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Can I just copy an install CD to a USB device and use it that way?

Question:

I’m thinking of buying a netbook with no built-in way to read an
installation CD if I want to add other software. I expect that I can
simply copy the contents of any such CD to a USB memory key, using
another computer, and install from the key. Can I safely count on that
working, or are there still any installation routines that expect a
physical CD drive to be present? Can you see any other problems I might
encounter?

No, you can’t count on that working.

It’ll get you 99% of the way there, but that last 1% is a deal
breaker.

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What you’re describing will work for many applications that don’t require you to reboot from their installation media.

The problem is that many, specifically operating system installation media, require that you reboot from the media.

Simply copying a bootable CD’s contents to a USB drive does not make the USB drive bootable. It copies everything except the part that makes it bootable.

“Simply copying a bootable CD’s contents to a USB drive does not make the USB drive bootable.”

That means that if you’re ever faced with a “bare iron” reinstall – one where the hard disk in your netbook is empty, you have no way to boot from any installation media.

Now, there are various and sundry tools out there that you can use to create a bootable USB device, and even use an arbitrary ISO image of a CD to boot from. Most of those that I’ve run across are rather geeky, and not really for the average user. (Search for things like “bootable iso to USB”, for example, and you’ll get plenty of discussions if you’re interested.)

My recommendation is actually much simpler, and something anyone can do.

Get a USB CD/DVD drive.

There are plenty of choices.

Making sure that your netbook will check for a bootable USB device first, when you need to boot from an installation media such as an operating system boot disk, just connect up the USB CD/DVD drive and you should be good to go.

No geekery required.

Do this

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11 comments on “Can I just copy an install CD to a USB device and use it that way?”

  1. Actually, I think the deal-breaker would be copy protection. Many commercial programs use copy-protected media, and won’t run (and probably won’t install) without the original media in the drive. Even some of the games we have for our kids are copy protected.

    Reply
  2. You could also connect to a network and use the drive from another machine through the network. That’s how I got office on my netbook!!! Worked like a charm, although you may want to be hard wired to the network depending on the speed of the wi-fi!

    Peace

    Reply
  3. I’ve only done this a handful of times, but it’s possible to copy the image from the CD and virtually mount it. Basically, a fake media drive is created and it will treat the image just as if a cd was in that drive. Like I said, it may not work for all applications (the OS for example), and it may be what Leo was referring to as “geeky”, but I was able to accomplish it without much difficulty. Good luck!

    Reply
  4. Another alternative is to use an IDE to USB adapter. The nice thing about these is that it is possible to plug in any IDE device to your USB plug. I often use one to check out hard drives that I’m not sure about.

    AG

    Reply
  5. I am not a computer expert. But I want to install WINDOWS-XP on 4 or 8 GB Hard Disk. Take mirror image (Acronic’s TI) and copy on USB Drive. Will it work?

    What you’ve described should work, I’m just not sure what you’re attempting to accomplish.

    – Leo
    05-Mar-2009
    Reply
  6. leo needs to go back to school…

    its very easy to do…no need to be a geek…those that would fret at the complications involved would most likely struggle with a clean install anyway…

    really simple..
    input a USB stick, format it, copy all the contents from your windows cd, safely remove usb..
    go to your netbook, enter the bios and ensure its got the boot from USB turned on and up in the list (if nothing already installed on HD then last step not necessary), restart netbook with USB inserted and hey presto…

    i;ve personally done it 7-8 times, using windows and Ubuntu. Using both original disks (dont even need anydvd), and backups, and downloaded .iso versions…

    there are people commenting here who dont even have the relevant experience..

    Reply
  7. Not sure how many computers can even boot from USB, Neil. Or, you can follow Leo’s advice and buy an USB CD drive, stick your CD in there, and boot from USB. Simpler.

    Only my two old computers could boot from USB anyway.

    This new BIOS is kind of odd, it looks to be fiercely against any kind of editting.

    Reply
  8. When I got my small Acer notebook without cd/dvd drive, I simply configured it on my home network. Than I installed my softwares using the CD drive from my desktop. Simple as it can be. Both PC were driven by XP.

    Reply

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