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I want to make a bootable USB stick from a Windows8 CTP DVD. (so that I don't have to waste a DVD).

On Ubuntu (Linux) there is a program that does that automatically for oneself, but I think it only works for Linux images (not sure, I didn't try).

For Windows, is this still the quickest way to go? As advised in Bootable ISO to USB stick xp quickest method

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  • What program is there on Ubuntu? Why haven't you tried it?
    – Raystafarian
    Commented Feb 13, 2012 at 16:21
  • @Raystafarian: Didn't have a free computer 'till today afternoon, so there was no point in trying.
    – Quandary
    Commented Feb 13, 2012 at 17:00

4 Answers 4

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Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool - from Microsoft & free.

If you choose to download an ISO file (so that you can create a bootable file from a DVD or USB flash drive), copy your Windows 7 ISO file onto your media and, run the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. After you do this, you can install Windows 7 onto your computer directly from the USB flash drive or DVD.

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  • This is the best way I know of.
    – imtheman
    Commented Sep 13, 2012 at 22:14
  • Thanks for confirming this works. I was put off by the warning on this page that the tool was only for Windows 7 since the link for Windows 8 is dead at the moment.
    – bmike
    Commented Oct 29, 2012 at 2:14
  • It halfway works. If you want to create a 64 bit bootable stick on a 32 bit operating system, then you need to copy over a working copy of bootsect.exe into the install directory. Typically Microsoft... Can't even create a working USB-Bootloading tool...
    – Quandary
    Commented Oct 30, 2012 at 5:54
  • It also doesn't work if you're coming from linux / mac. It seems like MS would be more than eager to create installers for these two yet they seem to ignore that migration path.
    – Ron E
    Commented Jun 25, 2014 at 22:36
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Yes, that tool works. Whether it is the fastest way is really insignificant. My guess is that you are probably looking for the most straight forward way.

FYI, if you already have a NTFS formatted USB disk, you can just copy the files over.

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  • Just copy the files over ? You mean the ISO image file, or it's content files ? What about the boot sector part ? Is the "make active" not necessary anymore with NTFS ?
    – Quandary
    Commented Feb 13, 2012 at 16:59
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Another solution I enjoy is a small utility named WinUSB Maker. It works also with the Release Preview and the RTM version of Windows 8.

You can find a complete tutorial on how to use it, here: How to Make a Bootable USB Drive to Windows, Linux or MS DOS.

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Necromancing.

As per 2017/18/19, you can use Rufus
Rufus is also available as portable app.
And the source is available on github.
Vastly superior to the MS crapware.

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