Loading an OS from a USB thumb drive

**l_b_rex** · 01-15-2009, 05:59 AM

So I was thinking today about my friend last year when he told me that a person can actually run a computer with no hard drive, but instead you can install an operating system on a thumb drive and use it as a hard drive and actually not even have a hard drive in the computer.

My question is, can this really be done and how is it done?

I'm not actually doing it. I just want to know if anyone in this forum can confirm this is possible and if so how is it done?

**-=Rousseau=-** · 01-15-2009, 07:43 PM

It is actually quite possible, but it depends on the motherboard and the OS. You would have to have support for the USB drive w/out any drivers first of all. Then you could boot up the PC to the OS disk and just point to the correct drive letter to install. However, this set up would probably cause a lot of issues. For one, USB drives are less reliable. They can also be lost... And, per GB they are a lot more expensive. The only real use I can see is hardware diagnostics using a minimalistic OS and several key programs pre-installed along with it on the USB drive. Or the "cool" factor.

**dm01** · 01-15-2009, 11:58 PM

Usually this works on a computer not older than the year 2000. Older motherboards usually will not accept booting from a flash drive. Using a flash drive as primary storage is not recommended, as solid-state (flash) memory is still quite volatile, and if you don't have a backup on a standard hard drive, you risk losing all of your data. I back up my flash drive ever time I am at my desktop. I once lost two very important files at the same time from my flash drive :(.

dai · 01-16-2009, 09:42 AM

there was an article on zdnet a few days ago on it

https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/

01-15-2009, 05:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
l_b_rex The almighty Dr.Tran! Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,105 OS: Vista Home Premium 32 bit	Loading an OS from a USB thumb drive So I was thinking today about my friend last year when he told me that a person can actually run a computer with no hard drive, but instead you can install an operating system on a thumb drive and use it as a hard drive and actually not even have a hard drive in the computer. My question is, can this really be done and how is it done? I'm not actually doing it. I just want to know if anyone in this forum can confirm this is possible and if so how is it done? __________________ If my avatar piques your interest, go to google and search Dr.Tran video and have a look.

01-15-2009, 07:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
-=Rousseau=- Biker, Geek and Jock Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Nashvegas Posts: 827 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate My System	Re: Loading an OS from a USB thumb drive It is actually quite possible, but it depends on the motherboard and the OS. You would have to have support for the USB drive w/out any drivers first of all. Then you could boot up the PC to the OS disk and just point to the correct drive letter to install. However, this set up would probably cause a lot of issues. For one, USB drives are less reliable. They can also be lost... And, per GB they are a lot more expensive. The only real use I can see is hardware diagnostics using a minimalistic OS and several key programs pre-installed along with it on the USB drive. Or the "cool" factor.

01-15-2009, 11:58 PM	#3 (permalink)
dm01 Moderator: Design Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Richmond, B.C.; Canada Posts: 1,452 OS: Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600] SP3 \| Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope \| Windows 7 BETA My System	Re: Loading an OS from a USB thumb drive Usually this works on a computer not older than the year 2000. Older motherboards usually will not accept booting from a flash drive. Using a flash drive as primary storage is not recommended, as solid-state (flash) memory is still quite volatile, and if you don't have a backup on a standard hard drive, you risk losing all of your data. I back up my flash drive ever time I am at my desktop. I once lost two very important files at the same time from my flash drive :(. __________________ Validate your Markup Validate your CSS Notepad++ Please use [html], [php], and [code] when posting code or markup. I do not help by Private Message or e-mail. If for some reason I have over-looked a reply to a thread that I have previously replied to, then send me a message.

01-16-2009, 09:42 AM	#4 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,609 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Loading an OS from a USB thumb drive there was an article on zdnet a few days ago on it https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/ __________________