Greetings, dear readers! In today's article, we will talk with you about a multiboot flash drive, what it is for and how to create it, but first things first ...

It's always a good idea to have a multiboot flash drive with multiple operating systems on hand. Indeed, why bother looking for disks and a distribution kit, when you will always have the opportunity to install any system you need?

Many of you wondered: how to make such a multiboot flash drive? What programs do I need to use so that I have my own flash drive with several operating systems? But not always the knowledge and skills of an ordinary user are enough for this. In this material, I will provide you with clear instructions, how to write several operating systems .

So, first of all, let's summarize the concept with you - "Multiboot flash drive", because not every user knows such a term. Imagine that your computer does not boot from hard disk or drive, for some unknown reason the system cannot boot from the above devices. Then, in this case, just the same multiboot flash drive comes to the rescue. We can say that such a flash drive is a certain multipurpose set of necessary utilities, programs that are designed to diagnose your personal computer... Here it will not be difficult to guess what diagnostic operations you can carry out with your PC, as an example I give you a few of them:

1.Testing RAM or hard drive

2. Diagnostics of the hard drive (recovery, backup)

3. Record on removable media.

Speaking in simple words, the installer is written to the flash drive, thanks to which, when booting from an external drive, a menu for selecting specific actions (OS installation, testing, diagnostics, etc.)

So, I suggest you start creating your own bootable USB flash drive. In this article, as an example, I will create a bootable USB flash drive with two operating systems, Windows XP and Windows 7. I will add that in one of my future articles I will definitely tell you how, in addition to operating systems, it will be possible to write utilities on a USB flash drive that will allow you to execute various diagnostics of your computer.

How to write several operating systems to a USB flash drive?

I am absolutely convinced that after reading this material, you will be able to create multi-boot flash drives with several operating systems. Including, you can create a USB flash drive, on board which will be Windows 7 and 8, not to mention the old-fashioned XP.

What do we need to get such a wonderful flash drive? First, you need a working operating system. In the example we will be using Windows 7 (32 Bit). In it, we will make our wonderful multiboot flash card, on which Windows XP and Windows 7 will be recorded.

For this we use the well-known utility WinSetupFromUSB. This program has long been known and has proven itself as a utility that allows you to create multiboot flash cards. I suggest you go to the official site of the WinSetupFromUSB program in order to download and install it on your computer. http://www.winsetupfromusb.com/downloads/

In fact, this program allows you to create a USB flash drive on the "UEFI" system.

In our example, we will use an 8 gigabyte flash card. This is enough to write two operating systems. You can always take a USB flash drive and a larger one, but keep in mind that you will need at least 4 gigabytes of memory for one system.

So, we have downloaded the program to our computer, now we just have to unzip and run it.

Note that the program can work in both 32 and 64 bit systems. On the this moment I am running the program on Windows 7 (32 discharge system), so I click WinSetupFromUSB_1-4X32.

So, we open our program. Do you see the main window? The name of our flash card is displayed here. Check the box next to "Auto format ...". Next, click on the NTFS item. Select "Windows 2000 ..." and then click the explorer button that opens on the right.

In the explorer itself, you need to assign a folder with the XP file distribution kit. If you have installation disk then all you need to do is just make a copy of the files and move them into a folder, calling it something like "WindowsXP".

If you are working with a separate XP image, then you need to open it in DAEMON Tools, and then perform the same actions, namely copy the entire distribution kit into this folder.

Everything. The folder is indicated. Now we need to click on the "ok" button.

We agree with the license

Click "go"

Once again

The first step in creating your multiboot flash card is complete!

Moreover, it was completed successfully: it already has one operating system.

Roughly the same steps must be repeated with the "Seven". This operating system, which many prefer 8-ke, is quite versatile and not too demanding. How do I install it? No harder than XP.

Go to the folder where the WinSetupFromUSB utility is located and click on WinSetup ... exe.

In the main menu that appears, we will see that our flash drive has been identified. This time, do not click on the item "Auto format it ..."

It is necessary to check the boxes Vista / 7/8 / ... Next - open the explorer (the button is on the right). We are looking for a 64-bit "seven" image, click on it once with the left mouse button and then simply open it. We start the process by clicking on "GO".

So everything went well. Now you have two systems on your flash drive: "XP" "Seven".

This is already a lot. However, what to do if you want to write one more, more modern system? Shall we say the Eight?

So, the process is exactly the same as in the previous case: choose your USB flash drive. Do not click on the "Auto format ..." item. Otherwise, the existing operating systems will simply be removed from your computer.

Then tick Vista / 7/8 / ... Finally, click on the explorer menu, find there the image of the required operating system and click on "open". Further - "go" and voila! The third operating system will appear on your flash card.

How to install one of the systems from a flash card?

If you are going to install xP, "Seven" or "Eight" on a PC with UEFI, then your very first step is to turn off Secure Boot. This is very important, otherwise the installation of the system will be impossible. If you don't know how to do this, here's to you .

If you are going to install systems on a computer with BIOS, then you should simply start booting it from your flash card.

So, we enter the boot menu of your computer. Next, you choose your USB flash drive. The first window that appears is the GRUB4DOS menu.

Select Windows XP / 2000/2003 ... and XP will be installed.

Select Windows NT6 ... and you will have a choice: start downloading the "Sevens" or "Eights" on 64 bits.

So let's try to install both systems. Let's start with XP.

Using the arrows on your keyboard, you simply select "Windows XP / 2000/2003 ...". Then press Enter and a window will appear. We agree, select the third item and press "Enter".

At this point, the loading of the operating system begins. Then you install XP as if from a disk. There is nothing complicated about that.

I will only note that a reboot awaits you. After the GRUB4DOS window appears - select "4 Second part of Windows XP" ... That's it. The installation will continue soon and your PC will have Windows XP.

By the way, if during the installation process you got this blue screen,

then in this case you should perform one simple trick in the BIOS of your computer. Namely, switch from AHCI Mode to IDE Mode, in the SATA Configuration tab.

If the above method did not help you to avoid the appearance of a blue screen, then I recommend that you create an image of the operating system with SATA drivers integrated inside. In the event that these drivers are not available, then on the new motherboards will pop up a spiteful blue screen notifying of an error. And all because the program simply cannot detect HDD... We will consider this issue in more detail in the next article.

Of course, today there are a huge number of programs that will allow you to easily create a multiboot flash drive. Moreover, most of them are not only free, but also very easy to use. For example, you can see in the video presented.

Having created such a USB flash drive, you will always have several operating systems at hand, which will undoubtedly save you a lot of time. You no longer need to search for operating system boot disks or CD writers. Once, having spent your time creating such an irreplaceable tool, you will never regret it.

I hope that today's tips on how to make a multiboot flash drive were useful to you. I tried to cover this process in as much detail as possible and therefore I am sure that you will succeed if you follow my simple instructions. That's all for today, if you have any questions - ask them in the comments, I will be glad to help you!

Dear users, if you have any questions after reading this article or you want to add something about the subject of this article or the entire Internet resource as a whole, then you can use the comment form. Also ask your questions, suggestions, wishes ..

So, for today this is actually all that I wanted to tell you about in today's issue. I hope that you have found interesting and useful information for yourself in this article. Well, I, in turn, am waiting for your questions, wishes or suggestions regarding this article or the entire site as a whole.

Hello everyone, I continue my series of articles on bootable usb media. In the last episode, I told and showed in four different ways.

There will be a lot of interesting things, so read the article to the end, repeat all the simple steps and you will have your own multiboot usb device. At the end of the article, I wrote down and posted a detailed video lesson on this topic.

It may seem to some of you that the information is very chewed, but not all people understand computers, and even more so in matters of creating such portable usb devices.

In today's review:

• Preparation
• Creating a bootable USB drive
• Adding Windows XP and Windows 7
• Copying files and utilities
• Adding Required Programs
• Kaspersky Rescue Disk
• Dr. Web Live CD
• Working with a graphical boot list
• Changing and creating a background image

The last item is optional, since the image will already be the default.

Preparation

The whole process will take a different amount of time for each person. If all distributions of programs and an image will already be at your fingertips, then you will need it much less. If you are making a bootable or multiboot flash drive for the first time, then it can take a lot of time. So get ready and be patient, we will need it today.

The first question that you may have is: What kind of flash drive to take in terms of volume? To create a regular multiboot flash drive with a minimum set of programs, 1 Gigabyte should be enough.

If you want to add distributions of operating systems to it, programs for working with hard disk, bootable shells, utilities for changing passwords and programs for treating your computer from viruses. It is advisable to have at hand a usb medium with a volume of 8 Gigabytes and above.

In the examples, I will have an 8 GB flash drive, you may have a different volume, or even a portable USB hard drive.

If you have any data on your usb device, please save it elsewhere, as we will format our usb media.

Create a bootable USB flash drive

To create a multiboot flash drive, we need additional software. There are many programs for creating multiboot devices, but unfortunately most of them are in English.

I decided to use the MultiBoot USB program, which is in Russian. It is more pleasant to work with it, those who get confused or do not understand something can use the instructions for use.

To unpack this archive you will need the 7Zip program. Perhaps your archiver programs will not be able to open some of the archives presented in this review, then I recommend using 7Zip.

After downloading the program, install it on your computer. A “MultiBoot USB” shortcut should appear on the desktop.

We go into it and a small menu opens in front of us with a characteristic welcome sound like on Windows, with 7 seven tabs.

Formatting a USB flash drive

We connect the previously prepared USB flash drive to the computer and format it. We go to the first menu item of the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool.

The utility for formatting is launched, under the word Device we indicate our USB flash drive. I have this Chipsbnk UDisk, volume (7800 MB), you may have a different designation and size.

We choose file system... If you have a flash drive up to 4 gigabytes, then you can put , if the flash drive is larger than 4 GB, then I recommend using the file system ... I have 8 GB, so I chose the second option.

In the formatting options (Format options) put a checkmark in front of Quick Format, thus, we indicate quick formatting and click Start.

We are asked if you really want to start the formatting process, we answer Yes. This process shouldn't take long.

After the program formats the USB flash drive, the next HPUSBFW window will appear, in which we click OK.

If an error appears - the device is being used by another program, use the usual formatting.

Also, a portable usb device can be formatted Windows tools... Go to My Computer >>> Right-click on the USB flash drive >>> Format >>> Quick (clear the table of contents) >>> Start.

Warning window - click OK.

The following window may appear - This disk is in use by another program or process. Click Yes to format it.

Such a message may appear after the USB flash drive is already bootable. In the first steps of creating a multi bootable usb the device should not have such a window.

Installing the bootloader

The Grub4Dos Installer 1.1 window appears. In the upper Disk Name tab, put a dot next to Disk, indicate the usb device and click Install.

I have two disks on my computer, this is the main 2 terabyte hard drive and an 8 GB flash drive, choose the second one. This program will install the bootloader on our device.

When choosing a disk, do not make a mistake and specify exactly your USB flash drive, if you are mistaken and select the main hard disk on which the operating system is installed, then the next time you turn on Windows computer will not start.

Upon completion of the operation, the The MBR / BS has been successfully installed window should appear. To continue please click .

Adding distributions of operating systems

Let's move on to the fourth item WinSetup From USB.

I will add two operating rooms to the flash drive Windows systems XP and Windows 7. You can add others by clicking on the appropriate items.

Windows XP

If you do not have a disk image with the operating system distribution kit, you can find it yourself on the Internet. I can suggest to download the licensed product Windows XP Prof SP3.

Then we mount the operating system disk image into a virtual drive, I will use the Daemon Tools program, you may have another one.

Mount Windows XP Home, you can use Windows XP Professional.

Click on WinSetup From USB, which will help us copy the distribution files of the required operating systems.

In the window that appears, select the desired usb portable device and put a checkmark in front of Windows 2000 / XP / 2003 Setup.

Press the browse button (three dots) and select the disk image prepared in advance and already mounted in the virtual drive. I have it BD-rom drive (H :), you may have a different one.

We are waiting for completion, at the end a small window should appear with the inscription Job done - the work is done.

This process took me about 20 minutes.

Windows 7

If you do not have a disk or an image of the seven, then you can download Windows 7 from the link below:

In order to add Windows 7 or Windows 8 to our flash drive, you need to do almost everything the same as for Windows XP, only when you select Add to USB disk: you need to check the box next to Vista / 7 / Server - 2008 Setup / PE / Recovery ISO ...

Select the mounted disk image, start the process and wait for it to complete.

Making a multiboot flash drive

We return to MultiBoot USB and go to the fifth point: Copying files and utilities.

The multiboot flash drive window opens, press the browse button.

Select our portable usb device and click OK.

Then click on the Extract button to start the process of copying files.

A small window appears to confirm the replacement of files, replace the existing file usbdrive.tag, click Yes for all.

We perform the same action for all subsequent files that we will be offered to replace.

If you want to see what came of it, then go to the fourth item WinSetup From USB, click the button , check the box next to and press .

This is the boot menu you should get about.

There are points here that need to be slightly edited, and some to be removed altogether.

Add the necessary program images

I decided to remove Symantec Ghost and Windows XPE - full version, since I don't need them, but we'll come back to this later.

First of all, let's add an image of the following programs that are on the list, namely Acronis, Windows XPE - mini version and Windows 7PE - mini version. Images of these three programs can be downloaded from the links below:

Now you have downloaded all three images, now we need to replace empty files with working images. To do this, go to the multiboot flash drive, in the folder , delete the image files, where it says 0 KB and insert the three image files that you downloaded earlier.

Alternatively, you can not delete them, but simply replace them with working images, but for this the downloaded Acronis Disk Director 11 Acronis Home 2011 - LiveUSB file must be renamed to Acronis.iso.

I put these three images in a separate folder in advance, so that later you can copy and paste them on a USB flash drive in the folder .

You can also check the box below - Do this for the next two conflicts, thereby all three image files will be replaced with working ones.

ERD Commander

Now I propose to add a useful ERD Commander program to a multiboot usb device to change passwords in Windows operating systems.

Why does she need you ask me? I will answer you. ERD Commander can be used if you forget the password for your account Windows. Boot with this utility, select the required operating system and change the password.

Especially for you, I found on the Internet a set of ERD Commander programs that work in Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8.

After downloading the image of the program, copy it and paste it on the USB flash drive in the folder .

Boot disk from Doctor Web

Surely each of you or your acquaintances has encountered the problem of viruses, various banners and similar hacker tricks. So, if your operating system does not load or you cannot enter Windows, then I recommend using the boot disk from Doctor Web.

With it, you can boot and check your computer for viruses, even if the normal login to Windows is not possible.

To do this, we need to go to the official website of the Web (I call it Doctor MOM), go to the section Download >>> Treatment utilities >>> Dr.Web Live CD and download the image to our computer. The anti-virus databases are updated daily.

Downloaded the image, ok, now you need to rename it from in .

Then we also copy the renamed image to the USB flash drive into the folder .

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10

Everyone has heard that there is Kaspersky Anti-Virus, some of you have used it or are still using it. I like this antivirus and are quite happy with it, so I have been using it for over 5 years now.

Kaspersky also has a disk for emergency Windows recovery like Doctor Web. It is called Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10, and its anti-virus databases are updated regularly, so Kaspersky can help you if viruses start on your computer and you cannot log in to the system.

Downloaded the image, rename it from in .

We go to the root of the flash drive, create a new folder in it and name it .

Then copy the renamed image to the created folder .

That's not all. We return to the root of our portable usb device and create a new text document in it.

Rename<Новый текстовый документ.txt>in .

Removing the extension<.txt>and press enter.

We are warned that after changing the extension, the file may not be available, click<Да>.

Working with a graphical boot menu

Now we have finally added everything required programs and images of files on our bootable USB stick. Now you need to edit the graphical boot menu that appears when you select our distributions, programs and utilities.

We go to the USB flash drive, to the root, we find the file , open it with Notepad, WordPad or , to whom it is more convenient.

Just in case, I'll show you how to open the sheet menu using notepad if you don't have Notpad ++. Right click on the file , choose Open.

The Failed to open this file window appears. We put a point near<Выбор программы из списка установленных программ>and press .

If it is not there, then you need to double-click on Other programs or on the right on the small pointer down.

In the list that appears, find Notepad or WordPad, select it and click OK.

I'm used to working through a comfortable , so I will carry out all editing work in it.

Before us appears a list of all items, which is displayed in the graphical menu of our bootable usb device.

First of all, I propose to remove (delete) unnecessary and unnecessary items mentioned earlier, Symantec Ghost and Windows XPE - full version.

The superfluous have been removed, now I propose to edit our list in accordance with the contents of our flash drive. Depending on the name of the images on the usb device, you need to rename these names in the list menu, that is, make them the same for everything to work.

I will write the names of my images, you may have others, but remember one thing, if you make a mistake in at least one letter, the required distribution kit or program will not start.

Previously, we added distributions of Windows XP and Windows 7 operating systems via the WinSetup From USB utility. We find the corresponding items in our menu and change their names to new ones.

Windows 7 all

In my case, I take away and I enter .

Windows XP Home

Then rename the name of the Windows XP boot loader. At the moment in the menu sheet<Установка Microsoft Windows XP SP3 x86 — Русская версия>.

In order to see the name of your image, just go to the USB flash drive in the folder .

There will be a disk image and its name, which we registered above in the list menu.

ERD Commander

We also inserted an image of the ERD Commander program, you need to add an entry about it to our download list.

To do this, copy the record from Acronis, change the name to ERD Commander and two paths of the image file to .

Doctor Web

With Doctor Web, things will be a little more complicated. Insert the following text into the sheet menu:

title Dr.Web LiveCD - Anti-Virus Utility
partnew (% @ root: ~ 1.3%, 3) 0x00 /Boot/drweb.iso
map /Boot/drweb.iso (0xff)
map —hook
cat —skip = 85 (0xff) / boot / config | set ID =
kernel (0xff) / boot / vmlinuz% ID% root = / dev / ram0 init = / linuxrc init_opts = 4 quiet vga = 791 splash = silent, theme: drweb CONSOLE = / dev / tty1 BOOT_LANG = ru_RU.UTF-8
initrd (0xff) / boot / initrd

And place it wherever you like on our download list.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10

In order for the utility from Kaspersky to work, you also need to insert special text, which I posted below:

title Downloading Kav Rescue 10 - Disaster Recovery Utility
map (hd0,0) /rescue/rescue.iso (hd32) || map —mem (hd0,0) /rescue/rescue.iso (hd32)
map —hook
root (hd32)
chainloader (hd32)

We also place it in any place we like in the list of the menu sheet.

Thus, we have edited the file , according to the added programs and images to our multiboot flash drive.

If you want to change the name of the items to your own, then in the line