It’s very clear to me after tinkering for 2 days (okay, it’s probably more like half a day effectively) that there’s no real simple solution to making a bootable USB flash drive (USB stick, flash disk, USB stick, or whatever else you prefer to call it.
Out there you will find lots and lots of information that lots and lots of people claim worked for them, but not all of it makes sense when you start to follow their magic recipes. I’ll be open minded today and just reason that it’s got to do with the fact the each computer differ very much from the next. Like a ‘rainbox-nation’. Bah!
It’s absolute balony to think that if you buy different parts they will actually work well together. That is not however, what I’m on about today…
Since this is a HOWTO, actually since this is a mini-HOWTO I guess I need to throw a few numbered bullets in the mix.
- Make sure you have a PC.
- Check that it (as in the PC pointed out in 1) is plugged in before you begin.
Ha! That is mini enough, isn’t it?! It doesn’t help though… ghrrr. You know, you shouldn’t bitch really. We live in this instant world where everything has to be quick; 2 minute noodles, 5 minute workouts, blah blah blah. Do you really think that all the instant bollocks have any value?! If so, then the two outlined points above should suffice for your needs.
Good night.
For the rest of you, read on.
NOTES
- This tutorial only works for computers that can boot up with the USB-HDD option. Some BIOSs have USB-FDD, USB-ZIP, USB-CDROM or whatever else. I’ve tried this recipe on them and it’s a no go.
- This HOWTO will get you to boot NTFS4DOS, which to me looks like Avira’s own DOS.
PRE-REQUISITES
- BIOS that can boot USB-HDD
- USB flash drive
- Half a brain
- Avira NTFS4DOS Personal (This means you will also need a floppy drive – download this zip which contains the result)
- HP Disk Storage Format Utility from Bay Wolf’s collection (or download it from my public box)
STEPS
- Download the Avira NTFS4DOS result zip and extract it somewhere.
- Run the HP Disk Storage Format tool.
- Check that it has your USB flash drive as the device.
- For the File System I used FAT
- Select ‘Create a DOS startup disk’
- Click the ‘…’ button after selecting ‘using DOS system files located at:’ and point it to the directory where you’ve extracted the zip to in 1.
- Copy all the files from the directory in 1. to the flash drive. DO NOT overwrite any of the files if the copy asks! IT WILL PREVENT THE DRIVE FROM BOOTING!
- Reboot your machine and enter the BIOS settings. Now go to wherever you change the boot order and select USB-HDD to be first.
- Save settings and exit the BIOS.
- You should now be booting off the flash drive.
Easy ne’! So now you would ask, WHAT THE BLEEP WOULD I NEED TO BOOT DOS FOR?!
Patience boet, we will explore one possibility tomorrow…
Cheers
