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Are you sure GW
I thought that you were supposed to use knoppix off a bootable CD?
I know that you can get some USB devices to be bootable, but only if you load the software. As we are talking recovery and trouble shooting situations here, he may not be able to load the USB drive software.
Certainly a good tool to have in the box, but I am not sure about how useful it would be on a USB drive.
I've never booted off my external HD before but I assume it'd be a simple BIOS change... BIOS -> Boot Priority -> Removable Media to top, guess it really depends on motherboard and BIOS. And I'm sure you can get Knoppix on one somehow if you have 1 GB.Quote:
Originally posted here by nihil
Are you sure GW
I thought that you were supposed to use knoppix off a bootable CD?
I know that you can get some USB devices to be bootable, but only if you load the software. As we are talking recovery and trouble shooting situations here, he may not be able to load the USB drive software.
Certainly a good tool to have in the box, but I am not sure about how useful it would be on a USB drive.
GW
Yes, it isn't a size problem, it is getting the USB drive to be recognised as bootable. Most of them are not, and those that are need special software that comes with the drive. This software lives on the HDD and I believe works something along the lines of software that allows large HDDs to be supported when the BIOS won't recognise them (EZdrive)? If, for example, your MBR was corrupted, you would never get it to run.Quote:
I've never booted off my external HD before but I assume it'd be a simple BIOS change... BIOS -> Boot Priority -> Removable Media to top, guess it really depends on motherboard and BIOS. And I'm sure you can get Knoppix on one somehow if you have 1 GB.
Most BIOSES will only support DVD, CD, floppy, Zip Drive and LS 120 as "removable media" you have to manually "mount" a USB device.
This topic has come up several times in the past for a variety of reasons, notably support type activity, and I have not seen a solution yet, other than getting a USB drive with the software to support booting it. As I have already suggested the problem with this is they won't work if you have lost your HDD.
ZipSlack?
My BIOS does support USB drives... But I have a relatively new laptop?
Haven't tried it, but... ZipSlack on a USB drive?
yep or BartPe (I do a few repairs).... I understand some usb drives are better suited to being bootable.. .. just havent had the spare cash and time to find out..Quote:
Knoppix =)
HAve seen upto 4GB available from one of my suppliers... mmmmmmmmmm I want to test that baby.... pleeeeeeeesse
Cheers
the things i have on one of my 512mb flashdrives...Quote:
Directory of E:\
08/25/2004 06:44p <DIR> dvd
08/25/2004 06:44p <DIR> linux
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> ngsec
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> private
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> security
08/25/2004 06:50p <DIR> upload
08/25/2004 06:50p <DIR> w2k
08/07/2004 12:48p 5,082,708 FirefoxSetup-0.9.3.exe
06/17/2004 08:35p 839 HetNet.ins
04/21/2004 03:25p 844 Tiscali.ins
08/17/2004 01:03p 22,487 User.ini
08/17/2004 12:27p 25,419 UT2004.ini
06/22/2004 12:11p 788 zonnet.ins
09/03/2004 10:45a 88 zone-h.url
09/07/2004 06:29p <DIR> clean-up
8 File(s) 5,410,165 bytes
10 Dir(s) 34,209,792 bytes free
Volume in drive E is SECURITY
Volume Serial Number is 3043-52E4
Directory of e:\security
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> .
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> ..
03/29/2000 03:19p 36,864 dumplsa.dll
05/14/1999 05:25p 53,248 enum.exe
05/04/2001 01:58p 114,688 Fport.exe
02/09/2003 12:50p 28,672 getpids.exe
08/24/1995 08:02a 7,023 GREP.COM
06/04/1999 03:14a 32,768 Hunt.exe
03/06/2001 01:15p 28,672 ifids.exe
05/04/2004 10:16p 18,432 instsrv.exe
04/22/2003 05:34a 80,896 ipfind.exe
12/13/1994 02:41p 21,584 Kill.exe
07/11/1997 03:07p 59,392 lc_cli.exe
02/28/2001 04:38p 28,672 lsaacl.exe
03/29/2000 03:19p 32,768 lsadump2.exe
02/13/2001 03:04p 49,152 LsaExt.dll
01/03/1998 02:37p 59,392 msmsgs.exe
06/23/2004 01:55p 327 msmsgslist.vbs
06/06/2003 07:37a 94,318 nbtscan.exe
01/03/1998 02:37p 59,392 nc.exe
02/02/2003 12:33a 61,440 pv.exe
02/02/2000 06:24p 32,768 pw2kget.exe
03/28/2000 03:51p 32,768 pwdump2.exe
01/21/2001 02:54p 61,440 PwDump3.exe
02/13/2001 03:05p 192,512 pwservice.exe
03/06/2001 01:27p 32,768 rpcdump.exe
02/28/2001 04:38p 45,056 samacl.exe
03/28/2000 03:51p 36,864 samdump.dll
05/04/2004 10:17p 15,360 srvany.exe
02/13/2000 10:23a 17,413 strings.exe
03/09/2004 08:31a 87,312 taskmgr.exe
12/13/1994 02:41p 18,480 TLIST.EXE
03/06/2001 01:16p 40,960 walksam.exe
03/02/2004 03:28a 53,248 winfo.exe
02/10/2002 06:55p 28,672 clslog.exe
07/24/2002 12:00p 50,620 command.com
12/08/2001 05:12p 737,096 cygwin1.dll
12/06/2000 11:37p 191,488 nmap.exe
12/06/2000 11:37p 215,277 nmap-os-fingerprints
12/06/2000 11:37p 8,097 nmap-protocols
12/06/2000 11:37p 13,813 nmap-rpc
12/06/2000 11:37p 95,919 nmap-services
12/06/2000 11:38p 2,751 README-WIN32
01/11/2000 01:00a 53,248 gpedit.msc
11/12/2000 08:18p 24,064 showin.exe
02/14/2004 12:18p 236,304 CMD.EXE
05/25/2004 11:10a 73,728 bzip2.exe
12/27/2002 06:49p 781,312 explore2fs.exe
12/13/2002 04:07p 53,248 ngHashCrack.exe
06/09/2004 02:13p 40,960 ngSniff.exe
07/29/2004 07:44p 68,096 SAMInside_Demo.exe
07/26/2004 06:01p 631,808 netscan.exe
07/30/2004 12:22p 196 SAMInside.INI
07/30/2004 12:22p 1,087 SAMInside.hashes
11/06/2002 07:18a 94,208 Tcpview.exe
06/21/2004 02:44p 26,958,014 allwords2.txt
09/25/2001 12:05a 15,360 md5.exe
08/31/2003 08:51a 66,058 INFO.EXE
11/28/2001 04:08p 397,691 nbnamequery.exe
11/28/2001 04:08p 397,865 nbdecode.exe
11/28/2001 04:09p 17,983 COPYING
11/28/2001 04:09p 2,553 README
11/28/2001 04:08p 502,266 smbbf.exe
11/28/2001 04:08p 496,704 smbdumpusers.exe
11/28/2001 04:08p 494,656 smbgetserverinfo.exe
11/28/2001 04:08p 502,197 smbserverscan.exe
02/10/2004 06:40p 569,344 Remoxec.exe
08/08/2004 10:56a 33,730 pwgen.exe
08/08/2004 11:27a 11,710 pwgen.zip
10/29/2001 04:47p 145,408 msconfig.exe
10/16/2003 09:38a 61,440 sdelete.exe
01/15/2004 09:18p 26,624 pspv.exe
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> favorites
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> c
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> unix-kit
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> exploits
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> tools
08/25/2004 06:50p <DIR> docs
02/23/2001 12:50p 196,608 PwDump3e.exe
06/15/2001 02:46p 109,568 proport.exe
09/15/2002 04:13p 53,248 winarp_sk.exe
09/15/2002 04:14p 53,248 winarp_mim.exe
09/04/2004 07:30p 0 test.txt
12/02/2001 05:06a 168,536 eth.txt
12/03/2001 11:08p 77,824 WinARPWatch.exe
09/03/2004 08:03p 17 acer.txt
09/06/2004 10:05a 32,768 browselist.exe
09/06/2004 10:10a 53,248 dumpusers.exe
05/03/2002 11:41a 40,960 EtherFlood.exe
04/29/2002 11:29p 885 EthDrv.inf
04/29/2002 02:41p 5,409 EthDrv.sys
09/06/2004 10:19a 40,960 pmdump.exe
09/11/1999 07:54p 151,040 ShowPassV1_0.exe
85 File(s) 36,620,563 bytes
9 Dir(s) 34,209,792 bytes free
Volume in drive E is SECURITY
Volume Serial Number is 3043-52E4
Directory of e:\security\tools
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> .
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> ..
01/08/2004 09:30p 4,624 grep.zip
01/08/2004 09:27p 9,275 strings.zip
01/08/2004 09:27p 84,730 bintscan.zip
01/19/2004 03:36p 14,433 net use.jpg
02/11/2004 03:46p 23,402 messengerscan.zip
05/04/2004 10:15p 18,432 instsrv.exe
07/10/2003 06:29p 231,424 PCResView.exe
07/04/2004 06:43p 81,920 PasswordsPro.exe
04/12/2004 02:50p 114,688 autoruns.exe
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> winrar
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> XPAntiSpy3-Dutch
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> SoftEtherBeta3[1]
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> xplite pro
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> unixism
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> unix-kit
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> hijackthis
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> forensic toolkit
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> offbyone
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> burpspider_v1.1
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> burpproxy
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> images
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> cracking
08/25/2004 06:47p <DIR> shutdown
08/25/2004 06:47p <DIR> winspy
08/25/2004 06:47p <DIR> cleaning
08/25/2004 06:47p <DIR> keylogger
08/25/2004 06:47p <DIR> undelete
08/25/2004 06:47p <DIR> encryption
08/25/2004 06:47p <DIR> network
08/25/2004 06:49p <DIR> passwords
08/25/2004 06:50p <DIR> apispy
08/25/2004 06:50p <DIR> processes
08/25/2004 06:50p <DIR> filemon
08/25/2004 06:50p <DIR> perl2exe
08/25/2004 06:50p <DIR> procdump
08/25/2004 06:50p <DIR> resourcekit
09/03/2004 09:56a <DIR> N-stealth webscanner
09/06/2004 09:10p 274 PasswordsPro.INI
09/07/2004 07:43a <DIR> wardriving
10 File(s) 583,202 bytes
31 Dir(s) 34,209,792 bytes free
Volume in drive E is SECURITY
Volume Serial Number is 3043-52E4
Directory of e:\security\c
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> .
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> ..
07/05/2004 08:37p 207 ascii.c
08/05/2004 11:23p 154 anti.c
08/05/2004 11:23p 368,862 anti.exe
08/07/2004 07:19p 587 password.c
08/07/2004 07:20p 29,348 password.exe
08/08/2004 12:21p 25,808 ascii.exe
08/09/2004 01:19p 19,696 PWgen.exe
08/11/2004 07:33a 1,118 alteredpw.txt
07/24/2004 04:42p 4,453 keylogger2.c
07/05/2004 02:52p 296 fahr_function.c
07/05/2004 01:54p 56 func.h
07/05/2004 01:54p 116 function2.c
07/05/2004 01:53p 147 function3.c
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> network
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> pelles c
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> distributed
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> functions
08/25/2004 06:46p <DIR> dev-c++
08/25/2004 02:46p <DIR> calculator
09/10/2004 07:56a <DIR> vctoolkit2003
15 File(s) 468,464 bytes
9 Dir(s) 34,209,792 bytes free
Volume in drive E is SECURITY
Volume Serial Number is 3043-52E4
Directory of e:\security\favorites
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> .
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> ..
12/09/2003 12:14p 130 ASTALAVISTA SECURITY GROUP Home.url
02/18/2004 01:08p 91 default password list.url
10/08/2003 09:33a 130 DriverGuide.com.url
12/09/2003 04:55p 152 jawe.net - URL-Encode-Decode.url
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> wargames
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> tools
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> security
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> programming
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> linux
08/25/2004 06:45p <DIR> info
4 File(s) 503 bytes
8 Dir(s) 34,209,792 bytes free
Hi lepricaun
What is your view on the bootability issue?
Cheers
well, it is possible, but like it is said, it depends on your mobo, bios..
we've made a couple of flashdrives bootable at work, but not all systems will work with it..
usually you can tell by looking at the boot sequence in the bios, and if it says "Removable Devices" instead of "diskette" or something like that, you usually can boot from usb-flashdrive or usb-fdd...
as for linux, it should be possible to boot it from flashdrive, but i haven't tried it yet, so i can't say much about it :(
hope this is a satisfying answer :)
http://slax.linux-live.org/doc_install.php#inst2flashQuote:
How to run SLAX Linux from USB FlashDisk
Boot SLAX CD and plug your USB FlashDisk in. Change directory to /boot (or wherever your CDrom is) and start:
./create_bootdisk.sh . /dev/sda1 /dev/sda SLAX
This command will create a directory called SLAX on your flashdrive and it will copy all necessary data to it. The first argument (the dot ".") means that you wish to create a bootdisk from the current directory. Second parameter /dev/sda1 is your FlashDisk's first primary partition and the third parameter /dev/sda is the master boot record of your flashdrive.
You can also install SLAX to your hard disk this way - just replace /dev/sda1 by /dev/hda1 and /dev/sda by /dev/hda. Or use the naming scheme from devfs - /dev/discs/disc0/part1 and /dev/discs/disc0/disc. Note that create_bootdisk.sh script will overwrite your MBR so you won't be able to boot any other existing OS from your USB FlashDisk (or harddisk).
I was digging around and found that.
I thought about running a bootable linux distro off of a usb flash drive... and then I thought about the speed.
The fastest I've seen flash read is at 23MB/s and the fastest I've seen them write is about 14MB/s (last time I checked they were around that). Most of them read/write at about 7-8MB/s...
A standard 52x CDROM on the other hand... will read at about 8MB/s (I think... I might be wrong.)
Somehow doesn't seem right... I thought it would be much faster?
So, other than using it on a box that the BIOS will allow booting to removable flash memroy... you should be set. Even if you use usb 1.1 instead of 2.0... you can still get a max of 12 MB/s through usb 1.1
If you were to get a 1gig usb 2.0 flash drive... the loading should be almost 3 times as fast as a CDROM or usb 1.1 drive... assuming that you get one that reads at 23MB/s...
http://www.everythingusb.com/solutio...b_flash_drives