How to Create a Bootable Drive

Connect the drive to the computer, if not done so already.

Open the Windows "Start" menu and type "cmd" into the Search box. Right-click "Command Prompt" and select "Run as Administrator." Enter your administrator password to launch the application.

Type "diskpart" and press "Enter" to launch the DiskPart utility. Type "list volume" and press "Enter" to list the attached drives and partitions.

Read the number and letter associated with the drive you wish to make bootable. "7" and "G" will be used in this example.

Type "select volume 7" and press "Enter," then type "active" and press "Enter." This makes the drive active. Type "exit" and press "Enter" to quit the DiskPart utility. Do not exit Command Prompt just yet.

Insert the Windows DVD. Make sure you know the letter of the DVD drive (you can find this by opening "Computer"). We'll use "H" for this example.

Type "cd H:\boot" and press "Enter." This navigates to the "Boot" folder on the Windows DVD. This folder contains the utility needed to make the drive bootable.

Type "bootsect.exe /nt60 G:" and press "Enter." When the command completes, the drive is now bootable.