images, burn and copy disks. Also among the functions of this program is writing ISO images to a flash drive. The only downside to UltraISO is that it doesn't cost money. But, you can.

    So, in order to burn an ISO image to a flash drive, you must first open the ISO image using the UltraISO program. To do this, click on the “Open” icon, which is located on the program toolbar.

    Or use the “File – Open” menu.

    After this, a small window will appear on the screen with which you can select an ISO image to burn to disk. Choose the one you need ISO file and click on the “Open” button.

    As a result, the contents of your ISO image should appear in the UltraISO program.

    Now this content can be written to a USB flash drive. To do this, simply open the “Boot” menu and select “Burn” image of Hard disk."

    This will open a window called “Write Disk Image”. Using this window you can write to a flash drive. To do this, just select the desired flash drive from the list and click on the “Burn” button.

    After this, the UltraISO program will begin writing the ISO image to the USB flash drive. All you have to do is wait until the recording process is completed.

    How to burn an ISO image to a USB flash drive using Rufus

    Second way ISO recording images on a flash drive, which we will look at in this article, are recorded through the Rufus program. Unlike UltraISO, this program is completely free and you can. Rufus is a program designed exclusively for creating bootable USB flash drives. Therefore, it has a minimum of functions and is very easy to understand.

    So, in order to burn an ISO image to a flash drive using Rufus, insert the flash drive into your computer and launch Rufus. The first thing you need to do after starting the program is to select the flash drive on which you want to burn the ISO image.

    If the ISO image you specified is an operating system image Windows systems, then a switch between “Standard” will appear on the screen Windows installation" and "Windows To Go". Here we select the option “ Standard installation Windows".

    That's it for the setup Rufus programs finished, click “Start” to start the process of writing the ISO image to the USB flash drive.

    As sad as it may be for many, the era of CD/DVDs is slowly but surely coming to an end... Today, users are increasingly thinking about having an emergency bootable USB flash drive in case they suddenly have to reinstall the system.

    And the point here is not only to pay tribute to fashion. The OS is installed faster from a flash drive than from a disk; such a flash drive can be used on a computer that does not have a CD/DVD drive (and USB is available on all modern computers), and you shouldn’t forget about ease of transfer either: a flash drive can easily fit into any pocket, unlike a disk.

    1. What is needed to create a bootable USB flash drive?

    1) The most important thing is a flash drive. For Windows 7, 8 OS, you will need a flash drive with a size of at least 4 GB, preferably 8 (some images may not fit into 4 GB).

    2) Image boot disk Windows, most often representing a file ISO format. If you have an installation disk, you can create such a file yourself. It is enough to use the program Clone CD, Alcohol 120%, UltraISO and others (see how to do this).

    3) One of the programs for writing an image to a flash drive (they will be discussed below).

    Important point! If your PC (netbook, laptop) has, in addition to USB 2.0, also USB 3.0, connect the USB flash drive during installation to USB port 2.0. This applies primarily to Windows 7 (and lower) operating systems, because... These OS do not support USB 3.0! The installation attempt will end with an OS error stating that it is impossible to read data from such media. By the way, they are quite easy to recognize, USB 3.0 is shown in blue, the connectors for it are the same color.

    usb 3.0 on laptop

    And one more thing... Make sure your Bios supports booting from USB media. If the PC is modern, then it should definitely have this function. For example, my old home computer, purchased back in 2003. can boot from USB. The way configure Bios to boot from a flash drive - .

    2. Utilities for burning a bootable ISO disk to a USB flash drive

    2.1 WinToFlash

    I would like to focus on this utility mainly because it allows you to burn bootable flash drives with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8. Probably the most universal! You can read about other functions and capabilities on the official website. Here I would like to look at how you can create a flash drive for installing the OS.

    After launching the utility, by default, the wizard starts (see screenshot below). To proceed to creating a bootable USB flash drive, click on green tick in the center.

    System migration process Windows files usually takes 5-10 minutes. At this time, it is better not to load your PC with unnecessary resource-intensive processes.

    If the recording was successful, the wizard will notify you about this. To start the installation, you need to insert the USB flash drive and restart the computer.

    One of best programs for working with ISO format images. It is possible to compress these images, create, unpack, etc. There are also functions for recording boot disks and flash drives (hard drives).

    This program was mentioned quite often on the site, so here I will give only a couple of links:

    2.3 USB/DVD Download Tool

    A lightweight utility that allows you to burn flash drives with Windows 7 and 8. The only negative, perhaps, is that when writing, it may give an error of 4 GB. The flash drive supposedly doesn't have enough space. Although there is enough space for other utilities, on the same flash drive, with the same image...

    By the way, the issue of recording a bootable USB flash drive in this utility for Windows 8 was considered.

    2.4 WinToBootic

    Website: http://www.wintobootic.com/

    A very simple utility that will help you quickly and worry-free create a bootable USB drive with Windows Vista/7/8/2008/2012. The program takes up very little space - less than 1 MB.

    When I first started it required installed Net Framework 3.5, not everyone has such a package, and downloading and installing it is not a quick task...

    But the process of creating bootable media is very fast and pleasant. First, insert the flash drive into the USB, then launch the utility. Now click on the green arrow and indicate the location of the image with installation disk Windows. The program can directly record from an ISO image.

    2.5 WinSetupFromUSB

    Simple and main free program. With it you can quickly create bootable media. By the way, what’s interesting is that a flash drive can accommodate not only Windows OS, but also Gparted, SisLinux, built-in virtual machine etc.

    To start creating a bootable USB flash drive, run the utility. By the way, please note that there is a special add-on for the x64 version!

    Once launched you only need to specify 2 things:

    1. First, indicate the flash drive on which the recording will be made. Usually, it is determined automatically. By the way, under the line with the flash drive there is a checkbox: “Auto Format” - it is recommended to check the box and not touch anything else.
    2. In the “Add USB dick” section, select the line with the required OS and check the box. Next, indicate the location on your hard drive where the image with this ISO OS is located.
    3. The last thing you do is click on the “GO” button.

    By the way! The program may behave as if it is frozen while recording. In fact, most often it works, just do not touch the PC for about 10 minutes. You can also pay attention to the lower part of the program window: messages about the recording process appear on the left and a green stripe is visible...

    3. Conclusion

    In this article we looked at several ways to create bootloaders. USB flash drives. A few tips when writing such flash drives:

    1. First of all, copy all the files from the media, in case you need something later. During recording, all information from the flash drive will be deleted!
    2. Do not load your computer with other processes during the recording process.
    3. Wait for success information message from the utilities with which you work with the flash drive.
    4. Disable antivirus software before creating bootable media.
    5. Don't edit installation files on the flash drive after recording it.

    That's all, everyone successful installation OS!

    Read more: