What is better? Does one do it more efficiently? Are the files that are put on your SSD exactly the same?
I would create an USB bootable Stick. That also has the advantage that you could place an PID.TXT file, which contains your (legit) Product Key of your OS, inside the Sources Folder on the Stick. The Setup will not ask you for Product Key and also activates automatically on first full start of windows (if the P-Key is legit)! I use the Microsoft Tool Windows7-USB-DVD-Tool.exe for to create the bootable USB-Stick from ISO.
As John Sutherland already said. Installing from USB is quiker. Also the Windows-medium is almost bigger than an ordinary DVD can handle. And 3rd: optical disks for dada storage is nearly dead. If you see all the benefits (more capacity, easy rewritable, smaller, every PC (and other thinigies also) have USB-Ports) almost nobody uses DVDs for this kind of things any more. Only for REALY old PC (at least almost 10 years old) which can't boot from USB you need a DVD to boot from.
Tell me more about the PID.txt file. Do I just put a .txt file with the key in the dir or what? Should I get a 3.0 USB drive for it? What one do you guys recommend?
So I want to make two of these then, right? One for my Surface and one for my home rig. Is there a USB drive that people generally get for this exact purpose?
if they both boot to it you only need one USB, and no there is no particular usb to get. Preferably USB3.0 if your systems will make use of it, will be faster. If not, USB3.0 is backward compatible and works on USB2 systems.
So I am slightly confused how the PID.txt file works precisely. If I have two computers, how do I edit the key when I install Windows? Do I just go into the dir, navigate to the PID.txt and I am good?
There 2 ways: ISO File: mount the ISO file go to Sources and edit the PID.TXT file and change the Product Key to an other bootable USB Stick: open the PID.TXT located in Sources Folder and change the Product Key value. Save, done! Easy peace of cake!
I am pretty sure I want to go with option 2, the bootable USB stick method. With that, the USB drive that I use has to be dedicated for Windows right? That is what I was intending anyways. This option also just seems easier, right? What is the differences between the two when it comes to speed of installing and performance of Windows when done installing if anything?
no it isnt dedicated to windows. you can use it one time to get your windows install complete and then format it back to blank (if you like) and use it for pictures or whatever you choose. No different than if you bought a piece of software from a store, popped the dvd(usb) in and installed, then removed the dvd from the system and used it. All the bootable usb stick is, is a medium to create and install Windows. Once it has done its job, it is no longer required. using a bootable USB is much faster and easier. Plus you can edit files on the drive without having to recreate an iso and burn to dvd again.
Speed IS better when you use a bootable USB stick as installation media , and the Windows performance is just the same
I intend on using this drive only for Windows installations. However, it would be cool if I could put the ISO for Office on it too. Is that possible with the Windows img on there?
yes, once the USB is bootable, just extract office to a folder (name it office for practical reasons) on the same USB and run setup in the office folder after windows is installed. Toss in all your stuff into another folder and after windows installs you have everything on one usb to install from it as well.
Hello guys, after creating the Bootable USB drive, i need to change the settings/order in the Boot menu by pressing F2 , can u please explain this step clearly ??
That is not possible every computer has different settings you should read your manual or at least tell us the make and model of your computer.