Multi-OS, Bootable USB Installer (XP SP3, Vista SP2 and 7)

[cybpsych]

hi guys,

as u all know, there are tons of tutorials to create bootable *single* OS installation from USB thumbdrive.

i am wondering, is there any solutions to create a "multi-OS" bootable installation from USB thumbdrive?

that means, in a 16GB USB thumb drive, there are 3 separate OS setup locations (maybe separated by 3 diferent folders).

when boot into the USB thumb drive, I'll be able to select (auto or manual; doesnt matter) which OS to setup.

e.g. I setup XP SP2 first, then setup Vista SP2, and finally Windows 7 (all sources from the USB thumbdrive.

Reason is that i wanted to create multi-OS setup on machines, and creating a multi-OS installer in USB thumb drive is more logical (but technically difficult).

any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

[jaclaz]

We have an entire section dedicated to this:

http://www.msfn.org/board/install-windows-usb-f157.html

I actually missed the "tons" of tutorials, as the methods were developed right here and the possibility of a multi setup has been added since a lot of time.

This is probably where you should start:

http://www.msfn.org/board/install-usb-wins...ui-t120444.html

Here comes the first GUI for our little project.

What it can be used for adding to your USB stick/disk:

- multiple Windows XP/2kX sources in the same partition (up to 10 99 with vers. 1.0). They have to be in the first(no longer applies to 1.0 versions) any primary partition of the USB disk if hard disk type. If USB stick- Windows will not see any other partitions, but the first one, so you are restricted to it anyway.

....

- BartPE/WinBulder/UBCD4Win/WinFLPC (NOT ramdisk versions) to any primary partition. Multiple BartPE for example, in the SAME partition are NOT supported. Neither is the mix of them on a single partition.

- Vista/Windows 7/Server 2008 setup to different primary partitions. Multiple Vista sources in the SAME partition are NOT supported. Place your second Vista/7/Server 2008 setup in another partition. It can be placed on any primary partition.

....

but do check the other methods too.

jaclaz

[cybpsych]

that's great, jaclaz!

appreciate the guidance!

[cluberti]

There's also the option of using MDT:

http://www.cluberti.com/blog/2009/08/10/md...from-a-usb-key/

[jaclaz]

There's also the option of using MDT:

http://www.cluberti.com/blog/2009/08/10/md...from-a-usb-key/

e.g. I setup XP SP2 first, then setup Vista SP2, and finally Windows 7 (all sources from the USB thumbdrive.

@cluberti

But is XP support definitely working or not? :

http://www.cluberti.com/blog/2009/08/10/md...from-a-usb-key/

Ever wanted to put every version of Vista, Server 2008, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, and perhaps a version of XP or two on a single USB key? No? Then you’re probably normal. If you’re like me, however, the thought has crossed your mind. However, the daunting task of configuring said USB key to boot to some multiboot Linux distro or hacking a bit at bcdedit to boot a WinPE to handle it also made it something to avoid, at least for me, because, well, I tend to be lazy about these things.

However, after playing with the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit for a bit, I realized I could probably make my USB key bend to my will and be said multi-bootable Windows OS installer, without a whole lot of work. I set about to put all of those versions of Windows one one key, along with some unattended applications (for this blog post, I’m just adding Office 2007 to keep it short).

You’re going to need a few things to start, most notably you’ll need a Windows machine that can install the latest Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) for Windows 7 (that’d be Server 2003 SP1 or newer, Vista SP1 / Server 2008 or newer, or Win7 / Server 2008 R2 – sorry, no XP support, it seems). You’ll also need the MDT 2010 bits and the version(s) of Windows and any applications you would like to install from MDT.

As is it seems a bit ambiguous...

jaclaz

[cluberti]

Yes, but you must be careful with it. If you capture an XP image to a WIM, it must be \Windows or \Winnt, otherwise it won't deploy properly. Flat-file images work fine, of course, and I prefer those anyway.