Then select your hard disk, here we will select SanDisk Cruzer Force > Connect (Disconnect from Host). Tap on VM and choose Removable Devices in the result list.Ģ. Firstly, you have to ensure that your USB flash disk has unplugged and connected with the VMware. In this article, we will show you how to install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive in VMware.

The installation might be slow as it installs files on the USB drive.How to Install Windows 7 from a USB Drive in VMware Your PC will be restarted twice or thrice during the installation. Once rebooted, follow the normal Windows 7 installation procedure to complete Windows 7 installation on an external hard drive. Once done, you will be asked to reboot your PC to continue the normal Windows 7 installation procedure. As you are installing Windows 7 to an external hard drive simply type “Y” without quote and press Enter key.įinally click Enter key again to start extracting the Install.wim files. You can find the active partition by opening Windows Disk Management tool (to open it go-to run and type diskmgmt.mscin).įinally, it will ask you for the drive letter which you have entered to install Windows 7. Now, it asks for ACTIVE partition drive letter. Enter the drive letter and press enter key. The next step is to enter your External drive’s drive letter which you can easily find out under My Computer. Now, you need to select the Windows 7 edition that you want to install on an external hard drive as shown in the screenshot. Now, press Enter key to browse to the install.wim file present in the Windows Files folder (Windows Files/ Sources/ install.wim). The next step is to run Installer.cmd file as Administrator (Right-click on installer.cmd and select run as administrator). Now extract the Windows 7 Installation files from ISO file or copy all the contents of Windows 7 installation DVD to the Windows Files folder created at the desktop.

Installing windows 7 from usb