When your computer would not boot due to problems with the Windows system files, which could have been caused by a malfunctioning hard disk or a viral infection, wouldn't it be cool to have your computer boot by simply inserting a flash drive?

When friends and relatives ask you to fix their computers at their homes, wouldn't it be nice to have your troubleshooting software tools right inside your pocket?

If you're answer is yes, read on and we'll go through the various steps to successfully create a bootable flash drive. Having a bootable flash drive with all your diagnostics and troubleshooting softwares with it is surely a big convenience.

Microsoft Windows PE Version 2.0 is a small(around 50mb), free, stripped-down Windows Vista Operating System that ships Microsoft's Windows Vista. It has limited functionalities but it can be customized to include a graphical shell and be stuffed with all sort of components to make it a full-pledge(almost) operating system.

It is referred to as pre-installation because it is actually the program that install Windows XP or Windows Vista. It is a small operating system used to install a larger, complete operating system.

It is also used extensively as a troubleshooting and recovery tool for Windows XP and Windows Vista. As a matter of fact, the Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (MS-DART) is actually a Windows PE stuffed with all sort of tools for working with a faulty, non-bootable Windows XP or Windows Vista.

What We Need First

1. A computer installed with Windows XP or Vista
2. Microsoft's Windows Automated Installation Kit
3. A USB flash drive with at least 500mb

Get Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) Here

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=c7d4bc6d-15f3-4284-9123-679830d629f2&displaylang=en

Copy the link above and paste it into the address bar of your browser. It's free but needs Genuine Windows Validation in order to download.

Overview Of The Procedures

WARNING: Most of the steps will require you to work with the Windows command prompt. No Graphical User Interface(GUI). You will need to type in the different commands. If you're not comfortable with that, see the external links below for projects that uses GUI's in creating WinPE.

AFTER BEING WARNED, I'LL ASSURE YOU, IT'S NOT REALLY THAT HARD!!!

All we have to is:
1. Format the USB flash drive
2. Download and install WAIK
3. Copy the WinPe files to a temporary directory
4. Copy the contents of the temporary directory to the flash drive.

That's all. We're done and ready to boot on our USB flash drive!!!

Step One: Format The USB Flash Drive

Note: Formatting the flash drive will delete ALL its contents

1. OPEN A COMMAND PROMPT WINDOW
a. Click START/RUN
b. Type on the Run box:
cmd
c. Click OK

Step Two: Download And Install WAIK

Run the downloaded WAIK install file and follow the instructions on the screen.

Step Three: Copy WinPE Files To A Temporary Directory

1. Click START/PROGRAM/Microsoft Windows AIK/Windows PE Tools Command Prompt.

2. At the command prompt, type:

copype x86 c:\winpe

or

copype amd64 c:\winpe

or

copype ia64 c:\winpe

depending on the type of the computer where you plan to use WinPE. AMD/Intel x86, AMD64-bit, or Intel64-bit

3. Press the enter key.

Windows will copy the WinPE files to the temporary file "winpe"

4. Copy the contents of the temporary file "winpe" to the flash drive.

Windows and Linux Multiboot Flash Drive - Working in the IT industry, I am sometimes asked to recover some fairly major breakdowns and perform specialised tests, and I thought it would be useful to put some of my "live CD" tools onto a bootable flash drive. I thought it would be a simple job, and looked on the internet to find out the best way of doing it.

Installing Windows XP From the i386 Folder or Flash Drive Tutorial - Installing Windows XP is something everyone will have to do from time to time. Windows is not a self tuning or self maintaining operating system so in time it will slow down and die. Most people who purchase a new computer will not receive a Windows install disk. However, the install files are usually on the hard drive in a folder called i386. This folder has over 6,000 files and about 600,000,000 bytes.

How to Create an XP Bootable USB Flash Drive - An XP bootable flash drive is a flash memory device that has been configured to allow you to boot up Windows XP on a computer by plugging in your flash drive device into the USB port. An XP bootable flash drive is highly useful for two purposes: 1. Booting up XP to troubleshoot on any computer that permits the boot. 2. Transporting Windows applications between different physical locations such as home and the office.

BartPE - Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE)

WinBuilder - A free application for creating bootable environments.