Many modern notebooks don’t come with DVD drives, leading people to wonder just how, exactly, to reinstall Windows XP/7/8 from a DVD.
Well, wonder no more, because here’s how: directly from a bootable USB drive that you’ve created yourself.
But how to do that? That’s easy. Simply follow these instructions.
You will need:
- A working PC or notebook with a DVD drive
- A USB stick that’s at least 4GB in size
- Your Windows installation DVD
- An internet connection
Phase One: Create an .ISO image file of your Windows installation CD
- Step 1: Download a free program called UltraISO from this link, and install it on a computer that has a DVD drive. Once installed, fire it up and click Continue to try.
- Step 2: Insert your Windows DVD into the drive.
- Step 3: In UltraISO, click Tools, then Make CD/DVD Image. Ensure you’re making an .ISO file, give the file a name and note where you will be saving it to. Click Make, and wait for the process to complete.
Phase Two: Create a bootable USB drive containing your Windows installation files
- Step 1: Download the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. Install it.
- Step 2: Insert your 4GB+ USB drive into an available USB port.
- Step 3: Run the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool.
- Step 4: Tell the program where the .ISO you just made is stored. Click Next.
- Step 5: Specify which USB drive to use. Click Next. Wait for the process to finish.
Phase Three: Ensure the target PC is set to boot from a USB drive
- Step 1: Turn the PC on, and enter the BIOS (usually by pressing F2 or Delete during the boot sequence).
- Step 2: Search for the PC’s “Boot order” and ensure USB is at the top of the list.
- Step 3: Save and quit. The PC will restart.
Phase Four: Install Windows on a PC that doesn’t have an optical drive
- Step 1: Insert your newly-created bootable Windows USB drive into an available USB port on the PC you want to install Windows on.
- Step 2: Turn the PC on. Should you have done everything right, the regular Windows installation process will start. Follow the on-screen prompts.
- Step 3: Enjoy Windows.
[Image – Shutterstock]