Have you heard this one? A guy walks into an office and installs Windows 7 with a USB flash drive. OK, so as a punch line it’s a little weak, but it’s still true. This is actually a pretty good idea given that it’s faster to install via a flash drive and, it allows you to upgrade even if you don’t have a DVD drive (i.e. Netbook users).

So how do you do it?

Flash Drive

In order to put Windows 7 on a flash drive, you’ll need a pretty good-sized drive. We recommend using at least a 4MB one to be able to handle all of 7. If you are using a flash drive that currently has data saved on it, you may want to transfer it and back it up because you’ll need to reformat the drive in order to complete the installation of Windows.

DiskPart

DiskPart is a utility that is most likely already installed on your Windows system. If it’s not on your system, you can download it here. (Keep in mind that DiskPart on Windows XP is unable to create a bootable USB flash drive.) DiskPart is a command line interface that uses scripts to manage volumes and disks. So let’s get started.

1. Connect your USB drive to your PC.


2. Go to your Start menu and right-click on your command prompt shortcut.


3. Launch DiskPart by typing “DiskPart.”


4. Type “list disk” and figure out which number in the list corresponds to your flash drive. (Hint: you can check the disk sizes and find the one that is closest to your USB’s size.) This is very important to choose the correct drive!! For the sake of directions, let’s say your flash drive is disk 3.


5. Once you know which number corresponds to your drive, type “select disk 3”.


6. Type “Clean.” This will remove the partitions that are in place in your flash drive.


7. Once your drive is clean, type “create primary partition.” Once this is complete you’ll see a success message.


8. Then type “Active.”


9. Activate the drive by typing “format fs=fat32 quick.”


10. After the drive is formatted, type “Assign” so the flash drive will be assigned a drive letter.


11. Type “Exit” and you’re all set to close Command Prompt and install Windows 7!