usb stick as a boot drive is far from a new but I still think it is a good idea for m$ to start using it. great solution to true netbooks.

Its just to install, not run off a stick. that would be too slow for something as large as windows

noob, lol

3 words - external optical drive

Netbook users must be really dumb if they don't know how to install software that comes on a disc. $40 buys an external burner easy.

At least you can use the drive for more than a coaster afterwards.

woot a dongel in place of a Windows 7 DVD. I hate the disks. Flash drives are so much more convinient.

install speed from e-sata > install speed from CD.

So I support.

Wow good thing I just got into the 'I hate Windows hype'. Wouldn't want ANOTHER usb stick around me. I just recently stuffed all my discs into one of those disc binders, what makes MS think imma go fork out my money to buy a usb stick? Good thing I only DL iso(hunt)

I installed windows 7 beta on my aspire one netbook. Windows comes with a tool for that on the iso, but it didn't work for me. I loaded it the dvd iso on a 4 gig thumb drive with unetbootin and it booted into the installer. It was actually pretty easy, except the windows program to load it to the drive kinda sucked.

You already have option install windows from usb flash drive
with WinSetupFromUSB http://www.msfn.org/board/install- [...] 20444.html

Microsoft should take this chance to innovate and make a bootable virtual disc drive. I'm serious. I have no clue how it would be done but if it was it would be awesome. Just imagine, no more need of burning of discs and a constantly piling collection of CDs (or DVDs) that you'll never need again. Just download, boot and load.

if the netbooks had trouble running Vista, how do they think it will run Windows 7? I'm not to sure myself.

Good news. They would be even better after I pass that image through vLite and get rid of all the bloated software. Should make for a nice and small software footprint on any drive.

It won't happen. How does the BIOS know you have an ISO on your hard drive? And how does it mount it with no capabilities to do so without booting the OS?

I've never had the need to use an external drive with my Aspire One. There are already programs out there that allow you to transfer a disc image to a bootable flash drive. Once the OS is installed, sharing the drive of another PC or transfering the ISO images and using something like Daemon Tools to mount them works fine.

Even though I only plan on installing Win7 on my regular desktop system, the download system sounds great. If you all you needed was an account of some kind and then you can just download the image to a flash drive any time you wanted that would be very convenient compared to a DVD that you can misplace, damage or forget to take with you.

This is a great idea, one I probably would have implemented awhile ago. You could also have a portion of the drive dedicated to ready boost or whatever to supplement the weak one gig ram that most netbooks come with.

This seems like one of those "its about time" kinda things.

wow! haven't you been on toms's recently? everyone knows win7 runs better than vista. Im surfing tom's on my win7 net book. setting up vista/ win7 on USB couldn't be easier, honestly. its XP that i still can't get on my netbook because it just doesn't like it.

Yeah, I will upgrade mine when Ubuntu does their next release. MS can kiss my arse.

For me, running the OS off the stick is even too slow for Linux. Give me RAID anyday.

For just installing though, why not?

That's the point, is 40$ and a thing to lugg around when you want to use it. "Ultra"Portables is the point, and saving money, not that M$ would ever do that though XD

Sounds like a good idea to me. I just installed Windows 7 on a computer without a DVD drive using a flash drive.

Obviously you didn't read this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/n [...] ,8134.html

I'll summarize the article for you: Netbook buyers are retarded- they cannot be taught how to install windows. I think you should just take advantage of this and install it for them for a fee of $50-100.

It seems pretty wasteful (environmentally, at least), especially with the prevalence of broadband, wifi, and external drives.

it would be nice to install off a stick regardless of if i have an optical drive or not.

I have installed linux off of both cd and usb stick. the stick was much faster.

on a side note: i still don't understand why people are so hyped about a new microcrap OS. while the buisness world runs on it; any admin worth his salt would not deploy a new OS until it has at least hit SP1. Home users well they get to pay to beta test yet again. those of us that are geeky have the beta for free and know what we are getting into. (yes i have the beta and RC)

vista/win7 has a lot of shine added but no real must have functionality. winxp works and now with minimal issues. why should i switch over to something that uses more resources and also comes with a whole new set of issues; all to do the same thing? years back i would have been sold on the shine alone; with ample time to tinker and toy about with the shiny new OS. now i couldn't be bothered; i just want it to work. linux is my tinker and toy with OS.
/

Every software should come on a Micro-SD card. They now cost the same price as a single DVD-R anyway. Plus, we would easily lost them, requiring us to buy the software again! Err... scratch that out.

Seriously though, it's actually a good idea. The access time and transfer rates of flash media are way better than an optical drive and they're more convinient to store thanks to the smaller footprint. And when you don,t use the software anymore, you can use the drive/card for something else.

This will be irrelevant when Blu-Ray complete replaces the DVD as a software distribution medium, but for now this seems like a great alternative.

@Core2uu

Actually Win 7 does support virtual installation via VHD. Never tried using it myself, but the torrents are out there.