Setting Up Dual Boot On A Flash Drive
Dec 2, 2009
[Solved] Setting up Dual Boot on a flash drive that isn't always plugged in. I have windows 7 Home Premium installed on my desktop but I was hoping for a way to set up an installation of Windows XP on a 16GB flash drive that I have.
Not even thinking I just figured I would give it a try and I booted to my Windows XP disc and installed all of the files to the flash drive. Well needless to say it messed up my MBR and then wouldn't boot to the flash drive or to my internal hard drives anymore.
I was able to fix it by using the Windows 7 disc to repair startup but I still am not able to boot to Windows XP on the flash drive.
Is there any way to do this? I know I need to make some changes to the bootloader but I'm not sure exactly what to do. Is there a way to make it so it will automatically boot Windows 7 unless I put the flash drive in first and prompt it to as the computer starts up?
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Nov 4, 2009
The help page for BitLocker mentions
"A removable USB memory device, such as a USB flash drive. If your computer doesn�t have TPM version 1.2 or higher, BitLocker will store its key on the flash drive. This option is only available if your system administrator has set up your network to allow the use of a startup key instead of the TPM."
I don't know how to set this up - anyone have in-depth guide for this?
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May 5, 2009
I got my new drive. I'm about to set it up. Run some HDTune to check it. then load of Win 7 on my new speedy HD.
I had a question. I'm going to be dual booting with Vista on my current seagate 500.. and I'll be loading 7 to my new WD Black 640GB. So I understand I get it all installed. Restart the PC. then from here what do I do to make sure it writes to the NEW drive, and doesn't reformat the old.. I'd hate for that to happen.
I don't need to unplug my old 500GB or anything drastic right. I can simply just enter the BIOS. Change the boot order for it to load from CD.. and then I get to choose what drive to install 2.. and that will be the one I choose. right?? the 640GB. or would I need to set the 640GB for Master. and then reboot with CD in..
Also my new drive didn't come with a master/slave pin. so should I unplug my old HD when getting ready to install so I don't copy over it. or no?
I've basically never installed 2 OS's on the same computer before so just asking some of these basic questions.
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May 23, 2011
Have Windows 7 installed on the C drive partition of a large (1 TB) HD. On the other D partition is Win XP. The problem is that the people who built the computer used a bogus copy of XP to set it up. I have a real one and want to replace the bogus one. I thought I could change the boot order in the BIOS and have the computer boot to the MSFT XP disc. But after I change the boot order to the DVD drive it still boots to the screen with the choice of Windows 7 or XP. If I choose XP, I am in WinXP and can't get the CD to overwrite the bogus XP. I do not want to chance anything happening to my Windows 7 installation as it's perfect and has a lot of work in building all the programs etc.
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Jun 26, 2009
The machine that I've installed Windows 7 on is an older machine that I would like to use for trying out various operating systems, and even installing a small DOS partition so I can play around with some old DOS stuff I used to enjoy.
The computer currently has four smaller hard disks installed: two 30 gigs, two 20 gigs. Win 7 is installed on one of the 30 gigs.
Initially, I want to keep things simple, and pretty much dedicate one drive to one OS. For sure, I plan to install Linux, probably the Ubuntu distribution. And possibly OS/2.
What I don't want to do is find unpleasant surprises after I try installing other OSes, such as not being able to get into Windows 7 anymore.
I have a copy of System Commander v9, but I am not all that enthusiastic about the way it chooses to set up OS installations.
There's bound to be folks here who have dual (or more) boot setups they're running with Win 7 as one of the OSes, and I'd appreciate hearing from you if you have any pointers to share.
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Nov 12, 2009
As currently configured, XP is on drive C:, Win 7 was added to drive E:, and the system is currently run as a dual boot. Attempting to boot without the XP drive present will yield a "NTLDR is missing" error very early in the boot process.
I have already tried the following:
(1) I moved the hidden Windows Boot Manager files (bootmgr as well as the associated Boot folder) from the XP drive root to the Win 7 drive root.
(2) After physically removing the XP drive, I rebooted to the Win 7 installation DVD, and used the "Repair Your Computer" option to pull up the "Recovery Tools". Then, using the command prompt utility, ...
(3) I attempted to write a new boot sector to the Windows 7 disk using the command: Bootrec /fixboot, - that yields an error though. The Bootrec /fixmbr claimed success, but ultimately did not make Win 7 drive bootable.
I had to reconnect drive C: just to boot into Win 7 again to write this. I do have files backed up, but to format and reinstall files would take many hours beyond just the time to transfer 400 GB of data, since I have dozens of purchased applications that need to be freshly reinstalled and validated as well. Basically I want my E: drive now to be my boot drive while the C: drive is reformatted and used for general storage.
Any idea how to make my Win 7 drive bootable? Do I need a partition program that is more adept at creating a viable boot sector, or is that even the problem?
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Sep 12, 2011
i have a new work laptop with xp sp3 on it. I want to install w7 64 bit as a dual boot, but only have 1 physical drive. i cannot remove my current installation as it is pre-build from work, but can partition the drive etc. However on trying to install w7 64 bit I get a message saying cannot install windows 7 on efi drive with mbr, not gpt. Can I do what I want without screwing up my xp installation?
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Jun 9, 2012
I installed a 64gb Samsung SSD and a WD 500GB HDD and I am wanting to use the SSD for Windows OS and then use the HDD for programs like Steam and Microsoft office and store music and pictures on it. Is this setup up possible and if it is how do you do it.
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Jan 2, 2010
I have Win XP 32 bit on my old drive. I buy Win 7 full retail and a new HD. I set bios to boot from cd etc. Win 7 starts up. It shows the 2 drives, so I select new drive...no problems. It starts install. I leave it to do its stuff.When I come back its up and all ok.I dint get any option to boot from XP. The drive was listed as "SYSTEM" but not old Windows or anything.
Also ASUS chipset drivers dont work and they were listed as 7 drivers.I tried Vista drivers but it normally shuts down and restarts. Nothing.
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Jan 22, 2013
i have a question looking for the best light Win7 version and if there is chance someone to explain me how to boot it on my USB flash drive.
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Nov 14, 2011
I have had 1000 issues, but i'm going to try and narrow it down. it seems like everytime I try to fix a computer, nothing ever just does what it is supposed to.At the moment I created a boot drive out of my flash drive with windows 7. I set it to boot first on my bios and it loads but hangs up on the first background screen after the windows logo and nothing happens.This info may help. I have two hard drives plugged in (IDE). the master is the one I want to do a clean install of windows. The slave drive already has windows and if I boot from it I can get to the desktop, but the problem is when I try to run the install from it and the computer restarts after the second step in the install for the main HD, it doesn't try to continue the install. Ive been working on this for a week.
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Jan 4, 2010
So I'm trying to format my PC.
I can't boot from my USB flash drive or my DVD.
I've tried using my:
Original Installation Disc which the PC is currently running (Vista x64 OEM) Windows 7 Technet Disc Fresh Ubuntu 9.1 (for testing purposes, also failed to boot)
I've tried:
multiple discs each with a fresh download and burned .iso changing boot priority going through the Boot Menu to select the USB-FDD or CD-ROM options
But the computer boots right through each of the medias.
I can see that my USB and DVD-rom drive are both lighting up.. during before the screen launches to the big Windows Vista logo screen.
Can anybody suggest what I should do?
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Dec 21, 2010
I have Windows 7 Ult-64 installed on my desktop. I made a USB flash drive with the installation files, so I know I can boot using a flash drive. I would like to be able to boot into Windows 7 using only a flash drive (no hard drives connected). Is this possible?
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Mar 3, 2012
get a USB 3.0 flash drive to boot from a 3.0 port?I made a bootable ADATA 16GB USB 3.0 flash drive using LIli. Also used Yumi to make bootable flash drive. Either way it will not boot when plugged in a USB 3 port.It does not show up using BBS popup(F8). Nor does it show up in the bios.It will boot when plugged in a USB 2.0 port.Also, I can make a bootable USB 2.0 flash drive and can boot from it when plugged in 3.0 port. It shows up in the bios and the BBS popup. I have tried everything possible. No luck. I'm stumped. I have the latest bios and driver for this Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller.
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Aug 14, 2012
I have f* up my MBR partition(FAT32, is invalid now) and now W7 won't start. I haveen't made a rescue CD, as my lappy has no CD/DVD drive. Is there a tool to start W7 via USB port?
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Apr 14, 2012
Does anyone know of a way to take several different ISO's (multiple Windows ISO'sUbuntu, Hiren's Boot CD, etc.) and put them onto a flash drive from which I can boot and select one?I've tried several different utilities thus far - unetbootin, YUMI,XBoot - but none have allowed me to successfully add all my images.
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Jan 25, 2012
For security reasons, I would like to create a windows 7 X64 boot USB flash Drive , not an install drive. A drive where when I remove it, the system will not boot. What files do I need to put on the drive, or is there a progrm I can use to create it?
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Sep 8, 2011
I am using a few USB sticks for readyboost and always have them in my hub. One of them was temporarily used to create an Ubuntu Live stick, but now that I removed Ubuntu from it about 32Mb remain used and I assume there is some bootable info in it, as Windows 7 is no longer booting with this stick inserted. I have tried formatting but this does not help. Is there a way to wipe the USB stick clean and remove any boot sector info?
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Oct 28, 2009
I've created the ISO file and moved it to the 4g drive using the AWESOME guide found here. However, the BIOS doesn't seem to recognize that the device is present. I've done some research and found that some usb drives aren't compatible with the BIOS? I made usb storage the only available boot option and nothing showed up.
However when I look at the drive while in Vista through my computer->G: It shows up as a windows system. I've also seen somewhere about enabling "Legacy usb"? I didn't find anything like that. Should I just got buy another flash drive and try again?
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Apr 26, 2009
ok so im having a weird problem thats probably very easy to fix.
background info: before my Windows 7 install i had 3 partitions
vista 64
xp 32
empty (soon to be linux)
when i downloaded the newest win 7 build i deleted my xp 32 partition and installed Windows 7 on that partition. because Windows 7 creates that "reserve partition" or what ever, it extended my EMPTY partition with my vista partion. which cause it to become a "logical drive" rather than a "boot" drive. aka i cannot figure out how to access my vista OS.. rather annoying since im just toying with Windows 7 atm.
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May 24, 2012
i mounted my windows 7 iso with daemon, opened my cmd/disk part window and cleaned, partitioned, formated, and assigned the drive letter and then xcopied my mount to the flash drive, but it wont show up during boot up. i've done this a million times and its worked with this computer. im using the poopy mobo out of the a6430f hp computer. its an asus mobo.
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Nov 18, 2009
I've got a bit of a perplexing problem here that I hope somebody can provide some insight on. Set up the dual boot with your (very awesome) tutorial and everything works perfectly there. Windows 7 was installed first to the C: drive, XP is on an E: partition of the same drive. The D: drive is a second physical drive that is just used for file storage. If it matters, both physical drives are paired drives in Raid1.
The problem comes when I've loaded into Windows XP, I can't access the D: storage drive. It reads as size 0, and can't be formatted or read.
Under Windows 7, everything works. I can access the storage drive fine and have no problems using it.
I originally thought it was a permissions thing because the D: drive was formatted in Windows 7, but in XP I can read from the Windows 7 C: drive just fine.
I am at a loss, can anybody offer any suggestions as to why the drive would read fine under 7 but not when in XP?
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May 27, 2009
I installed windows 7 on my desktop where XP was already installed. Now, unless I have the RC1 DVD in the drive, the computer automatically boots to XP with no option. If I leave the DVD in the drive it gives me the ''press any key to boot from CD or DVD" then automatically goes to Windows 7 if I dont press anything. I used BCD while in 7 and it didn't seem to have an effect.
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Jun 14, 2009
1. My machine has XP on a single hard drive w/ 3 partitions. In order to try Windows 7 the easiest thing for me to do is to install it on my E: partition. If I boot into Windows 7, do the drive letters change around or do the Windows 7 system files still show up as E:WINDOWS?
Are there any downsides to this installation that I don't know about? If I got tired of Windows 7 would it be a problem to get rid of the bootloader?
2. My original plan was to buy a second hard drive, install it by itself, and load Windows 7 onto it. Then reconnect the original hard drive and dual boot by changing the boot order in the BIOS. What does this do to the drive letters?
I would have one hard drive with 3 partitions and another hard drive with one partition. If I boot Windows 7 I'm guessing that its hard drive would become C: and the other hard drive would become D:, E: and F:. But what happens if I boot XP from the other hard drive? Does it stay C:, D: and E: and the second hard drive becomes F:, or do the letter scramble differently?
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Oct 23, 2009
I currently have a system running XP with two IDE hard drives and 3 partitions.
I have taken Windows 7 as a chance to get myself some much needed extra space! and purchased a new 1tb SATA drive.
I really dont want to lose the exisitng data I have so my original plan was to take my main IDE harddrive with most of my data stick it in an external USB carrier and then start fresh in the system with the 1tb and Windows 7.
What would be cooler would be if I could add the 1tb to the exisiting system and install Windows 7 on that (ideally with that as C and either then have much quicker access to transfer data to the new drive or even dual boot with XP at first incase I have any issues with Windows 7. Can anyone advice me on how easy/risky this is? And what they would suggest to someone trying to maximise the uptime of their PC?
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Dec 6, 2009
I've just got a new HP laptop with windows 7 Home Premium.
Anytime Upgraded to Ultimate.
i want to boot to windows XP (SP2) on this new laptop..(Not necessarily Dual-Boot). there is only on program i need to use under XP.
the dual-booting tutorials here are quite in depth and potentially problematic for none techie like me. i would prefer not re-partion the drive and 'hide' one operating system from the other, so what i would prefer to do is this...
1. Plug in an External hard drive (USB 2.0).Clean and factory formatted.
2. Go into my BIOS > Disable boot from internal hard drive > enable boot from CD Drive (first)
3. Exit BIOS having saved changes
4. insert win XP Install disk in drive.
So, in theory XP Install should be like on a brand new machine.
when i want to use windows 7 i would reverse the BIOS changes and make sure external drive with XP is not connected.
So, windows 7 would not know XP is even in use.
Is all this viable... or is there something that would prevent it from working?
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Feb 15, 2009
I have a simple xp 32 computer and would like to dual boot (from a partition) with windows 7. my problem seems to lie in whether i have enable my usb to be bootable as a dvd install of windows 7. it seems very complicated, and i am interested in figuring out whether it was possible to simply create the partition (with gpart) than in windows mount windows 7 and when it asks where it wants to be installed, I would than chose my new partition.
I don't know... (don't want to screw up)
I hope this makes sense...
I really would like to try widows 7, and any help would be very much appreciated .
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Dec 30, 2009
I have a Dell Inspiron 1440 laptop with Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit. Some of my older applications do not support this platform. My processor does not support Window Virtual PC and Windows XP mode so I was hoping to add XP as a dual boot. Is it possible to boot XP from an external harddrive or USB instead of having to partition the internal hard drive. Or do you have any suggestions on how I can load XP after Windows 7 is already loaded.
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Dec 30, 2009
Well, I did a dual-boot system with Vista 32-bit and 7 64-bit. Now the problem is that, when I'm in Vista, the drive letter of Vista would be C: and 7 would be in B:.
But when I'm in 7, its partition would have the letter C: while Vista would have B:.
Is this normal? What would happen if I installed a program on the path C: in Windows 7?
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Jun 1, 2011
I ve managed to install Win XP after Windows 7 installation as in tutorial. Win 7 is on Drive C and Win XP on drive G. Then Ive decided to only keep the XP version and move it on drive C (currently occuied by Win 7).
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Mar 7, 2012
I have a Sony C series 64 bit laptop. I have a 2.5" IDE drive from my old laptop which has XP.
I was thinking to image Win 7 on my Sony to a cd; so that I have a clean disk. How can I then clone my XP ide drive onto the new laptop drive - which is an Hitachi ATA (mSata?) - so that I will have a dual boot system? Although if the XP works fine, that is what I will use.
I do a sysprep 1st, then use Bart PE. However I believe Bart PE only goes to XP SP3, and I only have the whole drive - with all my docs on it. No installation disk.
Do I need to do a "sysprep"? Is it possible to "slipstream" a whole drive with all the necessary drivers? Will it be an issue if the XP is 32 bit, and my new machine is 64bit?
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