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    Install Windows on a Flash Drive

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by chaitec, Jan 30, 2007.

  1. chaitec

    chaitec Notebook Enthusiast

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    Can I install Windows on a flash drive WITHOUT using BartPEBuilder? I would prefer to use 2000, but I could use XP too. Thank you!
     
    chaitec, Jan 30, 2007
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  2. chaitec

    chaitec Notebook Enthusiast

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    Anyone know?
     
    chaitec, Jan 31, 2007
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  3. BaNZ

    BaNZ Notebook Consultant

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    Yes I have done it, installed it on a 1gb pen drive. At that time only XP sp1 works, I have not tried SP2. I had to remove half the crap on windows to fit it in 1gb.
     
    BaNZ, Feb 1, 2007
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  4. LIVEFRMNYC

    LIVEFRMNYC Blah Blah Blah!!!

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    Pro & Cons of doing so? Besides Portability.
     
    LIVEFRMNYC, Feb 1, 2007
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  5. Jalf

    Jalf Comrade Santa

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    Portability would be the only advantage I can think of.

    Downsides:
    Limited space (Windows tends to grow over time)
    Lower performance (USB flash tend to be slow)
    Limited life (Each memory cell can only be written to so many times, especially on cheaper flash drives. With most of Windows, this may not matter, as it's only written once. But all the little config files could end up hurting)

    I'm also not sure how portable it'd really be. Can Windows handle the radically different hardware it may encounter when you plug it into a different computer? I've had to reinstall Windows before when I replaced a motherboard. So I'd imagine this could cause similar trouble in some cases.
     
    Jalf, Feb 1, 2007
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  6. LIVEFRMNYC

    LIVEFRMNYC Blah Blah Blah!!!

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    Yea, the differ hardware will most likely be a problem.

    But then again ...... I never had any problems switching HD's from a Desktop tower to another. And I did many times with many differ towers. Using ME down to 95.

    Maybe XP has activation problems when doing so. I won't even think about how crazy Vista will get jumping from pc to pc.
     
    LIVEFRMNYC, Feb 1, 2007
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  7. Payback

    Payback Notebook Consultant

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    I don't know what BartPEBuilder is but have you looked into MojoPac? I used the trial version several months ago when it was first available and it performed well. I didn't really have a use for it so I didn't continue using it.

    Pros:
    • Doesn't take up much space
    • Uses the host computer for resources
    • Keeps everything on the flash drive and does not leave a trace on the host

    Cons:
    • Must have an administrator account on the host PC (that is supposedly goign to change in the future).
    • You have to pay for it
    • Doesn't have a good sync function. If I could sync my home PC to MojoPac use it and sync it back it would be a great product. Supposedly that is coming in the future as well.
     
    Payback, Feb 1, 2007
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