How to create a Bootable USB Device

[Elif Tymes]

Now, you all know how to make boot disks, or boot cds, or even boot DVDs. That's great! good for you, but I have no floppy drive, and I don't want to have to burn a ccd every time I want to make a new bootdisk.

The solution? Bootable USB Keys. Heres how to do it.

First, download HP's Make Boot program (http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/hpcpqdt/us/download/20306.html). This works perfectly fine with non HP USB Devices, but be warned it DOES FORMAT THE DEVICE. Backup your data first.

Then, download these bootable files(BROKEN!) (http://aaltonen.us/downloads/HPUSBFW_BOOTFILES.zip)---Use these instead! (http://rapidshare.de/files/9513401/HPUSBFW_BOOTFILES.zip.html)

Extract the bootable files, and install the boot program. Insert your USB Key, then run the make boot program. Select the "Create a DOS Startup Disk" Checkbox. Then select the "Using DOS System Files located at:" Option button. Click the little ellipse(...) and browse to the directory you extracted the bootable files to.

Click "Start" and away you go! Easy as pie!

[Elif Tymes]

Nobody needs/uses this? Come now, posts of appreciation for my work would be appreciated ;).

[Know Nuttin]

Good post.

Most of us will only cut one good big utility CD and that will work for 95% of the time we need it.

[hyperasus]

OH nice!! I get tired of having to make a new cd for every new bios that comes out. Especially since I do it on my computer and about 30 other PC's(friends/family). Now if only this wold work for those new xp installs with those dam raid drivers.......OHHH!!:mad::mad::mad: how this ****es me off every time I think about it.

Now how do I make a bootable USB drive that I can use to recover NTFS files?
Has anyone every got an XP install to work on a USB thumb drive?

[Nathan0490]

very nice quick tutorial, thanks!!

[DrSpanky]

it shouldnt be that hard to get xp on a flash drive, ive had xp down to less then 600mb
think i got it just under 400 before i deleted something i shouldnt and lost the task bar

if it wouldnt install to a flash drive you think u could install it to hdd then copy it over?

[Know Nuttin]

You'd need a program that can enable you to read NTFS partitions. I use NTFS4DOS.

If the BIOS enables the drive letter as A for the USB key, then XP should allow you to load SATA RAID drivers from it. I haven't tried it yet though.

If you copied the XP install over to the USB key, you'd need to find a way to make it boot off of the key. Again, I'm not sure if bootcfg, fixboot, or fixmbr would be allowed onto removable media but it's possible.

[DrSpanky]

You'd need a program that can enable you to read NTFS partitions. I use NTFS4DOS.

not if u used fat32...

[Know Nuttin]

not if u used fat32...

I know but the response for NTFS4DOS was targeted towards hyperasus.

[deathman20]

Ya I've used this, not this exact way but I had something in one of my CPU posts of how to make a bootable device and rid us of the evil floppy drive.

But ya trying to get the USB readable as A: I've been unsucessful with that :( So the startup can't read it to get the files for the SATA drives.

[Elif Tymes]

I think that's mostly on a per BIOS basis, I'll look into it as well.

Anyways, I have a 40GB External 2.5" USB drive, and am very tempted to use this too boot off of it, and have it be my windows XP Install system. Slipstream my SATA RAID Drivers on it, and walaa :). Could put Mandriva on it, or Debian, or any other install and use it...

Mmm, and fast transfer! At least, faster than DVD.

[Mr.Guvernment]

CD-RW's :)

[infinitevalence]

just wondering what is the min size of the disk?

[Elif Tymes]

Can be any size for the SATA Drive. For an XP install, it has to be at least 400MB, I believe.

CDRW's require you to reformat/rewrite them. This is just plug in, drag, drop done :).

And, I don't want to spend more money on CD-RWs :)

[Dukeman]

Some things to note about the HP utility. It uses FreeDOS file system (so they don't step on Bill's toes). You can load MS DOS boot files but there can be versioning issues. I recommend getting the latest version of FreeDOS and putting the boot files into a folder and then drag them to the USB key drive after using the HP utility. This will improve compatibility with newer chipsets, especially for HIMEM.

I've used this utility and file sets for FreeDOS to create bootable USB utilities for FW download, BIOS update and just about anything that needs a DOS boot up. It's cool to watch DOS boot up, load HIMEM and then start your app in less than 5 seconds.

[H2]

Nice work Elif Tymes!!!

I have struggled with this for over a year now with all the laptops shipping with no floppy drive. I use Ghost 2003 to make Images and Partition Magic 7.0 for setting up hard drives and both of them only make boot disks for floppys in the A: drive.

I made one for each program on two different USB thumbdrives, and they work!
Thanks for the links and good directions on how to do it. :clap:

[Elif Tymes]

THanks :) I know this really helped me alot :) BIOS flashes are now a breeze. Download BIOS, put on flash, reboot... Flash:)It's so Easy!

[El<(')>Maxi]

Good stuff Elif,

Thanks :)

[flamerail]

Wonder if u had a 1gb flashstick if u could boot windows off it?

[deathman20]

Wonder if u had a 1gb flashstick if u could boot windows off it?

I think thats possible. I thought I saw that option when I had my USB plug in when I installed windows this past time, but I could of been mistaken too.

[Vaio]

Awesome tutorial! I wish I would have seen it a couple days ago when I realy needed it :bang head I have a stack of dead CD-Rs from bios flashing and other updates(I kept misspelling the file names, using the wrong stuff, etc. :bang head), and this should fix that!

[flamerail]

I think thats possible. I thought I saw that option when I had my USB plug in when I installed windows this past time, but I could of been mistaken too.

If it is. please pm me... i like the sound of this :D

[Elif Tymes]

bartpe is supposed to run on a flash disk, not sure how though. I may try that soon....

[d94]

awsome tutorial

[ghettocomp]

Interesting! Now if I can get my THumbdrives to do a network boot.

[Elif Tymes]

I don't think that's possible Ghettocomp :-)

[ghettocomp]

I don't think that's possible Ghettocomp :-)

Actually it is, I Just figured it all out and can boot ClusterKnoppix that way.

I used the HP proggie you pointed out, then at http://rom-o-matic.net I downloaded an acceptable DOS executeable boot, It comes out as eb-5[1].2.4-3c595.com, for example. then changed the name to LTSP.com and copied it to the thumb drive. I added a Autoexec file that forced a boot of that file. I then made sure the motherboard would boot from the USB Device and when the board was rebooted, voila! netboot and all!! everything worked as if the NIC was a netbootable. :)

Edit: Elif, If it wasnt for that HP proggie you pointed out, i may never have figured it out this easily. Thanks for the Ideas!!

[perfectturmoil]

DamnSmallLinux boots from a usb drive. All you need to do is burn a cd of DSL, throw it in, boot to the live environment, run the "make a usbstick" option (its somewhere in there) and you're good to go.

DSL uses an older kernel so it might not have naitve ntfs read capabilities.
I believe DSL will work as a Debian build.. so you might be able to apt-get install captive-ntfs , that should let you.. captive-ntfs is so that linux can write to ntfs (writing is not fully supported, as its still experimental and can be dangerous).

But. Thats a handy way to get an actual useful bootable flash drive :- ]

[gigabit]

Sweet!!!!!!!!!! would this work on my USB Iomega 250mb Zip Drive also?

[perfectturmoil]

Sweet!!!!!!!!!! would this work on my USB Iomega 250mb Zip Drive also?

You talkin about DSL? If so, then yep, I believe it does. One of the main ways DSL boots itself is by spoofing a zip drive :- ] And I believe DSL tips the scales at only 50mb.

[gigabit]

You talkin about DSL? If so, then yep, I believe it does. One of the main ways DSL boots itself is by spoofing a zip drive :- ] And I believe DSL tips the scales at only 50mb.

DSL no .Its a Zip Drive.Im not really sure what you mean though.

[Elif Tymes]

Fixxed broken link for the bootable files.

[leelegend]

nice......i have a little programme call iFormat, that puts the boot files on at the same time as formatting.

i will see if i can find a link

lee

[soundfx4]

Now, you all know how to make boot disks, or boot cds, or even boot DVDs. That's great! good for you, but I have no floppy drive, and I don't want to have to burn a ccd every time I want to make a new bootdisk.

The solution? Bootable USB Keys. Heres how to do it.

First, download HP's Make Boot program (http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/hpcpqdt/us/download/20306.html). This works perfectly fine with non HP USB Devices, but be warned it DOES FORMAT THE DEVICE. Backup your data first.

Then, download these bootable files(BROKEN!) (http://aaltonen.us/downloads/HPUSBFW_BOOTFILES.zip)---Use these instead! (http://rapidshare.de/files/9513401/HPUSBFW_BOOTFILES.zip.html)

Extract the bootable files, and install the boot program. Insert your USB Key, then run the make boot program. Select the "Create a DOS Startup Disk" Checkbox. Then select the "Using DOS System Files located at:" Option button. Click the little ellipse(...) and browse to the directory you extracted the bootable files to.

Click "Start" and away you go! Easy as pie!

I had always wandered how to do this :p Thanks!

[Beginner]

this is awesome!

i have to try this out.

[medo145]

updated link for the hp boot program

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/files/serveroptions/us/download/23839.html

[BlazinSkyline]

when i go to try to make a bootable drive i get up to the part that says image key.. what image file are they talking about?

[Skeith]

I installed win98 on a usb key once if that counts. Cant remember how I did it though.