I have this really old system , like 2006 or something. I still use it, only for queuing online downloads. It hasn’t been giving many problems as such, other that the slow processing speeds. Not so long ago, the Windows XP on this system crashed. Formatted and reinstalled XP, which crashed again. Then I thought of installing Windows 7 from my pendrive (I don’t have an “IDE” DVD DRIVE, just a CD writer ). But my plan hit an instant road block, as there was no option in my BIOS to boot from USB drive. It’s a PHOENIX 865M05LZ v1.04 release date : 11 May 2005. A bit of searching got me this application, PLoP Boot Manager So I burnt a bootable CD of the same , connected my bootable pendrive and followed the procedure. But to no avail. The problem which I observed was, the pendrive was not getting any power at boot – as indicated by no glow of the led on the pendrive at boot. Is there any method available to boot off a pendrive on my current system ? And, NO ! I don’t wish to purchase an IDE DVD DRIVE (none of my friends have it either.) just for this. No computer vendor in my vicinity would flash a BIOS.
Thanks for the timely reply. However, I want to install Windows 7, to allow better synchronization between my PC n laptop. On those lines, what can I do to my BIOS to Boot from UsB
on some cases u have to enable usb legacy and check HDD boot order (with usb plugged in before entering bios) motherboard model would help.
Does it list any boot options at all? I had a system just the other day that had a boot option menu, but only listed hdd and cd-rom. After selecting hdd I realized that it was seeing the usb drive as a hard drive, and I was able to select between the two. I'm sure you probably already looked, but just a thought.
you could install win7 proffesional lite,it fit's on a single cd 700mb and it will probably run better on that older comp google it,i've put it on several older comps and it runs like a charm