How to Make a Bootable USB Disk for Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows XP

Ever faced a virus attack on your PC? Have an old laptop that refuses to boot up one fine day, throwing up errors such as bootmgr missing or NTLDR missing? Your best option in both these cases may be to reinstall Windows on your computer. When you first use your computer, you're prompted to create a DVD backup of your Windows install, but keeping a DVD safely and not losing it can be a bother. Being able to reinstall Windows using a USB you just keep nearby can be a big help, and to do this all you need to do first is create a bootable Windows USB drive. This is also very helpful if you bought a compact laptop - many smaller new devices don't have a DVD drive.

Remember you'll need a working Windows install (any version) to do this - if your computer won't boot, use a friend's to follow these steps.

Here's everything you need to know about the process.

Windows 7

The first thing you need is a Windows ISO or an image file. This is a virtual copy of a Windows installation DVD and you can source this legally from Microsoft without a product key. Here are the links for various edition of Windows 7.

Windows 7 Ultimate (32 bit)

Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit)

Windows 7 Professional (32-bit)

Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)

Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit)

Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

You'll still need a valid product key when you reinstall Windows so make sure you keep that safely.

Once you've downloaded the Windows 7 ISO file, follow these steps to burn it to a pen drive.

1. Download the Windows USB/DVD tool from here and run it.
2. Click Browse and select the downloaded Windows 7 ISO file.
3. Click Next.
4. The next page asks whether you want to save this file to a USB or a DVD. ClickUSB device.
5. Connect a pen drive with at least 4GB space to your computer. Make sure you back up all data on the pen drive to your computer as it will be erased during this process.
6. Select your pen drive from the drop down menu and click Begin copying.
7. When this process is complete, you'll have a bootable Windows 7 USB ready.
   
   

   

Windows 8

1. Download the Windows Installation Media Creation Tool from here and run it.
2. Select the Language from the first drop-down menu.
3. Then select the Edition of Windows you want to install. Your choices are: Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 N, Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro N and Windows 8.1 Single Language.
4. In the third drop-down menu next to Architecture choose whether you want a 32-bit or 64-bit version of the OS. If your computer has less than 3GB RAM, then pick 32-bit. If it has more than 3GB RAM, pick 64-bit. If you need to see which version you're running right now, right click on My Computer and selectProperties. There, you'll see the information you need under Windows Edition and System type respectively.
5. Click Next.
6. Plug in a USB drive to your computer. Make sure that it has at least 4GB space. If there's any important data on the drive, create a backup as this process will erase the pen drive completely.
7. Now you'll be asked to choose where to save the ISO file. Choose USB flash drive.
8. Click Next.
9. You'll see a list of USB drives connected to your computer. Select your pen drive from the list and click Next.
10. Now the Media Creation Tool will begin downloading the ISO straight to your pen drive. When the download completes, click Finish.
    

    

Windows XP

1. Go to the Windows XP SP3 ISO download page.
2. Select the language from the drop-down menu and click the big red Downloadbutton.
3. Download a free programme such as ISOtoUSB to burn the image to a pen drive. There are a lot of apps that let you do this and you can use any of these. We found ISOtoUSB easy to use and light, so we picked it over others.
4. Install ISOtoUSB on your computer and open it.
5. Click Browse and select the downloaded Windows XP ISO file.
6. Plug in a pen drive with at least 1GB free space to your computer. All data on this pen drive will be erased so make sure you have a backup.
7. In ISOtoUSB, select the pen drive from the drop-down menu.
8. Click the checkbox next to Bootable
9. Click Burn.

When the process is complete, a bootable Windows XP USB drive will be ready.

Booting and installing Windows

Now you have a bootable pen drive ready, you can boot off this drive and install Windows. Installing Windows is quite straightforward, but the steps leading up to it may vary a little depending on the manufacturer of your computer. We've added a brief explanation below on how to do this.

When you're booting up the computer, on the very first screen, you'll see a text which says something like "Press Del to Enter BIOS". Press whatever key is listed - this is usually Delete, or one of F1, F2, F8, or F12 - when the computer is booting, to enter the BIOS. There, you need to find a menu like Advanced BIOS settings, and select USB as the primary boot device. Now, you need to save and exit BIOS - the key to do so will be listed on-screen, but it is usually F10. Plug in the USB, and when you reboot, you'll start the install process for Windows on your computer. Follow on screen instructions to install Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows XP.

Did you manage to create a bootable Windows pen drive? Let us know via the comments. For more tutorials, head to our How To section.

Ten Things We Know About Windows 10

After months of speculation and plenty of leaks, Microsoft has given the world its first official look at the next version of Windows. The biggest surprise is its name - Windows 10. While some of the new features are predictable, others come as surprises. It's clear that Microsoft has gone back to the drawing board after enduring endless criticism of its bold Windows 8 strategy and redesign. The reinvented Windows tries to combine the best of both worlds.

1. Windows 10 will be designed to appeal to office workers
After years of dealing with complaints that Windows 8 was too different to roll out in large-scale corporate environments and would require massive resources to be spent on retraining users, Microsoft has decided to appeal to that crowd by incorporating familiar elements and hiding features that won't be applicable. The new Start menu is a prime example of this.

2. ...and corporate IT managers
On the management side, Windows 10 promises better security, easier manageability, and improved capabilities for dealing with today's security threats. There will also be improved methods of installing and dealing with volume licenses, making the upgrade process easier. Custom app stores will help corporate environments to deal with software deployments and permissions. There is still a huge install base of Windows XP machines in office environments which work just fine, but Microsoft's new features might be tempting enough for managers to finally decide that an upgrade is worthwhile.

3. Windows 10 will scale from small smartphones to giant data centres
The Windows 10 name will apply to future versions of Windows Phone as well as Windows on tablets, desktop PCs and hybrid portable devices. The same experience will carry over to the Xbox One console and potentially other devices as well. Users will see an interface suited to their device type, screen size and input methods, so for example, the full-screen Start UI will not necessarily be a part of the desktop usage experience, but will appear for touch-first tablet users. There will even be a way for users to switch between the two modes, especially if they use tablets with detachable or foldable keyboards.

4. The new Start menu will combine Windows 7's usability with Windows 8's tiles
While a lot might change between now and the final release of Windows 10, previews indicate a two-column Start menu with old-style icons for pinned or recent programs on the left, and live tiles on the right displaying updates and information. The tiles will be customisable, though at their smallest size they will be functionally identical to pinned shortcuts.

 5. Modern apps will run in windows on the desktop
Desktop users will be able to run Modern apps (downloaded from the Windows store) on the desktop just like other apps. They will be resizable and can be pinned to the taskbar. Important functions will be accessible through a context menu.

6. Virtual Desktops are finally coming to Windows
A mainstay of OS X and most Linux distributions for years, virtual desktops have remained a niche feature on Windows. In another move aimed at appeasing hardcore desktop users, virtual desktops are now baked right in. A new Task View will let you see an overview of all running apps and arrange them between desktops.

7. Snap has also been improved
You can now quickly tile four apps at once on the Windows 10 desktop just by dragging them to the corners of your screen. You'll see suggestions for filling up your screen so that you don't have to deal with overlapping windows. Desktop users with large monitors will rejoice.

8. Search and power user features will be improved
The new search feature combines local and Web results. You can begin searching just by typing when the Start menu is open, which means you can continue to hit the Start button and just start typing exactly like in Windows 8. Microsoft has another treat for power users - finally, you can use a simple Ctrl+V shortcut to paste text into the Command Prompt.

9. The Charms bar isn't going anywhere
Just like with the Start screen, Microsoft isn't completely removing all vestiges of Windows 8. The Charms bar remains, though most probably only visible to users of touch-first devices. It will be improved, and those Windows 8 users who are familiar with it can continue to use it.

10. There's much more to come
Microsoft has teased that there are plenty of good reasons for its decision to skip a Windows 9 and jump two version numbers ahead. We hope to see many more improvements and refinements of the concepts that have been demonstrated so far. With public beta releases not too far away, it's going to be an eventful year leading up to the final release of Windows 10.