[Ham-Computers] Booting off of a flash drive

[Loren Moline WA7SKT]

Jeff,

Thanks. I am wanting XP and not another operating system. I have too many programs I use that need Windows. Right now other systems are like Vista. Not enough useful applications for my computer use.

Loren








> Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:44:41 -0500
> From: jeffv at op.net
> To: ham-computers at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Ham-Computers] Booting off of a flash drive
>
> Loren Moline WA7SKT wrote:
>> I know this may have been discussed before but is there a way to install an operating system on a flash drive and boot from it?
>
> if you're talking linux, yes. I don't have the URL, but you can search
> for usb linux and find a lot of pages. Pendrivelinux.com comes to mind.
>
> Be aware that some installs are persistent and some are not. Persistent
> means any changes you make while the OS is up will be saved for the next
> boot. I remember there being two sets of instructions for the Ubuntu
> install due to this.
>
> My favorite distro is Ubuntu, but your decision will also depend on your
> needs, the computer's specs, and the size of your usb drive. I've seen
> 1g drives at $10 and 4g's around $34.
>
>
> There is also the concept of portable apps (portableapps.com, I think).
> These are common programs, specially coded to be small and run from a
> portable drive. One benefit of this is that you can carry your entire
> online world with you, plugging it into any computer you come across
> (Windows only) and run whatever you want without leaving a trace on the
> host computer (don't forget antivirus). I carry a drive with a few of
> these apps and a ton of other software I use daily.
>
> You can also boot a pc from a repair disk or live linux distro and have
> access to data on the hard drive, even if the pc won't boot.
>
>
> Good luck.
>
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