Bart PE on USB stick, FTW!
Posted: 03 Aug 2010, 18:01
Fearless Leader wrote:I have a fully functional bootable win (XP) on an USB stick - Do you?
I do. Yes, I do.
I've kept this self-mailed link http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/25 ... usb-stick/ in my Inbox for quite some time and here's why....
A couple or so years ago, I was an early adopter of the Asus EEE PC, the 701
It comes with, by all appearances, a quite functional Asus adaptation of Debian, Xandros, but I soon installed a full Mandriva KDE desktop along with a 2G memory upgrade. I've noted the Mandriva devels put some focus on using the EEP machine(s) they had to ensure the distro worked well on it, and it has. At home, the wifi will connect to my Linksys WRT54GL, I can plug into the DVI connector to use the second input on my LCD monitor, and a full-size USB keyboard makes sysadmin a little more comfortable.
Part of the justification for YAExpenditure on a new toy was that I am a building contractor, some relatively sophisticated on-site connectivity (via a tether to my Treo 775p on the Sprint network, using the very reliable and affordable USB Modem software) could be useful, and that the same connectivity might serve me in play, on one of my day trips, often to the beach. A couple of times, I've used the eep on the jobsite to communicate with online vendors and did get some business done, not a lot, but some.
Of course, this grand rationale required more infrastructure. I am not used to/fond of touchpads and, after a little research, acquired a very nice Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse
On the road, the netbook needed a car power adapter, there's another one for the phone and, to not worry about failing device batteries, a three-way splitter with usb keeps everybody charged and happy.
Now, for the Bart PE on USB stick part (it's coming, it's coming
). The Western Wood Products Association publishes a lumber design bible of sorts, the Western Woods Use Book. It is a very comprehensive collection of engineering formulas, properties of various species of wood used in these formulas, and extensive tables that organize structural load values according to common lumber dimensions in various construction configurations. 12 or 15 years ago, when I was working in Oregon, I photocopied a hundred or so pages from this book at the library to use in the design/build aspect of my work. Recently, I invested in my own copy, which includes a handy slide rule to make calculations in the field or at the drawing board plus a two-floppy program that runs on top of DOS. That is why I was interested in Bart PE on USB: I don't want to load a full Windows on the eep but this looked like a possible solution.Finally, I followed the instructions at the link I saved, googled, followed trails, and put together the package. There had to be do-overs, for one, I found I needed to include a DOS module for my program to work, and I copied my wood design program exe to the recipe. Without, really, too much work but enough to require some free time one day, I am able to boot the eep to Bart and use my design program, on the go!
I'll se if I can produce a video of one of my old iso's via VB......