Make a Windows XP Bootable Flash Drive

Ever want to take Windows XP (or any version of Windows, really) with you wherever you go? Maybe you'd rather use XP than the OS installed on a public computer. Maybe you just want to prank your friends and watch as their computer boots into a 16 year old OS.
Whatever the case, today I'm going to show you how to create a bootable flash drive that will launch Windows XP in a virtual machine on (almost) any computer you plug it into.
Download Links:
sourceforge.ne...
www.virtualbox...
www.ubuntu.com...
Commands:
sudo apt-get install virtualbox
vboxmanage startvm “Windows XP” --type GUI
cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox"
vboxmanage clonehd [source file path] [destination path] --format RAW

[@Larry]

I got an email last week from a company selling brand new PCs with XP on them, it is bizarre that it's coming back from the dead.

[@MrJaylensaur]

I swear nearly every video I watch you've already wrote a comment on it

[@BertGrink]

Hey Guru Larry

[@fewl6607]

surreal, maybe its some kind of low cost budget type-pcs?

[@sean2606]

lol

[@Larry]

Oh, sorry I got it wrong. It's Box (doc) co (dot) uk, and they're selling brand new Windows 7 PC's

[@homesquared]

*goes through the extra effort of installing BonziBuddy on a Windows XP Virturalbox just for the memers*

[@Leurak]

Expand

[@EricZhang456]

7:00

[@isaacduran2915]

You are seriously A under rated youtuber love your content please keep it up

[@isaacduran2915]

Nasaq Licos I don't think much really matters

[@mooheadummm9414]

I was here since about 30k subs. He has pretty interesting videos!

[@isaacduran2915]

Moohead Ummm I don't think he cares how long you've been here I think he just cares you are here

[@royal__twistt12cringealert91]

@isaac duran ... fuck!

[@baenbo3486]

*an

[@ocass66]

Now you gotta slap Windows 2000 on Windows XP, and then Windows 98 on Windows 2000.

[@autisticboi2992]

yes

[@BilisNegra]

Doubt you can run a virtual machine under Win 9x, no matter what hack you try.

[@BUFFJOE]

You skipped windows mistake edition uh I mean millennium edition

[@jahinzee]

@@BilisNegra You can actually. Any operating system can run on VMs. However, Windows 9x systems *do* run into some compatibility issues regarding screen resolution, sound and network drivers, etc. and you can't install Guest Additions (or other equivalents) to fix it as they won't work. The oldest version of Windows I managed to install with full VM support was Windows 2000.

[@blockarchitech9070]

@@BilisNegra i have 6 vm's for many 9.x os's

[@sylviahi__]

7:04 YoUr CoMpUtEr MiGhT bE aT rIsK

[@sylviahi__]

yey I got a heart and i love ur vids

[@HerewardDundasTaylor]

WhEr3 a c0Nd0M

[@mitailic1462]

-Microsoft stoped suporting Windows XP -.... It's not very effective.

[@gauravsrao8887]

@Plainpebble 128 Well, although it won't provide updates anymore, you could get the updates that applied to Windows POSReady 2009 (basically a version of XP designed for stuff like billing machines, etc)

[@theodoros_1234]

I love that Windows XP Tour music! I also love the welcome music. *memories*

[@jahinzee]

If you're planning to install Windows 8 or above on a USB, use Windows To Go, which is Microsoft-approved for maximum stability and security. This does come with some caveats though, for example installation only works with Enterprise editions of Windows if you want to do this legit (if you're using Windows 10 Creators Update or above, that restriction is moved to Windows 10 Pro) and Microsoft have pre-approved certain USBs as fit for Windows To Go, only about a dozen. That being said, these restrictions can be bypassed with third-party tools but you *will* need a retail copy of Windows and not a copy from the Media Creation Tool. Hope this helped!

[@imslackingrightnow9765]

Long live Windows XP! Surviving the manual extinction by Microsoft since 2015!

[@daeyvidd]

Emir Tulumcu wasn't it 2014?

[@imslackingrightnow9765]

+Sam Davy It might’ve been 2014

[@daeyvidd]

April or so if I remember right

[@larrybraun3038]

Yup it was April.

[@gaminggamer1353]

April 2014

[@askhowiknow5527]

Also using the newest version of Ubuntu is a terrible idea because GNOME 3 will be running in the background when you use your VM, wasting system resources.

[@estebanzd9434]

Use MATE or Xfce as Desktop Environment instead of the default.

[@RFLCPTR]

EstebanZD *L X D E*

[@StraberrYKiler6789]

There was a version of Linux stripped down to be a basic as possible, Therefore perfect for a system that only loads 1 program! Damn Small Linux, ceased development a while back but i think its being revived now!

[@Exponaut_R-01]

Great video as always, and of course XP is probably going to outlive the common cold.

[@JohnTFitness]

When i try to start windows XP i get the message : Failed to open a session for the virtual machine Windows XP. Details: VT-x is not available (VERR_VMX_NO_VMX). This only happens in Ubuntu with virtualbox

[@proximitea]

Oh my gosh, why so many hate comments? This is just showing you one way to do this. I'm sure he knows there are many other ways but this video talks about one way.

[@jasminejohnston6393]

Whenever I find a computer running on Windows XP and it's already logged into an account, I tend to sneakily open the Control Panel, open the Mouse settings and turn the cursor from an arrow to an animated banana. I think it's funny, but I usually get in trouble and annoy the actual owner of the computer!

[@bananabananae]

Keep doing it :)

[@lucarea3226]

awesome

[@lapielazoolie]

I remember there being a company that was selling a live bootable USB of Windows XP and I found it amazing as a kid

[@myopinionsarefacts]

This operating system is almost as old as I am. How is that even possible?

[@misa3483]

Well.... it's called Time :P

[@AAa-iw7zd]

It's pretty simple the OS was created a short while after you were born

[@alivape]

How is this not a meme

[@Szbx]

idk

[@larsvassenjansen1651]

Not true, i've tried to run XP SP2/3 on older h/w - on VMWare Workstation and most time i get hard errors and the install won't even begin. Getting XP to work from usb media is a coin flip as to whether it works or not, at the best of times.

[@MarcellDAvis1103]

Ive been searching for a tutorial like this a long time! Thanks!

[@amarioguy]

I think MS natively supports installing Windows ONTO a flash drive with 8 and later using Windows to Go (And no, it's not a vm solution, it's running straight off the drive, AND works on more than 1 computer, thanks to Windows 8 and up supporting a feature called "respecialize" during the OOBE.

[@TheJoebus666]

Pretty cool idea, though I personally would have gone with a lighter variant of Ubuntu such as Xubuntu or Lubuntu to minimise boot time.

[@Vogel42]

Agree, or simply installing a different desktop environment like openbox or iceWM.

[@aprofondir]

Is xubuntu lighter than lubuntu?

[@TheJoebus666]

aprofondir - No, but in my opinion you sacrifice a tiny amount of performance for a much more polished and professional interface. On decent hardware you'd be hard pressed to notice much of a difference.

[@nikolaszisoudis8408]

Will those 2 work will the method shown on the video?

[@Natalie-ez1zc]

Obligatory "keep up the good work" comment

[@nintenda6313]

I can't convert my .vdi to .img for some reason. Why.

[@palonguyen9436]

I was having the same issue. After googling I tried typing vboxmanage.exe instead vboxmanage in that command and it worked!

[@crowhair]

Here's 2 problem I faced during my setup of ubuntu: 1. You need to use the 32 BIT version of ubuntu (I had no idea) 2. For some reason the UI chips off the screen during the setup where you choose your language (and onwards). The fix for number 2 is to press Enter twice (Like enter + enter) and will progress automatically (or double click when choosing your language your choice.) hopes this helps someone facing the same problem.

[@cannedbeverage7687]

In case anyone's wondering, the fastest CPU for Windows XP on the Intel side is Core i7-3770K (I'm not sure if XP also support Sandy Bridge E, if it does, the true fastest CPU is Core i7-3970X) and on the AMD side is FX-9590. As far as the GPU goes, on the NVIDIA side, fastest GPU is GeForce GTX Titan X, for AMD I have no idea.

[@mauromerconchini]

You know, since you mentioned that you can do this as a harmless prank, why don’t you consider making a list of your favorite computer pranks to play on people? This video was pretty nice though, a VM inside a VM is a funny concept

[@SummonerArthur]

thats how i did it some years ago. i was using a VM in my phone and with it came a 212mb win xp portable iso. ive used rufus on it on my 512mb sd card and worked great! Used it on my school pc for 2 month

[@flip889RoR]

so, does that mean that you can put Windows XP on a Chromebook?

[@cedarthemidiguy]

*Windows XP* was my first computer now im going to try to *install it again.*

[@partitionpenguin]

Great video as always, but I'd just like to point out that school computers (at least the ones at my university) and public computers tend to have BIOS passwords/administrative locks set on them so that people can't completely trash the systems. In that case, a BIOS password would preclude the use of this method entirely, as I think you need to enter it before entering a boot menu or changing the boot priority.

[@XavierKatzone]

I still miss XP. Have had a MacBook Pro since 2010 and has been nothing but frustration ("Get Info'? WTF? How ABOUT just plain old PROPERTIES?)

[@gerrybasso5081]

If you don't want to have to deal with cmd you can just select to make the hard disk a vhd file open it with 7zip and then use either imgburn or poweriso ro make an image and then write it

[@palonguyen9436]

Wow man I just love it. I bought one of the old Sony Vaio laptop from early 2000s with pre-instaled Win XP, but sadly when it arrives the HDD wasn't working and it needs to be replaced. But this sound like super alternative and I do not have to be worried about new HDD. I just want to play GTA San Andreas and NFS Underground 1 so I'll be fine :D thumbs up!!!

[@zaper2904]

3:34 it whould actually be better to use sudo apt install virtualbox cause it looks better it whould also be wise to use sudo apt install virtualbox-guest-additions-iso so you can get things like usb 2.0 support

[@lamasu8060]

If I make a windows xp boot able disk can I go back to my normal os?

[@TheNathanDrawdy]

Yeah, it wont affect your main install of whatever OS you use. Unless you tell it to

[@jasminejohnston6393]

I miss Windows XP because I grew up with that OS and when Vista came out XP was still being used and I was a preteen just starting high school and basically thanks for this video!

[@nuclear_lasagna4740]

Hey, I installed Ubuntu for my virtual box and when I tried to start/run windows XP it says "VT-x is not available (VERR_VMX_NO_VMX)". I run a 64-bit version of Windows as my main OS and I installed a 64-bit version of Ubuntu for my virtual box. I think its because I'm not on a 32-bit operating system. Is this a problem with my PC or should I just get a 32-bit version of Ubuntu to fix the problem? Thanks.

[@nuclear_lasagna4740]

Also I tried getting a 32-bit version of Ubuntu but no luck, it won't boot in virtual box. Does that mean that Windows XP won't boot onto 64-bit computers?

[@luckymeyt]

Run windows 7 on Ubuntu on windows 7 on ububtu on windows 7. Is it even possible?

[@yoshibros1111]

Your computer will groan in pain, belch out black smoke, light your house on fire, say "not responding", and then blow up. :D

[@sdm-mix9872]

You can use lightweight linux like bodhi or lubuntu so its save more space in flashdrive

[@theRealChadWarden42069]

christmas has come early.

[@theRealChadWarden42069]

lmao

[@HDSQ]

Ocean Man you stole my reply :(

[@estebanzd9434]

Really liked this, although like everyone is saying, use a lighter Desktop Environment (MATE or Xfce are great for this). Or no at all, just commandline!

[@NextinHKRY]

I was searching for a way to install Windows XP and Windows 7 and you my boy fixed my entire problem, I was already subscribed, but now I'll put you into my favourite list!

[@jan_harald]

use tinycore linux, or, if it doesn't work, debian minimal, with wmii or fvwm or icewm as the window manager

[@jameslawson1]

After my beloved XP died two years ago, your channel has made me happy again! Thanks!

[@stanleybowman-hood6194]

Everyone: XP died XP: my death was, greatly exaggerated

[@UltimatePerfection]

Why would I put an outdated operating system with no security updates coming out for it, especially in the light of spectre/meltdown? I know it's possible, but why would I want to do it?

[@user-tj7hk1ss8d]

Guru: *starts VirtualBox machine* VirtualBox: Guru Mediation required Guru: since im a guru i can fix this VirtualBox: no, still guru mediation Guru: I'm a guru!? VirtualBox: you are not a guru Guru: argh i need VMware because no guru mediation errors in it VMware: yes, a new user

[@AlyssaAnim8s]

Wait a minute. So I’m about to try this, but if you disable the thing he said at 4:37, can you still use external hard drives in the installation since you would normally enable them with that toolbar?

[@npenullpointer]

Hey, I'm having an issue with this tutorial. I did everything correctly but every time I try to boot into it, nothing happens, it just boots into the OS on the hard drive, not the USB.

[@andrewwilcox7506]

The vboxmanage doesn't work for me. it says that its not recognized.

[@Llamas4Life]

same tho

[@ianrapp]

I have a laptop but it's broken and always blue screens, and I have a flash drive but all my other computers makes it so I have to put in a password that I don't know. So crap

[@harrydean9723]

Science Elf: you should know how to set up a virtual machine Me: *crashes laptop after setting 8gb of ram on a 4gb laptop*

[@christinaandwena8917]

I've waited 6 years for this thank you so much

[@chunkyryan5233]

i cant get the user interface to show up. ive tried setting a key to insert guest additions cd but it didnt work

[@picowill]

Why do you have to install XP on Ubuntu before writing it to a usb? Can you install XP once it’s on the usb?

[@abhi36292]

so,is the instance of ubuntu wiped out completely from the usb drive.?

[@tranceformer3460]

Can anyone help me, I have a old Sony Vaio VGN-AR290G and I'm stuck on the Vaio logo after that i just get a black screen with a blinking underscore in the top left. almost looks like command prompt but its not. I try F8 and cant get to the BOOT menu. I only can get to the BIOS screen with F2. Please can anyone help me?

[@micycle8778]

Sorry, why couldn't we image Windows XP to the flashdrive?

[@magnaknight9252]

I have an old HP pavilion XT963 Windows XP PC Desktop. I am trying to turn it into a Linux, but the problem is some of the f keys for the bios of the F12 are missing, and it will not boot from both a burned disk and USB some reason, it won't respond. Can anyone help me?

[@xunxekri]

Cruzer Dial? Of all the USBs you could've chosen, you picked the Cruzer Dial?

[@thatadhdkid2009]

So if im using a pc newer than vista, i don't need to install ubuntu?

[@nikolaszisoudis8408]

Hello in the linux side of things when i am on virtualbox in linux the OK button in settings is not available please help

[@chunkyryan5233]

so on [source file path] i put "C:\Users\Ryan\VirtualBox VMs\ubuntu.vdi" then in [destination path] i put "C:\Users\Ryan\Desktop\AAAA" would that work as an example

[@FreddieMoffat]

Windows XP shall never die.

[@LiaBiscuit]

there is a method that lets you install only widows 10 on to a thumb drive using rufus but that need a USB 3.0.

[@Howard1939]

Can this method be used to copy files from a Windows XP Professional computer runnimh an AMD processor to rcover graphics files and archive e-mail from an off-line computer.? The computer in question a Dell Optiflex 740 (Was originally equipped with Windows Vista, but refurbished by the manufacturer & A NEW Microsoft Windows XP Professional installed after refurbishing..)

[@gaminggamer1353]

When I try to use the vboxmanage clonehd command, I always get an error, "Syntax error: Invalid parameter '[C:\Users\(my username)\Desktop\WindowsXPUbuntu.img]'" I don't understand why i am getting that error, as I have tried to change the command in different ways, such as using quotation marks. Reply if you have a solution please.

[@posionknight192]

So does that mean I could boot windows xp on a mac? please answer this question it is really important (my school only has macs and I can't do anything cause I use windows and shortcuts are annoying)

[@supermariobros423]

usboot.org would have been fine as well. I once even got Windows 2000 installed before as well.

[@chamber_hiro256]

the site is undermentioned

[@Mainnn1]

THIS SITE IS DEAD HUH?

[@aheiiv]

This would help me, if this video was on KZbin 2 month ago. Oh well. Good video as always, by the way.

[@mikeclark5321]

I can't get USB support on the WinXP machine. I can get USB support in Ubuntu? Any advice? TIA!

[@mohamedeljabri4970]

I have lost original cd-rom and the computer needs repair config\system At same time I can't format hard disk coz there are very important files and applications .

[@nixgoat]

I reduced the whole desktop to just a shutdown button and a restart button. Perfect.

[@michaelguenther8397]

Do you sell the image of a 32Gb flash drive set up on WINXP?

[@burp2019]

you can do it without virtualbox at all, but the only time i actually got it to survive the process, it stopped working after the first boot

[@Browningate]

Yeah, the virtual machine is probably the best way to do it. The main disadvantage of this process is probably the fact that you can't readily access the computer's storage as easily without first mounting it in the VirtualBox software.

[@I3ordo]

hi, i have a very old scanner and i dont have drivers for it to work on windows 10 so , when i plug that, it seems like an unknown device in device manager, do u think i can load windows xp in a virtualbox and load the drivers in there ?

[@Kyle1444]

Windows xp not being compatible with hardware anymore is so foreign to me. I used winxp on everything for 12 years, and only reluctantly switched to win 7, 9 years ago because of video drivers and web browsers. I still miss Classic theme brick color and GDI+ drawing instead of composite

[@lemler3337]

i tried using lubuntu the problem there was it was trying to load the vm before it loaded the dkms and just refused to boot windows xp works fine with normal ubuntu

[@tonyman1106]

I thought that virtualbox did not support nested virtualization ?

[@perozdero55]

He is really underrated, very good content. Its a shame that people dont see this channel!

[@EVRLYNMedia]

what if i have windows xp on a hard drive, but my laptop can't boot off of it?

[@BUFFJOE]

it will not let me do it, I have gotten to the command prompt part, I have opened it in the right place, typed what you said but it just comes up with a lot of text

[@kristiankulseng4302]

he has not answered because he is a virgin shit

[@louist103]

Nice attention to detail using the windows XP tutorial music as the background

[@connorgibson3654]

does the converting part work because it does not work for me

[@Alexanderrox2010]

When creating the XP VM in the Ubuntu VM, shouldn't I also set the specs to the computer I'm running on or leave them as default?

[@WindowsXPfan-FNFMix]

if i didn't want to use ubuntu (or couldn't) witch light weight lunix destro could i use?

[@logandotson1856]

Question, could you skip the Ubuntu part and just install XP to put on the flash drive?

[@relephonus]

Does your old windows is still there meanwhile the usb is connected?

[@kbhasi]

Why don't the user just install a lighter variant of Ubuntu like Lubuntu or Xubuntu, or, if they're more experienced, install a distro without its graphical environment by installing from its "netinstall" (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE should have those available), then install a display manager, configure that to automatically log in, then install a window manager, and then configure its "autostart" file to load VirtualBox? (sees hidden message at 7:36) No, no it doesn't.

[@ionutcristian9650]

Could i do this to make xp boot on a sata drive ? i have a 2015 motherboard and it refuses to install xp bluescreens and no sata drives.

[@JacobGamingStudios]

Go into your BIOS and change your SATA configuration from AHCI to IDE and Windows XP will work.

[@bill5988]

on the pc where the iso files are copied will the bootable usb do anything dangerous to the pc?

[@bill5988]

this comment section dry i aint waiting a month for a reply

[@leg1187]

Thank you so much! I kinda missed windows 7 mostly because of memories. I'm pretty sure I got a "acpi is not compliant" error? I searched it up, and it means my bios was not compatible with it. This video really saved me, thank you! I remember going to my dads garage and just seeing a container for old computers. I picked one up, and it had windows 7 on it. I used that thing to death..

[@6eeveedreamland981]

Can i use VHD instead of VDI Also Do i need more space than the Flash drive or less space than the flash drive.

[@Optiplexations]

The background is the same of mines We probably have the operating system or something to the same version. (Default)

[@zeyno1739]

Hey there, I want to know, what version of Ubuntu is that?

[@bestofgaming2015]

the win32 thing isn't running on my pc

[@Hardfg5000]

Can this be done on vmware since I cannot co-operate with virtualbox (been using vmware for years now)?

[@royal__twistt12cringealert91]

Hardfg5000 just install virtual box on a vmware virtual machine

[@mr.minekrab2111]

why cant you boot to windows xp? (without linux?)

[@SheepKid12]

Since virtualbox has usb support, you could try installing Ubuntu right to the usb drive.