Learn how to prepare a USB Flash Drive to install Windows 7 Beta using the USB Flash Drive.

If you are actively using those NetBooks (the slim-line version of Notebooks) you must have realized the lack of optical drives (DVD Drives). With Windows 7 Beta out in the wild why not try Windows 7 Beta on those NetBooks? Wait a minute, since those NetBooks doesn’t have DVD Drives how am I going to install the ISO image to a NetBook?

In this detailed video Dennis Chung shows you how to prepare a USB Flash Drive that can be used to install Windows 7 Beta. He uses a command interpreter DiskPart that comes with Windows Vista and Windows XP. Here are the steps involved to prepare a USB Flash Drive, in Windows Vista, that can be used to install Windows 7 Beta.

Step-1: Write the ISO file to DVD

Download the Windows 7 Beta bits and write the ISO DVD image file to a DVD.

Step-2: Launch DiskPart

Launch the DiskPart utility by typing-in DiskPart on the Start Menu Search box. More on DiskPart.

Step-3: List Disk

Issue the command,

list disk

This command will display summary information about all the disks on your computer, including any external disks.

Step-4: Select Disk

select disk 1

Select a disk using this command replacing the number# 1 with the number corresponding to your USB Flash Drive.

Step-5: Clean the USB Thumb Drive

clean

Clean the content of the drive with this command. Make sure to backup any stuffs from your USB Flash Drive as this will erase everything on your USB Flash Drive.

Step-6: Create Partition

create partition primary

Create a primary partition with this command.

Step-7: Activate the Partition

active

Set the current partition as active using this command.

Step-8: Format the partition to FAT32

format fs=fat32 quick

Format the partition using this command. If you have time then you can leave out the quick parameter to do a full format (which obviously takes time).

Step-9: Assign a drive letter

assign

Assign a drive letter to the new volume. If you don’t issue a letter parameter (letter=F, for example) then the next available drive letter will be used.

Step-10: Copy the bits from DVD to the USB Flash Drive

Now, since everything else is all set, you can copy the content of your DVD drive (created on Step-1) to the new drive (the USB Flash Drive).

If you run into any issues with this you can try to remove the USB Flash Drive and repeat the process again.

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