Author Topic: USB Boot Key? (Read 227 times)

Bad31st · « **on:** January 18, 2007, 05:14:37 PM »

So I had an idea today and I'm not sure if it's possible so I thought I'd run it past you all...

My pc has 2 hard drives - I'd like to install XP on both drives and boot to a given drive based on who is using the pc in order to prevent wives, in-laws, nieces and nephews etc. from messing up MY drive/image/profile what ever...

Basically I want to treat my of the two hard drives (the first hard disk in the boot order) like a hotmail account.

Now, I know that I could just hit F2 or what ever and access the bios and change the boot order every time I accessed the PC, but I thought it'd be much cooler and secure/fool proof if I were able to use a USB key to perform that function for me...

Any ideas on how to write such a file for my USB key? Is this even possible?

Tigger29 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 18, 2007, 09:34:22 PM »

As far as I know, the only way to accomplish this is to first install windows on drive C:

Then while booted into windows, install windows YET again on drive D:

This should create a dual-boot setup in which a screen will pop-up before windows loads asking which one you want to load.

You can then edit the descriptions (I think it's boot.ini but not positive) in that menu, and also set the amount of time that will pass before it automatically loads one or the other (i.e. if you don't choose within 5 seconds, it will load windows that is on drive C:).

Then you can create a password-protected user in the windows installation that you will be using. No USB key required.

TK_421 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 18, 2007, 10:36:41 PM »

What Tigger said. Install on one drive, and then install on the other. No need for fancy USB tricks.

Windows will install a bootloader menu thingie automagically. It will make no difference where you start the second installation from.

I'm not sure there is a easy way to do it using USB key, anyway. It would probably be easier to get a boot image from Bootdisk.com and modify it to point at the drives - but then the machine is unbootable without the key and the modifications may be nontrivial.

Another alternative - and not all PCs support this - is to select the boot device from the menu. On a dell, press F12 at startup. On my Abit board, it says to press F4. That would allow you to use your original plan without having to go fully into BIOS at boottime.

Hope that helps.

Diche

Kev367th · « **Reply #3 on:** January 19, 2007, 10:57:07 AM »

Newer PCs can boot from USB, so an option might be -

Install boot magic or something similar onto the USB flash drive, set the PC to boot from USB only.

Configure boot magic with both the partitions setting your one second in the order so if no key is pressed it always defaults to the other.

I think the latest version of bootmagic even allows you to set a password on each partition.

In this scenario -
If the USB key isn't inserted, it won't boot.
If it is - It will give you the option of the two partitions/drives, possibly even with a password protect.

Bad31st · « **Reply #4 on:** January 19, 2007, 01:13:41 PM »

Thanks for the replies everyone all good info...

Kev - rather than setting the machine to boot only from USB what if I set the Bios Boot order to 1)USB 2)Floppy 3)C: 4)E: (where E: is my second hard drive) and did as you suggest by installing boot magic or similiar on the USB Key.

Wouldn't the machine just boot to C: if the USB key was not inserted and if it was inserted give me the option to boot to either drive?

Kev367th · « **Reply #5 on:** January 19, 2007, 01:45:58 PM »

Problem might come from the infamamous "ntldr missing" error, as it might be on the USB key.

One way around may be to use the USB key and boot magic for the E: drive only, leaving the C: drive as standard.

If I remember right when you install bootmagic it lets you choose which partitions to handle.

Of course one of your problems might be partition drive letters changing depending on whether the key is inserted or not.

Bad31st · « **Reply #6 on:** January 19, 2007, 03:03:34 PM »

Just had a brainstorm that I think I'm going to test tonight...

I will copy ntldr, boot.ini, and ntdetect.com to my usb key.

I will then modify the copy of boot.ini on my key to boot to the secondary drive.

Next I'll reboot and set the boot order in the BIOS to look for 1)USB 2)Floppy 3) CD-Rom 4) C:

Lastly I'll reboot the machine with the USB key inserted and see what happens...