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Old 10-15-2009, 05:54 PM   #1
endertux
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creating windows 7 bootable usb from linux


I only have linux machines in my home right now and was wondering if it is possible to create a bootable Windows 7 USB flash drive from within linux using only a .ISO file.
Is there some utility that can do that, or am I stuck without WoW until I can get to a windows machine and use that to make the disk? (^.o)
 
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Old 10-17-2009, 02:59 AM   #2
repo
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AFAIK windows doesn't boot from USB
You can however install windows in a virtual machine in linux.
 
Old 04-24-2010, 02:25 AM   #3
piratesmack
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I know this is an old thread, but I was also wondering how to do this and figured it out.

Format your USB drive as NTFS (also make sure the partition is marked bootable)

Mount your Windows 7 ISO and copy the files to the USB drive

Download ms-sys

Install it
Code:
tar xvf ms-sys-2.1.5.tar.gz
cd ms-sys
make
make install #as root
Write a Windows 7 MBR to your USB drive (as root)
Code:
ms-sys -7 /dev/sdX
Replace 'X' with your USB drive letter

You now have a bootable USB Windows 7 installer

Last edited by piratesmack; 04-24-2010 at 02:29 AM.
 
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Old 05-26-2010, 08:21 AM   #4
oobe
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Thanks heaps for this i dont have any windows installs and been looking for a guide as i need to do this exactly I havent tried it yet will edit this Thanks post to confirm it works


EDIT: works well I tried FAT32 at first but it didnt work

Last edited by oobe; 05-27-2010 at 12:02 AM.
 
Old 05-26-2010, 04:47 PM   #5
jefro
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All you have to do is make it active and copy the files to it. See here for exact ms page. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/m.../dd535816.aspx

Follow steps in page using linux commands.


Follow this.

format in fat32 if not already.
mark as active. (may have to use hp tools or syslinux to get it to be active some usb devices are real stinkers)
copy dvd to flash and reboot.
 
Old 05-27-2010, 12:06 AM   #6
oobe
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Jefro i saw that guide and many others as you can see its for people who already have a working windows install which of course I proudly do not.

all that guide really tells you is to format the stick and copy the files over I already knew that before researching the subject the problem was installing a reliable boot sector.
 
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Old 05-27-2010, 03:35 PM   #7
jefro
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(may have to use hp tools or syslinux to get it to be active some usb devices are real stinkers)
 
Old 05-12-2012, 08:23 PM   #8
soreau
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Quote:
Originally Posted by piratesmack View Post
I know this is an old thread, but I was also wondering how to do this and figured it out.

Format your USB drive as NTFS (also make sure the partition is marked bootable)

Mount your Windows 7 ISO and copy the files to the USB drive

Download ms-sys

Install it
Code:
tar xvf ms-sys-2.1.5.tar.gz
cd ms-sys
make
make install #as root
Write a Windows 7 MBR to your USB drive (as root)
Code:
ms-sys -7 /dev/sdX
Replace 'X' with your USB drive letter

You now have a bootable USB Windows 7 installer
I also found this to be helpful, but I could not get it working at first. The comment "mark as active." was misleading. Instead, I just set the boot flag in gparted after formatting to ntfs. Copied the files over, installed the boot loader and it boots now.
 
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Old 08-18-2012, 04:27 PM   #9
m4nu
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Works nicely as described. The same trick can be used on regular Windows 7 installs after cloning them with partclone.ntfs.
 
Old 09-01-2012, 03:01 PM   #10
rastoboy
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almost

This worked for me, except I needed to run the ms-sys program *before* formatting the usb stick NTFS, and then copying the iso data to it.

Otherwise it seemd to wipe out the data.
 
Old 09-01-2012, 04:07 PM   #11
jefro
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You copied the iso as a file and not as mounted iso to get the files off of it maybe.
 
Old 09-01-2012, 05:21 PM   #12
rastoboy
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Nope. *shrug*. Just putting it out there in case anyone else has trouble.

I did have trouble with some files being corrupted on the USB. But presumeably that is an issue with my USB stick.
 
Old 10-05-2013, 05:10 AM   #13
rodrigoeblanco
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Registered: Oct 2013
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Problem with ms-sys

What worked for me was:
1. Formatting the USB with NTFS (marked it as bootable)
2. Copying the CD or iso to the USB
3. Used the following command
Code:
# ms-sys -n /dev/sdbx
It worked beautifully.

I had problems with:
Code:
# ms-sys -7 /dev/sdbx
It asked me to use -f to force the writing, I did used -f but it didn't boot. After I changed -7 for -n it worked perfectly, didn't need to use -f.

Thanks for the help!
 
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Old 10-05-2013, 10:32 AM   #14
frieza
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http://www.webupd8.org/2010/10/creat...usb-drive.html
this one worked for me, using unetbootin
 
Old 11-30-2013, 11:31 PM   #15
fpemud
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no doc needed, one single command to do it all:

Code:
winiso2usb iso-file dev-name
winiso2usb homepage: https://github.com/fpemud/winiso2usb
gentoo ebuild:https://github.com/fpemud/fpemud-ove...min/winiso2usb

Last edited by fpemud; 11-30-2013 at 11:37 PM.
 
  


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