Author Topic: How to install TinyXP on a USB stick? (Read 30415 times)

AE35 · « **on:** June 27, 2007, 03:28:04 pm »

Hi all!

Sorry to hammer the board these days

Can I install TinyXP on a USBstick? if so how, and would this be faster/better than a
normal HDD? I would be cheaper, I guess...

Thanks,

Nicholas

Kaytrim · « **Reply #1 on:** June 27, 2007, 03:46:57 pm »

Not really a viable option. If you want to go solid state go over to eBay and search for CF to IDE. You can get these for under $3 easy. Then get a 2 or 4gb Compact Flash card or microdrive. You will be able to get MAME and several ROM files on that flash card and it will be seen as an IDE drive by the computer.

TTFN

Kaytrim

Dmod · « **Reply #2 on:** June 27, 2007, 04:11:47 pm »

I didn't think it was possible to boot from a USB drive. I assume this is because USB requires software drivers to control the interface.

That CF to IDE adapter seems like a pretty cool idea. Hadn't really seen those before.

steveh · « **Reply #3 on:** June 27, 2007, 04:15:31 pm »

Quote from: Dmod on June 27, 2007, 04:11:47 pm

I didn't think it was possible to boot from a USB drive. I assume this is because USB requires software drivers to control the interface.

That is incorrect. Many of the newer motherboards have usb in the boot list.

sirwoogie · « **Reply #4 on:** June 27, 2007, 04:16:54 pm »

Quote from: Dmod on June 27, 2007, 04:11:47 pm

I didn't think it was possible to boot from a USB drive. I assume this is because USB requires software drivers to control the interface.

Sure it's possible. Your motherboard must support it, or you must boot to a simple media (PXEBoot, CD or floppy bootstrap) that contains drivers to boot the USB media. Most motherboards sold in the last 4-5 years support this capability.

Dmod · « **Reply #5 on:** June 27, 2007, 04:23:41 pm »

That makes sense. Thanks for the correction.

Last time I tried to do this was with my PIII and an external USB hard drive. Any recommendation on where I can find the needed files to boot the USB from a CD or floppy?

ElfShotTheFood · « **Reply #6 on:** June 27, 2007, 04:32:47 pm »

I'm pretty sure you cant boot windows off a usb flash drive. there are versions of linux that can run from usb drive. advancemame is one i believe, it comes with a frontend also.

Kaytrim · « **Reply #7 on:** June 27, 2007, 04:50:49 pm »

I know that you can boot from a USB device in newer motherboards. It is a BIOS setting. The speed and reliability are issues however. This question was hashed out about 2-3 months ago on this very board. The general concessious was that it wasn't a good idea. With the size of a TinyXP install being around 500mb using a 2-4GB CF card and an IDE to CF adapter gives you solid state and speed in one tiny package. I used a 512 MB CF card and DOS in Dad's Bartop. Boot up was around 30 seconds and most ROMs opened in less then 15 seconds. My next bartop will have the larger CF card and TinyXP. I may even use a MiniITX motherboard in a portable CP configuration.

BobA · « **Reply #8 on:** June 27, 2007, 05:22:38 pm »

Article on booting XP from a USB drive and also info and cutting down the size of XP with PEBuilder

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-6346-5928902.html


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