14 DAY TRIAL // As far as traditional methods of installing Windows go, the latest iteration of the Windows client can be easily deployed from media such as DVDs and CDs. But in addition to the default installation method for retail flavors of the operating system, Windows 7 can also be deployed via the OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK) included in the OEM System Builder Pack, through the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK), via USB sticks and even from a Windows Phone.
Smartphones are not in any manner the same that they were when Windows Vista was released in January 2007. In fact, the technology has evolved sufficiently enough that devices running the latest version of Windows Mobile operating system can be used in order to install Windows 7 on a computer, instead of a DVD or a USB.
At the bottom of this article, users will be able to watch an embedded video demonstration of just how to deploy Windows 7 via a Windows Phone, authored by Microsoft’s James O'Neill. At the start of this year, O'Neill received a new toy, namely an HTC Touch Pro 2, running Windows Mobile 6.5 (a.k.a Windows Phone). Readers of his blog already know this, since he wouldn’t shut up about it.
At the start of this week, O’Neill shared with the world an excellent trick, which can be easily reproduced by Windows Phone users, provided that they own a sufficiently large memory card for their device. All that users need to do is follow the steps outlined by O’Neill in the video below. “the phone has a mass storage device mode so I thought to myself why not copy the Windows installation files to it, and see if I can boot a Machine off it and install Windows from the phone ? That way one could avoid carrying a lot of setup disks,” he stated.