Make Bootable USB Flash Drive

How To Boot From A USB Flash Drive
For starters this is still a new science and many people have had good luck with at least one of these methods. Note that flash drives are often also called thumb drives, keychain drives, pendrives, etc. The NEWEST methods are listed last on this page, starting with Method 6 for Vista/Win7
 
A FEW THINGS YOU NEED TO CONSIDER IN ADVANCE.
 

1. The PC has to support booting from a USB flash/pen/key drive. There may be anywhere from 1-3 items to change in the BIOS to make this possible assuming your BIOS supports it. Some bios's may refer to your flash drive as a USB floppy or USB zip. Of course there are exceptions, perhaps some are covered here.
2. The USB flash drive must support booting from it in general.
3. The flash drive must contain the boot/system files.
4. The flash drive must have bootsector area. This is done with special utilities.
5. References to "A:" drive lines in the autoexec.bat and/or config.sys files you copy to the drive after you make it bootable may result in errors.
6. You "may" have to format your floppy disk first in WinXP before you create a bootdisk as XP may "not" like working later on with a disk formatted otherwise.
7. Included below is a bootable ISO of DOS 7.1 which may be used with some of these methods if you do not have a 1.44 drive.

METHODS
Method 1 - Make your flash drive bootable using Bart's mkbt util:
http://www.nu2.nu/mkbt/ | Alt: mkbt20.zip
Put a bootable floppy disk in your A: drive or create one using Windows.
Download mkbt20.zip and unpack to to new temp folder you create.
Go to the temp folder.
Extract the bootsector from the bootable floppy disk. eg Open a DOS Window and go to the directory where you extracted MKBT. Type:
mkbt -c a: bootsect.bin
The boot sectors from the bootable floppy disk have just been saved to a file in the temp folder you created.
Format the flash drive in FAT or FAT16.
Copy the bootsector to the flash drive. Open a DOS Window and go to the folder where you extracted MKBT. Type:
mkbt -x bootsect.bin Z:
"Z" represents the flash drive drive Letter. So if your flash drive has another drive letter, then change the "Z" accordingly.
Now you can [grin] "should" be able to copy the utils you need to the pen drive.


Method 2 - Try these 2 USB Flash Drive Utilities by HP/Compaq. They work with Most other brands of flash drives as well.
hpflash2.zip HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. Formerly called hpflash1.zip
HP Drive Key Boot Utility Version 7.41
Download
"I would put a little extra in there." Says a fan who emailed me with no name:)
For the downloads section I use nLite to make and create the image file as you can import the service packs and do some tweaking to the install files.
http://www.nliteos.com/download.html

1. Install the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool and run the program.
2. Select the Device and the File system from the drop down menus and click start.
3. Close the above program and install and run the HP Drive Key Boot Utility. Selecting the appropriate drive letter. Click Next.
4. Select the circle on the top that says create New or Replace Existing Configuration. Click Next.
5. Select the circle labeled Hard Drive. Click Next.
6. Select Create New Filesystem. Click Next.
7. Select the circle labeled HP Firmware Flash Package. Click Next.
8. Click Finish

Method 3 - Third Party Links
Boot off USB by floppy, CD, or NT boot menu when your computer doesn't support it
"I use it to boot off of USB by floppy when the computer doesn't support it - although in this mode it cannot save changes made to the setup." said Josh.


Method 4 -
Here is my another method for creating dos bootable USB sticks using windows format.
1. From Win98 DOS-Prompt type "SYS {USBDriveLetter}:" or "FORMAT {USBDriveLetter} /U /S". If from WinXp then from start->run command.com execute format.exe copied from win95 or win98.
OR
2. Simply by enabling copy system files in windows explorer format window. By default it is disabled for non-floppy drives. To enable it use windows enabler program from http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/speedload/Enabler.htm an whoila it works.


Method 5 -
First if you don't have a physical floppy drive (and don't want one) you can use the [free] "virtual floppy driver" from here:
http://chitchat.at.infoseek.co.jp/vmware/vfd.html
With that you get an A: drive and can manipulate a floppy image as if you were using real floppy. You can then use that image to make a bootable CD. It's not that user friendly but once you get how it works it does work perfectly.
Even cooler you can use a "raw write" utility like dd for windows to write the floppy image directly to your USB thumb drive. Even without that famous HP utility to do the magic this will make your USB thumb drive bootable. The 'dd' ported to Windows is located here:
http://www.chrysocome.net/dd
Another trick you can use with that dd utility involves MS VritualPC (which is free). You can create a virtual machine/virtual hard drive, set it up the way you want then use dd to "raw write" the virtual hard drive image to the thumb drive; this will make the thumb drive identical to the image, including bootable (again, no HP utilities required).
Of course, your thumb drive will effectively have the capacity the size if the image in question (your 1GB flash drive will effectively be 1.44 Megs).


 
Below are the methods for the latest OS Vista/Win7
 
Method 6 -
http://kmwoley.com/blog/?p=345
bootable USB guide, here we assume that you are using either Vista or Windows 7 to create a bootable USB.
1. Insert your USB (4GB+ preferable) stick to the system and backup all the data from the USB as we are going to format the USB to make it as bootable.
2. Open elevated Command Prompt. To do this, type in CMD in Start menu search field and hit Ctrl + Shift + Enter. Alternatively, navigate to Start > All programs >Accessories > right click on Command Prompt and select run as administrator.
3. When the Command Prompt opens, enter the following command:
DISKPART and hit enter.
LIST DISK and hit enter.
Once you enter the LIST DISK command, it will show the disk number of your USB drive. In the below image my USB drive disk no is Disk 1.
4. In this step you need to enter all the below commands one by one and hit enter. As these commands are self explanatory, you can easily guess what these commands do.
SELECT DISK 1 (Replace DISK 1 with your disk number)
CLEAN
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
SELECT PARTITION 1
ACTIVE
FORMAT FS=NTFS
(Format process may take few seconds)
ASSIGN
EXIT
Don’t close the command prompt as we need to execute one more command at the next step. Just minimize it.
5. Insert your Windows DVD in the optical drive and note down the drive letter of the optical drive and USB media. Here I use “D” as my optical (DVD) drive letter and “G” as my USB drive letter.
6. Go back to command prompt and execute the following commands:
6.1. Change directory to the DVD’s boot directory where bootsect lives:
d:
cd d:\boot
6.2. Use bootsect to set the USB as a bootable NTFS drive prepared for a Vista/7 image. I’m assuming that your USB flash drive has been labeled disk G:\ by the computer:
bootsect /nt60 g:
(Where “G” is your USB drive letter)
7. Copy Windows DVD contents to USB.
You are done with your bootable USB. You can now use this bootable USB as bootable DVD on any computer that comes with USB boot feature (most of the current motherboards support this feature).
Note that this bootable USB guide will not work if you are trying to make a bootable USB on XP computer.


Method 7 - 
 Boot-USB-Stick
While trying to flash my bios I looked at your page. Most methods are complicated, after a while of browsing the net I found above:


Method 8 - Suggested by Kevin Ying: UNetbootin


Method 9 - Suggested by Shep................: WinToFlash


BareBones Boot Floppy And ISO
DOS 7.10 | Readme

How to Prevent the VBA Macro Security Warning (or) How to Install a digital signature for your Projects

Summary: Outlook frequently displays macro security warning messages when Outlook encounters VBA macros or VBScript. This tip describes the easiest way to prevent these messages from appearing.
IntroductionWith the release of Microsoft® Outlook® 2000, you can now write event procedures and macros in Outlook to customize its behavior and to automate tasks that you find tiresome. For example, by using Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) in Outlook you can write a simple BeforeNavigate event procedure that opens a new explorer window when you click an Outlook Bar shortcut, instead of opening the target folder in the current explorer window. Then, to deal with the resulting desktop clutter, you can write a macro to minimize all those open Outlook windows!
Although native support for VBA in Outlook 2000 gives you an easy-to-use, yet powerful tool for tailoring Outlook 2000 to fit your personal needs, it does have one drawback: the macro security warning. If you write an event procedure or macro with VBA in Outlook, every time you start Outlook a warning message is displayed that reminds you of the hazards of running unknown code and gives you the option of enabling or disabling the macro code.
This security warning is the same as the one provided by other Microsoft Office applications when you try to open a document containing macros. This helps protect users from inadvertently running hidden code that could wreak havoc on their computers. Because documents are so portable (and seemingly benign), it makes sense to warn users if they contain potentially harmful program code.
Outlook also displays a similar warning message when a user opens a message that contains Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) code if the form associated with the message is not published in an appropriate forms library. Again, this is to protect users from unknowingly running program code that could damage their system.
Outlook macros are not as easily transported as Office documents or Outlook messages, however. There is no way to embed them in a file that can be sent to another user and executed automatically. However, it is possible to replace all existing Outlook macro code by replacing the Outlook VBA project file (VbaProject.otm). The macro warning message ensures that users do not unknowingly run macros contained in a project file that was replaced without their knowledge.
Preventing the Warning from Appearing
The easiest way to prevent the macros security warning from appearing is to change the Outlook macro security setting to Low. Although this is the easiest method, it is also an undesirable one because it leaves you vulnerable if your project file is replaced by one containing malevolent code.
Fortunately, there is a solution that is nearly as easy and that still alerts you that your project file was replaced by one from a source you don’t trust. You can add a digital signature to your VBA project in Outlook that marks the code as being “macro safe.”
The basic purpose of a digital signature is to authenticate the origin of a particular message or program. In the case of program code, a digital signature reassures a user that the creator of the program is who the creator claims to be and that the code has not been altered since it was signed. Before distributing ActiveX® controls on the Internet, for example, Microsoft attaches a digital signature to the control. This digital signature is authenticated by an independent authority so users who download the control can be sure that it was actually created by Microsoft and not by a malicious programmer pretending to be Microsoft.
You don’t have to obtain a digital signature from a security authority to digitally sign your VBA code in Outlook, however. Office 2000 includes a utility that creates a personal digital signature that you can use to mark your VBA macros as being safe for you to run. This will allow you to prevent the macro warning message from appearing unless your project file is replaced with one that is not signed or is signed by a source you don’t trust.
How to Use the Personal Digital Signature
There are three major steps to using a personal digital signature to sign your Outlook VBA projects:
1. Install Digital Signature for VBA Projects.
2. Create the digital certificate.
3. Sign the project by using the digital certificate.
The following sections describe these steps in detail.
Install Digital Signature for VBA Projects
By default, Digital Signature for VBA Projects is not installed with Office 2000, so you must install it yourself.
1. Close all programs.
2. Click the Windows Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
3. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
4. Do one of the following:
· If you installed Outlook by using the Office Setup program, click Microsoft Office on the Install/Uninstall tab, and then click Add/Remove.
· If you installed Outlook individually, click Microsoft Outlook on the Install/Uninstall tab, and then click Add/Remove.
5. Click Add or Remove Features.
6. Click the plus symbol (+) next to Office Tools.
7. Click the icon next to Digital Signature for VBA Projects, and then click Run from My Computer.
8. Click Update Now.
Create the Digital CertificateInstalling Digital Signature for VBA Projects does not create the digital signature itself; rather, it installs an application program that you run to create the digital signature.
1. In Windows Explorer, locate and double-click Selfcert.exe. It is located in the Office program folder; by default, the path of this folder is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office.
2. In the Your name text box, type your name or some other identifying information, and then click OK.
Sign the Project
Once you have created the digital certificate, you can use it to sign your Outlook VBA project.
1. In the Visual Basic Editor, select the project you want to sign.
2. On the Tools menu, click Digital Signature.
3. Click Choose, and then select the digital certificate you created.
Note The first time you start Outlook after signing your project, Outlook will display a message informing you that the Outlook project (called ThisOutlookSession) contains macros written by you. To prevent this message from appearing again, select the Always trust macros from this source check box.
More About Digital SignaturesBecause a personal digital signature that you create yourself isn’t issued by a formal certification authority, VBA projects that are signed by using such a certificate are referred to as self-signed projects. Depending on how your organization uses the digital-signature features in Microsoft Office, you might be prevented from using such a certificate, and other users might not be able to run self-signed macros for security reasons.
Some organizations use tools such as Microsoft Certificate Server to produce or distribute digital certificates within the organization. If this applies to your organization, you might be able to sign your VBA projects by using a digital certificate from your organization’s internal certification authority. Even if your organization does not issue digital certificates for internal use, a network administrator or software development manager in your organization might control a digital signature that can be used to sign your project for you.You can also obtain a digital certificate from a commercial certification authority, such as VeriSign or Thawte Consulting. The digital certificates provided by these authorities provide the level of assurance required by commercial software publishers such as Microsoft.

For more information about digital signatures, you can visit these sites:
Microsoft Security Advisor (http://www.microsoft.com/security/)
VeriSign, Inc. (http://www.verisign.com/)
RSA Data Security (http://www.rsasecurity.com/)
You can also read about digital security and Microsoft Office in the Microsoft Office 2000/Visual Basic Programmer’s Guide published by Microsoft Press (1999).