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    Possible to install windows from USB flash stick?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by shaunc, Jan 20, 2010.

  1. shaunc

    shaunc Newbie

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    I'm on an old 766, the cd drive is rather completely bodged up and won't work at all, I had to borrow my moms laptop drive to install a fresh XP on it but for the future rather than buying a new CD drive I'd like to see if it's possible with such a restricted BIOS.
    I have prepared the USB stick to boot and it works fine with my main PC, the bios detects the stick as a hard drive and I just have to prioritise the USB stick first.

    So I tried this on the old 766, but the BIOS options are only like , CD DRIVE - HARD DRIVE - REMOVABLE, and some other unrelated things, and I cant get into another menu to select WHICH hdd i'd like to boot first.

    I tried removable and hdd without any luck, so I figured I just can't do this with such a locked and restricted BIOS, was hoping if anyone could shed some light on this if it's possible or not.

    Thanks
     
    shaunc, Jan 20, 2010
    #1
  2. DetlevCM

    DetlevCM Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Yes it is provided your laptop allows booting from USB.

    Search the forum for a guide - there are plenty of them out there on how to create them.
     
    DetlevCM, Jan 20, 2010
    #2
  3. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    Heres a guide on how to make a bootable USB stick ---> LINK
     
    DR650SE, Jan 20, 2010
    #3
  4. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    newsposter, Jan 20, 2010
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  5. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    The easiest is to have your O/S installation CD, have a 4GB USB key, download UltraISO trial and use the 'make usb bootable' option.

    Much easier than anything else I've found.

    Also, with a fast USB key such as a Lexar Lightning series - Win 7 install times are in the 15 minute range.

    Cheers!
     
    tilleroftheearth, Jan 21, 2010
    #5