> Hmmm... I saw a page at
> http://kurtsh.spaces.live.com/blog/c...38D!1665.entry
> about installing from USB, so I thought someone might be able to give
> a pointer on extrapolating that to installing from (maybe) a small
Installing Vista from a USB key is easy! if (and only if) you're doing an
in-place upgrade, not a clean install.
It's possible you *might* be able to clean-install Vista from a USB key,
*if* (and only if) your machine supports booting from a USB device. Some do,
many don't. And installing Viista this way is not a scenario that Microsoft
has tested or supports, so you'll be on the outer perimeter of civilised
computing. The option to boot from a USB device is usually configured in the
machine's BIOS. This is different for every brand, so look at your machine's
manual for exact details. Basically looking for something which says, "Boot
from USB device? [yes/no]" and choose Yes. Then configure the boot device
order, to try booting from the USB device before booting from the Hard Disk.
Apart from that, it's easy - copy the contents of the Vista DVD to a USB key
(you'll need a 4GB key), then boot up from it like you would a DVD. Even if
your machine supports booting from USB key, I'd still only give it a 50%
chance of success - Vista was not designed to be installed from USB, many
things could go wrong. But worth a shot if you have the chance to try it ...
Good luck!
Cheers
Andrew