install the operating system on a Pendrive and boot your computer from it is a very useful feature, especially for network administrators that time or another, need to make an emergency backup, or for users worried about the possibility of data loss.
The idea is very similar to what is offered by some Linux distributions, which has been in the form of Live CD or Pendrive But we will show how to use Windows XP that way (for the Linux instructions are the same) and Windows Vista . Apart from some applications that can be carried in your pocket.
Prerequisites
Before starting it is important to know what we need to start the process. Besides Pendrive, which must be at least 2 gigabytes (GB) of capacity and is completely empty (for those installing Vista, it is at least 4GB of space on flash device), the original installation disk, the operating system be used and download some software to help in the task.
Another important detail is to check the BIOS of your computer (to connect the machine, press Del or F2 to access the configuration of the PC) if the option to boot via the USB device. If not, then your machine will not support that kind of task.
Windows XP
To begin, download the freeware Bart PE Builder, which is responsible for the process of creating the files bootáveis. To facilitate, during the installation, note the option to create a program icon on the desktop. Double-click to run the program.
Make sure that the Windows XP disk is in the optical drive. In the Bart PE Builder screen, enter the path of drive where the operating system in the field Source: (path to Windows installation files). Example: D:.
Check the option Create ISO image and place just below the path and name to save the generated. Click the Build button to start the process. This can take several minutes.
The ISO file created contains the minimum required components of Windows XP, some tools to repair and is around 150 megabytes (MB).
The ISO images are used to burn CDs or DVDs to burn the files on the Pendrive and to perform the function of this boot, you have to download another program, the FlashBoot.
After downloading and installing the software, double-click the icon corresponding to run FlashBoot. In the initial screen, click Next. The next step is to choose the type of disc to be created. Use the first option, Convert BartPE Bootable Disk to Flash Disk. Click the Next button again.
At that point, you have to specify the location of the ISO file that was created in step one. Click Browse to this operation.
To locate the file, plug the Pendrive in any computer's USB port. Then, click Next and select the drive (Drive Letter) of the USB device and check the option Make Bootable USB Flash Disk Which is Physically Present on this PC. Press Next.
Choose the option of partitioning USB-HDD and click Finish. There is only expected that the copy is made and that there is no error of recording.
When you start using the Pendrive, appear the message "Starting BartPE". The process is slow and you need patience.
After loading it, a leaner version of Windows XP will be available for use. If your computer is connected to a network, simply configure the TCP / IP. The Go menu, which appears in the lower left corner, is similar to the Windows Start menu and offers the way for all utilities installed.
Windows Vista
Using Pendrive to boot with Vista is easier and faster than XP. To begin open the command prompt of the system, execute the function located in the Start menu. Type cmd and to Enter.
This will open the Command Window, where you would type: diskpart. Give Enter. Next, type the command list disk. This command will inform you the disks in the system. With this information, it identifies the target disk (Pendrive) for the partitioning / formatting.
Warning: be careful not to partition / format the wrong disk. In the window you can see the result of the command and highlights the Pendrive of 1GB (used in the example), as identified by the Diskpart "Disk 3".
Then, apply the following command: select disk 3 (in this case is the "disk 3", but use the number on your flash device, as exemplified in the previous procedure). After that, apply the following commands in the order they are. E, Enter after typing each one:
• clean
• create partition primary
• select partition 1
• active
• format fs = fat32
• assign
• exit
As a result of this procedure, your Pendrive is ready to receive the files on Vista from the installation DVD. Enable the viewing of system files in Windows Explorer (Windows key + E) and copy the entire contents of the DVD into the flash device, maintaining the original structure of files.
In the picture below are all the files to be copied. Make sure all were passed to the Pendrive. After performing this process, your USB device is ready to start with Windows Vista.
Applications on pen drive
The list of portable applications is long. E-mail clients, browsers, office packages, messengers, dictionaries, publishers of images, calendar, utilities, multimedia and so on. Almost everything you USA on your computer at home today, can be used in portable form, without need to install anything, regardless of computer you use. You run the software from the pen drive, which also contains your documents and files.
One of the best known is the Portable Apps, which brings together the major open source programs in portable format for access from flash devices.
Among the main applications of the suite, the Firefox browser are the antivirus ClaimWin, Gaim (messenger server that connects to MSN, Yahoo, AOL, etc..) Full Open Office (text, spreadsheet, calculation, presentations), and Thunderbird mail client and Sunbird calendar, in addition to the game Sudoku.
The download is only 90MB, and to use all the applications, you need a minimum of 512MB Pendrive. But if you just want an Office application and is compatible with Microsoft Office, then OpenOffice is ideal.
For those who want a PDF reader, we recommend the Sumatra. For multimedia activities, the audio editor Audacity has its portable version, and the Gimp image editor (with versions for both Mac and PC). In wikipedia there is a huge list of all portable applications available.
