Subject: Re: NetBSD on the USB keychain mass storage
To: Laurent Marechal <MARECHAL@nl.ibm.com>
From: Antti Kantee <pooka@cs.hut.fi>
List: netbsd-help
Date: 11/13/2003 16:27:32
On Thu Nov 13 2003 at 15:10:39 +0100, Laurent Marechal wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> It's not fully NetBSD related, but it might become...
> 
> Does anyone know if it's possible or already install NetBSD on the Disk on 
> Key (these small USB flash memory key-chain) ?
> If it's seen as a mass storage, I guess there is no problem to install it. 
> Even if it's a kind of RO installation like a 'live-CD'.
> The 'heavy' disk access could be redirected to a ram drive or may be to a 
> special disk area.

Yes, it's possible.  If your flash is small, you need to carefully think
which pieces of NetBSD you want there, though.

> One concern is how to boot it ? Is that possbile to boot from this kind of 
> USB storage ?

You need BIOS support for booting from a "USB HDD".  And there recently
were some funnies with how the i386 bootblocks interact with some BIOSes
on -current.  This might have been fixed already, though.

But still, in general: "yes".

-- 
Antti Kantee <pooka@iki.fi>                     Of course he runs NetBSD
http://www.iki.fi/pooka/                          http://www.NetBSD.org/
                 "connoisseurs do not chill their malts."