flash-boot.txt		22-May-2010	frj

This is how you make a bootable flash drive to use to install Windows 7.

1. Plug your flash drive in to a USB port (must be a 4 or 8 GB drive).
2. Put your Windows 7 Install DVD in your cd/dvd drive.
3. Boot your system from the DVD.
4. At the first Windows color screen press shift+F10.
5. At the dos prompt type DISKPART.
6. At the diskpart prompt type:

   list disk		/this will return a list of numbered drives
			/... one will be the flash drive
   sel disk #		/use the number of the flash drive
   clean		/remove all partitions and their contents
   create part prim	/create a primary partition
   sel part 1		/select the partition that you just created
   active		/make partition active (bootable)
   format quick fs=ntfs label=flash-boot	/format and label
   assign		/assign a letter to this partition
   list vol		/a list of volumes and letters will be returned
   exit			/leave this application and return to dos prompt

7. Type xcopy dvd:\*.* /s/e/x f-d:	where dvd: = dvd drive letter 
					and f-d: = flash drive letter

It does take a while to copy all of the DVD to the 4 GB flash drive ... be paitent.

Now make one last change:

f-d:
cd\sources
rename ei.cfg *.old

7a. If you want the flash to be able to install Windows 7 64 bit create a directory called win7-64
    then copy the 64 bit install DVD using the steps in 7 above to this new directory then do a 
    rename f-d:\win7-64\sources\ei.cfg *.old

8. Type exit to return to windows.

9. Reboot your system this time booting to the newly created flash drive.
10. Press shift+F10 at the first color screen
11. Use diskpart to locate the flash drive then type:

    f-d:
    cd\sources
    setup

14. And finish the install from windows selecting which hard drive or which 
    Solid State Drive you wish to use.
15. You may format the the partition before installing to force a clean install.