Re: creating a start disk on a usb memory stick

From: Harry Ohrn (harry---_at_webtree.ca)
Date: 02/14/05 

Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 15:57:40 -0600

While certainly not the norm it is no longer unusual for new systems to ship
without a floppy drive. This is true for laptops as well as tower or desktop
models. While not common on older systems many new PCs can now boot USB
devices. See the information here
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1676 

-- 
Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
"R. C. White" <rc@corridor.net> wrote in message
news:ugV0%23vqEFHA.3596@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> Hi, Newb.
>
> A PC without a disk drive?  I've never heard of such a computer!  The last
> computer I had without a disk drive was my original TRS-80, back in 1977,
> which loaded from a music cassette; we got floppy drives the next year and
> hard drives for our IBM and compatible PCs in the mid-80s, and I haven't
> seen a diskless PC since then.  Do you mean your computer has no CD/DVD
> drives?
>
> What make and model computer do you have?  Is it on a network?  Tell us
more
> about that.
>
> To make a PC bootable from a USB memory stick, you must have support for
USB
> and that memory stick built into the computer's BIOS - the small amount of
> memory that is not forgotten when the power is turned off - the part that
> tells the computer how to start and load everything else, including the
> parts that load and start Windows.  So far as I know, there is no computer
> on the market - yet -with that much capability in the BIOS.  Today's PCs
can
> use USB until it has loaded the USB drivers, so we have a chicken-and-egg
> problem in trying to boot from any kind of USB hardware.
>
> RC
> -- 
> R. C. White, CPA
> San Marcos, TX
> rc@corridor.net
> Microsoft Windows MVP
>
> "The Newb" <The Newb@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:B6F16F91-10F9-4D9C-97BC-B264BFBB6235@microsoft.com...
> > Hi everyone
> > I have a problem regarding a pc without a disk drive. So I was wondering
> > if
> > anyone knows how to make a start "disk" on a usb memory stick. If it can
> > be
> > done???
>

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Largest External HDD I Can Use With a Dimension 8200?
    ... Got the problem with the external Maxtor OneTouch II drive resolved. ... I totally uninstalled and reinstalled the Maxtor software, and used a different USB port on the back of my D-8300. ... These problems with ALL THE USB DEVICES started about 6 months ago, and increased with frequency until recently they became intolerable. ... I use the two front USB ports to connect my PNY Flash Drives, and get errors when plugging in to forward connector, but not the back one. ...
    (alt.sys.pc-clone.dell)
  • Re: Installing Fedora without a CDROM: my HOWTO
    ... Here is my HOWTO on installing Linux from a USB drive, ... disk or USB key rather than a CDROM boot disk. ... Put auxillary files (special drivers, post setup install config, ... This way I can mount any number of hard drives in the ...
    (Fedora)
  • Re: Booting Vista from external drive violate MS EULA?
    ... of OS install to diff drives. ... Meaning this boots off usb vista, if there is another hard drive ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.general)
  • Re: XP recognising an external USB drive
    ... It's running on Windows XP. ... for external hard drives that causes this problem (WinXP whilst operating ... to blame as the USB standard. ... itself won't recognise the drive on cold start, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: SATA HDD in external USB2 case no longer recognised after 1st reboot
    ... only to find that the SATA drive was no longer ... is it normal that I have 5 USB controllers in my device ... manager, ... both my external drives are Maxtor, but I know the "Maxtor 6 Y160P0 USB ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)