«

Is it possible to make a 250MB USB 2.0 flash drive/Memory Key bootable
if it was not originally manaufactured to do so?

TIA
Arawak

The answer is yes but I can't give you instructions, you'll find these via
google.

h2so4 said:

> The answer is yes but I can't give you instructions, you'll find
> these via google.

Hi
Could you please include some of the message you are responding to,
in your reply?
(Tools> Options> Send tab, tick the "Include message in Reply" box.)

It makes it difficult to follow a thread when you write a reply and
others
have no clue on what the question or discussion was about.

Further info:
http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote2.html
http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/2000/06/14/quoting.html

Thank You Very Much

If anyone comes acroos a good link to this info I'd appreciate.
I tried google but didn't come up with what I was looking for.

TIA

On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 04:35:09 +0100, "h2so4"
<> wrote:

>The answer is yes but I can't give you instructions, you'll find these via
>google.
>
On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 15:42:30 -0700, Arawak <>
wrote:

>Is it possible to make a 250MB USB 2.0 flash drive/Memory Key bootable
>if it was not originally manaufactured to do so?
>
>TIA
>Arawak

"Arawak" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Is it possible to make a 250MB USB 2.0 flash drive/Memory Key bootable
> if it was not originally manaufactured to do so?
>
> TIA
> Arawak

No. USB requires drivers, which requires an OS to run them, which means you
are already booted.

Exceptions: You make a floppy with LILO or something on it to boot from.
Or, your motherboard supports that function (check the bios).

Alternative, get yourself an ISO of Knoppix. It boots from CD, then use
your USB to carry files around.

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. Both my Desktop and
Laptop computers have an option to BOOT from a USB device in their
BIOS' however the drive needs to already have the bootable program
needed in order to be recognized. If the people who sell flash/pen/key
drives can put an operating system on them and charge extra, their
must be a way for me to do the same. I have come across a program
"mflash.exe" which does the job but that program only recognizes
particular/propriatory drives. I am trying to sind a similar universal
program.


On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 08:36:06 -0500, "JabberSmith" <>
wrote:

>
>"Arawak" <> wrote in message
>news:.. .
>> Is it possible to make a 250MB USB 2.0 flash drive/Memory Key bootable
>> if it was not originally manaufactured to do so?
>>
>> TIA
>> Arawak
>
>No. USB requires drivers, which requires an OS to run them, which means you
>are already booted.
>
>Exceptions: You make a floppy with LILO or something on it to boot from.
>Or, your motherboard supports that function (check the bios).
>
>Alternative, get yourself an ISO of Knoppix. It boots from CD, then use
>your USB to carry files around.
>

X-No-Archive: Yes

In news:,
JabberSmith <> typed
|| "Arawak" <> wrote in message
|| news:...
||| Is it possible to make a 250MB USB 2.0 flash drive/Memory Key
||| bootable
||| if it was not originally manaufactured to do so?
|||
||| TIA
||| Arawak
||
|| No. USB requires drivers, which requires an OS to run them, which
|| means you are already booted.

Rubbish

A USB flash drive can be booted from if the system BIOS allows booting. Very
few mainboards have this capability currently, however.

||
|| Exceptions: You make a floppy with LILO or something on it to boot
|| from. Or, your motherboard supports that function (check the bios).
||
|| Alternative, get yourself an ISO of Knoppix. It boots from CD, then
|| use your USB to carry files around.




---
Message has been scanned and is, to the best of my knowledge, Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.510 / Virus Database: 307 - Release Date: 16/08/2003

X-No-Archive: Yes

In news:,
Arawak <> typed
|| I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. Both my Desktop and
|| Laptop computers have an option to BOOT from a USB device in their
|| BIOS' however the drive needs to already have the bootable program
|| needed in order to be recognized. If the people who sell
|| flash/pen/key drives can put an operating system on them and charge
|| extra, their
|| must be a way for me to do the same. I have come across a program
|| "mflash.exe" which does the job but that program only recognizes
|| particular/propriatory drives. I am trying to sind a similar
|| universal program.

If your mainboard has the ability to boot from a USB flash drive, it *has*
the ability. Not drivers are needed because the *BIOS* has the necessary
drivers.

What people seem to forget, or simply don't know, is that the BIOS is a
program that runs when the computer is powered up. It does a few system
checks and then looks for a boot device specified in the CMOS.

Hence if your BIOS has the ability to boot from a USB Flash drive, then it
*has the ability*.

Whether or not the Flash drive is question has the ability to be *bootable*
is an entirely different question, which I unfortunately don't have the
answer to.

||
||
|| On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 08:36:06 -0500, "JabberSmith" <>
|| wrote:
||
|||
||| "Arawak" <> wrote in message
||| news:...
|||| Is it possible to make a 250MB USB 2.0 flash drive/Memory Key
|||| bootable
|||| if it was not originally manaufactured to do so?
||||
|||| TIA
|||| Arawak
|||
||| No. USB requires drivers, which requires an OS to run them, which
||| means you are already booted.
|||
||| Exceptions: You make a floppy with LILO or something on it to boot
||| from. Or, your motherboard supports that function (check the bios).
|||
||| Alternative, get yourself an ISO of Knoppix. It boots from CD,
||| then use your USB to carry files around.




---
Message has been scanned and is, to the best of my knowledge, Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.510 / Virus Database: 307 - Release Date: 16/08/2003

I understand and already knew what you just wrote. I guess there was
some miscommunication. I am looking for the answer you said you cannot
provide. I guess I asked the wrong question.

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:27:05 +1000, "Robert de Brus" <de_brus@h o t m
a i l.com> wrote:


>Whether or not the Flash drive is question has the ability to be *bootable*
>is an entirely different question, which I unfortunately don't have the
>answer to.
>

Both my Desktop and Laptop are brand new Dell (1 month old) with every
whistle and bell available so both support bootable "every thing that
exists".
My question isn't about computers but the Flash Drives themselves.
You can buy some that are bootable (already have operating system
installed) but the majority and cheaper are just storage media without
an OS.
My question is about being able to find a utility/file that will
install the OS on the flash drives I currently own.