Thinkpads Forum

Hi,
I am about to buy a X61 without the ultrabase and instead I want to buy a USB-cdrw. (so i can be very mobile)

will I be able to BOOT from a USB cd/dvd?

I would like to boot from the USB cd to do the following:
1. reinstall XP if I need to (format and copy new win files)
2. use the thinkpad restore/rescue CD to reinstall the "factory" windows

thanks,
Itay

Yes, you can do this, provided your drive is bootable (the specs should tell you if it is)

You should also know that you can put your OS or other files on a USB FDD (Flash disk drive). Just change the boot settings in BIOS to FDD as first boot device.

I bought an 8GB Sandisk Thumbdrive for $60, because 4GB is too little to hold an entire DVD (and therefore a newer OS)

If you use it very seldom, you can get a 1GB for as little as $5 and a 2GB for as little as $17.

Most new USB DVD burners are bootable, although it never hurts to check. That is how I did a clean install of Vista on my X61. The USB flash drive method works for some, but I have had no success.

Yep, I agree - I did the same thing (external USB DVD burner) to install Ubuntu 7.10 on my X61. I used this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 6003682462

And it worked great. Good luck.