Boot from Flash?

[drstew]

Is it possible to make an image/copy of Windows XP from the C: drive to a large flash drive (how big?) to boot from? If so, what is the proceedure? With flash drives becoming so inexpensive, this seems attractive if it is possible.

[lumis]

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/09/09/windows_in_your_pocket/

[redwudz]

It seems logical, but I haven't found any viable methods yet. Someone will have to write a loader that will boot up the system. I did an extensive search a month ago and couldn't find one program that worked. You would have to set the flash drive to emulate a bootdisk.

But keep looking. It seems a bunch of people have been working on the problem. Your BIOS would also have to be able to boot from a USB drive for this to work at all.

EDIT: lumis's method may work. I've used Bart PE from a CD disc and it works well. Something new to try.

[Heavensent]

the bart pe thing works for me on a flash drive, but it is limited
not like a full windows xp installation.
it can help you when you need to fix things up on your HD, and there are a lot of plugins
you can install and use but thats about it.
it is not a full windows installation.
dont get me wrong, bart pe is a really good TOOL when needed and it did help
me in a lot of cases, and the guy who labored to make it work should be
credited for the wonderfull job he did.

right now a full installation will not work on a flash drive, and even if it could work
on a flash drive, you really wont have much use of it because it will not run
on EVERY computer you plug it into.
hardware detection problems (different mobo,gpu, and so on)

BUT, i did have more luck using linux on a flash disk, works grate so far.
it has its own downsides, but it is a full system and i can boot it from allmost
every computer.

[kschang]

Best way is put Ultimate Boot CD for Windows (which includes Bart's PE and a lot more utilities) onto a 1G flash drive, and still have 500 megs left for saving the stuff.

[scustalow]

Best way is put Ultimate Boot CD for Windows (which includes Bart's PE and a lot more utilities) onto a 1G flash drive, and still have 500 megs left for saving the stuff.

can you tell me how to do this?