Install without optical drive

[ErikD]

I might need to do a fresh install on a laptop that has no optical drive. Now I would look into a docking station with integrated DVD or a USB drive. I am thinking of how to get this donw without one.

The current drive shuld have a hidden recovery partition (IBM). It is working just fine and the new drive is of the same size, I am just being tasked to get a fresh install on a new drive. Don't ask why it is a job, and I don't have a real choice here. So anyway I am thinking I can just clone the current drive over to the new one and then run the recovery program. Should leave me where a want to be with minimal effort.

And yes I could go through a network install. I am pushing to get permission to setup a RIS server, but am not there yet.

Any other possiblities to consider?

[TheSonOfX51]

Why not just use a usb optical drive? they are fairly cheap. But if you don't want to do that, you could always get a laptop to desktop adapter and put the laptop harddrive in a desktop and install it that way.

[dotyer]

Or you could share your desktop's Optical Drive on the network (or ethernet crossover) and just access it that way. Thats the easiest way in my opinion since you don't have to buy anything extra.

[4od]

You can use a flash drive, but that will require a large flash drive and a way to burn windows onto it... not sure how you could raw burn onto a flash drive...