How to boot from a USB device using an ISO image

I want to re-install Windows XP on my laptop.

I have the ISO image for Windows XP.

How can I boot from a USB device using simply my ISO image of Windows XP?

My laptop is an IBM T42.

If you are running Windows Vista, see the link below (but this doesn't work for Windows XP)

Boot and Install Windows from UBS thumb drive

Solution 1:

It's not quite as easy as just copying the files or the image to the usb stick. The USB stick looks like a harddrive to the system, and needs to be setup as a bootable hard drive. Check out this post:

ServerFault - Boot and Install Windows from a USB thumb drive

Solution 2:

I am not sure if this works for Windows XP, but I have used UNetbootin in the past to boot a variety of floppy and Linux ISO images:

Solution 3:

Provided it's a bootable ISO, yes.

That being said, since it's an IBM thinkpad, check your BIOS to make sure USB/external drive boot is enabled, and you're presented with a boot option.