Use a USB key to install Windows 7

Putting the Windows 7 installation on a USB thumb drive has a few advantages—a small USB key is much more convenient for carrying around than a DVD, the OS will actually install much faster, and you can use a USB key to install Windows 7 on systems that do not have a DVD drive, such as a netbook. In fact, you can even install Windows 7 on netbooks that have fairly modest hardware.

1.     Insert the USB to the computer.

2.     At Windows 7, click Start, type cmd.

3.     Right-click cmd, select Run as administrator.

4.     Click Yes.

5.     At Command Prompt, type diskpart and press [Enter].

6.     Type list disk and press [Enter].

7.     Check the computer drives status.

8.     Type sel disk 1 and press [Enter].

Remark:          Where the "1" is actually the corresponding number of your USB drive.

9.     Type clean and press [Enter].

10.  Type Create Partition Primary and press [Enter].

11.  Type active and press [Enter].

12.  Type format fs=fat32 quick and press [Enter].

13.  Type assign and press [Enter].

14.  Copy everything from the Windows 7 installation DVD onto the USB key.

15.  Insert the USB key to a new computer to install the Windows 7.

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