39

I'm trying to use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool from the Microsoft Store to make my new 16 GB USB Flash drive bootable to install Windows. It worked the first time that I did this (for Windows 7 Pro 32-bit), but now it keeps failing at the end. (I'm trying to make it bootable with the Windows 7 Pro 64-bit installation DVD ISO.) I've tried to do this on two different computers (Windows XP Pro 32-bit & Windows 7 Pro 32-bit) with the same error:

Files copied successfully. However, we were unable to run bootsect to make the USB device bootable. If you need assistance with bootsect, please click the "Online Help" link above for more information.

Clicking the link just takes me to the Microsoft store homepage, and a search for bootsect from there yields no search results. I've tried to burn a DVD twice using Sonic RecordNow!, but even though it finishes without "errors," the disk is unreadable. :( Does anyone know why this keeps failing and how I may fix it?

7 Answers 7

39

It would seem that bootsect was failing because the device was already bootable.

This morning I decided to try using it to boot with the Windows 7 Professional 64-bit installer image loaded on it, despite the failure, just to see what would happen. Surprise-surprise, it worked. -_-

2
  • I just had the exact same "surprise". However, if you follow Ahmed's answer below from the start, it should work as well and the error message isn't shown—I did it on my sister's computer. :) Jul 8, 2014 at 23:54
  • So in the future you can just delete the old files from the USB and simply extract/copy the new files.
    – jiggunjer
    Dec 30, 2015 at 5:18
31

Warning: This will erase all data on this USB stick.

Launch a command prompt with admin rights and run the diskpart tool:

diskpart
list disk
select disk #
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
active
format quick fs=fat32
assign
exit

The “list disk” command will show you the connected drives and with “select disk”, you can choose your USB stick. Be careful to select the right drive or else your day won’t have a happy end. The crucial step here is the “clean” command. It overwrites the MBR and the partition table (thereby, deleting everything on the stick).

8
  • 2
    Thanks Ahmed Ghoneim it help me making a pendrive bootable which was showing error at first.
    – Namshum
    Jul 2, 2014 at 9:24
  • 3
    Once you have selected a disk you can run the "disk detail" command to help confirm that you have selected the correct disk. This command shows you the size, make and type of disk selected. Dec 28, 2014 at 14:41
  • 1
    @AndyDavies not sure if this has changed over the years, but on my Windows build 6.1.7601 the command is "detail disk". Sep 16, 2017 at 19:03
  • 2
    I have found 5 different versions of this list of commands online and this is the only one that included the crucial assign command. Thank you.
    – 2cents
    Jul 6, 2018 at 21:12
  • 1
    This will format the disk (obvious once you think about it) but might want to add a warning at the top.
    – aolszowka
    Sep 20, 2018 at 15:22
5

The following description is taken from the tool's online help:

When creating a bootable USB device, I am getting an error about bootsect

To make the USB device bootable, you need to run a tool named bootsect.exe. In some cases, this tool needs to be downloaded from your Microsoft Store account. This may happen if you're trying to create a 64-bit bootable USB device from a 32-bit version of Windows. To download bootsect:

  1. Login to your Microsoft Store account to view your purchase history

  2. Look for your Windows 7 purchase.

  3. Next to Windows 7, there is an "Additional download options" drop-down menu.

  4. In the drop-down menu, select "32-bit ISO."

  5. Right-click the link, and then save the bootsect.exe file to the location where you installed the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool (e.g. %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Apps\Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool).

  6. Once the file has been saved, go back to the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool to create your bootable USB device.

Archive.org link: https://web.archive.org/web/20130130224114/http://www.sevenforums.com/attachments/installation-setup/47060d1263222191-32-bit-bootsect-bootsect7600x86.zip

0
3

UPDATE: It might be enough to just check "Add fixes for old BIOSes" while keeping the default MBR partition scheme.

I had this issue when trying to create a bootable Windows 7 USB stick for an older laptop (Thinkpad T410).

Even with this warning, it still should boot as far as I understand, but the reason it didn't for me was because I had an older BIOS, so what I ended up doing was using the Rufus USB tool with the following settings:

enter image description here

Notice the 'Partition scheme' and 'Target system'.

I guess the Windows USB tool assumes UEFI and uses the wrong partition scheme? I don't really know, but this worked for me.

1
  • Now, in 2021, this methos is stille the best. It works using rufus from windws 10
    – realtebo
    Apr 30, 2021 at 19:24
2

I was trying to create Win7x64 bootable USB stick. Using WinXPx32 SP3, the tool failed for me as described. Luckily, I was able to get access to a Win7x64 machine instead, and there it worked just fine.

2
  • 1
    Same with Windows 10... looks like it only works on Windows 7.
    – Dean Kuga
    Nov 27, 2015 at 1:20
  • 1
    +1 from me. That was exactly the problem. Please can you make it clearer in your answer that the tool doesn't work in Win10, as that would help a lot of people (and probably get you more votes!). Mar 8, 2018 at 18:07
2

http://www.kossboss.com/windows64from32 Copy the bootsect.exe into the folder Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool is installed on and it should work.

1
  • 1
    The link is dead.
    – AgentFire
    Jan 20, 2021 at 19:34
0

Try to format (FAT32) your USB drive but not using quick option !

You can then check again (using explorer or chkdsk) to see if all sectors are readable. After formating (from Windows 7) the USB drive will have proper Windows 7 MBR and PBR.

Never had problems with Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool.

Help for bootsect.exe - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749177(v=ws.10).aspx

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .