Discussion on:

Learn how to make a USB drive bootable

What is the point of this article? To say enter the BIOS Setup program and if USB is available as a boot option enable it and if its not available, too bad?

The article contains links to other articles that tell you how to set up a USB flash drive. If your motherboard doesn't support booting via USB, then don't bother reading the articles.

I think it was very thoughtful of Tech Republic to state that up front, so that people without compliant motherboards don't waste time reading the articles.

I know of USB Keys that are seen as a HDD. So you have to set in the boot sequence HDD1 (or higher if you have more then 1 HDD in the system) before your HDD0.
And that is for a BIOS that doesn't have USB boot options available.

USB Keys can be an information protection nightmare, to be sure.
Trying to instruct users not to store anything sensitive on a USB key is difficult at times.
What's more worrisome is the fact that someone can outright attack your entire network and in some cases, give themselves acess where none existed before with nothing but a USB key.

Disable autorun on your networks.
A USB key with an autorun.inf file and an accompanying executable can be extremely dangerous in the hands of unscrupulous people.

What kind of tip is this?? if you click on that first link, the [non-TR] author steps you through a process that includes formatting C! How many of us have the luxury of formatting a hard drive from scratch just to create a bootable USB drive? this article is of dubious value.

The article explains that you have to move your USB key drive to the first hard disk - hence it becomes C:
When you "format /s c:" you are essentially copying the formating and copying system boot files to the USB drive.
Though I don't own one, I know you can get USB drives of 20gb or more... You could have Linux, Windows, Dos and a set of image files for each of your corporate desktop machines on there with tools to extract them.
Seems like a phenomenally useful tool for the network administrator to me - in fact, I think I might order one now...
Jx

Hi, maybe the confussion is because fdisk will tell you that the first drive the PC finds is "C" drive, but in fact is not the real hard disk but the USB drive with the letter "C".

I hope this helps you.

Best regards

Abraham

We have a USB HDD that we use for imaging and emergency recovery. While we use this for servers we ran into the same issue that many of our servers cannot boot off of the USB device.

Our solution? We created a floppy boot disk that mounts the USB drive as drive "Z:". This way we can use NTFS utilities to work on the server, or simply re-image it. We still use our backups for data (that's on a different partition), but for getting the server back to it's preconfigured OS state it works great.

This has also worked well for us to get an image of a server without generating additional network traffic through imaging across the wire.

-Zaf

In case people are not familiar with this amazing tool, look at Bart's boot CD (http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/). This site will give instructions on booting to a USB key drive, and used in conjunction with a $20 program called FlashBoot, you can create bootable media at-will.

The amazing thing about the tool is to implement plug-ins that do anything from Ghost to virus scanning to hard drive scanning and recovery and more. If you're not familiar with this tool, you owe it to yourself to check it out. I even use it to boot up and install Windows Vista, since the WinPE tool that comes with Vista feels so limiting now.

I use both Bart's (free) and FashBoot ($20) to do all my XP imaging, and I do not see that changing much even for Vista. Even ImageX and BootSect, which are both required for Vista are workable in Bart's only requiring a couple of file copies. I've done it, so I know it works.

The only caveat is the same one you've read: The motherboard has to support booting from USB drive. Flashboot supports creating the key drive as USB HDD or USB floppy, and I have seen many times where the BIOS would boot from one and not the oter, so the added flexibility may help.

One more note about Bart's and USB booting... Once you have the the file structure setup, the same ISO that Bart's creates will work for both the key drive and the bootable CD, so if you have older systems that won't boot to the key drive, you will have the same experience.

I hope this helps those that do not know this truly incredible tool exists.

This is great, but what about creating a USB drive that uses a drive letter other than C:

Someone named Hiram [who created the Hiram Boot CD] also has a little utility that will format a USB key or drive. The interface is like the Win 2000/XP format interface but will ask to supply the DOS boot files [COMMAND.COM, HIMEM.SYS, etc.].

It's Hiren's Boot CD. And it's one of the best tools around for diagnosing computer issues and system recovery.

don't you have to alter the inni line on the bootloader? Will this work even if the motherboard does n't appear to support USB booting?
Roy.

Hello,

I've recently written a guide on how to make a USB Flash Drive DOS Bootable. Check it out at the link below:

http://wiki.spectralcoding.com/index.php/How_To_Make_a_USB_Drive_Bootable

I hope this helps!

Thanks,
Smark
http://www.spectralcoding.com/

As for me i just using special software - ProteMac LogonKey,
It can make bootable Usb for Mac
http://protemac.com/LogonKey/

Hey dears
I have business of scientific laboratory equipments.. and I normally engaged with my laptop for routine business... I searched whole web.. and in last I found it here ...
thanks to guys
It is success , what a simple and easy way to make usb pen drive bootable..


Thanks,
SKumar
http://www.laboratoryequipmentsindia.com/
http://www.santanbanta.co.in/

Sometimes with Network secure PCs and high end workstations, all it takes is for certain root accounts to have their account passwords changed locally, or to have a group removed and a perfectly good install with useful data winds up being shut out from admins; so, you have to either use a boot CD , or a USB boot to clear the account, then reinstall the password or passphrase, and the group, then the PC can be repaired ( its also useful if the Motherboard dies and the access is linked to biometric passwords, or there are groups also deleted). The disks that most admins use are pretty useful, and obviously it pre-supposes a level of trust with its use. However, the CD and now the USB boot can now run all sorts of utilities that can help save an install, and even rescue data before the disc is replaced or re-formatted. There is a positive use for the USB boot , and the CD boot which can make key changes, but if you log access at this level, then it seems to track any issues. But hackers to always find a way if it is not locked down well, but all it takes is one bad admin to mistype or delete a group, and the PC is in a state that needs a rescue. I have seen encrypted laptops that have been rescued by Boot USB and CDs to get key Project data that was never backed up. It's an essential set of tools to rescue PCs and the data therein, IMO.