For Windows installations A boot disk or bootable USB flash drive is required. In this article, I will talk about the simplest and most reliable ways to create bootable media that works with any version of Windows (XP, 7, 8, 10).
If you are reinstalling Windows on an old computer, I recommend running. Prepare in advance.
If you purchased Windows on a DVD and your computer or laptop has a DVD drive, then you do not need this article, go to the next article “”.
2. Selecting boot media
If you have a Windows installation disk, but your computer or laptop does not have a DVD drive, then you will need a computer with a DVD drive to create a bootable USB flash drive from the installation disk. Go to the "" section.
Sandisk Cruzer
If you received Windows as an image file, you need to create a boot disk or flash drive. If your computer or laptop has a DVD drive, then it is easier and more reliable to use a DVD. Prepare 2-3 blank DVD-R 16x discs and proceed to the "" section.
If your computer or laptop does not have a DVD drive or you are too lazy to go to the store to buy discs, then take a flash drive with a capacity of 4 GB or more and go to the “” section.
3. Create a disk image
We use the Daemon Tools program to create an image file from the Windows installation disk, which will later be needed to create a bootable USB flash drive. You can download it at the end of the article in the “” section.
3.1. Installing Daemon Tools
3.2. Creating an image in Daemon Tools
Insert the Windows installation disc into your DVD drive and close the AutoPlay window if it appears. Find the “DAEMON Tools Lite” shortcut on your desktop or START menu and launch the program. Click on the floppy disk icon “Create a disk image.”
Make sure that the drive you inserted the Windows installation disc into is selected. Drive letter in Windows Explorer and in the program window must match.
Uncheck the “Add to Image Catalog” option and click on the button with three dots “…” to select a folder to save the image file. Please note that it can take up to 3.5 GB.
I recommend saving the image file on a separate disk partition (for example, “D”). In the “File name” column, enter, for example, “Windows_7” so that you can later understand what kind of file it is. I recommend not using Russian letters and spaces in the title. In the “File type” column, be sure to select “Standard ISO images (*.iso)” and click “Save”.
Check that everything is correct and click “Start”.
The image creation process takes only 3-5 minutes. At the end the message “Image creation completed” should appear. Click the “Close” button and exit the main program by clicking on the cross.
If an error message appears or the process is stuck in place, either the installation disc or the DVD drive is damaged. Try wiping the drive with a dry, soft cloth and try again, or use another computer.
4. Create a boot disk
We need the Astroburn program to burn an image file to a DVD. You can download it below in the “” section. If you plan to use a USB flash drive to install Windows, skip this section.
4.1. Installing Astroburn
Installing the program is quite simple. Run the installation file and click Next several times.
4.2. Burning a disc in Astroburn
Insert a blank disc into your DVD drive and close the AutoPlay window if it appears. Find the Astroburn Lite shortcut on your desktop or START menu and launch the program. Switch to the “Image” tab and click on the icon to the right of the “Path to image file” field.
Find where the Windows image file is located on your disk, select it with the left mouse button and click “Open”. For example, all my disk images are located on drive “D” in the “ISO” folder.
Double-check that you have selected the correct file and that the “Check” checkbox next to the DVD drive name is selected. This will ensure that the disc was recorded without errors and that the Windows installation process will not be interrupted unexpectedly. I also recommend setting the recording speed to 8.0x, this is optimal for DVD-R discs 16x. Click "Start Recording".
The process of burning a disc along with checking takes up to 10 minutes. When you finish recording, close the program. If an error message appears or the process is frozen, it means either you got a bad disk or the DVD drive is worn out.
Try recording again on a new disc, if it doesn’t work, then use another computer.
5. Creating a bootable USB flash drive
5.1. Methods for creating bootable flash drives
There are many ways and programs for creating bootable flash drives, from manually writing commands on the command line to using Linux boot loaders. The disadvantage of the command line is that it is difficult for beginners and prone to errors. The disadvantage of Linux bootloaders is that such flash drives do not boot on all computers.
There is also an official program from Microsoft for creating bootable flash drives “Windows USB/DVD Download Tool”. It is very easy to use and flash drives recorded with it can be loaded on most computers. But this program has a number of limitations. For example, to use it in Windows XP, you must additionally install several more cumbersome add-ons (.NET Framework 2.0 and Image Mastering API v2), and in order to create x32 in Windows 7 bootable USB flash drive To install Windows 7 x64, you need to copy an additional file to the program folder or tinker with the command line. There are other problems with the program.
So I decided to give you just one, but simple and reliable way creating bootable flash drives that are suitable for any operating systems and computers using the Rufus program.
5.2. Using Rufus
The Rufus program is designed to create bootable flash drives for installing various operating systems, including Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1, 10. It does not require installation and can be run on any operating system from Windows XP to Windows 10, regardless of bitness .
You can download this program in the "" section. Next you will need any computer with installed Windows and a flash drive with a capacity of 4 GB or more.
Transcend JetFlash 790 8Gb
Insert the flash drive into your computer and if there are valuable files on it, copy them to hard drive. Immediately after creating a bootable USB flash drive or when you have finished installing Windows, you can return them back.
It is not necessary to clean and format the flash drive, just run the Rufus program and make sure that the flash drive is selected in the “Device” field.
Find where the Windows image file is located on your disk, select it with the left mouse button and click “Open”. For example, my previously created image is located on drive “D”.
Now you need to select the type of boot partition (MBR or GPT) and computer motherboard firmware (BIOS or UEFI) on which Windows will be installed. It's not as difficult as it sounds
MBR is a simpler and more reliable type of boot partition, but does not support hard drives larger than 2 TB. If you don't have a 3TB or larger drive, I recommend using this type of partition to avoid some possible problems in the future.
GPT is a more advanced type of boot partition that supports very large disks. If you have a hard drive with a capacity of 3 TB or more, then use this type of partition, otherwise the computer will only see about 2.3 TB. In other cases, I do not recommend GPT markup, as there are various problems with it.
The motherboard firmware can be BIOS or UEFI. This can be found in the manual or on the website of the motherboard or laptop manufacturer, as well as visually when entering the Setup boot program. To do this, you need to hold down the “Delete”, “F2”, “F10” or “Esc” button immediately after turning on the computer. You can read which button to press in the messages that appear immediately after turning on the computer.
In text form.
In graphical form.
If the Setup program looks like the picture below, then this is a classic BIOS.
If it’s like in the next picture, then it’s UEFI.
So, if you have a classic BIOS, then select “MBR for computers with BIOS or UEFI” in the “Partition scheme and system interface type” field. This is the most universal option and the flash drive can be used for installation on different computers, both with BIOS and UEFI.
If you have determined for sure that you have UEFI and the disk size does not exceed 2 TB, then select “MBR for computers with a UEFI interface.” If you have UEFI and a disk of 3 TB or more, then select “GPT for computers with a UEFI interface.”
Next you need to select “File system”. If in the previous step you selected “MBR for computers with BIOS or UEFI,” then select NTFS. If the second or third item is with UEFI, then select FAT32, since UEFI does not work with NTFS.
We leave the cluster size at default, and in the “Volume Label” field you can write, for example, “Windows7 x32” (or x64) so that you can later determine what’s on this flash drive.
Double-check all settings and the correct image selection. The selected disk image is displayed at the very bottom of the program. Instead of the name of the flash drive, it may be written “CD_ROM”; the drive letter must match the flash drive.
Click on the “Start” button and confirm the destruction of your flash drive along with your computer
Wait for the recording to finish, this can take from 3 to 20 minutes depending on the size of the image and the speed of the flash drive and should end with the green bar completely filling and the word “Ready” at the bottom of the program.
After this, you can add any files to the bootable flash drive and use it like a regular flash drive. If it is working properly, this will not affect its operation as an installation disk. But perform a safe removal of the flash drive using the system tray icon.
5.3. Possible problems and solutions
Problems can arise due to a bad flash drive, a bad USB extension cable, a damaged or incompletely downloaded image file from the Internet, or the computer itself on which the recording takes place.
Possible solutions:
- formatting and checking the flash drive for bad blocks
(there is a checkmark in the Rufus program) - inserting a flash drive into the rear USB port of the computer
- Windows image checksum verification
(for example, the Hash Calculator program) - burning a flash drive on another computer
- replacing a flash drive with another one
As for checking the checksum of an image, usually the site where you download the image has its checksum (or hash). The checksum also needs to be calculated for the downloaded file using a special Hash Calculator program, which you can download below in the “” section. If the calculated checksum matches the one indicated on the website, then the file was downloaded without damage. If the hashes do not match, then the file is damaged and must be downloaded again. Otherwise, errors may occur during the disc burning or Windows installation process.
6. Links
That's all, in the next article we will talk about booting from an installation disk or flash drive.
Sandisk Cruzer
Transcend JetFlash 790 8Gb
Sandisk Cruzer
Installing Windows is an inevitable occurrence for every personal computer. Most Popular operating system from Microsoft is Windows 7. This version has a simple interface and support for almost all devices and programs.
As a rule, Windows is installed either from a DVD or from a flash drive. The Flash drive allows installation on computers that do not have a DVD drive. But if the user formats the flash drive sooner or later, the DVD will most likely always be stored, allowing you to reinstall the operating system at any time.
What is a boot disk
Boot disk is a medium containing boot files for the operating system. Simply put, this is a disk or USB drive with a Windows installer. A boot disk allows you to install an OS without having an operating system on the hard drive itself. That is, even in the most critical situations, you can reinstall your Windows.
What you need to create a bootable disk
To create a boot disk you will need:
- Windows image. For ease of recording, it is recommended to download operating room images in ISO format. At the moment, there are a huge number of different builds of Windows 7. It is strongly recommended to download images that are as close as possible to a licensed copy of Windows. This option provides the highest stability of the operating system. You can download a Windows image from numerous torrent trackers.
- DVD disc. Both DVD-R and DVD-RW can be used.
- program for recording an image. At the moment, there are many different programs that provide the ability to record Windows images 7 on disks, as well as flash drives. The programs include applications both provided directly by Microsoft and from third-party developers.
Disc recording methods
The methods for writing boot images to disk differ only in the program that is used. The principle of operation in most programs remains the same: the program writes files, creating a boot file that will allow you to start installing Windows even without an operating system on the computer.
Video: How to make a Windows 7 installation boot disk
Burning an ISO image to a DVD disc
You can use many programs to burn a boot disk; we will look at just a few of them. How to create a bootable Windows 7 disk using Nero? How to correctly create an ISO image in Nero?
To burn a disc, you must perform the following operations:
How to create a bootable disk using Ultraiso for windows 7?
To create a bootable Windows 7 disk using the UltraISO program, you must perform the following steps:
Creating a disc by copying
In addition to writing operating system installation files to disk, the user also has the ability to create backup copies of the current operating system with the possibility of further restoration. It is recommended to perform a backup immediately after installing Windows and all drivers. There are many programs for creating backups, one of the most popular is Acronis.
How to create a bootable Windows 7 disk using Acronis?
Acronis can create backup copies of your current operating system for later recovery. In order to restore a backup, you must also create an Acronis boot disk that will boot without the Windows operating system if your system stops booting. You can save a backup copy of your system either on your hard drive or on a flash drive.
Creating an Acronis boot disk
Creating a Backup
To create a backup copy of your disk from the current operating system for further recovery, you must run next steps:
Restoring Windows from a backup
Restoring from a previously created backup copy of your disk from the operating system can be performed in two ways: from the Windows environment or from the bootable media that you created in the previous paragraph. Recovery from bootable media is performed if your operating system does not boot.
To restore a copy of a hard drive partition from a computer (from Windows), do the following:
- open Acronis True Image program;
- select the “My backups” section;
- click on the “Restore” button next to your copy;
- in the next window, select what you are going to restore;
- To start execution, click “Restore Now”. After the reboot, the recovery process will begin.
To restore a copy of a hard disk partition from bootable media, you must do the following:
How to Create a Windows 7 Boot Disk Using Daemon Tools
To create a bootable disk using Daemon Tools, you must do the following:
Create an installation disk using alternative programs
In addition to the proposed programs, there is also an official application for recording Windows 7 installation files from Microsoft - Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool.
DTo create a boot disk using this program you must:
At the moment, there are many different programs that allow you to create a bootable disk or bootable USB flash drive for Windows 7. Using these instructions, you can create several various options Bootable media with operating system installation files.
Most important point is the choice of the operating system image itself. We strongly recommend that you do not download various assemblies that include a set of programs. Copies of Windows that are as close as possible to the licensed version will provide the most high level stability during operation.
After all these manipulations, we find our Windows iso image and open it using Explorer and copy all the files to the flash drive. Thus, the process of creating an installation disk (flash drive) is completed.
Creating an installation flash drive using Ultraiso
Next, we will consider the process of creating an installation flash drive using the UltraIso program. To do this, insert the flash drive into the appropriate USB connector of the computer, after which we find our Windows iso image and open it using the Ultraiso program. Next, in the program interface you need to perform the following steps:
, further Burn a hard disk image.Creating a boot disk
We make a bootable (installation) Windows disk using the Ultraiso program:
- Insert the disc and open the Windows iso image in the Ultraiso program.
- Click Tools.
- Next, click the button Burn CD image.
- We also hope that we have one drive and that it is correctly identified, then click Write down.
- Click the red cross when all this is over and close the program. Next, we use the created Windows installation disk.
This is how a Windows installation disk is created, with which you can install an operating system from Microsoft on your computer.
A bootable DVD or CD may be required to install Windows or Linux, scan your computer for viruses, remove a banner from the desktop, perform a system restore - in general, for a variety of purposes. Creating such a disk in most cases is not particularly difficult, however, it may raise questions for a novice user.
In this instruction, we will try to explain in detail and step by step exactly how you can burn a bootable disk in Windows 8, 7 or Windows XP, what exactly is required for this and what tools and programs can be used.
What you need to create a bootable disk
As a rule, the only one necessary thing- This is a boot disk image and in most cases, it is a file with an .iso extension that you downloaded from the Internet.
This is what the boot disk image looks like
Almost always, when downloading Windows, a recovery disk, LiveCD or any Rescue Disk with an antivirus, you get exactly the bootable image ISO disk and all that needs to be done to get the desired media is to burn this image to disk.
How to burn a bootable disc in Windows 8 (8.1) and Windows 7
Burn boot disk from image to latest versions Windows operating system is possible without the help of any additional programs(however, this may not be the most the best way, which will be discussed below). Here's how to do it:
The main advantage of this method is that it is simple and straightforward, and does not require installation of programs. Main disadvantage- is that there are no different recording options. The fact is that when creating a boot disk, it is recommended to set the minimum writing speed (and when using the described method, it will be written at the maximum) in order to ensure reliable reading of the disk on most DVD drives without downloading additional drivers. This is especially important if you intend to install an operating system from this disk.
The next method, using special programs for burning discs, is optimal for creating bootable discs and is suitable not only for Windows 8 and 7, but also for XP.
Burn a bootable disc using the free ImgBurn program
There are many programs for burning discs, among which Nero (which, by the way, is paid) seems to be the most famous. However, we will start with the completely free and at the same time excellent program ImgBurn.
You can download the ImgBurn disc burning program from the official website http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download (please note that for downloading you should use links like Mirror -Provided by, rather than the big green Download button). You can also download the Russian language for ImgBurn on the site.
Install the program, and during installation, refuse two additional programs that will try to install (you will need to be careful and uncheck the boxes).
After launching ImgBurn, you will see a simple main window in which we are interested in the Write image file to disk item.
After selecting this item, in the Source field you should specify the path to the boot disk image, in the Destination field select the device to record, and on the right indicate the recording speed and, best of all, select the lowest possible.
Then click the button to start recording and wait until the process finishes.
How to make a bootable disk using UltraISO
One more popular program to create bootable drives - UltraISO and creating a bootable disk in this program is very simple.
Launch UltraISO, select “File” - “Open” from the menu and specify the path to the disk image. After that, click the button with the image of a burning disk “Burn CD DVD Image” (burn a disk image).
Select the recording device, Write Speed, and Write Method - best left as default. After that, click the Burn button, wait a little and the boot disk is ready!
How to make a bootable flash drive, watch the video.
Hello! This is the first article on this blog and I decided to devote it to installing the operating system (hereinafter simply OS) Windows 7. The era of the seemingly unsinkable Windows XP OS is coming to an end (despite the fact that about 50% of users still use this OS), which means it comes new era- Windows 7 era.
And in this article I would like to dwell on the most important, in my opinion, points when installing and first configuring this OS on a computer.
And so... let's get started.
1. What should I do before installation?
Installing Windows 7 starts with the most important thing - hard checks disk for the presence of important and necessary files. You need to copy them to a flash drive or external hard drive before installation. By the way, perhaps this applies to any OS in general, not just Windows 7.
1) First, check your computer for compliance system requirements this OS. Sometimes I see a strange picture when they want to old computer install new version OS, and they ask why there are errors and the system behaves unstable.
By the way, the requirements are not so high: 1 GHz processor, 1-2 GB RAM, and about 20 GB of hard drive space. More details - .
Any new computer on sale today meets these requirements.
2) Copy* all important information : documents, music, pictures on another medium. For example, you can use DVDs, flash drives, services (and similar ones), etc. By the way, today you can find on sale with a capacity of 1-2 TB. Why not an option? The price is more than affordable.
* By the way, if your hard drive is divided into several partitions, then the partition on which you will not install the OS will not be formatted and you can safely save all the files from the system drive on it.
3) And one last thing. Some users forget that many can be copied programs with their settings so that they can later work in the new OS. For example, after reinstalling the OS, many people lose all their torrents, sometimes hundreds of them!
To avoid this, use these tips. By the way, you can save the settings of many programs in this way (for example, when reinstalling, I additionally save Firefox browser, and I don’t have to configure plugins and bookmarks).
2. Where to get the installation disk
The first thing we need to get is, of course, a boot disk with this operating system. There are several ways to obtain it.
1) Purchase. You get a licensed copy, all kinds of updates, a minimum number of errors, etc.
2) Often such a disk comes with your computer or laptop. True, Windows, as a rule, presents a stripped-down version, but for the average user its functions will be more than enough.
3) You can also make the disk yourself.
To do this you need to buy a clean DVD-R disc or DVD-RW.
2.1. Burning a boot image to a Windows 7 disk
First you need to have such an image. The easiest way to do it is from a real disk (or download it online). In any case, we will assume that you already have it.
1) Launch the Alcohol 120% program (in general, this is not a panacea; there are a huge number of programs for recording images).
2) Select the option “burn CD/DVD from images”.
3) Specify the location of your image.
5) Click “start” and wait for the process to complete.
In general, in the end, the main thing is that when you insert the resulting disc into the CD-Rom, the system starts to boot.
Important! Sometimes, the CD-Rom boot feature is disabled in the BIOS. Next we will look in more detail at how to enable booting into Bios from a boot disk (sorry for the tautology).
3. Setting up Bios to boot from CD-Rom
Each computer has its own type of bios installed, and it is unrealistic to consider each of them! But in almost all versions, the basic options are very similar. Therefore, the main thing is to understand the principle!
When the computer boots immediately press the Delete or F2 key (By the way, the button may differ, it depends on your BIOS version. But, as a rule, you can always recognize it if you pay attention to the boot menu, which appears in front of you for a few seconds when you turn on the computer).
And yet, it is advisable to press the button not just once, but several times until you see the Bios window. It should be in blue tones, sometimes green ones predominate.
If your BIOS does not look at all like what you see in the picture below, I recommend reading the article about, as well as the article about.
Control here will be carried out using arrows and the Enter key.
You need to go to the Boot section and select Boot Device Priority (this is the boot priority).
Those. This means where to start booting the computer: for example, start booting from the hard drive right away, or check the CD-Rom first.
So you will add a point in which the first thing will be to check the CD for the presence of a boot disk in it, and only then move on to the HDD (hard drive).
After changing the Bios settings, be sure to exit it, saving the entered options (F10 - save and exit).
Please note. In the screenshot above, the first thing to do is boot from a floppy (nowadays floppy disks are becoming less and less common). Next it is checked for bootable CD-Rom, and the third thing is loading data from the hard drive.
By the way, in everyday work, it is best to disable all downloads except the hard drive. This will allow your computer to run a little faster.
4. Installing Windows 7 - the process itself...
If you have ever installed Windows XP, or any other OS, then you can easily install 7. Here, almost everything is the same.
Insert the boot disk (we already recorded it a little earlier...) into the CD-Rom tray and restart the computer (laptop). After a while you will see (if you have configured the BIOS correctly) a black screen with the words... See the screenshot below.
Calmly wait until all the files are downloaded and you are prompted to enter installation parameters. Next, you should see the same window as in the picture below.
I think there is no point in including a screenshot with the OS installation agreement and acceptance of the agreement. In general, you proceed calmly to the step of marking the disk, reading everything along the way and agreeing...
You need to be careful in this step, especially if you have information on your hard drive (if it’s a new drive, you can do whatever you want with it).
You need to choose hard drive partition, where Windows 7 will be installed.
If there is nothing on your disk, it is advisable to divide it into two parts: one will contain the system, the second will contain data (music, films, etc.). It is best to allocate at least 30 GB for the system. However, here you decide for yourself...
If you have information on the disk- act extremely carefully (preferably, before installation, copy important information to other disks, flash drives, etc.). Deleting a partition may make it impossible to recover data!
In any case, if you have two partitions (usually system drive C and local drive D), then you can install new system to system drive C, where you previously had another OS.
After selecting the partition for installation, a menu will appear in front of you, which will show the installation status. Here you need to wait without touching or pressing anything.
On average, installation takes from 10-15 minutes to 30-40. After this time, the computer (laptop) may be rebooted several times.
Then, several windows will appear in front of you in which you will need to set the computer name, indicate the time and time zone, and enter the key. You can simply skip some windows and configure everything later.
Selecting a network in Windows 7
Completing the installation of Windows 7. Start menu
This completes the installation. All you have to do is install missing programs, set up applications and engage in your favorite games or work.
5. What do you need to install and configure after installing Windows?
Nothing... 😛
For most users, everything works right away, and they don’t even think that they need to additionally download, install, etc. There, I personally think that at least 2 things need to be done:
2) Create a flash drive.
3) Install drivers on the video card. Many people then, when they don’t do this, wonder why they start games or why some don’t start at all...
Interesting! In addition, I recommend that you read the article about after installing the OS.
PS
This completes the article about installing and configuring the seven. I tried to present the information in the most accessible way for readers with different levels computer ownership.
Most often, installation problems are of the following nature:
Many people are afraid of Bios like fire, although in fact, in most cases, everything is simply configured there;
Many people burn the disc from the image incorrectly, so the installation simply does not start.
If you have any questions or comments, I will answer... I always take criticism well.
Good luck everyone! Alex...
