Booting off a usb flash drive is faster than hard drive?

[JEDI]

winxp sp3

i'm tired of reinstalling os everytime i upgrade my hard drive.

i thought abouit having a small boot drive and D: as my storage/programs.

is a 8gig flash usb2.0 drive faster than hard drive?

 

[DominionSeraph]

No.

 

[dbcooper1]

Why don't you just use one of the many imaging programs instead? Takes just a few minutes and you're ready to go with the new drive.

 

[corkyg]

You can't install genuine Windows on an external bootable device. For that use a Linux distro.

 

[StrangerGuy]

You can't install genuine Windows on an external bootable device. For that use a Linux distro.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/...usbdvd_dwnTool

Debunked!

 

[Chiropteran]

Lower sustained but should be faster at random access times. USB drives vary a lot depending on manufacturer and model, a fast one would probably be decently fast.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Debunked!

No, he was right. You can put the Win7 installer (install from) onto a USB flash drive, and boot off of it, to install Win7, but you cannot put an installed (install to) Win7 on a USB flash drive.

OTOH, you can install from a flash drive, but you cannot install TO a flash drive. At least not with any current flavor of Windows. Linux can do it, of course. (Linux seemingly can do everything that Windows can't.)

 

[Spikesoldier]

is a usb flash drive faster than a hdd? nope but a ssd is faster than a hdd and can be installed to.

 

[corkyg]

Debunked!

The operative word was ON, not FROM. See VirtualLarry's note. I stand on my statement.

Agree about the SSD, but that was not the question. What limits the flash device is the transfer rate of USB. SSD is an internal SATA device.

 

[ElFenix]

Why don't you just use one of the many imaging programs instead? Takes just a few minutes and you're ready to go with the new drive.

this. you can even download a gimpy version of acronis from seagate and wd's sites if you want something idiot proof.

 

[esarawilliams]

According to my knowledge Kingston is one of the fasted usb its comes up with HyperX supports 3.0 tech and you can save data up to 256GB

here is list of top 5 fastest usb
http://www.etechmag.com/2012/01/04/fastest-five-usb-flash-drives.html

 

[sm625]

Not only have I installed XP onto a thumb drive, but I also made it think its a fixed disk and enabled EWF. Boot time was right up there with a traditional 7200rpm HDD.

 

[Zap]

Why not just jump on an SSD deal? I've already seen 60GB SSDs around $40, and this morning's first Newegg Shellshocker was a 120GB SSD for $70 (after measly $10 rebate). And no that wasn't some old Vertex Plus crap, but a Vertex 3. Yup, arguably one of the fastest on the market, if not the most reliable.

 

[mfenn]

Not only have I installed XP onto a thumb drive, but I also made it think its a fixed disk and enabled EWF. Boot time was right up there with a traditional 7200rpm HDD.

I suppose you should probably provide a procedure or at least a link to one.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

I suppose you should probably provide a procedure or at least a link to one.

Seconded!

 

[sm625]

Here is a link you need to help do it:

http://www.getusb.info/usb-hack-turn-a-usb-stick-into-a-hard-drive-or-local-disk/



cfadisk.inf works for CF cards too! This is the hitachi microdrive driver. It is a unique beast because it was probably the first removable disk that was actually a HDD, so they made a driver to make it a fixed disk. We just hack that driver.

What I did was I first installed XP onto a HDD so I could update it and get it ready for deployment without dealing with the headaches of a slow drive. Then when the OS is ready and has all the stuff I need, I shrink the partition down to 3.8GB using Easeus partition master. Then I use acronis to make an image. Then I restore that image onto my 4GB CF or usb drive. Acronis seems to be able to restore an image to any drive as long as it is fixed. Hell it restored to my CF card before I even did the fixed disk trick.


ewf guide:

http://blog.granturing.com/2007/12/this-guide-is-based-off-my-original-ewf.html

To create a usb installation flash drive:

http://techrena.net/install-windows-xp-usb-disk-drive-pen-drive/

Cloning Windows XP installed on a USB flash drive to another USB flash drive:

http://www.overclockers.com/cloning...a-usb-flash-drive-to-another-usb-flash-drive/

Illustrated walk-through_ Creating a bootable USB flash drive for Windows XP:

http://www.techrepublic.com/article...otable-usb-flash-drive-for-windows-xp/6160062

Yes, I've tried all these things with success.

 

[mfenn]

:thumbsup: thank you.