I have several MB's that support it as boot device and I can now scrunch a XP install cd onto a 512mb memory card. Sorta cool to have something the size of a wallet with a couple gigs of OS's and data it would seem on flash memory cards. Especially if an external USB 2.0 could be used. I just built a killer looking AMD54 3200+ all decked in a blue clear acrylic case with lights and scsi drives etc and I chunked in a 9 n1 card reader below the floppy.
Was gonna play and see if Nero or anything else could burn IS0's to it and make stuff bootable but wanted to post before playing around and see if anyone else had played with the concept.
We keep back up images of our builds on flash. Installing the OS from the flash has to many issues. Like the flash drive is seen as c: so when installing this creates alot of havoc.. and with out an OS installed you cant override the c in the bios.
We build and completed our machines and then image them to the flash for emergency recovery. We set the flash as the first device and it boots and loads pq image center 5 and we restore the images from the flash itself... whole process takes about 10 min....
I can expand on the issues of trying to install the OS from the flash if you like...
you also dont save a whole lot of time off the install. maybe 5 minutes. Once files are transfered to the hard drive and the first reboot happens then its all about the harddrive...
The problem with doing it as an image, though, is that you'd have to have the same hardware configuration on all the PC's you were doing it on. It would have to be a kind of an enterprise-level thing.
1. Drive letters. The system sets the flash as c:\
2. Installing to D:
3. ntldr and bootini are written to the flash hosing its boot ability.
etc etc etc...
I do the image alot. (serveral time a day) yes they are the same hardware wise. We do have some variations but the base hardware.. mobo ram and proc are the same. Hdd are the same only vary in quantity. Same ide raid in all. anywho..
Flash makes a better back up then install media...
I'm not interested in it for installation purposes, I'm interested in using it as a bootable diagnostic tool, like a CD but something I can carry on my keychain. Perhaps with knoppix, DOS, etc.
Prime.. It works perfectly for things like that. It will boot dos no problem.. Ive not tried booting it with knoppix but maybe we will... Id not carry a flash card on my keychain but in a toolkit in its plastic sleeve.. with out a doubt.. I recommend flash using toshiba memory. It seems to have had the least problems of all the types we used. We now spec it from our supplier, on 1gig toshiba based flash. It comes from viking...
I have several MB's that support it as boot device and I can now scrunch a XP install cd onto a 512mb memory card. Sorta cool to have something the size of a wallet with a couple gigs of OS's and data it would seem on flash memory cards. Especially if an external USB 2.0 could be used. I just built a killer looking AMD54 3200+ all decked in a blue clear acrylic case with lights and scsi drives etc and I chunked in a 9 n1 card reader below the floppy.
Was gonna play and see if Nero or anything else could burn IS0's to it and make stuff bootable but wanted to post before playing around and see if anyone else had played with the concept.
tex
Hi...I have loaded Win XP Pro Embedded onto a 2gig flash and booted it when connected to the IDE cable...I also put Win XP Pro Embedded onto a 2gig thumbdrive but cannot get the BIOs to see a bootable version of Windows...what experiences are you aware of that may enable me to load/boot WinXP Pro from the USB port? Any help or referral is appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bob Finberg campfinwood@starband.net
...what experiences are you aware of that may enable me to load/boot WinXP Pro from the USB port?...
Make sure that BIOS USB support is enabled (Not OS USB). Set your first boot device as "Other" (or whatever your BIOS calls anything not Floppy, HD, CDROM, or Network Boot). You might also try disabling all other boot devices so Windows doesn't run around looking for a hard drive or CDROM.
Hi...I have loaded Win XP Pro Embedded onto a 2gig flash and booted it when connected to the IDE cable...I also put Win XP Pro Embedded onto a 2gig thumbdrive but cannot get the BIOs to see a bootable version of Windows...what experiences are you aware of that may enable me to load/boot WinXP Pro from the USB port? Any help or referral is appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bob Finberg campfinwood@starband.net
No need for the multiple posts - Black Hawk
It's mostly a matter of the motherboard bios in question corretly supporting the feature and that will vary not only from one MB to the next but even particular bios versions for a MB at this date.
Make sure that BIOS USB support is enabled (Not OS USB). Set your first boot device as "Other" (or whatever your BIOS calls anything not Floppy, HD, CDROM, or Network Boot). You might also try disabling all other boot devices so Windows doesn't run around looking for a hard drive or CDROM.
Comments
KF
Was gonna play and see if Nero or anything else could burn IS0's to it and make stuff bootable but wanted to post before playing around and see if anyone else had played with the concept.
tex
We keep back up images of our builds on flash. Installing the OS from the flash has to many issues. Like the flash drive is seen as c: so when installing this creates alot of havoc.. and with out an OS installed you cant override the c in the bios.
We build and completed our machines and then image them to the flash for emergency recovery. We set the flash as the first device and it boots and loads pq image center 5 and we restore the images from the flash itself... whole process takes about 10 min....
I can expand on the issues of trying to install the OS from the flash if you like...
Gobbles
Gobbles
1. Drive letters. The system sets the flash as c:\
2. Installing to D:
3. ntldr and bootini are written to the flash hosing its boot ability.
etc etc etc...
I do the image alot. (serveral time a day) yes they are the same hardware wise. We do have some variations but the base hardware.. mobo ram and proc are the same. Hdd are the same only vary in quantity. Same ide raid in all. anywho..
Flash makes a better back up then install media...
Gobbles
Gobbles
Sincerely,
Bob Finberg
campfinwood@starband.net
No need for the multiple posts - Black Hawk
Let us know if that works.
It's mostly a matter of the motherboard bios in question corretly supporting the feature and that will vary not only from one MB to the next but even particular bios versions for a MB at this date.
Tex
Bob