Sometimes specialists and system administrators are faced with the task of installing Windows Server 2022 on one or more machines. To solve this problem, you will need reliable bootable media to quickly deploy systems. This instruction is not necessarily useful only to IT workers. One way or another, if you are faced with the task of installing Windows Server 2022, we will try to explain step by step and clearly how to create a bootable USB drive required to install the operating system on the server. We will break everything down into several stages (steps): from preparing the necessary devices and programs to starting the installation of the operating system.
Preparing the necessary tools
Before you begin, make sure you have a free USB drive with at least 8 GB of capacity. By the way, you can use any external drive to solve this problem. Next, you will need to download the official image of Windows Server 2022 from the Microsoft website.
We will also need the Rufus program to create a system image on the drive, or if you have experience, you may be more familiar with this task using Diskpart (a Windows console system program).Both options lead to the same result, it’s just that in the case of Rufus the process will be accompanied by a more friendly interface. But sometimes it happens that instead of an operating system, you only have the command line at hand. In any case, we will look at both methods.
If you choose rufus, you need to go to their website and download the latest version of the program.
Formatting USB and burning Windows Server 2022 distribution to a USB drive
While the distribution and program are loading, connect the USB to your PC. Make sure that your important files are not there – make a copy of them, because we will need a completely empty flash drive. Once you are ready to start formatting, right-click on the usb icon and select “Format” from the context menu. Before starting the formatting process, change the file system type to NTFS, as the FAT32 file system does not support files larger than 4 GB. Click the “Start” button and wait for the result.
Create a bootable USB using Rufus
We use the Rufus tool to burn an ISO image of Windows Server 2022 to a flash drive. This free app makes it easy to create a bootable disk. In the Rufus interface, select our USB, load the downloaded ISO image and click “Start”. It is important to select the image recording mode in “DD”. Once the process is complete, Rufus will show a message indicating that the USB drive is ready. You can now safely remove the USB and use it to install Windows Server 2022 on your desired machine.
Create a bootable USB using Diskpart
Diskpart is a console system program included in Windows through which you can manage disks, partitions and volumes by directly entering commands.
To create a boot entry on a USB drive using the Diskpart utility, you will need to run a series of commands.
- Open a command prompt with administrator rights.
- Type diskpart and press Enter to start using the Diskpart utility.
- Enter list disk command to display a list of all available disks.
- Find your USB disk number in the list and enter select disk X command, replacing X with the number of your USB disk.
- Enter the clean command to delete all data on the selected drive.
- To create a new primary partition, use create partition primary command.
- Next, enter select partition 1 command to focus on the partition you just created.
8. To format the partition in NTFS, enter format fs=ntfs quick .
9. Finally, enter the active command to make the partition bootable.
After completing these steps, your USB drive will be prepared and activated as bootable. You can close the Diskpart utility by entering the exit command.
Please be careful when using Diskpart, as this powerful tool can erase data from any drive you access. Always make sure you select the correct drive before running the clean command.
Once you have formatted the flash drive, you need to transfer the Windows Server 2022 distribution files to it. To do this, write list volume to display a list of volumes on all connected media and determine the letter or volume number of the flash drive and run the command select volume Y , where Y is this is the letter or number of the desired volume. After selecting the volume, you can exit Diskpart by typing exit .
It should be noted that the Diskpart utility itself is not capable of copying files; it is designed to manage disks and partitions. To copy files to a flash drive, you can use regular Windows Explorer or the copy command in the command line.
For example, after preparing a flash drive using Diskpart, in the command line you can use the following command to copy file: copy C:\windowsserver2022.iso E:
Here copy C:\windowsserver2022.iso E: should be replaced with the path to the file you want to copy, and `E:` with the letter of the assigned flash drive volume.
Installing the distribution from a flash drive
Once your USB drive is ready, insert it ino the machine’s USB port and reboot it. Enter BIOS or UEFI mode and set the USB boot priority.
If you did everything correctly, you will see the installation start welcome window. Select the desired configuration and begin installation. All that’s left is to wait a little. You have successfully created a bootable USB flash drive for Windows Server 2022 and installed the server operating system from it on your hardware. Remember that accuracy and attentiveness in this process is the key to successful installation and further stable operation of your server.
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Конечно, что самый простой и интуитивный способ создать загрузочную USB флешку для установки Windows Server 2016 на физический сервер – воспользоваться утилитой Windows USB/DVD Download Tool. Данная утилита позволяет записать имеющийся *.iso образ Windows на USB флешку/диск и сделать его загрузочным. Однако, она форматирует флешку в файловую систему NTFS, загрузка с которой не поддерживается на UEFI системах и пригодна такая флешка только для установки Windows только на BIOS системах. В данной статье мы покажем, как без использования сторонних утилит создать установочную флешку с дистрибутивом Windows Server 2016.
Примечание. В отличии BIOS систем, которые могут загрузиться с загрузочных разделов с файловыми системам FAT, FAT32, exFAT или NTFS, UEFI системы могут загрузится только с загрузчика, находящегося на диске, отформатированном в ФС FAT32.
В зависимости от архитектуры сервера UEFI / BIOS нужно воспользоваться одним из следующих способов создания установочной флешки.
Содержание:
- Установочная USB флешка для UEFI системы
- Установочная флешка c таблицей разделов MBR для BIOS и UEFI архитектур
- Размер файла Install.wim более 4 Гб
Важно. При выполнении данной инструкции нужно быть внимательным, проверять пути к дискам и номера дисков, в противном случае, можно случайно отформатировать диск с данными. USB флешка будет отформатирована в любом случае, и данные на ней удалены.
Установочная USB флешка для UEFI системы
В том случае, если флешка будет использоваться для загрузки и установки Windows Server 2016 на сервере с поддержкой UEFI, на загрузочную флешку накладываются следующие требования:
- Минимальный размер USB флешки – 8 Гб
- Тип таблицы разделов флешки – GPT
- Файловая системе — FAT32
Итак, подключите USB флешку к компьютеру (в нашем примере это ПК с Windows 10), откройте командную строку с правами администратора, выполните команду DISKPART, в контексте которой выполните следующие команды:
list disk
Выведем список дисков, моем случае USB флешка имеет номер диска 1. Выберем ее.
select disk 1
Очистим содержимое флешки.
clean
Преобразуем таблицу разделов в GPT:
convert gpt
Создадим новый раздел (размер не должен превышать 16 Гб):
create partition primary
Совет. Если размер USB флешки более чем 16 Гб, нужно создать раздел, размером до 16Гб:
create partition primary size=16000
Отформатируем раздел в ФС FAT32:
format fs=FAT32 quick
Назначим новому разделу букву диска:
assign letter=M
Осталось завершить сеанс diskpart:
exit
Скопируем файлы дистрибутива со смонтированного iso образа Windows Server 2016 на флешку (предполагаем, что iso образ смонтирован с буквой диска E:\).
xcopy e:\* m:\ /H /F /E
Установочная флешка c таблицей разделов MBR для BIOS и UEFI архитектур
Возможно создать установочную флешку с Windows Server 2016 с таблицей разделов MBR для BIOS и UEFI системе. К USB драйву предъявляются следующие требования:
- Минимальный размер USB флешки – 8 Гб
- Тип таблицы разделов– MBR
- Файловая системе — FAT32
Также запустите сессию diskpart и последовательно выполните команды:
Список дисков в системе:
list disk
Выбираем USB диск (в моем примере, Disk 1):
select disk 1
Очистим диск:
clean
Создадим новый раздел размером не более 16 Гб. Если размер флешки меньше 16 Гб:
create partition primary
Если больше:
create partition primary size=16000
Отформатируем флешку в файловой системе FAT32:
format fs=FAT32 quick
Сделаем раздел активным и назначим букву диска M:
active
assign letter=M
Завершим работу diskpart командой exit и скопируем файлы дистрибутива на флешку:
xcopy e:\* m:\ /H /F /E
Размер файла Install.wim более 4 Гб
В том случае, если размер файла Install.wim более 4Гб, скопировать такой файл на флешку не получится, т.к. максимальный размер файла на файловой системе ограничен 4 Гб. В данной ситуации придется разбить wim файл на несколько более мелких файлов с помощью DISM:
dism /Split-Image /ImageFile:e:\sources\install.wim /SWMFile:m:\sources\install.swm /FileSize:4096
IT and Virtualization Consultant. Vladan is the founder, and executive editor of the ESX Virtualization Blog at vladan.fr. He is a VMware VCAP-DCA and VCAP-DCD, and has been a vExpert from 2009 to 2023.
IT and Virtualization Consultant. Vladan is the founder, and executive editor of the ESX Virtualization Blog at vladan.fr. He is a VMware VCAP-DCA and VCAP-DCD, and has been a vExpert from 2009 to 2023.
Microsoft has released the final version of Windows Server 2016. I thought that it might be a good idea to create a USB stick that can be used as a source to install the Windows Server 2016 OS to other servers/workstations.
There are many free tools that can be used to do the job, but sometimes you just don’t have that option or simply you do not want to use any free tools for this job. It is not so difficult to create a bootable USB, and this post will teach you how to do that in 6 easy steps.
This process works on any version of Windows Server or Windows Desktop version 8 or above. It uses Microsoft Diskpart tool present on those systems. It’s a command line tool, which is invoked by simply typing “Diskpart” from within a command prompt.
This How-To should also work on versions earlier than Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2.
This post will teach you this process without any freeware/shareware. The article does not use any downloadable programs or nor is it executable from anywhere. It uses only programs already present in the Windows system. All you need to have is the Microsoft ISO and have a laptop/workstation running Windows 8 or higher, with a free USB slot.
If you do not have the ISO of Windows Server 2016, you will need to download it. To download Windows Server 2016 eval 180 days, go to this link. Microsoft will also make this download available through usual subscription services.
Create Boot USB with Windows Server 2016 – Here are the steps:
Step 1. The first thing to do is to mount the ISO of Windows Server 2016 you just downloaded. Double-click the ISO file to mount it. Check the drive letter and make note of the drive letter. In my case, it is drive D:
Step 2. Put in the USB Key on your computer and make note of the drive letter and the size of the disk. In my case, it is E: and 10gb. Your environment will certainly be different than mine. You will need at least an 8gb USB thumb drive as the process will require 4.9gb.
Step 3. Run Elevated command prompt – Start > type cmd > Right-click cmd at the top of the menu > Run as Administrator and accept the elevation request
Important NOTE: The following commands will completely wipe out your disk without warning, so make sure you select the proper disk. You can also disconnect all external drives or other USBs currently connected to your system to limit possible mistakes.
Step 4. Next, you will run the program called Diskpart to prepare the disk for the OS.
diskpart
list disk
select disk
in my case, I’ll do Select Disk 1 as Disk 1 is my 10Gb USB disk.
list disk
Please Note: after you run list disk again, the selected drive should be prefaced with the asterisks “*”. This is a small hint because I know the CLI isn’t everyone’s favorite.
Attention! Watch out: the next line is the one that wipes the drive completely. It cleans the drive.
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
active
format fs=ntfs quick label=”2016Server”
exit
Leaving DiskPart…
Step 5. Now we need to copy the boot sector. Make sure that you are still within the command prompt window
D:
cd boot
Note: Run “bootsect /help” for detailed usage instructions.
bootsect /nt60 e:
Target volumes will be updated with BOOTMGR compatible bootcode.
Bootcode was successfully updated on all targeted volumes.
Step 6. Now we just need to copy the files… (STILL Within the DOS window)
It is a xCopy command to copy files. The syntax is basically xCopy (source) (destination) with some switches (I won’t go into details). You’ll need to replace drive letters below with your drive letters.
xcopy D:\*.* E:\ /E /H /F
NOTE: There is a very large file called install.wim which will get copied. So when it copies the install.wim file, it will take a very, very long time. This is just to let you know. This file is very large (4gb), but the copy command should finish without error.
Step 7. There is no step 7… You’re done. Once the copy finishes, you can boot Off the USB drive to install a new system on some server. It is usually handy to have such a USB if you’re an admin/technician and use it for systems that do not have a CD/DVD drive installed.
NOTE: Don’t forget to change your BIOS settings concerning the boot order. You must put USB first, then Hard disk as second. Usually, you’ll do that through F2 or F12, or DEL key on your keyboard. But this varies from one manufacturer to another.
Diskpart commands: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Cc766465(v=WS.10).aspx
- Tap Room Meeting: StarWind drop makes a pint of Microsoft Windows Server environment taste better
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If we want to install windows server on a bare metal device, the traditional way is to burn the ISO to a CD/DVD. But what is the maximum size of the DVD? The largest DVD storage size is around 4.4 GB. The problem occurs is the ISO file size of the Windows Server installer is 6.5GB.
Hmm… Of course it won’t fit if the Windows Server ISO file is burned to a DVD. It could be split, split into 2 DVDs. But it’s a lot of effort to do.
Basically making bootable for windows is easy. Especially for Windows 10 or Windows 11. We just download the Windows Creation Tool and plug in the USB. It will automatically download the installer itself online and stored on the USB.
But what if we want to create a bootable USB for windows server? Unfortunately the Windows Creation Tool does not have a menu to create a bootable Windows Server. So we have to look for other alternative tools that can make Windows Server bootable.
Make Bootable Windows Server with “diskpart”
Step 1. Insert the USB drive on your PC. Go to Start and type cmd in the search box. Click on Run as administrator to open a command prompt.
Step 2. Type command diskpart and press enter.
Step 3. Type the following command one by one and press enter:
- list disk and press enter to appear disk list.
- select disk x
Where ‘x’ is the number of your flash drive.
Type the following commands one by one:
- clean.
- create partition primary.
- select partition 1.
Next we will select the partition as per your own requirement.
- format fs=ntfs quick (if you want to create UEFI bootable USB, type “format fs=fat32 quick”).
- active.
Step 4. Type Exit and press enter. It will close the diskpart command.
- assign letter= r or other available letter.
Then type “Exit” to leave the Diskpart command environment.
Step 4. Find the Windows Server setup ISO in your computer and double click on it to mount the ISO.
Step 5. Copy the entire contents of the mounted ISO drive to your bootable USB flash drive.
Step 6. Now, back to the Command Prompt window again and run the following command.
H:cd\boot\ bootsect.exe /nt60 R:to build the boot sector code in the specified partition. (H:\ is the drive letter of the mounted Windows ISO and R:\ is the destination USB drive letter)
We have built a Bootable USB from ISO by following the steps outlined above.
Make Bootable Windows Server with RUFUS
Rufus is third party tool open source for make USB bootable for Linux Distro. But we can use rufus to create bootable USB for windows server.
Step 1. Download Rufus Software and run it.
Plug USB drive and file ISO windows server. Set parameter like image below. And then start.
Rufus is easiest solution open source to make Bootable Windows Server.
reference: - https://www.diskpart.com/server-2016/windows-server-2016-bootable-usb-7201.html - https://rufus.ie/en/
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This blog post explains how to create a bootable USB drive for installing Windows Server 2025 on a physical server. The guide utilizes only the built-in tools available in Windows 10, Windows 11, or Windows Server. The installation process varies slightly depending on your system; it can be installed on either a BIOS system, which uses an MBR disk, or a UEFI-based system, which uses GPT disks. Follow these steps to prepare a USB drive for Windows Server 2025 installation.
Getting ready to create a USB Drive for a Windows Server 2025 Installation
First, you will need to have all the prerequisites in place.
- To download the Windows Server 2025 ISO file, you have various sources available. If you wish to test Windows Server 2025 without a license, you can obtain it from the evaluation center.
- Windows Server Evaluation Center offers options to try and download Windows Server 2025 download or to deploy it in Azure.
- Volume Licensing Service Center, where Volume License customers can download Windows Server 2025.
- An USB drive with at least 8GB size
Windows Server 2025 USB Thumb Drive for UEFI (GPT) systems
To create the USB drive to install Windows Server 2025 on a UEFI (GPT system, you do the following steps:
- The at least an 8GB USB drive has to be formatted in FAT32
- The USB needs to be GPT and not MBR
- You will need to split the wim file using dism since it is larger than 4GB
- Copy all files from the ISO to the USB drive
This is it, and here is how you do it. First, plug in your USB drive to your computer.
Open a PowerShell using the Run as Administrator option. You will need to change the path of the Windows Server 2025 ISO, and you will need to replace the disk number in the script before running the third command and make sure C:\Temp exists. From previous experiences with users, run the script line by line.
REMINDER: The following commands will wipe the USB Drive completely. Backup everything before you run through the PowerShell.
# Define Path to the Windows Server 2025 ISO
$ISOFile = "C:\Temp\WindowsServer2025.iso"
# Create temp diectroy for new image
$newImageDir = New-Item -Path 'C:\Temp\newimage' -ItemType Directory
# Mount iso
$ISOMounted = Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath $ISOFile -StorageType ISO -PassThru
# Driver letter
$ISODriveLetter = ($ISOMounted | Get-Volume).DriveLetter
# Copy Files to temporary new image folder
Copy-Item -Path ($ISODriveLetter +":\*") -Destination C:\Temp\newimage -Recurse
# Split and copy install.wim (because of the filesize)
dism /Split-Image /ImageFile:C:\Temp\newimage\sources\install.wim /SWMFile:C:\Temp\newimage\sources\install.swm /FileSize:4096
# Get the USB Drive you want to use, copy the disk number
Get-Disk | Where BusType -eq "USB"
# Get the right USB Drive (You will need to change the number)
$USBDrive = Get-Disk | Where Number -eq 2
# Replace the Friendly Name to clean the USB Drive (THIS WILL REMOVE EVERYTHING)
$USBDrive | Clear-Disk -RemoveData -Confirm:$true -PassThru
# Convert Disk to GPT
$USBDrive | Set-Disk -PartitionStyle GPT
# Create partition primary and format to FAT32
$Volume = $USBDrive | New-Partition -Size 8GB -AssignDriveLetter | Format-Volume -FileSystem FAT32 -NewFileSystemLabel WS2025
# Copy Files to USB (Ignore install.wim)
Copy-Item -Path C:\Temp\newimage\* -Destination ($Volume.DriveLetter + ":\") -Recurse -Exclude install.wim
# Dismount ISO
Dismount-DiskImage -ImagePath $ISOFileAfter that, you can safely remove the USB drive and use it to boot your server from.
Windows Server 2025 USB Thumb Drive for BIOS (MBR) systems
To create the USB drive to install Windows Server 2025 on BIOS (MBR) systems, you can follow these steps:
- The at least an 8GB USB drive has to be formatted in NTFS
- USB drive needs to us MBR
- The partition needs to be set active
- Copy all files from the ISO to the USB Drive
This is it, and here is how you do it. First, plug in your USB drive to your computer.
Open a PowerShell using the Run as Administrator option. You will need to change the path of the Windows Server 2025 ISO, and you will need to replace the disk number in the script before running the third command and make sure C:\Temp exists. From previous experiences with users, run the script line by line.
REMINDER: The following commands will wipe the USB Drive completely. Backup everything before you run through the PowerShell.
# Define Path to the Windows Server 2025 ISO
$ISOFile = "C:\Temp\WindowsServer2025.iso"
# Get the USB Drive you want to use, copy the friendly name
Get-Disk | Where BusType -eq "USB"
# Get the right USB Drive (You will need to change the FriendlyName)
$USBDrive = Get-Disk | Where FriendlyName -eq "Kingston DT Workspace"
# Replace the Friendly Name to clean the USB Drive (THIS WILL REMOVE EVERYTHING)
$USBDrive | Clear-Disk -RemoveData -Confirm:$true -PassThru
# Convert Disk to MBR
$USBDrive | Set-Disk -PartitionStyle MBR
# Create partition primary and format to NTFS
$Volume = $USBDrive | New-Partition -UseMaximumSize -AssignDriveLetter | Format-Volume -FileSystem NTFS -NewFileSystemLabel WS2025
# Set Partiton to Active
$Volume | Get-Partition | Set-Partition -IsActive $true
# Mount ISO
$ISOMounted = Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath $ISOFile -StorageType ISO -PassThru
# Driver letter
$ISODriveLetter = ($ISOMounted | Get-Volume).DriveLetter
# Copy Files to USB
Copy-Item -Path ($ISODriveLetter +":\*") -Destination ($Volume.DriveLetter + ":\") -Recurse
# Dismount ISO
Dismount-DiskImage -ImagePath $ISOFileAfter completing these steps, you may safely eject the USB drive and use it to boot your server for the installation of Windows Server 2025. For exmaple you can use this media to install it on a phyiscial server or even on an Intel NUC for Windows Server labs.
Conclusion
I trust this post has been informative. Should you have any inquiries, feel free to ask in the comments section.
Tags: Azure, Cloud, Microsoft, USB, USB Drive, USB media, Virtualization, Windows, Windows Server, Windows Server 2025 Last modified: July 3, 2024