Windows 7, as you know, is by far one of the most popular and sought-after operating systems among users, despite the tenth modification so widely advertised. And, of course, that for a long time almost everyone refused to use installation disks in the sense of using optical media, and for the most part switched to removable media in the form of ordinary flash drives on which the installation distribution is recorded. How to install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive to a laptop or desktop computer will be discussed later. It is preliminary worth noting that no user should have any particular difficulties, however, there are some nuances that must be paid attention to without fail. But more on that later, but for now, let's start with the first steps.
How to install Windows 7 from a flash drive: what and where to download the image?
The first task facing a user who is going to install this operating system on his computer or laptop is to find and download an image or an unpacked distribution that can be written to removable media.
It is best to download it directly on the developer's site (Microsoft Corporation), and not engage in the search for various kinds of repacks, which can be downloaded from other sources. Here the main problem is that on such resources you can easily pick up viruses that penetrate your computer even before installing the operating system. Yes Yes! And this also happens, because DOS viruses are still relevant today, and they affect the same Windows systems quite noticeably, after which such malfunctions occur that it is impossible to imagine, and treatment of the system can be done only through the command line with booting from removable media, which, incidentally, can also be exposed to viral effects.
As for how to install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive (an ASUS laptop is used or any other brand, it doesn’t matter), you should consider what kind of system modification you want to install. The first thing you should immediately pay attention to is the capacity of the system. Keep in mind that system requirements in 32- and 64-bit systems can vary quite a lot. But, as practice shows, it is better to install x64 modifications on modern computers. They work faster, and they support the new hardware. True, for some time now it became known that Microsoft intends to cease support for these operating systems, but so far there is no cause for concern, because, according to preliminary estimates, this will happen if only then in 2020-2022.
How to burn an image to removable media and make it bootable?
But we were a little distracted. It was just information for consideration. Now let's move on to practical actions. We assume that we have a downloaded installation image or archive. An archive, needless to say, needs to be unpacked and an ISO image created already from it. In principle, this should not be a problem. Use programs like Ultra ISO. By the way, we will take it as a basis.
So, how to install Windows 7 through a USB flash drive? At the first stage, we will need to create this very USB flash drive so that a stationary computer or laptop perceives it as a bootable medium. For this we will use the aforementioned program. In our case, its application seems to be the simplest solution, although many do not agree with this.
After inserting the drive into the appropriate port and launching the application, you must use the boot menu, where you select the recording of the hard disk image. Next, it will be proposed to perform formatting, after which you need to specify the path to the saved image. Further, as already clear, the selected image will be recorded. But keep in mind that the capacity of the drive itself should be at least 4 GB, otherwise the recorded image will simply not fit on it. The question of choosing a file system can be left to the program. In this case, it does not play a special role.
If such a program seems too complicated for you, you can use the Rufus utility, which in terms of data processing and creating bootable media looks even easier. But the own means of operating systems, unfortunately, are extremely difficult for the average user.
How to set the media first in the BIOS boot?
So, the preliminary stage is over. Now we need to enter the BIOS settings. How to install windows 7 from a flash drive? To do this, install it as a priority boot device. In other words, you need to make sure that the computer does not boot from the hard drive, namely from removable media.
How to install Windows 7 from a flash drive via BIOS? Locate the Boot partition, and in it is something like Boot Sequence, Boot Device Priority, or the like. Use the PgUp / PgDown buttons to set the drive you are using as the first device, save the changes and reboot the device. Please note that the USB flash drive must be inserted into the port when the computer device is turned off, otherwise it will not be recognized during the initialization process.
Choosing a system version and installation type
Further, we proceed from the fact that the boot from the flash drive was successful, and the installer started. Now the most important question: which of the presented versions to install (there can be five of them in the list)? As a rule, almost all users choose to install the maximum version. This is true, since it is she who has all the innovations that are provided for in this operating system.
During installation, a window will appear with a choice of installation type. It is better to note the full installation here, and not save the files of the previous system (we hope that the user has already copied his own documents to the right place).
Section selection
Now, regarding how to install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive to a computer or laptop, we will deal with the choice of partitions.
In theory, the installation program itself chooses the appropriate partition, but here it should be noted that some laptop manufacturers sometimes fix the place on the hard drive, writing a backup copy of the system to the partition (about 100 MB) so that in case of problems the user can return to the factory settings. By and large, this reserved area can be disposed of. But as the main solution, you must immediately set the formatting of the selected section. FAT32 is only suitable for 32-bit systems, and NTFS is suitable for 64-bit systems.
Section formatting
Now press the format button and wait for the operation to complete. If suddenly the system reports that formatting cannot be completed, or this section is faulty, pay attention to your HDD. Capacities of more than 2 TB with GPT partitions are not perceived by the system installer with bootable MBR entries. Therefore, if you have a hard drive of exactly this format, you need to prepare the flash drive in the appropriate mode.
Installation process
We assume that the selected partition has been formatted successfully. In theory, the installation of the system should begin without user intervention.
Now it remains to relax a bit and wait for the moment when the installer installs all the necessary components of the system itself and device drivers. The next step regarding how to install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive will be system activation. For official copies, if you bought a truly licensed version, you can immediately enter the product code, which should be indicated on the box with the disk. But, apparently, if the installation is made from a USB flash drive, there is no such code. Registration in this case can be postponed. Keep in mind that such a trial version of the system will work in normal mode only thirty days.
Enter activation data
So, you missed the activation (no matter for what reason). We assume that the system is installed and working. You have a month to enter a license key. After this period, the system will automatically issue a warning that some functions are blocked.
Of course, getting rid of the banner itself in the system tray is not difficult. To do this, you need to tweak the registry a bit, but this does not solve the problem. We’ll talk about this a bit later, but for now let's dwell on the issues of initial settings.
Primary settings
How to install Windows 7 from a flash drive (Lenovo is used or any other model of a laptop or a stationary PC does not play a role), figured out. The system has started. Now the first thing you need to do is call the configurator (the msconfig command in the Run menu) and go to the startup tab. Apparently, there will be plenty of active elements there. Disconnect everything that is, despite even additional graphics adapter utilities. Leave only the ctfmon process, if any, on the list. He is responsible for displaying the keyboard layout, language bar and changing the language. After saving the settings, agree to restart the system.
Additional utilities for installing drivers
As you know, Windows-systems are far from perfect. This applies not only to their functionality, but also to the fact that for some devices they do not know how to install the necessary drivers, considering that the driver from its own database is the best. How to install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive to a laptop is understandable. Now the question of installing drivers.
In such a situation, it is better to use the DriverPack Solution package, which has a driver database many times larger than the system itself, or install the Driver Booster program, which will find and install missing or updated software products for all devices automatically. You can also use the Driver Booster application, but only if you have an active Internet connection.
What to do if activation has been skipped?
Now that the main problem regarding how to install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive to a laptop or desktop PC seems to be solved, we will proceed to registration if the key entry was skipped at the installation stage.
To register, our users are usually not in a hurry to buy official licenses, which even for Europe and America are quite expensive. In this case, we are talking about using not a key, but informal activators, which, for example, is the KMSAuto Net utility. This is a portable type program, consisting of one executable file, after which you just need to select the activation of the system, agree to the inclusion of its process in the list of "Task Scheduler" (for subsequent reactivation every ten days), and in no case delete the program file. Initially, it is better to move it to some place on the virtual partition, in the properties assign it a read-only attribute and add it to the list of exceptions of the antivirus and firewall of the system itself (the firewall).
How to use a flash drive with installed Windows 7?
In principle, sometimes during the “gathering” of an old system like XP, reinstalling it is not that problematic, but even impractical. For such cases, operating systems are provided that can be downloaded directly from removable media. Windows 7 in this respect wins in all respects: lightweight, fast and not requiring the consumption of system resources even if it is loaded from a disk or a USB drive, which cannot be said about other systems. Yes, to speak of, this is perhaps the only of all Windows systems for which such a version is provided.