How to Create a Windows Vista Boot Disk in OS X
By J.S. Copper
Mac OS X includes a great application called Disk Utility that makes it extremely easy to create bootable disks from image files. In order to make a bootable disk for Windows Vista, you must have an image of the Vista installation disc on your computer and USB drive or DVD to copy the image to. While the process may sound a bit confusing, it is fairly simple in execution.
Step 1
Create an image of the Vista DVD if you have not already. Insert the Windows Vista disk into your computer and open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities). Highlight the Vista disk in Disk Utility's sidebar and select "New Image" from the toolbar. Name the file, select a spot to save it and leave the rest of the settings alone. Select "Save" to create the image.
Step 2
Insert your USB flash drive into the computer. Highlight it from within Disk Utility's sidebar.
Step 3
Select the "Partition" tab. Set the Volume Scheme to "1 Partition." Click "Options" and select "Master Boot Record." Select "Apply." This formats the USB drive as a Windows boot disk.
Step 4
Highlight the USB flash drive within Disk Utility once more. Select "Restore" this time.
Step 5
Drag the the image file created in Step 1 to the "Source" box. Drag the flash drive from the sidebar to the "Destination" box. Select "Restore" and confirm the warning dialog that pops up. It will take a few minutes to mount the Windows Vista disk to the flash drive. Once it's complete, you will be able to boot into the disk on a PC system.
References
Tips
- If you would like to create the disk using a DVD instead of USB flash drive, double-click the created image file (.dmg) to mount it in Finder. Open Disk Utility and insert a blank DVD. Highlight the Vista image in the sidebar and select "Burn." Select your DVD burner and confirm, the image will begin burning to the DVD.
Writer Bio
J.S. Copper began writing professionally in 2008, specializing in technology, running and health-related topics. He has worked with a handful of technology websites providing tutorials, tips and tricks. Prior to writing, Copper worked in Web design