# How to make a ghost bootable usb pendrive?



## feel4real (Apr 1, 2004)

Hi 

i have made the pendrive bootable and have 2 ghost floppy disks and have tryed to copt the contents of the disks onto the pendrive but i carnt get it to boot.

disk #1 contains these files
GHOST
NET
autoexec.bat
command.com
config.sys
ibmbio.com
ibmdos.com
mouse.com
mouse.ini

disk #2
GHOST - contains ghost.exe
autoexec.bat

i was lead to belive from reading on the net that i dont need to copy the IBMbio & ibmdos files, i have tryed with and without but still no joy.
can any one tell me where i am going wrong

thanks J


----------



## qldit (Mar 18, 2005)

Is there any reason you are not using a CD and making it bootable.
If you have two bootable floppy disks it is easy to make CDs.
With flashdrives you need to have the BIOS set and it is fickle!
qldit.


----------



## feel4real (Apr 1, 2004)

Its just a convinence to have it on a pendrive, and also i want to be able to master doing this task i been at it for days  is it really difficult to do? i think i am half way there.

i dont have a problem with the bios looking for the pendrive 
the problem is it says command.com missing. and another time it cant goto the ghost.exe

J


----------



## qldit (Mar 18, 2005)

I haven't done it I'm afraid, but I often do it with CD's.
The problem is getting the thing to appear to have a first section boot information like a hard drive or floppy.
This operating system I am using does it quite easily, as a matter of fact the whole operating system with programs can go onto a 128m flashdrive and the hard drive can be unplugged. (Puppy Linux)
It is interesting to play with these things, If I find out how to do it with MS I will repost.
Keep trying. qldit.


----------



## feel4real (Apr 1, 2004)

Has anyone else managed to do this?


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I've booted off a USB FLASH drive, but it took a bit of tinkering. That was last year, I remember it took several attempts.  Sorry I can't be more reassuring, but I really don't remember what finally made it all work.


----------



## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

In order to make the thumb drive bootable, you need bootsectors on the drive, and the partition to be marked as active. The easiest way I've found to do this is by using HP's utility. http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/hpcpqdt/us/download/20306.html

Once you make the drive bootable, you'll also need to adjust the bios so that either a USB HDD, or a USB FDD appears in the boot sequence (If you have this option, try them both as I've found different drives to boot as different USB devices, my 1gb lexar drive boots as a FDD while another no-name boots as a HDD), and make sure you enable "USB in DOS" if you bios has that option.

You should also know that booting with a USB drive normally only allows you to work at the speed that the bios USB drivers support, normally only USB 1.0 speed or less.


----------



## StumpedTechy (Jul 7, 2004)

Actually its quite easy...

1) forget about all the files on the ghost boot disks!
2) follow the steps here - http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~shaher/Bootable_USB.html

I personally do this from a 98 boot disk. The ONLY file you need to run ghost on a ghost disk is ghost.exe if you take ghost.exe and run it in dos mode it will usually run about anywhere without any himem or any other little "tweaks".

Just remember boot to USB is only supported in newer bios older ones you will have to run a CD to load dos based USB Mass Storage device drivers in order to run ghost off a USB drive.

BTW heres some fun ghost switches and facts. If the PC has an internal HDD it will always see the USB drive as drive 2. so if you do something like this.

GHOST.EXE -clone,mode=dump,src=1,dst=2:\Backup.gho -cns -sure -split=700 -Z2

You will back up to CD sized chunks you can then archive onto CD's for later use. If you use DVD's just use about 3900 -z2 is the compression sure makes it so the ghosting is sutomatic without prompts and -cns is just because I like the old naming convetion and not the new one.


----------



## StumpedTechy (Jul 7, 2004)

Oh and BTW that HP utility doesn't work on all drives. I have an 80 gig USB HDD that it owuld not do though a flashdrive it did do. I do the way I posted if the Hp does not work.


----------



## feel4real (Apr 1, 2004)

thanks guys

the 2 pendrives i have become bootable with the HP utility it just the files to copy from the Ghost bootdisks now.

Stumped you say all i need is the ghost.exe?
but sure i need the autoexec.bat , config.sys and the mouse.

the error i get is it see the first part then asks for disk 2 containing ghost.exe but t seems to look for it on A:
any ideas


----------



## StumpedTechy (Jul 7, 2004)

I use ghost from the command line - I never use the gui. Also you don't NEED to load a mouse even if you get forced to use a gui you can use the keyboard to navigate the whole thing. Your right thought if you want the gui and a mouse you have to have more to your drive.

What you want to do is edit the autoexec bat if your copying it over because you have a ton of pauses and a ton of refferences that you will have to modify. I.E. it looks for ghost exe under a GHost directory on the 2nd disk. if you move ghost.exe to the root you have to edit out the ghost directory from the autoexec.bat and or config.sys


----------

