Thread: Need a little help

Originally Posted by Cerberus1991

I was just wondering if the following scenario would work:

I've got my windows 7 ISO and have extracted the files using poweriso to a tiny 5GB partition, my question is, If I boot into this partition, will I be able to install Windows 7 (or any os for that matter) from this partition?

There are two reasons I want to do this:

1. It would increase the installation speed if it is just transferring files from another part of the HDD

2. I'd rather do this than end up with a DVD burnt for EVERY-SINGLE-LEAKED-BUILD by the time Windows 7 is released:P

Any help would be appreciated

Your 2 goals are to the mark :-) but you will need the recommended minimum partition size for Windows 7 of 16GB:-(

"Your 2 goals are to the mark :-) but you will need the recommended minimum partition size for Windows 7 of 16GB:-"
CMN may have misunderstood your intentions. Obviously you are not planning to try and install on the 5GB partition (are you??)

This is a practice foolowed often by Beta testers. There is an almost constant reinstall process going on, at the worst, daily, but at least weekly. But setting it up can be daunting and I would really reccomend you go through the normal DVD installation method. This is how Microsoft outline the procedure. I have not tried it myself, so good luck.:


1. Copy the bootmgr and boot folders nested inside the copied folder (i.e. \Windows7) to root directory of system boot drive, typically C:\.
Note: For Windows Vista, users may need to use this step: Copy the bootmgr folder from E:\Windows7 to C:\ root directory, copy E:\Windows7\boot\boot.sdi file to same folder in C:\boot folder, and then copy bootsect.exe from the E:\Windows7\boot\ folder to C:\ drive.
Note: boot folder in system boot drive is hidden system folder.

2. Create a new folder named sources under the C:\ root folder.

3. Copy the boot.win file inside \Windows7\sources folder to the source folder created in the system boot drive, normally C:\.

4. Open a command prompt as administrator.

5. Run the following command (change the C to your drive path letter if applicable):
C:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt60 C:
For Windows Vista users who copied bootsect.exe to C:\ root folder, use the following command instead:
C:\bootsect.exe /nt60 C:

A successful message is the command completes successfully.
Now:

1. Change the name or label of the boot system partition local disk to any name you prefer that easier to remember and type (in DOS command promot, use label command).
2. Restart the computer.
3. After booting up, the system will start the corresponding Windows installation process. Select the applicable language to install, time and currency format (regional settings locale) and keyboard or input method in the installation wizard dialog.
4. On the next screen, user will be presented with option to Install Windows. DO NOT press on Install Windows button, instead, click on Repair My Computer link on the bottom left corner.
5. In the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) System Recovery Options dialog window, click on Command Prompt to open a DOS Prompt window.
6. Run the format command to format the primary hard disk or partition to clean state: format c: /q
   Note: /q switch, which perform quick format can be omitted to full format. And if existing hard disk partition is of FAT32 filesystem format, use format c: /q /fs:ntfs to convert the file system to NTFS while formatting. Before formatting begins, the command may prompt for hard disk drive or partition label name, if so, enter accordingly (i.e. BDCP).
7. After format completed, start the Windows Vista or Windows 7 installation process again by manually running the setup.exe located in the copied. Note that the setup.exe is not the one located on boot system drive which copied at later step, as the boot drive has been formatted. For example: E:\Windows7\sources\setup.exe
8. Continue with installation procedures by following on-screen instructions as per normal practice.

Only a small observation on your concerns about DVDs why not use a reusable DVD ? It works fine

@davehc Thanks foir the guide, and sorry I haven't replied with my thanks, I've used this method a few times, but now I have my copy of RTM from Microsoft, I burned it to dvd and am loving it so far.