Windows 8.1 USB boot drive

Create a bootable Windows 8.1 USB disk via Diskpart. Simply simple.

Prerequisites

• Windows 8.1 ISO file or DVD
• 4GB or larger USB stick
• Whiskey (optional)

NOTE: See below for a screenshot that sums up these steps. You can use it instead, just make sure to choose the correct disk so you don't lose any data!

Get started

1. Plug in your USB stick.
2. In Windows 7 open a command line.
3. Run diskpart:
• diskpart
4. Determine which disk is your USB drive:
• list disk
• In the next step, make sure to choose your USB stick and not another volume that you need such as your boot volume.
5. Select the USB drive:
• select disk 1
• Where '1' is the number of your USB drive.
6. Wipe the drive:
• clean
7. Create a partition:
• create partition primary
8. Select the partition:
• select partition 1
9. Make the new partition active:
• active
10. Format the partition:
• format fs=ntfs quick
11. Assign a drive letter:
• assign
12. Once you see the drive in Explorer you can copy the contents of the Windows ISO/DVD to your USB drive. You now have a bootable 8.1 USB stick. Installing from a class 10 USB stick to my Samsung 840 Pro SSD took about 7 minutes up to the time I was requested to name my installation. :)