document updated 15 years ago, on Jul 14, 2008
Some basic facts/tips when working to boot things:
- LiveCDs/USBs are extremely useful for sysadmin work.
- Most OS's can do it: Linux (LOTS of stock solutions), MS-DOS (you have to be familiar with DOS-based hardware drivers), Windows (available only via third parties, maybe borderline illegal)
- CDs that can boot into many different programs (Hiren's, UBCD) are also extremely useful if you have to run non-Linux programs, since they allow you to use many different tools without worrying about floppies or MS-DOS drivers.
- To the BIOS bootup code, a USB thumb drive looks exactly like an external USB hard drive. While Windows treats them differently, BIOS does not.