Gidget 1 Posted April 27, 2012 Hi, i have just been given a HP XEON 3.2GHz server from a friend and am trying to install windows 2008 on it. The original cd drive was CD-ROM which i though was a bit weird, so i replaced it with a DVD drive to try boot from CD, but the DVD drive doesnt appear in the boot priority setting in the BIOS for some reason? So i decided to use USB Using WinToFlash to copy the windows installation to CD, i am getting a black screen with a blinking cursor. I read up that i need to format the drive using filesystem FAT16LBA, which then booted from USB fine. The problem i have now is, when i format using FAT16LBA and copy the windows installation using WinToFlash, it caps my 16GB USB disk to 2GB, and the installation is 3.xxGB. And then when i try to boot from usb and run the setup it tells me boot.wim is missing, and it also takes about 2 minutes to copy the installation over which isnt right.... Does anyone have any ideas? i cant wait to get this server going......better then my P4's Thanks guys!!! Quote Go to top Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheDespite 3 Posted April 27, 2012 Hello. Are you sure about the FAT16LBA format? I have not installed the Server 2008, but I've done all my Windows installations from USB for the past five years. I've usually followed this guide right here when making the bootable USB: http://www.intowindows.com/bootable-usb/ As seen on the guide, the advised file system for the USB drive is NTFS, and NTFS does not have the 2GB limit like FAT filesystem has. Hope I didn't miss anything crucial and I could help. 1 ChuckTesta reacted to this Quote Go to top Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lstryhrn 0 Posted September 3, 2013 For some reason installing anything through a usb key is bad. I have spent countless hours to see what the issue was with mines. Comes to find out the usb key was missing a lot of install files. I am thinking that the usb always hide files from users. I notcied that on many different times. Your best bet is to get a DVD. Quote Go to top Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikelouis 0 Posted January 13, 2014 It depends on the program you used to write the image on the USB. Try to use the latest Poweriso software. It has worked for me as I have installed countless laptops with just a USB. It should also work for you. Quote Go to top Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
digitalsatori 4 Posted February 23, 2015 I've had great luck using OST Rufus to create bootable USB sticks for installing OS. It's the only tool I'll use for this particular need: https://rufus.akeo.ie/ Quote Go to top Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
