How to transfer the contents of one bootable USB flash drive to another if there is no original ISO file. How to burn any ISO image to a USB flash drive


E If a USB drive is already connected or several are connected,
then we will select the one we need. If you connected the flash drive after starting the program,
then click “Rescan”. D For backup
and creating an image USB of your choice disk, click on “Backup”.


IN choose a location to save the backup copy, enter the file name and select
required type from the possible ones: img, ima, with ZIP compression - imz, GZIP compression - img.gz.
Then click “Save”


AND The backup process is fast and depends only on the speed of operation
and storage capacity. The process takes place in sector-by-sector mode, so all
information from the drive will be saved.
At this stage, you can also interrupt the process by clicking on “Cancel”.
IN restore information on media from previously created or downloaded to
the vastness of the Internet image is also simple: click on “Restore”,
select the image and confirm the selected action.


WITH download link
I hope the article will be useful to many. In my case, this program turned out to be
a simple and quick solution to creating a bootable USB-Flash image.

The program works very quickly and now I don’t need to constantly have
bootable flash. I can use it for any purpose, and if necessary
restore from image in minutes.
On my computer, and at work it’s not very new and fast, the process
Creating a bootable USB-Flash image takes up to seven minutes, this is for 8 Gb.
I don't think it's bad at all.
Thanks to the author of the utility.

Bootable flash drives are different from regular ones - you can’t just copy the contents of a boot USB to a computer or other drive. Today we will introduce you to options for solving this problem.

As already mentioned, simply copying files from a bootable storage device to another will not bring results, since bootable flash drives use their own file system and memory partition layout. And yet, it is possible to transfer an image of an OS recorded on a flash drive - this is a complete cloning of memory while preserving all the features. To do this, you should use special software.

Method 1: USB Image Tool

The small portable utility USB Image Tool is ideal for solving our today's problem.

  1. After downloading the program, unpack the archive with it to any location on your hard drive - this software does not require installation on the system. Then connect a bootable USB flash drive to your PC or laptop and double-click on the executable file.
  2. In the main window on the left there is a panel displaying all connected drives. Select the boot one by clicking on it.

    There is a button at the bottom right "Backup", which you need to press.

  3. A dialog box will appear "Conductor" with the choice of where to save the resulting image. Choose the one that suits you and click "Save".

    The cloning process can take a long time, so be patient. When it is finished, close the program and disconnect the boot drive.

  4. Connect a second flash drive to which you want to save the resulting copy. Launch USB Image Tool and select the desired device in the same panel on the left. Then find the button below "Restore", and press it.
  5. The dialog box will appear again "Explorer", where you need to select the previously created image.


    Click "Open" or just double click on the file name.
  6. Confirm your actions by clicking on "Yes" and wait for the recovery procedure to complete.


    Done - the second flash drive will become a copy of the first, which is what we need.

This method has few disadvantages - the program may refuse to recognize some models of flash drives or create incorrect images from them.

Method 2: AOMEI Partition Assistant

A powerful program for managing the memory of both hard drives and USB drives will also be useful to us in creating a copy of a bootable flash drive.

  1. Install the software on your computer and open it. Select items from the menu "Master""Disc Copy Wizard".


    Celebrating "Quickly copy a disc" and press "Next".
  2. Next, you need to select the boot drive from which the copy will be made. Click on it once and press "Next".
  3. The next step is to select the final flash drive, which we want to see as a copy of the first. In the same way, mark the desired one and confirm by pressing "Next".
  4. In the preview window, check the option "Fitting partitions of the entire disk".


    Confirm your choice by pressing "Next".
  5. In the next window, click "End".


    Returning to the main program window, click on "Apply".
  6. To start the cloning process, click "Go".


    In the warning window you need to click "Yes".

    The copy will take quite some time, so you can leave the computer alone for now and do something else.
  7. When the procedure is completed, simply click "OK".

There are practically no problems with this program, but on some systems it refuses to start for unknown reasons.

Method 3: UltraISO

One of the most popular solutions for creating bootable flash drives can also create copies of them for subsequent recording on other drives.

  1. Connect both of your flash drives to your computer and launch UltraISO.
  2. Select the item in the main menu. Next - “Create a diskette image” or “Create a Hard Disk Image”(these methods are equivalent).
  3. In the dialog box in the drop-down list "Drive" you need to select your boot drive. At point "Save As" select the location where the flash drive image will be saved (before doing this, make sure that you have enough space on the selected hard drive or partition).


    Click "Do" to start the procedure for saving the bootable flash drive image.
  4. When the procedure is finished, press "OK" in the message box and disconnect the boot drive from the PC.
  5. The next step is to write the resulting image to a second flash drive. To do this, select "File""Open…".


    In the window "Conductor" select the previously obtained image.
  6. , but this time click “Burn Hard Disk Image...”.


    In the list entry utility window "Disk Drive" install your second flash drive. Set recording method "USB-HDD+".


    Check that all settings and values ​​are set correctly and press "Record".
  7. Confirm formatting the flash drive by clicking on "Yes".
  1. Hello admin! This is a question, I have a bootable flash drive with the Windows 7 operating system, I don’t remember how I created it, and I don’t have the image with “seven” at hand right now either. Is it possible for me to somehow make an image of my bootable flash drive and deploy this image to a flash drive of a friend of mine who urgently needs a bootable Windows 7 flash drive, but I can’t give him my flash drive.
  2. Hello everyone and I have a question! How to make a bootable USB flash drive image quick and easy? For this purpose, I tried to use the ImgBurn program, but the image of a bootable flash drive with the Windows 7 operating system with a capacity of 8 GB is twice as large; moreover, the program also needs to extract the boot record from the flash drive, which also turns out to be more than 10 GB in size. For instructions, I used an article on the Internet, it seems that the author of the article himself has never created a bootable USB flash drive in this way, but he advises everyone.

How to make a bootable USB flash drive image

Friends! The fastest and easiest way to create an image of a bootable flash drive is with the UltraISO program. The ISO image created in this way can even be deployed to a completely different flash drive. Isn't it very convenient?

Program website http://www.ezbsystems.com/ultraiso/download.htm. Download and run the program.

Unfortunately, the program is paid ($29) and only allows you to work with files up to 300 MB for free.

Your bootable USB flash drive with your operating system probably weighs more than 3 GB, so draw your own conclusions. Personally, I purchased this program and have never regretted it, since it has no equal when working with ISO images. UltraISO can create a bootable Windows 7 USB flash drive, make a bootable flash drive image, change the contents of the ISO image and much more.

Managing the program is incredibly simple, we drag our flash drive, in my case under the letter G: from the lower left window (list of PC disks) to the upper right window (list of contents of the new project).

Add all files to drive G:? We answer Yes.

We save the file, for example, on drive D: and give the file a name, for example Windows 7 64 bit.

The process of creating a bootable flash drive image begins, which ends successfully.

As we wanted, the bootable flash drive image file we made in ISO format is located on the D: drive.

Deploy the image to another flash drive

Let's now deploy the image to another flash drive.

We connect another flash drive to our computer. File -> Open.

An explorer window opens. Right-click on our Windows 7 64 bit image on drive D: and click Open.

Select “Disk Drive” and select our flash drive. The recording method is “USB-HDD+” and click “Record”.

We are warned that all information on the flash drive will be erased. We agree, click Yes!

The process of creating a bootable USB flash drive.

Success.

I am successfully testing the flash drive. The flash drive is bootable and you can install the Windows 7 operating system from it!

In exactly the same way, you can make an image of any bootable, as well as a simple flash drive, and in the future, if necessary, deploy this image to your flash drive or someone else’s.

Note:

If you transfer an image to a flash drive in NTFS format, and at the output you get a flash drive in FAT-32 format, then this is why it happens. In normal mode, UltraIso automatically reformats the flash drive to FAT-32, and it doesn’t matter that the file system was NTFS before. In order for the flash drive to remain in NTFS, you need to select ExpressBoot in UltraISO, then click on ExpressWrite, as a result, when you unpack the image onto the flash drive, the file system will be unchanged.

If the program is not fully functional, for example UltraISO does not offer the choice of recording to USB. Then you just need to run the program as an administrator. This is done by right-clicking on the program shortcut and selecting the appropriate action!

Hello friends! Today we’ll talk again about creating a bootable USB flash drive.

How to create a bootable USB device? For what purposes should I use it and what program should I use to record it?

A brief overview of the five most popular and free programs for creating a bootable USB flash drive.

Modern developments do not stand still, and yesterday's technologies are slowly but surely losing their relevance. So the once popular CDs and DVDs no longer seem like such a clear solution for storing, transferring and working with information. High data reading speed, versatility and reusability are just a small part of all the advantages of a flash drive as a bootable medium over disks. Already today, almost all personal computers and laptops, if they are no more than ten years old, support the ability to boot from USB devices. And in some cases (for example, a netbook), a flash drive may be the only boot device from an external drive.

By the way, the new Windows 10 operating system will be the first axis, the distribution of which will be officially distributed on a USB drive. And if you suddenly need to recover files from a flash drive, read about it. I also recommend paying attention to, which will help you take your mind off everyday work and lift your spirits.

With the help of additional software, a flash drive can be used not only as a boot device for installing, reinstalling and restoring the operating system, but also to create an emergency device (Multiboot). This is a kind of resuscitator, a tool from which you can boot at any time and cure your computer of viruses, restore system files or save important data. I described how to create such a flash drive resuscitator in the article “Creating a bootable Live CD/DVD/USB device and its use.” You can read this article.

Despite all the obvious advantages and the growing popularity of a flash drive as a bootable device, there are not so many programs for creating it. Nevertheless, they exist, and today I will introduce you to them in more detail, but first a few words about the preparatory stage.

Preparing a flash drive

We will need the flash drive itself, plus knowledge of some important aspects. First, you need to make sure that your computer supports booting from USB devices. There is a misconception that if in the bios (boot section) there is no option to select boot from usb (there are only floppi, hdd and dvd-rom options), then boot from usb is not supported. This is wrong!

More precisely, this is not always the case. The only correct solution is to refer to the manual (user manual) of your motherboard or using specialized software (AIDA64 as an option) to obtain a detailed report on the hardware used.

The second point is the size of the flash drive. Here everything will depend on what we write on it. For example, to create a Live-USB, Linux or Windows 7 installation disk, a 4 GB flash drive is enough. To create a bootable device with the latest versions of Windows, it is advisable to have a flash drive of at least 8 GB on hand.

The third point is transferring files from a flash drive. Typically, the process of creating a boot device involves completely formatting it. If there are important files on the flash drive, transfer them to another device in advance. To create a bootable USB flash drive and then use it as a boot device, use the USB-2.0 port (Windows 7 does not support USB 3.0).

How to create a bootable USB flash drive

Let's look at five different methods using five free programs for Windows as an example.


A small but quite functional utility with the self-explanatory name WinSetupFromUSB. Equally well suited for recording a bootable and/or multiboot flash drive (up to 10 operating systems) and creating Live devices. Official website.

Among the shortcomings is the lack of support for the Russian language. Among the advantages, as I already said, is its versatility. The utility can work not only with Windows distributions, but is also suitable for burning an installation disk with Linux.

The usual option for creating a bootable flash drive, for example, with a Windows distribution, involves selecting the flash drive itself, the option to automatically format the media, and the ISO image of the operating system in the appropriate boxes. The recording process starts after pressing the “Go” button. You can read more about how this program works.

To create a multiboot flash drive (several OS), you need to specify the path to the ISO images of the operating systems. At the time of writing this article, the Windows 10 selection item is not available by default, but in reality everything is written and works, you just need to select the appropriate column with the available versions - Vista, 7, 8.

2. Rufus

Perhaps the simplest solution for creating bootable USB drives. Everything is simple and intuitive. Suitable for working on systems that do not have an installed OS. Official website rufus.akeo.ie.

The main advantages are speed, simple interface, Russian language. An excellent solution if you need to create a bootable Windows 10 USB flash drive with UEFI support. By the way, I wrote in detail about how to do this in.

Distributed in the format of a regular installer and a portable version. To create a bootable USB flash drive, in the utility window you need to specify the path to the ISO image to be written and click the “Start” button.

On new systems that use UEFI instead of BIOS, set the Partition Scheme and System Interface Type menu to GPT for computers with UEFI.
In other cases, the default settings will be sufficient. The option to format a flash drive is assigned by default.

3. Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool

This utility is an official application from Microsoft. The interface is minimalistic, simple and clear, it is easy to work with. Download from the official website wudt.codeplex.com.

Perhaps the name of the utility (Windows 7 USB) will mislead many that with its help you can only write the Windows 7 distribution to removable media. However, this is not the case. In addition to the seventh version, Windows 8.1 and 10 distributions can be stored on a flash drive.

The downside is that the utility is not Russified, but the simple and intuitive interface is designed to offset this drawback.

All that is required from the user is to insert a USB drive in advance, select an ISO image with the operating system and specify the path to the media (flash drive) to which this image should be deployed.

The operating principle of this program is based on standard tools of the Windows operating system - these are “diskpart”, “bootsect /nt60”, unpacking ISO onto a flash drive. The program acts only as a graphical interface.

UltraISO is one of the best and most functional programs for working with disk images. A universal “harvester” that supports work with almost any known formats. Can work in tandem with Nero Burning Rom and integrates with virtual emulators. It will help if the boot disk image is not in ISO format.

The program can convert other image formats into ISO files - NRG, MDF, MDS, IMG, CCD, etc. With UltraISO you can edit ISO files without unpacking them. The UltraISO interface has been translated into many languages, including Russian. For downloading, you are offered several editions of UltraISO, adapted for individual versions of Windows, as well as a portable version of the program. Download link www.ezbsystems.com.

By and large, the program does not care what boot devices will be created with its help, with what operating system, what software and from what manufacturer. The ISO image to be burned must be opened in the program window either using the "Open" command in the "File" menu or using the browse button on the toolbar. This can also be done using the Ctrl + O key combination.

Then in the window that appears, if the program automatically selects the desired flash drive, you should click the “Burn” button.

Daemon Tools Ultra is a professional tool for working with images. The program itself is familiar to many users from the free Lite version, which allows you to mount virtual drives for reading disk images. Its more functional version - Daemon Tools Ultra - offers, among other features, the creation of boot devices.

Among the disadvantages, it is worth noting that it is paid, but to create a bootable flash drive, you can download a free 20-day trial version on the program’s official website. Official website of the program.

Go to the official website and download the program. During installation, you must select a trial license type.

The program works with a huge number of disk image formats and can be used both to create a boot device with subsequent installation of the operating system, and to restore it (Live disk).

To create a bootable flash drive, in the main window of Daemon Tools Ultra, select the “Tools” menu item, and among its commands is “Write bootable image to USB”. Or the hotkey combination Ctrl+B.

In the recording parameters window, specify the path to the image, enable the MBR overwrite option and click “Start”.

When the flash drive is ready, all that remains is to boot from it. The easiest way is to use the boot menu keys. The table below shows a clear example of such keys.

Of course, this is not the entire list of programs designed to create bootable devices, but for the vast majority of users, the capabilities and functionality of the listed software will be sufficient.

For example, the Rufus program can be used as the simplest and fastest tool for creating a bootable USB drive with one Windows distribution or for flashing BIOS from DOS.