The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Those with a laptop + no optical drive...

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by BlazingSkies, Mar 21, 2010.

  1. BlazingSkies

    BlazingSkies Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    183
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    If you wanted to do a complete wipe and reformat... how the heck would you do it? It's just about the only thing stopping me from getting a laptop with no optical drive.
     
    BlazingSkies, Mar 21, 2010
    #1
  2. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

    Reputations:
    6,415
    Messages:
    5,296
    Likes Received:
    552
    Trophy Points:
    281
    Get the Microsoft ISO tool, and make a bootable USB Drive installer of Windows 7. I can't tell you how much that helps installing Windows 7.

    EDIT: Or make yourself a bootable *linux of your flavor* USB Drive.
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Mar 21, 2010
    #2
  3. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

    Reputations:
    3,833
    Messages:
    8,209
    Likes Received:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    206
    Mastershroom, Mar 21, 2010
    #3
  4. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    3,905
    Messages:
    6,116
    Likes Received:
    89
    Trophy Points:
    216
    Yup, I just use a USB optical drive.
     
    namaiki, Mar 21, 2010
    #4
  5. BlazingSkies

    BlazingSkies Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    183
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    nice guys, thanks!
     
    BlazingSkies, Mar 21, 2010
    #5
  6. jackluo923

    jackluo923 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    1,038
    Messages:
    3,071
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    105
    To install windows 7, all i did was get an .iso image, copy the content directly from inside the iso image to the usb drive and then boot/install from the flash drive.
     
    jackluo923, Mar 21, 2010
    #6
  7. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    157
    Messages:
    2,020
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Another question is how do you make a safe and permanent backup? Backing up to a USB Thumbdrive is not a good solution since the file can still be corrupted. A much safer solution is to back up to a write once optical disc.
     
    hendra, Mar 21, 2010
    #7
  8. naton

    naton Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    806
    Messages:
    2,044
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I think the best way is to back up your data on DVDs and CDs. If they are of a good quality, and if they are stored properly they will last for years.
     
    naton, Mar 21, 2010
    #8
  9. PlatinuM195

    PlatinuM195 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    13
    Messages:
    165
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I use a USB drive for formatting/installing windows. Otherwise I use an external optical drive for backing up data.

    I also keep a regular backup of data on a networked PC as well as uploading my most important data to Windows Live Skydrive.
     
    PlatinuM195, Mar 21, 2010
    #9
  10. woofer00

    woofer00 Wanderer

    Reputations:
    726
    Messages:
    1,086
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    I disagree, solely for the reason that I cannot read the documents I saved in elementary school onto 5.25" and 3.5" floppy disks. I still "have" the documents, I just can't get to them. Best way, imo, is to save copies in multiple formats, since flash drives and external hard drives can go bad at the worst times, and CD/DVDs inevitably degrade over time as well. Avoid having a single point of failure at all costs.
     
    woofer00, Mar 23, 2010
    #10
  11. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

    Reputations:
    6,415
    Messages:
    5,296
    Likes Received:
    552
    Trophy Points:
    281
    ^^Yes^^ Put it in the cloud. Unless Google or MSFT go bankrupt your data will be there, and can be accessed anywhere on the planet.
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Mar 23, 2010
    #11