Do you want to carry around all your computer settings and not just portable applications? Do you have a netbook and want to try another operating system? Maybe you don't have a CD or DVD player and would like to use another operating system. Well now you can: by booting it from a USB stick.
Steps
Step 1. Make sure your PC is recent enough to boot from USB stick
Check the BIOS.
Step 2. Buy a USB stick with enough space for the new operating system (probably 8GB)
Step 3. Installing Windows XP on USB requires code changes, and third party programs
Step 4. Windows users can install the following Linux distributions on a stick via Windows:
- Ubuntu, kubuntu and xubuntu (from version 8.10)
- Fedora (from version 8)
- Knoppix (from version 5.1)
- Slax (from version 6)
- PCLinuxOS MiniMe
Step 5. Non-Windows users may need to use a PC with a CD drive and then install Linux on the stick
These Linux distributions can be installed on the USB from the CD:
- Ubuntu, kubuntu and xubuntu (from version 8.10)
- Knoppix (from version 5.1)
- OpenSuse