On 2007-10-16 02:05:28 -0400, "Alex"
said:

To my knowledge, a Windows PC won't boot from an external hard drive.
It will boot from an internal CD or DVD, but I don't think it will
recognize a USB or FireWire remote drive.

You've got to be kidding! I've been booting Macs from external drives
from the early SCSI days, easily 15 years. Just hold down the "Option"
key to get all the possible options, including net-boot. I thought
Windoze had mostly caught up on trivial little things like that.

Truth be told, I know I can net-boot my work PC, so expect there's some
arcane set of keystrokes you can press as it flicks through DOS to boot
up on an external drive.

Sounds like Windows users should make a bootable DVD with their
backup/mirror software installed so they can at least reformat and
restore to the internal (new or replacement). AGAIN, test periodically
to ensure it works.

I believe a Mac will boot from an external drive, further proof that
Macs are for wimps and people who want to get work done, while Windows
machines are for us macho geeks who enjoy pointless, frustrating
challenges. (g)

Hey, them'd be fighting words except it's the exact truth. If my
workplace were on Macs, I probably would no longer have a job. Windows
should keep me busy until I decide to retire, because just about every
time we get an OS upgrade, I get a flurry of things to do. If the
switch to XP is any indication, the switch to Vista should keep me
well-paid for 2-3 years. ;-)

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

In rec.boats.cruising Jere Lull wrote:
:On 2007-10-16 02:05:28 -0400, "Alex"
said:

: To my knowledge, a Windows PC won't boot from an external hard drive.
: It will boot from an internal CD or DVD, but I don't think it will
: recognize a USB or FireWire remote drive.

:You've got to be kidding! I've been booting Macs from external drives
:from the early SCSI days, easily 15 years. Just hold down the "Option"
:key to get all the possible options, including net-boot. I thought
:Windoze had mostly caught up on trivial little things like that.

It's a limitation of the BIOS. If the BIOS properly enumerates USB
disks, windows will boot from them. Many don't, though things have
gotten better. I haven't tried in ages, though.

You can boot Windows from a USB drive, whether external hard drive or
flash drive.

Maybe not on one with a 6 year old BIOS.
But all 3 of my computers will accept a USB drive for boot.

You can boot Windows from a USB drive, whether external hard drive or
flash drive.

And there are also adapters that will let you plug a flash drive into an IDE
port. Just plug the adapter into the motherboard's IDE port and then a
flash drive into the adapter. The computer sees it as just another drive.
Granted, the OS won't generally see it as removable so it's not a typical
way to use a flash memory card. But it's a great way to add a
no-moving-parts drive to a system that doesn't otherwise directly support
that sort of media. You can also use those IBM/Hitachi CF-card MicroDrive
cards if you want actual rotating memory (as 'unmanaged' flash has it's
share of long term read/write issues).