How to Create a Boot Image for a Flash Drive

A boot image is a file that resides on a secondary drive and allows the computer to boot from the secondary drive itself instead of from the operating system that resides on the primary hard drive. This can be used to troubleshoot computer problems, allowing you to repair your computer when you are unable to boot into Windows. Accomplishing this on a USB drive requires the use of two key programs from HP.

Things You'll Need

• HP Disk Storage Format Tool
• HP Drive Key Boot Utility
• Blank USB drive

Instructions

1. Insert the USB drive into the computer.

2. Open the HP Disk Storage Format Tool.

3. Select the drive letter of your USB drive and select the FAT32 file system from the drop-down menu.

4. Press "Start" to prepare the drive.

5. Open the HP Drive Key Boot Utility Version.

6. Click on the drive letter of your USB drive, check the option to "Replace Existing Config," check the option for "Hard Drive," and select the option to "Create New Filesystem."

7. Click "Firmware Flash Package" and push OK. This will create a bootable image on your flash drive.

References

• PC World: Disk Storage Format Tool

Resources

• HP: Drive Key Boot Utility
• PC World: Disk Storage Format Tool