How can I create a 64-bit Windows 7 USB installer in a 32-bit environment?

Question

I have a 64-bit capable machine but accidentally installed a 32-bit version of Windows 7. I have the 64-bit ISO and/or extracted files but can't find a way to create a bootable USB because I can't run bootsect.exe against the 64-bit files.

Is there a way to create a x64 bootable USB from within an x86 environment?

Solution 1

Well apparently it's much simpler than I thought. I just extracted the 64-bit ISO files onto the USB and rebooted the machine from the USB and it picked up the autorun configuration.

Solution 2

IIRC the Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool will also fail right at the end (after spending all that time copying the files to the USB!) because it cannot execute the 64-bit version of bootsect.exe present in the ISO.

Rufus or similar should work just fine though:

Comments

[Breakthrough]

If you have any 32-bit media available, you can use the bootsect.exe version from that disc image. Alternatively, I found a 32-bit version of bootsect.exe fairly easily off of Google...

[Karan]

If you want something even simpler UI-wise then there's WiNToBootic, but it requires the .NET framework (shouldn't be a problem on any recent version of Windows).

[Kushal]

While as dumb as it sounds, it worked for me. I was on Windows 8.1 32bit and created 64bit Bootable flash drive just by copying files from ISO after mounting it.

[Tetsujin]

While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes.

[bwDraco]

Definitely not spam, but please summarize the link. That way, your answer will remain useful even if the linked page goes down.