Booting with USB

Yes, Windows computers can boot from USB devices.

http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/bus/USB/usbcompat.asp

USB_CD -- for usb cd-rom drive -- generally, you need to have a usb driver initialize the port during startup. A popular one used with IBM is USB_CD.sys.

With usb_cd.sys add a line to your config.sys and in your autoexec.bat file:

config.sys:
device=a:\usb_cd.sys /d:mscd001

autoexec.bat:
a:\mscdex /d:mscd001

The motherboard has to support booting from the USB port.

Beginning with Windows Me, the floppy drive was no longer "required" for the system as you could boot from the OS CD, and install the OS from there.

Again, the motherboard needs to support booting from the CD for this to work.

If you are putting together a W2K, or XP system, you do not "need" a floppy drive.

I continue to install floppy drives so that non-networked users can easily transfer small files.

Also, being an old curmugeon, I prefer to boot from a floppy to setup the hard drive.
I also like floppy boots for system recovery.

Chas