How to Make a Boot-able Windows Installer USB Key the Easy Way!

Intro: How to Make a Boot-able Windows Installer USB Key the Easy Way!

There are situations out there where you require a boot-able USB thumb drive. 
This Instructable will guide you through the simple steps in making just about any USB thumb drive into a boot-able Windows Vista/7/8 installer. 

STEP 1: Required Materials

You will require the following materials;

1. A 4GB or larger USB thumb drive. (I recommend a 8GB thumb drive)
2. Latest version of YUMI. (Can be downloaded from here)
3. Windows install media. (Should be in ISO format)
4. Computer that requires Windows to be installed! (With or without DVD-ROM)

STEP 2: How to Use YUMI

Once you have collected all the required materials complete the following steps to make your USB thumb drive boot-able.

1. Plug in your USB Thumb drive. (Make sure you remove everything important from the USB Thumb drive because we will be formatting it.)
2. Open YUMI, if you are doing this on a Windows Vista or higher computer you will be prompted for Administrator Access. 
3. You will be greeted by the first image. Click I Agree
4. After you Click I Agree select your USB thumb drive in the drop down menu. (Second and third image)
5. Check off Format X:\ Drive. (fourth image)
6. Scroll down to the bottom until you find Windows vista/7/8 installer and select it. (Fifth Image)
7. Browse to your ISO of the Windows Install Media  (Sixth and Seventh Image)
8. Click Create
9. Click Yes (Eighth Image)
10. Wait for the format and copy of installation media completes (tenth image)
11. Click Next 
12. Click No(Eleventh Image)
13. Click Finish (Twelfth Image)

You now have a boot-able Windows Vista/7/8 Installer USB Thumb Drive

Comments

[Capfl2k5]

I know that you can use this to make a bootable usb for multiple linux distros. But can you add both windows and linux to the bootable drive?

[rizkiandrianto]

I try to make Windows 7, 8 and 10 but it seems just overwrite (or maybe skipping) the old 7 installer, so when I boot into windows 8 it always boot into windows 7. Did you know how to make them works together?

[OhhM]

From YUMI's website: "Currently YUMI will only allow you to boot from 'ONE' Windows Vista/7/8 Installation. For example you can't have Windows 7 and a Windows 8 installer on the same YUMI drive."

[Psycosisnine]

You have to add images with Yumi, Personally I just use a bunch of 8gb cheap thumb drives and now use a program called Rufus to make these

[RajH]

Hi rizkiandrianto, I hope you've solved this problem by now, but if not (and for others who may read this with the same issue) the solution is pretty simple. If both of the operating systems are installed in the same BIOS mode (UEFI, Legacy, CSM, etc.) then all you'll need to do is boot one of the copied of windows, then in the windows search (formerly known as the "run" box) type in "msconfig". From here you can click the "Boot" tab, and select your settings (default operating system, how much time, if any, to allow the user to choose which OS to boot into after turning on the machine, etc.)

I hope this helps everyone.

[N.fletch]

Really cool; I've done this with Linux countless amounts of time, but I had no idea the same could be done for Windows.

[amandaghassaei]

what are the situations that require this? I'm curious

[Psycosisnine]

Most netbooks don't have dvd-roms in them and most servers now don't come with dvd-roms as they are an add on option. So use Yumi (or a different piece of software) to make a boot USB thumb drive to install windows or another OS