Making bootable USB drives.

Sharky Forums


Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Making bootable USB drives.

  1. 01-11-2012, 05:28 PM #1
    drdoom
    drdoom is offline
    Mako Shark
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    VA
    Posts
    3,277

    Making bootable USB drives.

    I want to make USB boot drives in both Windows and Ubuntu versions. What is the best way? I want the full OS not just rescue drives. I just picked up a couple 8gig thumb drives. I also have older hard drives I can put in USB enclosures. Can I just install to the USB drive like it was any hard drive on the system? Or image my current Windows install to the USB drive. The guides I have looked at on line are all circa 2005 and talk about all the tricks you need to go through to get Windows to install to a 256meg thumb drive.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  2. 01-11-2012, 05:52 PM #2
    Steve R Jones
    Steve R Jones is offline
    Administrator Steve R Jones's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Location
    Largo, FL.
    Posts
    5,460
    Course the BIOS must support it.... It'll be slower then heck... And you can't use it on different computers unless the hardware is identical...

    But if you google it - it can be found.
    "Vegetarians live up to nine years longer than the rest of us...Nine horrible, worthless, baconless years."
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  3. 01-11-2012, 09:55 PM #3
    drdoom
    drdoom is offline
    Mako Shark
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    VA
    Posts
    3,277
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve R Jones View Post
    Course the BIOS must support it.... It'll be slower then heck... And you can't use it on different computers unless the hardware is identical...

    But if you google it - it can be found.
    I just want to have a safe boot option with the right tools installed in case of some significant infection so speed is not a huge consideration.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  4. 01-12-2012, 05:29 AM #4
    Steve R Jones
    Steve R Jones is offline
    Administrator Steve R Jones's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Location
    Largo, FL.
    Posts
    5,460
    WinUSB is a tutorial which allows the user to run a complete Windows XP version on an USB device/stick.

    http://www.winusb.de/index_en.html
    "Vegetarians live up to nine years longer than the rest of us...Nine horrible, worthless, baconless years."
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  6. 01-12-2012, 08:23 AM #5
    ua549
    ua549 is offline
    Great White Shark
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Posts
    21,595
    Quote Originally Posted by drdoom View Post
    I just want to have a safe boot option with the right tools installed in case of some significant infection so speed is not a huge consideration.
    For that function I have a small partition with a striped OS and all the diagnostic/repair tools installed. It can be easily selected at boot time and will run much faster than from any external device.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  7. 01-12-2012, 10:49 AM #6
    drdoom
    drdoom is offline
    Mako Shark
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    VA
    Posts
    3,277
    Quote Originally Posted by ua549 View Post
    For that function I have a small partition with a striped OS and all the diagnostic/repair tools installed. It can be easily selected at boot time and will run much faster than from any external device.
    I want something portable. I already have separate boot hard drives with a clean install of Windows and an install of Ubuntu.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  8. 01-12-2012, 11:24 AM #7
    ua549
    ua549 is offline
    Great White Shark
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Posts
    21,595
    You do realize that the flash drive OS will only work on a system with the same parts as the system used to set up the OS on the flash drive. A different system will require its own set of drivers and dll software components. Those are configured in the registry during the installation.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  9. 01-12-2012, 02:02 PM #8
    drdoom
    drdoom is offline
    Mako Shark
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    VA
    Posts
    3,277
    I am not really concerned about it. At 7.99 for 8 gig thumb drives I can make custom boot drives for all the computer I will likely have to clean. I know the usual suspects.
    Last edited by drdoom; 01-12-2012 at 02:05 PM.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Forum Rules