Win 7 RC

[Purhonen]

I'm thinking of installing Windows 7 RC on my second laptop but it (a Mac Book running Windows XP Pro SP3 via Boot Camp) can not burn DVDs, it only reads them. I'm assuming it must be a DVD rather than a CD because of the size of the installation file, true? Is doing this with a Boot Camp system an issue? Does anyone know if I can get (purchase?) an install DVD from Microsoft? Thanks, Steve

[Tushman]

I'm thinking of installing Windows 7 RC on my second laptop but it (a Mac Book running Windows XP Pro SP3 via Boot Camp) can not burn DVDs, it only reads them. I'm assuming it must be a DVD rather than a CD because of the size of the installation file, true? Is doing this with a Boot Camp system an issue? Does anyone know if I can get (purchase?) an install DVD from Microsoft? Thanks, Steve

Hi Steve,I can't answer your questions about Boot Camp as I do not own a Mac Book. As far as purchasing a Win7 installation disc from Microsoft, I highly doubt it. Win7 is beta software still in development and as such, it would cause a liability issue for Microsoft to be selling it to the mass public. It is true that you need a DVD-ROM to install Win7 RC1. Can you download Win7 on a different computer so you can burn the ISO? That would solve your problem!

[Peachy]

You can create a bootable USB key and copy the DVD contents to the removable drive. You need to be in Vista. I haven't tried this in XP, but theoretically it should work. From an elevated command prompt (elevated meaning that you runas Administrator) you to run the diskpart program. Then run the following series of commands (explanation in parentheses):list disk (shows you the disk # of your USB disk)select disk # (Where # is the number of your USB disk.)clean (removes any existing partitions from the USB disk, including any hidden sectors)create partition primary (Creates a new primary partition with default parameters)select partition 1 (Focus on the newly created partition)active (Sets the in-focus partition to active, informing the disk firmware that this is a valid system partition)format fs=ntfs (Formats the partition with the NTFS file system. This may take several minutes to complete, depending on the size of your USB key.)assign (Gives the USB drive a Windows volume and next available drive letter, which you should write down.)exit (Quits the diskpart tool)Next, you will need some way to mount the DVD iso or extract its contents. I'd recommend 7zip, a zip file extractor that also works on .iso image files. Whatever method you use copy the contents of the DVD to your USB disk. Once that's done, open an elevated command prompt as Administrator and navigate to the boot directory of your Windows 7 RC installation (wherever you've put it.)Then run this command:bootsect.exe /nt60 L: (where ‘L’ is the drive letter assigned to your USB key from the steps above.)

[Frank Golden]

This method is simpler and doesn't use bootsect which didn't work for me.Needs to be done in Vista won't work in XP.If you can get access to a Vista PC and with the permission of the owner if you aren't the owner,Download the freeware Virtual Clone Drive from the site belowhttp://www.slysoft.com/en/download.htmlInstall the software. Note: You can uninstall Virtual Clone Drive using Add/Remove programs after creating your install flash drive.I chose to keep my Virtual Clone Drive installed, it's handy when you want to look at the files in a .iso.This will create a Virtual drive that you can use to mount your Win 7 install .iso.Copy the Win 7 .iso file to a convenient location on the Vista PC (desktop maybe)This will allow access to the files in the .iso as though you created and ran a DVD.To mount the .iso simply right click and choose open with. You will see an option to open with Virtual Clone Drive.Choosing that option will mount your .isoGo to My Computer and note the drive letter windows assigned to your Virtual drive.Now plug in your USB flash drive (at least 4GB)next open an elevated (admin) command prompt and type and enterdiskpartThis will start the diskpart program and open a new prompt in your command prompt window.type and enterlist diskthis will list all your drives including the USB drive you have plugged as well as their respective sizes in GB. Make note of the number associated with you USB drive.next type and enterselect disk xwhere x is the number of your drive as determined by the previous command.next run each of the following commands one at a time in the order given by typing and entering.cleancreate partition primaryselect partition 1activeformat fs=fat32Format can be Fat32 or NTFS, your choice.assignexitDon't close the Command window.The command to format will take awhile depending on you drive size as the format is a complete format and not a "quick format"After exit command open My Computer and make note of the drive letters for your Virtual Clone Drive drive and the drive letter that Windows assigned to your USB drive.Now run this final commandxcopy x:*.* /s/e/f y:Where x is your Virtual Clone Drive drive letter and y is your USB drive letter.Wait for the work to finish and voila you should have a bootable Win 7 USB drive installer.If your Mac can boot from a USB thumb drive you should be able to install Win 7 using Boot Camp.The install will be much quicker (about 30-40% quicker) than a comparable DVD install, because USB drives are quicker than CD/DVD drives.Good luck and enjoy Win 7.