How to create a bootable USB flash drive ?

vdiatech · 24th December 2009, 23:17

Hello,

My ASUS EEE 900 (windows xp) has crashed. I get the error message that hal.dll is corrupted.
These Laptops dont come with a cd/dvd rom drives and hence I am unable to use the conventional boot discs. They do support USB external device boot.

I have only managed to create a win98 boot on the USB flash drive, but when I use it to boot the laptop, I cant access the hard disk files, the USB flash gets the C: assigned !

All that I want is a simple dos prompt boot (or XP ), which will help me access the hard drive files and replace the hal.dll

tried googling and none of the fixes work. Also, I need FAT 32 DOS ( Eg dos 6.22 below dont work !)

Please help.

Thanks

AbhiJ · 24th December 2009, 23:25

Your XP installation is most probably NTFS and thats why you cant access it when you boot via your usb drive.

Try to copy the entire Win XP cd on to the USB drive and run windows setup off the usb drive (i think you ll need to run the /i386/winnt.exe file).

The windows XP setup will detect your previous installation after which you can either repair the installation / do a repair install.

p.s. The above *should* work, I havent actually done it!

vdiatech · 24th December 2009, 23:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

Your XP installation is most probably NTFS and thats why you cant access it when you boot via your usb drive.

That could be the reason, I will try to work around it .
It never occured me to try copying the entire XP disc to USB. But I doubt if it will boot that way ( boot sector??!! ) . I will try these options in the morning. Many thanks for the tip.

AbhiJ · 24th December 2009, 23:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by vdiatech

That could be the reason, I will try to work around it .
It never occured me to try copying the entire XP disc to USB. But I doubt if it will boot that way ( boot sector??!! ) . I will try these options in the morning. Many thanks for the tip.

Dont mess with the boot sector. You already have a booting USB drive. Just copy the files onto the same USB. Its worth a shot IMO.

SirAlec · 25th December 2009, 23:53

^^^
I can give you a solution but its very complex. you will have to put a ntfs partition reader plus chkdsk.exe on a usb. modify autoexec.bat and config.sys etc. etc.

i will recommend you to buy a slim external dvd writer, usb powered. It will cost you money but its much practical and you will thank me for it in the long run.

it_inspector · 26th December 2009, 05:36

Download BackTrack's 4 and follow following 3 steps. You can then boot with the usb and run live version of backtrack. This pretty much will give you access to anything and everything on ur netbook.

- Extract BT USB image
- Copy the boot and BT3 to the USB-stick
- Start on the USB-stick /boot/bootinst.bat (Windows) /boot/bootinst.sh (*NIX)

Cheers

vdiatech · 26th December 2009, 12:10

Hi fellas , thanks for the tips.

Ofcourse, buying an external optical drive is an easy solution but I was hoping I would be able to do it with a flash drive. After extensive research on google, I have failed.

Athough, an external DVD-Rom is an option, it is a bit expensive at 2K, I will just go for the external CD-Rom @rs800.

I use my eee 900 , only for emails/IM's . I always carry my VAIO and eee 900 together.

But before that , I will try what itinspector has quoted below!

jpm · 26th December 2009, 18:11

vdiatech,
i had a similar problem recently. No CDRom. Had to set up XP.

Unfortunately copying the entire Windows Setup CD onto a USB doesnt work. Theres another solution and its quite simple. After much googling, found this link. Have since managed to setup several PCs this way with XP.

You will need a Windows PC, your Windows Setup CD/iso image, a USB pen drive and the USB Multiboot 10 program found in the link.

Run the program --> At a commandline interface, it will ask you to format the target pendrive and then ask a few questions regarding the location of the windows source, target drive, other info to make the installation fully automated etc in a commandline interface. Quite straight forward.

Once it has successfully copied the stuff to your pen drive, then all you got to do is change the target computer's bios settings to make it boot from USB. A boot menu appears further guiding you on how to proceed.

There is a menu item for USB repair of your existing system / or alternatively run Win XP setup for recovery. Of course, you can always re install if thats an option.

Only issue is once Windows XP setup is underway, copying installation files from USB pen drive to IDE HDD takes some while. Otherwise the whole process is automatic. Leave it for an hour and you should be on the new XP desktop.

Cheers

vdiatech · 26th December 2009, 18:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpm

vdiatech,
i had a similar problem recently. No CDRom. Had to set up XP.

Unfortunately copying the entire CD drive onto a USB doesnt work. Theres another solution and its quite simple. After much googling, found this link. Have since managed to setup several PCs this way with XP.

You will need a Windows PC, your Windows Setup CD/iso image, a USB pen drive and the USB Multiboot 10 program found in the link.

Run the program --> At a commandline interface, it will ask you to format the target pendrive and then ask a few questions regarding the location of the windows source, target drive, other info to make the installation fully automated etc in a commandline interface. Quite straight forward.

Once it has successfully copied the stuff to your pen drive, then all you got to do is change the target computer's bios settings to make it boot from USB. A boot menu appears further guiding you on how to proceed.

Only issue is once Windows XP setup is underway, copying installation files from USB pen drive to IDE HDD takes some while. Otherwise the whole process is automatic. Leave it for an hour and you should be on the new XP desktop.

do let me know if you have any further queries.

Many thanks for your message. I will check it out. All that I want to do is, boot to dos prompt ( or get to command prompt ), browse directories on the HDD and replace my hal.dll

I dont want to install the OS again (but willing to do as a last option, as I dont have any data/info files on it. This is just used for net/IM's).

Neverthless, I will go through what you have said and try it out. Thanks a lot.

Will update soon

jpm · 26th December 2009, 18:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by vdiatech

Many thanks for your message. I will check it out. All that I want to do is, boot to dos prompt ( or get to command prompt ), browse directories on the HDD and replace my hal.dll

I dont want to install the OS again (but willing to do as a last option, as I dont have any data/info files on it. This is just used for net/IM's).

Neverthless, I will go through what you have said and try it out. Thanks a lot.

Will update soon

I had also originally wanted to get to a command prompt. But never managed to get the bootdisk pendrive images working. so gave up and went for full install.

Of course, Windows Setup, IIRC, has some recovery/repair options. One of them does put you at a command prompt.

it_inspector · 26th December 2009, 19:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by vdiatech

Many thanks for your message. I will check it out. All that I want to do is, boot to dos prompt ( or get to command prompt ), browse directories on the HDD and replace my hal.dll

I dont want to install the OS again (but willing to do as a last option, as I dont have any data/info files on it. This is just used for net/IM's).

Neverthless, I will go through what you have said and try it out. Thanks a lot.

Will update soon

If its purely a Net/IM machine, why dont u load it up with Nlite and it will be way faster as you should be able to remove pretty much all of the crap not required.

Cheers

vdiatech · 26th December 2009, 21:13

@JPM whats your take on UBUNTU for NetBook ? Windows XP makes my netbook very slow !

vdiatech · 26th December 2009, 21:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by it_inspector

If its purely a Net/IM machine, why dont u load it up with Nlite and it will be way faster as you should be able to remove pretty much all of the crap not required.

Cheers

Hi It_inspector, yes its only for net/im (webcam) . I am downloading ubuntu for netbooks. I will also read about Nlite. I really dont need all the extras that come with the XP and hog the limited resources.

Whats your take on Ubuntu ? I will most probaby install either one of them in the morning. Its a shame to see a OEM Windows XP license going waste though..lol

ikoneer · 26th December 2009, 22:00

I also had a similar problem when my windows xp crashed (same hal.dll problem, used to boot but windows was not loading)

I ran the Windows XP Setup CD and used the recover option. It created another boot sequence and it was able to load without any issues.

vdiatech · 26th December 2009, 22:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikoneer

I also had a similar problem when my windows xp crashed (same hal.dll problem, used to boot but windows was not loading)

I ran the Windows XP Setup CD and used the recover option. It created another boot sequence and it was able to load without any issues.

Pal, no CD or DVD drive here and no onborad or HDD recovery options.!

24th December 2009, 23:17	#1
vdiatech BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 414 Thanked: 10 Times	How to create a bootable USB flash drive ? Hello, My ASUS EEE 900 (windows xp) has crashed. I get the error message that hal.dll is corrupted. These Laptops dont come with a cd/dvd rom drives and hence I am unable to use the conventional boot discs. They do support USB external device boot. I have only managed to create a win98 boot on the USB flash drive, but when I use it to boot the laptop, I cant access the hard disk files, the USB flash gets the C: assigned ! All that I want is a simple dos prompt boot (or XP ), which will help me access the hard drive files and replace the hal.dll tried googling and none of the fixes work. Also, I need FAT 32 DOS ( Eg dos 6.22 below dont work !) Please help. Thanks Last edited by vdiatech : 24th December 2009 at 23:24.
	() Thanks

24th December 2009, 23:25	#2
AbhiJ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Kolkata Posts: 1,476 Thanked: 1,207 Times	Your XP installation is most probably NTFS and thats why you cant access it when you boot via your usb drive. Try to copy the entire Win XP cd on to the USB drive and run windows setup off the usb drive (i think you ll need to run the /i386/winnt.exe file). The windows XP setup will detect your previous installation after which you can either repair the installation / do a repair install. p.s. The above should work, I havent actually done it!
	() Thanks

25th December 2009, 23:53	#5
SirAlec Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: zxc Posts: 3,393 Thanked: 726 Times	^^^ I can give you a solution but its very complex. you will have to put a ntfs partition reader plus chkdsk.exe on a usb. modify autoexec.bat and config.sys etc. etc. i will recommend you to buy a slim external dvd writer, usb powered. It will cost you money but its much practical and you will thank me for it in the long run.
	() Thanks

26th December 2009, 05:36	#6
it_inspector BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Melbourne Posts: 27 Thanked: 0 Times	Download BackTrack's 4 and follow following 3 steps. You can then boot with the usb and run live version of backtrack. This pretty much will give you access to anything and everything on ur netbook. - Extract BT USB image - Copy the boot and BT3 to the USB-stick - Start on the USB-stick /boot/bootinst.bat (Windows) /boot/bootinst.sh (*NIX) Cheers
	() Thanks

26th December 2009, 12:10	#7
vdiatech BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 414 Thanked: 10 Times	Hi fellas , thanks for the tips. Ofcourse, buying an external optical drive is an easy solution but I was hoping I would be able to do it with a flash drive. After extensive research on google, I have failed. Athough, an external DVD-Rom is an option, it is a bit expensive at 2K, I will just go for the external CD-Rom @rs800. I use my eee 900 , only for emails/IM's . I always carry my VAIO and eee 900 together. But before that , I will try what itinspector has quoted below! Last edited by vdiatech : 26th December 2009 at 12:13.
	() Thanks

26th December 2009, 18:11	#8
jpm BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Chennai/Thanjavur Posts: 117 Thanked: 143 Times View My Garage	vdiatech, i had a similar problem recently. No CDRom. Had to set up XP. Unfortunately copying the entire Windows Setup CD onto a USB doesnt work. Theres another solution and its quite simple. After much googling, found this link. Have since managed to setup several PCs this way with XP. You will need a Windows PC, your Windows Setup CD/iso image, a USB pen drive and the USB Multiboot 10 program found in the link. Run the program --> At a commandline interface, it will ask you to format the target pendrive and then ask a few questions regarding the location of the windows source, target drive, other info to make the installation fully automated etc in a commandline interface. Quite straight forward. Once it has successfully copied the stuff to your pen drive, then all you got to do is change the target computer's bios settings to make it boot from USB. A boot menu appears further guiding you on how to proceed. There is a menu item for USB repair of your existing system / or alternatively run Win XP setup for recovery. Of course, you can always re install if thats an option. Only issue is once Windows XP setup is underway, copying installation files from USB pen drive to IDE HDD takes some while. Otherwise the whole process is automatic. Leave it for an hour and you should be on the new XP desktop. Cheers Last edited by jpm : 26th December 2009 at 18:18. Reason: link url was wrong
	() Thanks

26th December 2009, 21:13	#12
vdiatech BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 414 Thanked: 10 Times	@JPM whats your take on UBUNTU for NetBook ? Windows XP makes my netbook very slow !
	() Thanks

26th December 2009, 22:00	#14
ikoneer BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: chennai Posts: 486 Thanked: 14 Times	I also had a similar problem when my windows xp crashed (same hal.dll problem, used to boot but windows was not loading) I ran the Windows XP Setup CD and used the recover option. It created another boot sequence and it was able to load without any issues.
	() Thanks