You might have installed Vista, Windows 7 from a USB drive. But how to install Windows XP from USB drive? It is not that easy as you did for the later version of Windows. To make the process succesful, we need to go for some advanced setup phases as the Windows XP does not have the feature of booting from a USB drive or any removable drive.
But you can still install Windows XP from your removable drive by following this complete how-to guide. Installing any operating system from a removable drive is always useful and becomes lifesaving if your CD/DVD-ROM is not working properly. (Tip: Fix USB problems)
Update: Create multiboot USB drive for Windows 7 & XP.
When you insert the bootable disk in your CD/DVD-ROM, the machine detects it and prompts for “Press any key to boot from cd” if it is bootable. By then, you can format your hard disk, make the partitions and then you can install the OS like XP,Vista and Windows 7 in your system.
The same thing does not happen with you if you just copy the content of a bootable XP CD into your USB drive. You need to make your USB flash drive for the booting process. Here, in this article “How to Install Windows XP From USB Flash Drive”, I’ve discussed the procedure step-by-step.
How to install Windows XP from USB drive
1. Firstly, download the software Win to Flash which does not need any installation. Just double-click the setup file and the following screen appears.
2. Head to the ‘Task’ tab and choose your task as following screenshots.
3. Select the source path of the windows installation disk or copy that is dumped at your hard drive as well as the path of your USB flash drive.
4. Click the ‘Next’ button and wait until the bootable copy is prepared into your USB Flash drive.
Once completed, you can start installing Windows XP. It is a pretty easy method to install Windows XP from a USB drive.
Hope it helps you to setup Windows XP at your computer from the USB drive, especially in those computer which do not have a CD or DVD drive. Thanks to Cahya.
I’d did my Pen Drive(1GB) bootable with win To flash. Everything seems cool until selection of hard drive which is to be format(local disk:C). It shows my pen drive instead of my hard disk partitions. This program Ran good But still not yet format my PC. Is it happening cuz my current OS is vista or no matter with it. Please help
Also one error \system32\Hal.dll
is missing or corrupt please re-install it….what it means…I downloaded hal.dll file n paste it in directory but not worked. wht shud i do…
Also one error \system32\Hal.dll
is missing or corrupt please re-install it….what it means…I downloaded hal.dll file n paste it in directory but not worked. wht shud i do…..
Pankhs we appreciate that you tried this process. But you might not note that we have recommended a second option which is more reliable and advanced. Please do follow the second method. Here is the link techtipsgeek.com/install-windows-xp-from-usb-flash-drive-part-ii/1286/
after installation of window we can convert pan drive(boot-able) to normal drive(storage device).can u tell me if we make a pan drive boot-able it is harmful or not for it.
@Bhupender: To get the pen drive in normal state you have to format it again. Normally that is not harmful for your pen drive. But too much formatting of any disk drive may reduce the life time of that.
While using win to flash for making windows xp usb bootable , when the transferring of of files reaches about half, i’m always getting a blue screen error..
May i know why i am facing such problem..
Pls explain, what should I do?
Explain clearly on my id.
Pls
May be the win to flash software is not working properly. Thanks for trying it. If you read this article then you might watch that I have preferred the second method which is more reliable and fully working. Please try the second method techtipsgeek.com/install-windows-xp-from-usb-flash-drive-part-ii/1286/
Thanks But all my tries are in vain…….
I am trying to make bootable USB of XP SP3 with Sandisk Cruzer Micro Pen Drive but unable to boot..
I have two options at my BIOS setup “USB ZIP” and “USB FDD” .which should I make First Boot Device???
There is no such option like USB HDD..
I choose USB ZIP. Am i right?
But at last unable to boot… I have tried both the methods… Even after completely formatting my PC..
Pls Help…
Thanks…….
Rahul: It seems that you did not setup the bios option. Press F10 when your computer starts to boot. It will take you in the bios window. Find for system configuration or some thing like that then find Boot Options. Now click on it. Set the USB drive as the first option to boot from. You can take a reference from this image: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11789882/Image0132.jpg . Now save the settings. You will be guided to save the bios settings. Complete the steps carefully. Now I recommend to follow this procedure to make your usb drive bootable: techtipsgeek.com/windows-xp-bootable-usb-drive/1286/. Let me know if those solve your problem.
Note: Here I have gave you some links. Simply copy the link in your browser address bar to open.
There is an error message that hal.dll missing, I have tried different copies of XP CDs but the same error reoccurs. how do I solve it
This software is crap. Tried it three times. All three times it locked up my XP machine and changed the partition of the flash drive to RAW. Then I had to trick a Windows 7 box to re-format the RAW drive, AFTER it loaded 25 mins later all three times. Crap, don’t use it.
Format 2 flash drives fat32. Make 1 flash drive bootable using win98se.iso or .img found on net.
Copy i386 directory on 2nd flash drive.
A: will be first flash, e: will be second
Copy smartdrive.exe found on win98se oem cd tools\oldmsdos or on net to flash drive containing i386 directory.
Boot machine with both flash drives. May get error “Non System Disk” while bios looks for bootable hdd. OK
Fdisk, Format and install from i386 directory on second flash drive using “winnt”. (load smartdrv.exe first)
Recommend good high speed flash drives on newer systems to avoid timeout errors during install or copy i386 directory to formatted hdd.
dear Tanmay,
I tried both methods but failed. I have a netbook with win 7 which I am trying to downgrade to xp. when I tried part I:in gui mode system32Hal.dll, in text mode :drive c is corrupt.
when I tried part II: after typing cd c:softslasbootsect(all with proper backslash etc.) and entering it in the command window the reply was “not an internal or external command”.
what is wrong? plz help
Please read through the article understand the mechanism.Are you downloading the file from the download link? Did you extracted the file in the folder softslas(if not then create a folder with that name and extract the downloaded file there). Check if there exists any folder named bootsect. if there exists that folder then run the following commands properly one by one:
cd c:
cd softslas
cd bootsect
I got a command like
“NTDLR is missing
Press any key to restart”
Even if i restart the same appears plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me its very urgent
Veerappan: This means your pen drive has not been prepared properly. I would like to recommend you the second process that I also recommended in this article.
I tried the second method but this is wat i got Tanmay
hi tanmay,
this is wat i got while installing wat shall i do now
“Setup cannot access the cd containing the win xp installation files
To retry ,press Enter .If you are not successful after several times,quit setup.Then to restart setup,copy the windows xp installation files from the hard disk”
Plzzzzzzzzzz help me wat shall i do now its urgent
hi tanmay
I tried the second process but its saying tat hal.dll is missing wt shal i do plz help me
@hal.dll error, maybe you overlooked step 2 in the windows installation, the gui-based section. you need to access the flash device one more time to initiate the process.
i have also tried this first one but as the others have said, hal.dll is corrupt or something… i have yet to try the second method which you recommended.. only that when i tried to run the usb_prep8.cmd in my windows7 environment, it wont run and returns a message, unaccesible at this time. but when i tried it on an XP environment, it ran. i will be posting my results as soon as i finish through the second method… thanks for this post.
Tanmay sir, i tried both win to flash and multi boot both are not working.i am having HCL notebook and its window xp are corrupted and i m not having option of cd-r0m drive in that i want to format my HCL notebook and have fresh partition and fresh copy of windows with the help of usb pendrive so can u help me for this.i will be thankful if u do so.
i have tried the multiboot for XP and 7, but i only put XP in my USB Flash disk.. it works great! and its very easy to prepare and still works whatever OS you use in making the USB Installer…. very good! i give it a rating of 98%!!
TANMAY SIR HCL NOTEBOOK THANX FOR UR SUGGESTION BUT IT NOT WORKING PLS HELP ME AFTER THIS
Now open the windows Command prompt typing cmd in Start->Run
Now in Command Prompt window type
cd c:\softslas\bootsect and press “Enter”.
Now type the command
bootsect /nt52 I: and press “Enter”
THEN
Then again type “cd..” and press “Enter” and cd usb_prep8 and press “Enter”.
THEN AFTER THIS I M NOT GETTING
THAT SAME WHICH U SHOWN IN UR SCREEN. I GET NTLDR IS NOT COMPITABLE.PLEASE HELP ME FOR THIS PLS
hi i have an asus eee pc 900 with windows xp.
when i open it it shows the screen about corrupted or missing hal.dll file on system32\hal.dll suggesting to re=install a new copy.
my pc hasnt got a cd rom drive so only iam able to install hal.dll via usb stick.
how should i do that? i put the option to boot from usb but still get the same error message? how is it possible that i install hal.dll only from usb stick?
thanks in advance
you can simply make a bootable usb installer for windows xp using the multiboot.. here’s the link:
techtipsgeek.com/create-multiboot-usb-drive-install-windows-7-xp-from-same-usb-drive/13085/
works on any windows environment! fast and easy.
i have tried the multiboot for XP and 7, but i only put XP in my USB Flash disk.. it works great! thanks a lot for the application
Hi Tanmay,
I would like to know that i don’t have a windows xp cd, can i use copy already installed windows from another computer to make my pen drive bootable. like windows is installed in C:/windows drive, Can i give the path in winToFlash software and copy to pen drive.
Thanks in advance.
Nik
Hi,Tanmay!I m getting a problem still now!i get success in transferring files to usb vial wintoflash but when i restarst the computer and boot it with text mode,it successfully loads all the essential driver but after that,when formatting of c drive comes,it shows error that the “W: drive is either missing or corrupted,press f3 2 quit”.Plz help me as fast as a tsunami tide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
Dear Mr. Tanmay,
I m getting a problem that by using wintoflash when I restart the computer and boot it in text mode, it successfully loads all drivers and it starts to check Drive C and then Drive D though there is no any Drive D. And then it is showing that Drive D is corrupted. And giving instruction to press F3 to quit. What should I do, please suggest me.
It says “incorect source of windows files” What should i do. Is there another program to instal windows xp or windows 7 from usb drive?
I want to format windows xp service pack3.
I copy the instalation file in G drive.
But when I select source path from select option it show a message “in correct source path”.
Pleace tell me how can I select the source path.
I am Vijay Shai. I am IT student actually i need this information that how can i copy window XP or 7 from Compact Disk to pendrive.
Actually i want to copy window from CD to Pendrive . Because i have nettbook which has no cdrom writter. please give information about it. I shall be very gratitude of u.
regard
Vijays shai
hal.dll problem
In my case this was caused because I had a diagnostic partition as partition 1, if you delete ALL partitions before creating your windows partition you should not get this message.
John
@ All guys
put win xp cd in cd room, open it & copy all files to some folder in ur hard drive – while creating bootable windows usb, select the windows folder which u’ve copied & i bet it will not miss any file ;)
cheers
Do u know how to add software to windows xp. i mean whenever we install this windows, some software should install automatically.
like in our office we use mozila, Skype, Ms Office 2003 etc, i want these software to be included in windows
I WANT TO INSTALL WINDOWS XP BY A USB PENDRIVE. HOW CAN I DO THIS?
HOW TO MAKE THE USB PENDRIVE AS A BOOTABLE DISK.
hey khalid u shuld (xn resourceeditor software) u can anything edditing and intall software in that software and one more another different good software for u (install maker software)that software is only for all auto install.
i created usb xp bootable..when i boot from my usb then do not any respones…
in the third step of win to flash which type of source path is needed
the path of cd rom which contain window xp cd
or
the path of c drive contain install window of computer
reply plz?
of course i will install O.S. on it! how do i do that? when booting the computer you will notice that theres a messsage that says press enter to delete on the lower part of the screen and some pc press f2 just press it, after that youll be directed to bios system of the computer, just look for the boot sequence, if in default it boots to hard drive just make it boot to cd rom if youll going to install the o.s. via cd, but if in usb just follow the procedure in this section.
hi miro, i think youve selected a wrong source, when putting the cd on the cd rom just verify the drive of your cd rom, if its drive D or E,if your cdrom is drive d just select drive d after that the usb will able to copy your cd xp to usb thumb drive, and how would you verify what drive is your cdrom? just click my computer, and look for the icon that represent you cd or dvd rom, theres a single letter on there, like c,d or sometimes E, it depends on how many partitions youve done on your harddrive.
you’ve got to have a current operating system before you can do this,just in case your O.S. courupts in the near future, you dont have to worry becoz you have a bootable usb to reinstall your O.S. again
I MADE A BOOTABLE USB FLASH FOR XP AFTER TRANSFFERING ALL THE FILES AND CLICKING FINISH IT DOESNOT BOOT PLEASE HELP I AM USING CORE2 DUO LAPTOP WITH USB BOOT PRIORITY IN BIOS
after you’ve created your bootable usb thumbdrive, all you have to do is to plug that into the usb port of computer, as you boot your computer, you’ll going to see on the lower part of your screen press delete to enter, just press the delete button on your keyboard, after that you’ll be directed to the bios of your computer, bios stands for basic input and output system. just look for boot sequence, when you see that, it boots from hard drive, configure it by pressing up and down arrow keys in your keyboard until it becomes usb, and then save the settings that you’ve made by pressing i think F10, after that your computer will going to restart, it will going to read, just follow the instruction from your screen.
after you created that bootable usb, ofcourse you have to plug it in the usb port of your computer, and then boot your computer some computer will read press delete to enter, just press delete in your keyboard youll be directed to bios of your pc, bios stands for basic input and output system, just look for the boot sequence there, and then you will goin to notice that it boots from your hard disk, change it to boot to usb because you are goin to install the win xp using usb, after save the changes you have made as the computer boots up again just foolow the instruction on the screen, hope that this will help you dude
Respected . . . All . . . Ser im purchese wespro n720 mini laptop so product not a boot so wt to do me . . . Pz give me cd boot key i want install os
This stuff works for my Laptop But the pain area is my Desktop… My Desktop is crashed and I’m out of options….
It just doesn’t boot from USB (I’ve change my BIOS options) when connected to desktop.
I tested the same USB drive with my laptop and it worked like magic…
any guesses what could be the problem??
I transfer the windows xp files into USB flash Drive 4GB with the help of winToflash
software. After that when i restart my computer and going to run the windows xp setup from the USB (check the BIOS boot setting) its just stuck on the blank black screen not run the setup.
please can any body help me please I purchased fresh USB for only this purpose.
So hope you understand ….
Thank You!!!
Sorry for my bad e English once again!!
i also try to install windows xp sp2.but i do not successful.
first i will complete copping windows by win to flash.then i complete BIOS setting.but windows can’t install.i sow message::windows can not installed hall.dll/noksail messing or corrupted.so now what can i do?plz give me a simple succession to remove this problem in very soon.thank you.
dear when iam installing windows xp from usb to have that
process boot starts after that windows insaliing windows there appears a screen blue screen that any newly hardware you attached plz romove then restart and if u seen this first time then restart ur pc if it again appear then unplug newly hardware plz do something for me iam hardly thanx full to them……
this is good i am trying this
Good Day Sir
I don’t know what’s wrong with my desktop,the electricity went off while I was busy working on it and after that windows xp pro don’t want to start without the reboot disk.The problem is it’s not my disk I borrowed it from a friend so it I can’t repair windows
Please Help
Regards
Michelle
@MICHELLE: May be the sudden power off made some damages with the XP files. Some files are corrupted or missing. YOu must have to repair your OS with XP bootable disk.
THANK YOU FOR THE TIPS… IT WORKED FOR ME.
WHAT I DID TO MAKE IT SIMPLE.
1. I INSERTED USB STICK AND BEGAN TO INSTALL THIS WINTOFLASH ON USB WITH THE OPERATING SYSTEM IS ON THE HARD DISK.
2. RESTART THE PC, GO TO BIOS AND SELECT USB STICK TO BE THE FIRST TO BOOT. RESTART
3. THAT’S ALL.
@Anshul: You can’t XP if your computer have already installed with Windows 7. But yuo can use both on same computer by installing Windows XP first then Windows 7.
Ok, i’ve seen many tutorials how to boot from usb ….. but a big question is how to run windows xp from USB… I’ve tryed to install it normaly like i would on a HDD but I get a Blue Screen error just before first bootscreen logo appears .. I’ve tried diferent methods, bios configurations….but no good result. Can you make a tutorial for this question ?
dear sir,
i have problem for formating their p4 computer form wintoflash usb pen drive i have successfully transfer win xp setup in usb with the help wintoflash
pl. tell me p4 or duel core bios setting
regards
No matter what I try, I cannot get this program to make anything detectable by any pc with any version of windows… and yes i tried every method provided and all software was originally functioning, bootable disks.
hi tanmay, i tried
‘How to install Windows XP from USB flash drive Part-I
‘ method. but after preparing usb its not working. I have HCL notebook and operating system is win xp sp3. when i try to boot from usb it does not work. i made 1st boot as usb.
Pls.help
How to install Windows XP from USB flash drive Part but not working please help ( windows 7 Install Form Usb flash driver is working But windows xp is not working Please help
my all drives are formated exect c drive usin this softw..it asked me to format pen drive instead formating it erase all my drive data …plz help me to get my data back
Dear sir,
after using Win2flash and selecting text mode for setup, and loading all drivers. It gives a message of installing windows xp on ” drive w: ” though there is no such partition on the disk.
When clicking on any of the options, “Convert the partition to NTFS” and “Leave the current file system intact (no changers)” . It checks c: drive then drive w: afterwhich displays a msg ” Setup has determined that drive w: is corrupted and cannot continue”.
plz tell me wht to do, im so frustrated as i dont have cd/dvd rom.
It is a simple process and it works. Well it worked for me.
A few things you need to remember.
1. Follow the steps closely. If you miss something it will not work.
2. Make sure you have set your bios to boot from USB as the first option.
3. When it boots, it gives you 3 options. Select the first one. The files copy really slow but it works.
4. When you boot into the setup, if it goes straight into saying it has to format your drive, press Esc and it should show you a list of all the drives on your pc.
5. If you are installing on a new drive and it has not been formatted yet, go into the setup, format it and then restart your pc. I have sometimes had the issues where it installs it as D:. You do not want this. But by formatting it and restarting the setup it will pick up your HDD as C: and your USB as D:. Which is the coreect way to have it.
Anyway. Worked great for me.
Thanks
Super Cool way to install Windows through a USB Key….A lot of new Automotive Electronics are coming with either Bluetooth or USB Integration for Flash Updates or to Trouble Shoot – OEM Integration firm NAV-TV uses the USB Dongle for firmware updates and trouble shooting -
I have created the bootable USB as mentioned in Step 1.
Changed the Booting order to USB as first.
But the system restarts I get the message –
“Remove disks or other media.
Press any key to restart.”
Please help resolve this.
I follow the all steps and i got everything successfully but when i boot my Laptop from usb, I select the first option. Its showing win xp setup startin but within a minute its gaving Blue screen error. I had try all the those steps again, even servel times i change the win xp cd but still its shoiwng the Blue screen error.
PLEASE HELP ME OUT…..
Dear sir
pls advice i want to make winxp sp3 botable with other software , ms office, acrobate,winzip and more softwares.
I believe that this tool is so useful to install windows from usb, this way also can be implemented to any version of windows including Microsoft Windows xp, vista and win 7.
I can tell that this tool is the best ever I used, I may add more to this post by providing the below link which show you deeply by images how to use the Win To Flash for booting Windows xp, vista and Windows 7:
Looks good. I`m in the process now. I have followed several of these processes and no one mentions how/if the usb drive needs to be formatted. I already did a ntfs format, but your Part II seems to indicate Fat16 needs to be used. My Windows machine only offers ( NTFS, FAT (default), FAT32 and exFAT) Does it matter?
This looks like the best method, yet, that I have tried. I will comment later on how it works. Also looking forward to trying Part II.
my bios is not showing ,usb-hdd….
.i m sucess to istall win. From part-1 and 2…..my bios is only showing usb-zip and usb-fdd…
What can i do?
Help me…!
So I’m giving this [Win to Flash] a try, but I wonder, how do I boot the USB since I only can boot from floppy or HDD???
THANKS A TON for your reply
hi guys,
I am trying to install win xp on a tablet pc, but it says,not find any HDD,when I go to BIOS, I have a single option,which is drive zero,any one have experianced installing on drive zero?It is my first time,I see drive zero.thanks
Nice article..it simplify the whole procedure… :)
To know how to Install Windows ON a pendrive read article from Here.. :)
http://techwarlock.blogspot.in/2012/06/install-windows-xp-on-pendrive.html
Hi,
i tried the first method but in vain.it detects my pen drive.but nothing happens. one black screen appears thats it.nothing goes behond that.. can u please help me
Ai, i try to do what is in the tutorial but in the start up of the first part the windows XP doesn’t reconize my disk sata,
and just reconize the pen i use to boot.
Why is this happening??
why is it that when installation is on the ‘finalizing phase’, installation stops and asks me for the windows xp cd? i selected ‘TXT MODE SETUP’ and then the one with the ‘GUI MODE SETUP’ option. Any leads? Thanks!
I tried to make a bootable USB for my LAPTOP (DELL).
I used my PC for this which has WINDOWS XP installed.
I tried both option I n II given by u but couldn’t succeed, can i make it?, in LAPTOP prior installation is of windows 7 now i want windows XP init, my LAPTOP DVD writer is not working plz help me.
THANKS
I used wintoflash to built a bootable USB drive. I have a Compaq Presario 6000, with a completely empty hdd (erased with KILLDISK, formatted to NTFS). The drive boots, and starts loading my XP SP1 Version 2002 upgrade (I have the base OS of Windows 98 in the USB attached cd reader because Windows XP upgrade requires it). Windows XP install gets to the point of the first re-boot under XP, and then I get a meesage that there is a disk issue. I ran hdd diagnostic tests using BIOS, and they come back clean. What is the problem?
It is a simple process and it works. Well it worked for me.
A few things you need to remember.
1. Follow the steps closely. If you miss something it will not work.
2. Make sure you have set your bios to boot from USB as the first option.
3. When it boots, it gives you 3 options. Select the first one. The files copy really slow but it works.
4. When you boot into the setup, if it goes straight into saying it has to format your drive, press Esc and it should show you a list of all the drives on your pc.
5. If you are installing on a new drive and it has not been formatted yet, go into the setup, format it and then restart your pc. I have sometimes had the issues where it installs it as D:. You do not want this. But by formatting it and restarting the setup it will pick up your HDD as C: and your USB as D:. Which is the coreect way to have it.
Anyway. Worked great for me.
Thanks
Hey Guys, i used this software. It is working. i used the first method (part 1) to install XP using USB. However, i did face issues initially while installing, but realized we have to make a small change in the BIOS – SATA controller mode — Compatible (default: AHCI)
thanks..