How to Use a Operating System from a Usb Stick

Do you want to carry around ALL your settings and not just portable applications? Do you have a notebook and would like to try another operating system? Perhaps you don't have a CD or DVD drive and would like to use another operating system. Well now you can - by booting one from a USB stick!

Steps

• Ensure your PC is new enough to have a BIOS that can boot from USB.
• Get a USB stick with enough capacity for the operating system you intend to install .
• Installing Windows XP onto USB requires tweaking and third-party software.
• Windows users can install the following Linux distros to the USB stick from within a Windows environment -

Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu (since v8.10)
Fedora (since v8)
Knoppix (since v5.1)
SLAX (since v6)
PCLinuxOS MiniMe (since v2008)
and even more…

• Non-Windows users may have to use a PC with a CD or DVD drive then install Linux to the USB stick. The following Linux distros can be installed to USB from the Live CD environment -

Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu (since v8.10)
Knoppix (since v5.1)
OpenSuse

• Also Mac-on-Stick enables you to run Mac OS Classic 7.01.
• In the meantime,You can try to download Windows XP Portable editions from forums and install them on your USB drive.

Warnings 

• Flash memory has a finite number of erase-write cycles. Most commercially available flash products are guaranteed to withstand around 100,000 write-erase-cycles.
• Keep in mind not to fiddle with system files of usb OS until you know what you are doing.

Cheers and Keep learning.