Windows on a USB Key

[sprintmp]

Has anybody tried building Windows XP on a 4gb USB key?

I thought that it might be useful as a backup system in case the XP disk drive went down. You might possibly be able to recover some files this way.

Pietro

[agent006]

Not tried XP as i can't afford a 4gb key. I did try NT on a 512mb though. Didn't go too well after i realised that NT doesn't support USB.

[Plotloss]

Its tricky to get Windows to run off any sort of volatile memory as it wasnt designed that way.

As for storing the clean version of files that may get damaged/replaced with few exceptions everything is available on the web.

[roadsweeper]

sprintmp said:

Has anybody tried building Windows XP on a 4gb USB key?

I'm certain this has been done, but you don't need a key of that size. I think I saw the article on Slashdot and it was indeed a useful tool, particularly for engineers fixing client machines in a business environment.

Got it:

Tom's Hardware - Windows in your Pocket

>> Edited by roadsweeper on Monday 26th September 17:06

[aldi]

Windows PE might be more inclined to work on different PC's, google for 'Barts PE'

[sprintmp]

Thanks, I'll certainly try that.

I have a spare 256mb key so I'll see how it goes. The 4GB isn't too much of a problem as it's work related.

Thanks for all your help and ideas

Pietro

[roadsweeper]

aldi said:

Windows PE might be more inclined to work on different PC's, google for 'Barts PE'

That's as per the article I linked to earlier.

[rich-uk]

It can be done, I haven't as my PC's don't support USB booting so don't see the point!

If people can boot a working system from a CD, you sure as hell can do it on a R/W medium!

[aldi]

roadsweeper said:

aldi said: Windows PE might be more inclined to work on different PC's, google for 'Barts PE' That's as per the article I linked to earlier.

[roadsweeper]

aldi said:

roadsweeper said: aldi said: Windows PE might be more inclined to work on different PC's, google for 'Barts PE' That's as per the article I linked to earlier.

It wasn't obvious from the link, it was only mentioned a few paras into the article so no need for the - I probably deserve one for pointing it out in the first place!

[__LEE__]

Honestly though, how many PC's can boot from USB?.

This is a genuine question as I have never fixed a PC that can boot from USB.

I would be interested to know of any mainstream PC's that can do it.

I considered this a while back but wrote it off due to the fact that all of the client PC's I worked on would not boot from USB.

[Podie]

__LEE__ said:

Honestly though, how many PC's can boot from USB?. This is a genuine question as I have never fixed a PC that can boot from USB. I would be interested to know of any mainstream PC's that can do it. I considered this a while back but wrote it off due to the fact that all of the client PC's I worked on would not boot from USB.

Most modern (P4) systems can. On Dell's for example you press F12 for a one time boot menu...

[__LEE__]

Podie said:

Most modern (P4) systems can. On Dell's for example you press F12 for a one time boot menu...

In that case I need to work on newer PC's!

[Podie]

__LEE__ said:

Podie said: Most modern (P4) systems can. On Dell's for example you press F12 for a one time boot menu... In that case I need to work on newer PC's!

In the office we're using Dell PC's and we use USB keys to kick start the boot process - which then streams down from the network.

GX150's (now 3 years old) don't support USB boot, but the GX260's (circa 2 years old) do... as do all their subsequent models. Not sure if the GX240's did... not got one to hand.

Laptop wise, any of the D-series Lattitude models support USB boot.

Hope that helps.

[__LEE__]

Thanks for the info Podie.

[sprintmp]

IBM Thinkpads do as well.