Re: XP: Boot off a memory card? Thumb drive?
On Apr 27, 5
5 pm, FrankEdwards <n...@frank.here> wrote:
> >> Is this easily done? Just configure the bios to boot of that external
> >> device and should it work? Do I need special drivers for the boot
> >> device?
>
> > PC will boot off a USB flash / hard drive but only if it it not a
> > Windows XP.
>
> What? Can you try that again? (Proof reading works.)
You can get most standard PCs to boot off a USB hard drive only if the
drive is not boot a Windows directly. Microsoft has purposely made
most Windows to not permit to boot off a USB device. Their only
exceptions are USB floppy drive access for additional drivers and USB
CD / DVD drives for the "true" Windows install disks.
Several other operating systems (aka Linux) can directly boot up from
a USB drive. And some "ingenious" Windows users have been known to be
successful in "cloning" a valid XP onto a USB drive and got it to boot.