Install ISO image from bootable USB key

[mcurrie111]

Hi...

I work for a solutions company, and I'm trying to make my life, as an engineer, a bit easier.

I have made a bootable ISO image of Windows XP, with a whole bunch of customizations done, and some custom software, our company makes, installed. Its just at the moment, everytime a change needs to be made, I have to make the change, recreate the image, burn it to disc, then load it onto a new machine to be sent to a client, all done nicely for them, to plug and play. This is instead of building Xp PC's everyday from scratch.

What I'm looking for is a way to put the ISO image on a bootable USB key, so that I can make changes easily, without having to make unneccessary copies over and over again. Pull out a new PC, plug in the USB key, turn on the PC, let it boot off the USB key and a while later, bob's your uncle, a fully setup XP machine ready to go out the door.

Has anybody done this, or know how to? Please let me know how, or point me in the right direction.

Thanks.

mcurrie111

[jaclaz]

Actually using a .iso is the least "flexible" way.

You can rebuild/change/modify the stick instead of the .iso.

Why don't you take some time reading the stickies in the sub-forum to see what the "normal" way (when installing from USB) is?

However:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=121502

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=125138

If the .iso image is smaller than 512 Mbyte, it would be possible to use RAMDISK booting, but I doubt that your .iso is that small.

jaclaz

[wimb]

What I'm looking for is a way to put the ISO image on a bootable USB key, so that I can make changes easily, without having to make unneccessary copies over and over again. Pull out a new PC, plug in the USB key, turn on the PC, let it boot off the USB key and a while later, bob's your uncle, a fully setup XP machine ready to go out the door.

Install XP from USB AFTER Booting with PE from HDD or USB

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=121446

See post #7

CD / DVD Content can be copied unchanged to Root of USB-stick by using the Add Extra Content Selector.

This allows to use a well-tuned CD / DVD as Setup Source including Apps for Install of XP from USB.

In this case you must Uncheck the Copy Checkbox of XP Setup Source Folder Selection so that

this XP SourceSelection is only used to have access to the XP BootFiles NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM

and is NOT used as normal to Copy the XP Source to a Folder on Target Drive.

This is what you are looking for as far as the XP Source is concerned.

However, the procedure is different from what you have in mind.

In fact in this case one boots all the time from the internal Harddisk on which one wishes to Install XP.

Besides one needs for fresh install to boot first in 30 sec from RAMDISK with a LiveXP Boot Image,

which is loaded from Harddisk in a few seconds.

The required LiveXP Boot Image is most easily made in about 15 min if you make use of

one of the Stable Projects of amalux e.g.

Download LiveXP e.g. lx101408cxs from folder Projects in http://amalux.winbuilder.net/

So the procedure is not as simple as you have in mind, but works very well

and you can use the XP Source the way you would like to do.

Edited February 13, 2009 by wimb

[mcurrie111]

Hi...Will have a look at these, and see if they can do what I'm hoping to do. One of my senior engineers, may have come up with a solution, but not as simple as what we really would like. Thanks for the prompt responses. I'll report on any progress we've made.