bootable thumb drive

I have this 2.0 gb thumb drive that was given to me. How can I tell if it's bootable or not. It does not have a brand name on it.
 

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I have this 2.0 gb thumb drive that was given to me. How can I tell if it's bootable or not. It does not have a brand name on it.

Fresh out of the box, so to speak, NO Flash Drive is bootable. It does NOT contain a boot sector or the System Files for an OS.

But like any other media, since the floppy disk, you can make it bootable if you like.
I even have a 64meg Flash Memory Card, like's used in my Kodak camera, that I've made bootable.

EDIT:
But the question comes up, "Boot to what?"
You must provide the source for the boot information. A DOS boot disk is the preferable source. If you've never had a DOS boot disk and/or you don't have a floppy drive, either internal or USB, then you may have (DO HAVE) a problem.
Once you start 'coloring outside the lines', not having a floppy drive and knowing how to use floppy disks, puts you at a serious disadvantage.

I've suggested to many a user that they buy themselves a USB External Floppy Disk Drive. They sell for somewhere in the $19 to $29 range and are indispensable for the PC tech, enthusiast, nerd, geek or weekend putzer. There are just SO many things that you absolutely CAN-NOT do without a floppy disk drive.


There is a neat little Utility from HP that makes any Flash Drive bootable.
But, it asks you for a source for the boot sector.

I just use one of my bootable floppy disks for that boot info.
You can also use a DOS bootable CD.

Check it out. Just Google for, "HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool"
and you'll have a choice of several sites where you can download the file.

Good Luck,
The Shadow :cool:
 
Last edited:

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    19" Envision LCD
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    2 Maxtor 160 gig SATA2
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    Antec Earthwatts 650
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    Pac Man
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    13 fans
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    Cable-5 meg
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    Homemade, under constant mod.
I used the hp tool to make a bootable usb flashdrive for a bios upgrade. You also need to tell your bios to boot from the usb flashdrive when it is in the computer, otherwise it will boot from the harddrive as normal.
 

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System One

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    Self Built
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    I5 3570K
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    Gigabyte Z77-DS3H
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    4 x 4GB corsair ballistix sport DDR3 1600 Mhz
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    Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660 TI
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    creative x-fi
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    Primary CiBox 22" Widescreen LCD ,Secondary Dell 22" Widescreen
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    Both 1680 x 1050
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    2 x 500G HD (SATA) 1 x 2TB USB
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    Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Complient PSU
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    Antec 900 Ultimate Gaming Case
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    3 x 80mm tri led front, 120mm side 120mm back, 200mm top
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    288 / 4000
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    Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers
    Trust Graphics Tablet
Thanks guys, just what the doctor ordered. Much obliged.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64x2 6000+ 3.0ghz
    Motherboard
    Asus M4N78 Pro
    Memory
    3Gb PC2-5300 DDR2 @ 667mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX Radeon HD 4770 512mb GDDR5
    Sound Card
    VIA HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual monitors: HP W1907 LCD 19" and Gateway HD Display 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 320 x 2-GB Hard Drive
    PSU
    Antec Earthwatts 80 plus 500 watts
    Case
    Ultra E-Torque ATX Mid tower clear side w/2 120mm fans
    Cooling
    Thermaltake MaxOrb cpu cooler w/120 mm blue led
    Keyboard
    OEM HP
    Mouse
    OEM HP
    Internet Speed
    Download 6885 kb/s upload 367 kb/s
    Other Info
    Optical: Super Muliti DVD burner w/lightscribe, Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1800
Roy, Just as a followup, what did you use for the source for your DOS boot information to put on the Flash Drive? My last two PC motherboards were made by different companies, about five years apart, but both have the option to bring up a Boot menu during the BIOS boot sequence, if you press the F11 key. From that menu, I can boot into any drive on my computer, even my Flash Memory Card reader slots.
BootScreenF11.jpg
I'm sure that other mobo's have this feature too. It would be worthwhile investigating your own PC. Tropical Storm FAY is kicking our butts this afternoon, here in Central FL. The Shadow
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Athlon Dual Core 5200+
    Motherboard
    MSI K9N Platinum
    Memory
    4 gigs DDR2-800
    Graphics Card(s)
    WinFast
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    19" Envision LCD
    Hard Drives
    2 Maxtor 160 gig SATA2
    1 Seagate 200 gig SATA2
    PSU
    Antec Earthwatts 650
    Case
    Pac Man
    Cooling
    13 fans
    Keyboard
    Generic
    Mouse
    MS-Digital
    Internet Speed
    Cable-5 meg
    Other Info
    Homemade, under constant mod.
I used the files from an old windows 98 boot disk. It is the same as making a bootable floppy. As you are booting the disk, it does not matter what you get it to boot into. I am at work now so I will have to wait until I get home then I can tell you what files I used. I will look at F11 when I get home.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77-DS3H
    Memory
    4 x 4GB corsair ballistix sport DDR3 1600 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660 TI
    Sound Card
    creative x-fi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Primary CiBox 22" Widescreen LCD ,Secondary Dell 22" Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    Both 1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500G HD (SATA) 1 x 2TB USB
    PSU
    Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Complient PSU
    Case
    Antec 900 Ultimate Gaming Case
    Cooling
    3 x 80mm tri led front, 120mm side 120mm back, 200mm top
    Keyboard
    Logik
    Mouse
    Technika TKOPTM2
    Internet Speed
    288 / 4000
    Other Info
    Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers
    Trust Graphics Tablet
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