USB bootable disk

[originalconcept]

Hello, I'm new here, first of all sorry if I make mistakes typing, my english its not so good.

I've a question, could somebody post in this topic the definitive instructions/tutorial for installing WindowsXp from a US stick? I need a simple/eficient method to make it possible, installing windows from usb flash drive.

Thanks a lot

Greetins from Argentine

Enrique!

[Idontwantspam]

I doubt that's legal. Why do you ask? If you are trying to pirate/install ilegally - and I'm not saying you are - , then you might not want to stay here. Read the forum rules if you haven't.

Welcome!

[jaclaz]

@Idontwantspam

If I may, it's a bit aggressive as a reply, as long as you have a proper license, it is PERFECTLY legal to install Windows XP or ANY other software from ANY media.

@originalconcept

There are several possible ways to install from USB stick.

See here the possibilities:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=81788&st=6

Method 1) is FULLY documented and working in the link in the above post.

Method 2) can be easily adapted to USB stick from the one described here:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=68252

and customized at will, i.e. using Winbuilder instead of BartPE, etc., FULLY working.

Method 3) is "on hold", nothing definitive about it.

Method 4) has recently been developed to a state where it is working for IDE/ATA equipped PC's, SATA ones appear to be trickier:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...t=0&start=0

with the vital contributions of porear, cdob and ilko_t, here is the FULLY working guide:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...1384&st=128

Method 5) has not yet been tested/developed, due to "hardware requirements" (at least 1 Gb of RAM)

jaclaz

[Ponch]

wow, Jaclaz... I'm admiring you replying again and again and with such detailed posts to the same question.

[jaclaz]

wow, Jaclaz... I'm admiring you replying again and again and with such detailed posts to the same question.

Well actually it is a bit tiring :

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=97137&hl=

...but the (almost) "final" method for #4 is just a few days old,

and generally new members take the board more like a "question time" rather than a searchable database of knowledge....

jaclaz

[Idontwantspam]

I'm sorry. I thought you were required to install it from the CD, but I guess I was wrong. My apologies.

[jaclaz]

I'm sorry. I thought you were required to install it from the CD, but I guess I was wrong. My apologies.

No prob, mate.

You are not the only one that never took the time to properly read a Software License Agreement, or didn't fully grasped it's concepts, and I am not talking only about the MS EULA, but also about GPL, Open Source and all other kinds of licenses.

You might find this an interesting reading:

http://www.cyber.com.au/cyber/about/compar...gpl_to_eula.pdf

This part is relevant to the topic:

19. The Product is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws and treaties.

Microsoft or its suppliers own the title, copyright, and other intellectual property rights in the

Product. The Product is licensed, not sold.

Analysis

Even if you bought this product, it does NOT belong to you. You have a license to use it under the terms of this agreement, until you breach this agreement.

It is of great importance to understand the significance of this. Many users who purchase products like this from Microsoft are under the mis-conception that since they may have paid hundreds or perhaps thousands of dollars for it, that it must therefore belong to them, much like a car, chair or clothes do once purchased, or particularly a book - which can be lent, read by others, quoted from etc. This is wrong. The software product belongs (totally) to Microsoft, who allow, at their discretion, your use of the product. Non-compliance with the product's license may see you lose that privilege.

In a nut shell, in the case of a "normal" XP license, the money you pay Microsoft or one of it's representatives or OEM's is for acquiring the RIGHT to USE the product, according to the terms specified in §1., which, between other limitations, like the "single device" and "no more than 2 CPU's", explicitly allow you to:

You may also store or install a copy of the Product on a storage device, such as a network server, used only to install or run the Product on your other Workstation Computers over an internal network;

(bolding is mine)

The above explicitly allows (even if unneeded, as not expressly prohibited anywhere else) that the possibility to use different storage devices as install media is perfectly legal and allowed.

Also, note that the entire EULA makes references to the "Product" (identified as "Microsoft Windows XP Professional" in this example) and nowhere is a reference to the specific media on which the product is delivered, on the contrary, the reference is :

and may include associated media

(bolding is again mine)

and thus covers equally software on a physical media as well as downloaded one.

And of course, if the point was "you cannot copy the files from CD to another media", BartPE and all similar projects, including the various unattended and Multiboot CD/DVD's, nlite, Ryan Integrator, and more generally, say, 80% of the projects and activities on this board would have been illegal.

jaclaz