USB Boot Drive or a flash drive is an external hardware device which can boot operating systems like Windows to a host controller which is generally a personal computer (PC). Earlier people are not aware of the possibility that there is an embedded service pack called USB Boot that allows booting Windows from a USB flash drive. These USB drives are generally known as Live USBs. Usually USB drives are used to boot Linux operating system but now the operating systems like Windows & Mac can also be booted from USB drives. Windows Bitlocker Drive Encryption is also another method to boot from a USB drive by using a USB key mode in order to read a BitLocker encryption while undergoing the boot sequence.
There are two major types of live USB as follows:
Live CD derived: It is created by using ISO or disc image which is an archive file from a live CD and store it in the USB device and it ultimately becomes bootable.
Full install: It is more or less like installing operating system in the hard drive with some alteration like avoiding file & partitions swapping.
Advantages:
1.Highly secured operating systems like Mac OS, Linux, and BSD which is one of the derivatives of UNIX are all bootable from a USB drive.
2.Live USBs are more suitable for multiple users as they can share applications, personal files, preferred OS etc. Data stored in the bootable device can be altered and re-stored all over again and again.
3.The small programs in the USB devices run comparatively faster than data stored in the hard drive or optical devices as there are no moving parts in the live USBs.
4.Live USBs are flexible and can be carried wherever the user moves.
5.It is comparatively more secure and there is no dependency on the PC's operating system.
Disadvantages:
1.There are problems involved like some of the old computers do not have the prime configuration requirements that support USB booting. In such cases bootable optical devices live CDs, or floppy disk etc. has to be used.
2.Live USBs are dependent on BIOS as there are legitimate limitations on Intel-based Mac PCs as they are bootable in BIOS mode.
3.The life of the USB drive shrinks as a full-blown installation needs additional write cycles.
4.USB flash drives can easily be stolen or lost; therefore there are dire needs of back and data encryption.
5.Sometimes there is pulling off lower data transfer speed with USB devices due to the lack of USB support during booting process.
In order to set up a USB Boot Drive system, the steps mentioned below have to be followed:
1.First of all the host controller usually your PC has to detect whether a USB drive is hooked up to the system or not.
2.You can make partitions on the live USB & the partition has to be formatted.
3.You have to write a MBR to the partition made in the USB drive.
4.In the partition you have to set up a bootable flag.
5.You should install a boot loader in the partition for Linux system installation.
6.All the default files and applications are to be copied in the USB drive.
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