While using the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool to create a bootable USB drive to use for reinstalling/repairing Windows, I ran into the following error message:

Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool error: We were unable to copy your files.  Please check your USB device and the selected ISO and try again.

I found the following link to a discussion about the issue:

• http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_install/unable-to-copy-files-using-windows-7-usbdvd/bd21e76d-5174-4f76-8db5-36df105a12c5

diskpart

Then enter the following commands to identify and format the USB drive in question:

Microsoft DiskPart version 6.2.9200
Copyright (C) 1999-2012 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: KJONES-WIN8
DISKPART> list disk
  Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
  --------  -------------  -------  -------  ---  ---
  Disk 0    Online          931 GB      0 B        *
  Disk 1    Online           29 GB      0 B
  Disk 2    Online          980 MB      0 B
DISKPART> select disk 1
Disk 1 is now the selected disk.
DISKPART> clean
DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk.
DISKPART> create partition primary
DiskPart succeeded in creating the specified partition.
DISKPART> select partition 1
Partition 1 is now the selected partition.
DISKPART> active
DiskPart marked the current partition as active.
DISKPART> format quick fs=fat32
  100 percent completed
DiskPart successfully formatted the volume.
DISKPART> assign
DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter or mount point.
DISKPART>

After completing these steps to format the target USB drive, I was able to use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool to successfully create a bootable USB drive. Also note that despite the name, this tool also works to create bootable Windows 8 USB drives.

Further information about diskpart:

• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/300415/en-us