Clean Install Windows Directly from the Hard Disk Drive

Clean Install Windows Directly from the Hard Disk Drive
You want to install Windows but you can’t use a DVD or an USB for whatever reason?

This tutorial will show you a method that will allow you to boot and install Windows directly from the hard disk drive (HDD).

Note: This guide only works for Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 OS's.

Part 1: Preparing the HDD
•    If there is no Windows OS currently installed on the HDD then connect the HDD to a another working computer (with Windows installed)
•    Create a 4GB primary partition.
•    Format the 4GB partition with NTFS file system.
•    Assign a drive letter to that new partition.
•    Copy the content of the Windows 7 Setup DVD to the 4GB partition.

How To Create Extra Partitions In Windows Using Disk Management Console

  

Part 2: Making the HDD Bootable
1. Open the Command Prompt as a Administrator, type cmd.exe into the Start Menu search box, right click on cmd.exe, then select “Run as administrator”.
2.   Enter the commands below, while replacing zero (0) number with your HDD assigned disk number and replace the X letter with the drive letter assigned to the partition you have created earlier on your HDD.

diskpart

list disk

select disk 0

list partition

select partition X

active

exit

(See picture for example)

 

3. Within the Command Prompt type the command below:
 

X:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt60 Y:

Replace the X: drive letter with the drive letter of the CD/DVD-ROM optical drive where the Windows Setup DVD is inserted.

Replace the Y: drive letter with the drive letter of the 4GB partition you have created.

Part 3: Booting and installing Windows

Make sure that the BIOS is configured to boot from the hard disk drive (HDD).

If you did everything correctly, you should see “Windows is loading files ...” and a progress bar.

You can now install Windows as usual.



Part 4: Delete the 4GB partition

You have to quickly edit the boot menu once Windows is installed.

1. In Windows, press the keys;

2. Type msconfig into Run dialog box that has opened and click on OK;
3.  Click on the Boot tab from System Configuration at the top;
4.  Click 'Windows Setup (\windows)', and click on the Delete button;
5.    Click OK;

 
6. Click on 'Exit without restart';

If the 4GB partition is designated as a System partition then in this situation you cannot delete that 4GB partition.

Follow the guide below to delete the 4GB partition if you were to find yourself in a such situation.

Note: Only follow the guide below if the 4GB partition is designated as a System partition.

1.    Mark the C: partition as an active partition from the Disk Management Utility;


 

2.  Open the Command Prompt as a Administrator and type:
 

Bcdboot C:\windows

3.   Restart your computer;

Note: If the Bcdboot command is missing from Windows Vista, the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit  contains the Bcdboot.exe tool. The Bcdboot.exe file is included at following locations: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\BCDBoot" directory.

Note: Make sure to change the Command Prompt directory path to Bcdboot.exe file stored directory path with the Cd command.

And lastly, delete the 4GB partition this will free up 4GB which you can extend to the C: partition with the MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition.

1.  Within MiniTool Partition Wizard select the 4GB partition;

2.  From the left pane click on “Delete Partition”;
3.  Click on the OK button and click on Apply from the toolbar;
4.  Within MiniTool Partition Wizard select the C: partition and click on "Move/Resize" to enter the next interface;
5.    Increase the C: partition size by dragging the right arrow of the scroll bar to the right or directly entering accurate values in the text boxes below;
 


After



 
6.  After you're done with the settings, click on the "OK" button;
7.    Click on Apply in the toolbar;
8.    Click on the “Restart Now” button on the Notice dialog box;

 

Thank you so much this was extremely helpful!

Sir how if i aleardy delete the partition without deleting boot options and running BCDBoot , and now i get stuck at "insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key" please help

Without you have access to Windows Recovery Environment there is not much i can do to help you.

Thank you, great tutorial!

There is a far easier way to this , just use rufus.

Connect the hdd you want to a windows pc in any way then open rufus. Press Alt F this enables showing hdd drives. Carefully select your drive and just burn whatever windows iso you want to the hdd. It makes it bootable too.

Also since we aren't creating another partition after successfully installing and setting windows as default OS, you can delete the windows setup option in boot menu -via msconfig easiest- and also can delete , autorun file efi and support folders in C.

Very easy and fastest method. Just another note here, my laptop has a t5600 core2duo and while it says it is a 64 bit cpu in the past when I tried installing 64 bit OS's to it via cd dvd or usb install methods I couldnt do it at all. BUT via this method I WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY INSTALL AND USE all 32 & 64 bit OS's,  even windows 11 to this device -but 10 & 11 can't recognise many if not all devices on the laptop so they aren't useful in real life.