Tool To Create Windows USB Install Stick From Linux: WinUSB

WinUSB is a tool that lets you create a Windows USB install stick from Linux in just two clicks. The application supports Windows 7 an Vista and can use either an ISO or a DVD as a source.

A while back we wrote about creating a bootable windows 7 USB drive from Linux using Unetbootin, but newer Unetbootin versions can't do this anymore (you can still use an older version though) and you have to manually format the USB drive to NTFS, which may look a bit complicated for some users. But thanks to WinUSB, this process is now a lot easier!

WinUSB comes with both a graphical user interface and a command line tool and in my test, I was able to successfully boot the Windows Seven USB stick created using WinUSB (created under Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot).

Install WinUSB and create a USB stick Windows installer from Linux

WinUSB is available in a PPA for Ubuntu users - add the PPA and install it using the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:colingille/freshlight
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install winusb

If you don't want to add the PPA, you can also manually download the .deb from HERE.

For Arch Linux users, there's an AUR package available.

For source files, see the WinUSB homepage.

To create a bootable Windows 7 or Vista USB install stick from Linux, make sure you have a large enough USB drive (at least 4 GB), start the WinUSB GUI (just search for WinUSB in the menu / dash), select the Windows 7 / Vista ISO or DVD drive and the target device which is your USB drive, and click "Install". That's all.

If for some reason, the USB drive doesn't show up under "Target device" but shows up in your filemanager, etc., you can force WinUSB to list it by selecting File > Show all drives. But make sure you don't select the wrong device (like your hard disk) if you do this!

If you don't want to use the GUI and prefer to create a Windows 7 / Vista USB stick installer this from the command line, use this:

- to completely format a drive and install the ISO on it:

sudo winusb --format <iso path> <device>

- to install a Windows 7 / Vista ISO on an NTFS partition and edit MBR of the device:

sudo winusb --install <iso path> <partition>

Also see: 4 Ways to Create Bootable Live USB Drives (For Windows, Linux and Mac OS X)

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