Using Flash Drive as Installer and More

I'm getting a 128 GB SanDisk Extreme Pro 3.1 Flash Drive in a couple of days and have a question about partitioning, and using it as both a boot drive and storage.

I'm going to be installing a new OS on a laptop, and am wondering if it's possible to load an ISO of the OS on this drive, using it as a boot installer, while at the same time storing relevant files like drivers for the new OS on the same drive...having all I need for theinstall on one drive.

 

If you do not wish to install another OS down the road then yes. Using a tool like Rufus you can burn an image of an ISO to the USB drive. After the burn is complete, you can create another partition, or extend the Rufus created partition to store your files.

What OS? Unless it is RAID drivers, usually any special driver stuff comes post OS installation.

 

Tried it, the OS was super slow to the point where you'd just wanna bang your laptop so I quickly removed it. Installing the OS onto the Flash Drive took more than an hour only to discover that it's not really usable.

I used some tool called Win2USB if I remember correctly

 

I want to uninstall 10, and install 8.1. At the very least I would need a network driver to connect to the internet to install other drivers.


I was hoping I could have the OS and a folder containing all the drivers on the same drive, simultaneously, so that after install I'd have everything in one place.

 

Yes. You might need to extend the partition to make some room after Rufus is done placing the ISO on the usb drive, but that should work just fine.

In regards to my installation, my ports are all USB 3.0 and one USB 3.1. Install went by in 10-15 minutes tops, but that may depend on your disks, ports, etc.

 

A quick question... Your saying that is a flash drive, correct? Like a USB flash drive? Not to confuse that with an SSD drive.

My posts were from the point of view you will be using a USB flash drive.

 

Thanks for your responses.

Yes, it's a large capacity, superfast USB drive.

So there is a way to set the drive up so that the computer will boot up from it and install the OS...unaffected by the folder on the same drive containing the driver library? That would be ideal, as I can then install the network and other drivers.

 

Yes. If you have the install ISO, then find and install Rufus to create the bootable usb drive. After it is complete, copy what you need. If there's not enough room on the partition created by Rufus, extend the partition to make room and then copy the files.

Install from the USB, and after installation when you boot from your freshly installed OS, start it up. the usb drive should show up and your grab and install drivers from there.

 

Thanks for the advice!

MA

 

A quick experience to share. I have a 16GB flash drive in which I used Linux Mint to burn an ISO of the Linux Mint installer.

Well, I needed to copy some files, and thought I'd use the drive. The partition where Linux was installed only had a few KB free, so I couldn't copy into that.

What is weird is that the system I was copying on was Windows, and Windows couldn't change the partition size, nor could it create any extra partitions on the end of the drive, which has a ton of unallocated space. I didn't investigate further, just grabbed another 2GB flash drive I had laying around.

Just wanted to share in case this comes up when you burn the Win 8 ISO and it doesn't leave enough space to copy your drivers.

 

It's a 128 GB drive, Big enough for quite a lot!

Now, I have to locate a couple of retail 8.1 Pro licenses at a good price.

 

I don't think you understand what my post was getting at.

You don't control the size of the partiion. The ISO / Rufus decides that. For example, let's say the ISO says it needs to create a 1536MB partition, and the install uses 1535.8MB. This leaves you .2MB free space on that partition for drivers. The other 126.5GB on the USB drive will be unallocated in a non-partitioned space.

In my case, Windows I couldn't create another partition on the drive. Dunno if it had to due with type of partition created by Linux Mint, but the rest of the drive had to go unoccupied. I'm not saying this is going to happen with a Windows ISO, but wanted to bring it up to share what I encountered.

 

jclausius...son of I Claudius...thanks for your information. I am a complete novice with regard to partitioning, had never heard of Rufus (though understood it was a partitioning program) and am surprised that that it decides the size of the partition for you!

I will never invite anyone named Rufus over, because in all likelihood he will occupy the living room and force me and my girlfriend into the dining room...and he may not stop there.

 

Rufus doesn't really decide the partition, it is just using what the ISO contains. The ISO contains all the relevant info.

Rufus is a fantastic utility!

 

ISO appreciate the clarification.

 

<spit_take>LOL!</spit_take>