Inexperienced PC users are usually interested in something when a computer malfunction occurs. If you need to reinstall the system, or if there are any problems with the hard drive, you need to look for a solution. Today we will learn how to use Bootice, why this tool is needed and is it difficult to work with it.
Purpose of the Bootice Utility
It should be noted right away that Bootice is nothing more than a program that helps make bootable from a regular flash drive. You must immediately say what it is for. Now many people use laptops or computers without a drive. Disks are slowly fading into the past. Their use is not always convenient, in addition, if you write something to a disc, then deleting this information or burning a disc is again not always possible.
The era of programs for these carriers is also leaving. Now many even install operating systems from flash drives. To do this, they just need to convert the drive to bootable. Therefore, many are trying to understand how to use Bootice.
What is a bootable flash drive and why is it needed
So, a bootable USB flash drive is the drive that is being prepared with the help of a special program for loading the operating system. Of course, you can use other external drives for these purposes , but a flash drive is a more convenient option.
In addition to the fact that you can install a new version of the system for yourself, you, thanks to such a flash drive, can also try it. Suppose that you have used the "seven" for a long time and finally decided to change it to the "ten". In order not to demolish the entire system at once, it is possible, thanks to a drive with a bootable OS, to test it.
By the way, there are multiboot flash drives. You can record several programs on them using Bootice.exe. How to use this program, we will consider further.
Where to begin?
So, if you find in your box an orphaned USB flash drive that has been lying for a long time and no one needs, you can try to make it bootable. Perhaps it will never even come in handy for you. But you never know what can happen with a PC. The system often presents us with unpleasant surprises. Perhaps even your friend will need to reinstall the operating system on a device that does not have a drive.
In general, it’s worth mentioning right away that there are a lot of ways to do this, by the way, like programs. You can do this with complex codes and commands. You can use different graphical utilities and packages for file systems. Any of all the options will help you create a correctly working drive. But if you do not want to spend a lot of time writing additional commands, it is better to use the Bootice program.
Program
An example of creating a bootable flash drive using Bootice is the most successful way to show how this tool works. In addition, it is the fastest and most reliable option for such a task.
In order to start working with it, you need to install software. Make it easy. There are many sites from which you can safely download the program. There are also additional utilities that have a conditionally built-in Bootice.
If you don’t have a drive, but you need to install an operating system on a laptop or netbook, download this program and start working with it.
Start
So that the flash drive can rightfully be called bootable, you must create on it the main boot record MBR and the boot code PBR. The content of these entries will depend on the destination. That is, from what needs to be launched.
We open our program. It is not immediately clear how to use Bootice. By the way, most often you will also find its English version. But you do not need to navigate the utility menu much, just step by step follow all the steps described below.
When the window opens, you will see the Physical Disk tab. In the line below, you need to select the USB flash drive that you are going to boot from the drop-down list. Usually there are several options. Among these disks there may be system disks, so look carefully at the letter in brackets and compare it with the one indicated in “My Computer”.
Below you will need to select the MBR to make a master boot record. This is where the basic information that is needed to load the operating system will be located. A new window will offer several types of MBR. If you do not know how to use Bootice 1.0.4, be especially careful as you may be mistaken. But usually they select the second item, under which is GRUB4DOS. This type of recording creates a powerful universal bootloader.
After you have selected the second item, go to the very bottom of the window and click on “Install / Change” (Install / Config). A window will reappear. In general, nothing can be fixed here. Or give a name to the bootloader file. Then we save all the changes by clicking on the button “Save. to disk ”(Save to disk). Everything, the Windows system has taken its place on the USB flash drive.
Linux
If you do not know how to use Bootice 1.3.2 when installing a Linux system, it does not matter. The action algorithm is similar. You just need to download the version for this OS. Further from the list you should choose not GRUB4DOS, but already SYSLINUX. After again, click "Install / Change" (Install / Config).
Now a new window will open in which you do not need to click anything. Below you just need to put a dot opposite version 5.01. Everything, the process is completed, as well as working with the program.
Another variant
Of course, this is not the only way to create a bootable drive. For example, you can download the WinSetupFromUSB utility. After you run it, it will automatically detect all available flash drives. To make one of them bootable, the program provides two ways. And here one of them, with the familiar name Bootice, should help us with this.
Then a window will appear that is already familiar to us. In it, some users are advised not to choose MBR, but Perform Format. After, in the additional window, select the third item USB-HDD Mode (Single Partition). Then you have to choose a file system. Most often they use NTFS because it reads information faster. Then it remains only to agree with all warnings that the drive will be erased, you will lose information on it, etc. After that, the flash drive will become bootable.
conclusions
If you still do not know how to use Bootice, then this article will help you. Of course, there are several options for installing and creating a bootable flash drive. Moreover, there is a difference even in the utility itself. All this depends on the goals of the user and what exactly he is going to upload to it.