You'll need to check your specific hardware in order to be sure. Most new systems have the capability to boot from a USB flash drive, and the operation can usually be configured in the BIOS or by simply pressing a certain key during bootup. The systems on which you want to install Windows 7 via the USB flash drive have to be able to be configured to boot from a USB drive. So you want to make sure that you back up any data that you have on the drive before you begin. Keep in mind that the procedure we will use will completely reformat the USB flash drive. For my test system I am using a 4GB USB flash drive. The Windows 7 RC DVD is about 2.5GB, and you can expect that the RTM DVD will be at least that if not more. Of course, in order to employ this technique you'll need a USB flash drive that is big enough to hold the contents of the Windows 7 DVD.
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In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I'll show you how to use the DiskPart utility to configure a bootable USB flash drive that you can then use to install the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. Since this technique would be a valuable addition to the 10 Things list as well as to users planning on installing Windows 7 on a netbook or who want to be able to quickly and easily install Windows 7, such as the Family Pack, on multiple systems without having to mess around with a DVD, I thought that I would examine the technique. Second, it provides an easy way to install Microsoft Windows 7 on a system that doesn't have a DVD drive, such as a netbook. This technique is very cool for two reasons: First, a flash drive is much more responsive than an optical drive, since it doesn't rely on physically moving components, so the installation procedure will be faster. However, I have since discovered a technique on the Microsoft TechNet Magazine site that describes how you can use a USB flash drive to install Windows 7. In a recent 10 Things blog, " 10 Cool Things You Can Do with a USB Flash Drive," I presented 10 tasks that you can perform with a flash drive, including booting an operating system. We have been discussing the migration to Windows 7 lately, so it seems appropriate to revisit the post. This blog post was originally published in August 2009, but it continues to be one of our most popular.