Install Windows 7 with your Palm Pre

Robi_ · 04:03 PM

When you're out and about, and all you have is your trusty Pre, you improvise.

There was a need to install Windows 7 and other OSes at an install fest, and most went well that had their 1GB and 2GB USB sticks or CDs. This tiny Acer One netbook though had no CD/DVD drive, so USB was it. Windows 7 install files are also heftier at 2.5G and come on DVD so you need a 4GB or larger USB stick, which no one had.

So I put my Pre in USB mode and see that I have plenty of space (~6GB). Now the options are to repartition the space or to just plop down the install files and see if I can make it bootable.

Repartitioning a USB drive which windows sees as a removable disk is no easy feat. So after a bit of Google Foo (apparently you can't say f then u together), we find UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads.
It does the magic of copying the files and making the drive bootable.

Linux doesn't care though, and is happy to repartition any device, as long as you know how to use parted or similar.

If the setup doesn't find the OS or fails to boot from USB, you may need to find the bootsect.exe program on the Windows 7 .iso/DVD in the /boot/ dir and run:

z:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt60 x:

Where z: is your mounted .iso/DVD and x: is the mounted Pre drive.

If you don't want to use the unetbootin utility, then you can manually copy the contents of the mounted Windows 7 .iso to the Pre drive.

If all went well, plug in the Pre in USB drive mode into the machine, and make sure the BIOS is set to boot from USB devices. The installer should start right up.

Bask in the glory and new found use for your Pre.

punzada · 10/28/2009, 04:26 AM

You know I didn't even consider using the pre in this matter, I think it's time I install a persistant linux live cd on to my pre

ALuckyGuy · 10/28/2009, 08:05 AM

Robi,

Thanks for sharing this... very cool. Would you mind listing the steps you followed in just a little more detail though? It's not clear to me where unetbootin came in. Did you run bootsect.exe first and then use unetbootin to copy the .iso?

Robi_ · 10/28/2009, 12:12 PM

I edited the post to clarify. Hope that helps. I'll add more later as I get a few more posts. I can't make links or pics with <10 posts. Heh.

TMed_ATL · 10/28/2009, 12:38 PM

was thinking about doing this on Launch day (win7 launch day that is) that way i could transfer it over to my Gf's Acer that has no disc drive. But wanst clear how to do this. I ended up ordering the disc and just using my externial hard drive.

Robi_ · 10/28/2009, 02:41 PM

Yep, this should work for pretty much any distro and hardware combo you can install from USB drive. You just have a limited space (~7G) on the Pre USB drive to store those images.

Robi_ · 10/28/2009, 04:05 PM

Found and added pics stolen from another website that used unetbootin..

ALuckyGuy · 10/29/2009, 09:08 AM

Thanks for the updates!

10/28/2009, 03:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
Robi_ Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 16 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 12 Times in 3 Posts	Install Windows 7 with your Palm Pre When you're out and about, and all you have is your trusty Pre, you improvise. There was a need to install Windows 7 and other OSes at an install fest, and most went well that had their 1GB and 2GB USB sticks or CDs. This tiny Acer One netbook though had no CD/DVD drive, so USB was it. Windows 7 install files are also heftier at 2.5G and come on DVD so you need a 4GB or larger USB stick, which no one had. So I put my Pre in USB mode and see that I have plenty of space (~6GB). Now the options are to repartition the space or to just plop down the install files and see if I can make it bootable. Repartitioning a USB drive which windows sees as a removable disk is no easy feat. So after a bit of Google Foo (apparently you can't say f then u together), we find UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads. It does the magic of copying the files and making the drive bootable. Linux doesn't care though, and is happy to repartition any device, as long as you know how to use parted or similar. If the setup doesn't find the OS or fails to boot from USB, you may need to find the bootsect.exe program on the Windows 7 .iso/DVD in the /boot/ dir and run: z:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt60 x: Where z: is your mounted .iso/DVD and x: is the mounted Pre drive. If you don't want to use the unetbootin utility, then you can manually copy the contents of the mounted Windows 7 .iso to the Pre drive. If all went well, plug in the Pre in USB drive mode into the machine, and make sure the BIOS is set to boot from USB devices. The installer should start right up. Bask in the glory and new found use for your Pre. Last edited by Robi_; 10/28/2009 at 04:03 PM. Reason: clarifying questions asked
	Liked by Thanked by alex.dobeck, ALuckyGuy, grandebob, Kasracer, special_k, zefyx

10/28/2009, 04:26 AM	#2 (permalink)
punzada Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 137 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 10 Thanked 32 Times in 23 Posts	You know I didn't even consider using the pre in this matter, I think it's time I install a persistant linux live cd on to my pre
	Liked by

10/28/2009, 08:05 AM	#3 (permalink)
ALuckyGuy Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 323 Likes Received: 9 Thanks: 42 Thanked 81 Times in 44 Posts	Robi, Thanks for sharing this... very cool. Would you mind listing the steps you followed in just a little more detail though? It's not clear to me where unetbootin came in. Did you run bootsect.exe first and then use unetbootin to copy the .iso?
	Liked by

10/28/2009, 12:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
Robi_ Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 16 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 12 Times in 3 Posts	I edited the post to clarify. Hope that helps. I'll add more later as I get a few more posts. I can't make links or pics with <10 posts. Heh.
	Liked by

10/28/2009, 12:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
TMed_ATL Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: ATL/ Athens, GA Posts: 413 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 61 Thanked 27 Times in 24 Posts	was thinking about doing this on Launch day (win7 launch day that is) that way i could transfer it over to my Gf's Acer that has no disc drive. But wanst clear how to do this. I ended up ordering the disc and just using my externial hard drive. __________________ SCK Manager
	Liked by

10/28/2009, 02:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
Robi_ Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 16 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 12 Times in 3 Posts	Yep, this should work for pretty much any distro and hardware combo you can install from USB drive. You just have a limited space (~7G) on the Pre USB drive to store those images.
	Liked by

10/28/2009, 04:05 PM	#7 (permalink)
Robi_ Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 16 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 12 Times in 3 Posts	Found and added pics stolen from another website that used unetbootin..
	Liked by

10/29/2009, 09:08 AM	#8 (permalink)
ALuckyGuy Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 323 Likes Received: 9 Thanks: 42 Thanked 81 Times in 44 Posts	Thanks for the updates!
	Liked by

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