Can you USB boot WITHOUT a floppy?

Forum: USB booting
Topic: Can you USB boot WITHOUT a floppy?
started by: Tu13erhead

Posted by Tu13erhead on July 19 2005,15:43

I have a 1gb flash drive that I want to use as I don't have any blank CDs, but I don't currently have a floppy drive installed. I believe the motherboard supports boot from USB. Can I boot and install from USB without a floppy?

Posted by Jerr on July 19 2005,17:08

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you need the CD to install to the USB Flash Drive. Find out what your motherboard supports (USBZIP or USBHDD), then make the flash drive DSLized (bootable), and then you can boot directly from the USB flash drive.

Again, check to see if you can get DSL on the flash drive without actually burning a CD.

Posted by cbagger01 on July 19 2005,19:13

Buy a blank CD-R or get one from a friend.

Check your computer's BIOS to see if it supports USB drive (USBHDD) or USB zip drive (USBZIP). If it supports BOTH, then my preference is USBHDD because Dell computers support it and they seem to be everywhere nowadays.

FYI, you can use the livecd to create the bootable USB drive from any other computer. You don't need to use your specific computer to do the pendrive installation if you prefer.

Then boot into the livecd and choose "Install to Pendrive" and choose the appropriate type and follow the instructions.

Posted by Tu13erhead on July 19 2005,19:15

I got it to boot to the flash drive without using a CD or Floppy, but it locked up at the splash screen. Hmm....