Installing POSReady by Using a USB Flash Drive
2/16/2009
Depending on the capabilities of your computer, Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 can now be installed to and from a USB flash drive. To use this feature, your computer must support startup from a USB flash drive. For more information, see Configuring Your Computer to Detect a USB Flash Drive.
POSReady supports the following USB flash drive installation scenarios:
Installing from USB flash drive to single or multiple Parallel ATA (PATA) disk drives
Installing from USB flash drive to single or multiple Serial ATA (SATA) disk drives
Installing from USB flash drive to USB flash drive
Installing from USB flash drive to internal flash drive
Note
If you are installing to a SATA drive or internal flash drive, POSReady may require additional drivers. For more information about how to install additional drivers, see Adding Drivers for Your POSReady Installation.
There are two sets of procedures that you must follow to install POSReady from a USB flash drive. The first set describes how to create a startup USB flash drive that contains the POSReady Setup files. The second set describes how to install POSReady from the startup USB flash drive.
Creating a Startup USB Flash Drive by using Companion Setup
The following procedure describes how to create a startup USB flash drive from the POSReady Companion Setup found on your installation disc.
How to create a startup POSReady USB flash drive by using Companion Setup
Connect your USB flash drive to a USB port and insert the POSReady installation disc in your computer. The POSReady Companion Setup is displayed.
Choose Create USB Flash Drive Install. The Install from USB Flash Drive page is displayed.
Choose your desired USB flash drive, languages, and applications.
Note
All data on your destination USB flash drive will be erased.
Choose Install. Your desired files will be copied on the USB flash drive and the drive can now be used as startup POSReady installation media.
Installing POSReady from a Startup USB Flash Drive
The following procedure describes how to install POSReady from the startup USB flash drive you created in the previous step.
Note
You may have to disconnect and reconnect your USB flash drive three times during the POSReady installation process. These steps are emphasized in the following procedure.
How to install POSReady from a startup USB flash drive
Turn off the destination computer and insert your startup USB flash drive that contains the POSReady Setup files.
Start the computer and make sure that the BIOS will start from the USB flash drive instead of another drive, such as the hard disk drive or an optical drive. For more information, see Configuring Your Computer to Detect a USB Flash Drive. Windows PE 2005 environment starts with the message Starting Installation Environment… and will progress to a Windows XP loading screen.
POSReady Setup starts. You can continue with an Interactive Installation or an Unattended Installation. As soon as installation is complete, your computer will automatically restart.
Immediately after your computer restarts, you must disconnect the USB flash drive from the computer to prevent starting from the drive. POSReady will automatically start from the internal drive and start the First Boot Agent (FBA).
When FBA starts, insert the USB flash drive again. FBA requires additional POSReady Setup files on the USB flash drive to complete the installation. FBA will continue automatically, and will restart your computer when installation is complete.
Immediately after your computer restarts for the second time, you must disconnect the USB flash drive from the computer to prevent starting from the drive. A Windows XP loading screen will appear, and POSReady starts for the first time.
Installing POSReady to a USB Flash Drive
You can install POSReady to a USB flash drive, which makes it possible to run POSReady from the drive. There are some requirements that you should be aware of when you install POSReady to a USB flash drive:
- You cannot install to USB flash drive partitions that are protected with a password.
- The target USB flash drive must be assigned the drive letter C. If the drive letter is changed, unexpected application behavior may result.
- Each computer manages USB devices differently. If you are installing POSReady to a USB flash drive from another USB flash drive, you may have to disconnect and reconnect the drives to make sure that your computer restarts from the correct drive. More information about this scenario is included in the following procedure.
How to install POSReady from a USB flash drive to a USB flash drive
Insert the source USB flash drive that contains the POSReady Setup files, and then insert your destination USB flash drive.
Start the computer and make sure that the BIOS starts up from the source USB flash drive instead of another drive, such as the hard disk drive, optical drive, or the destination USB flash drive. For more information about startup order, see Configuring Your Computer to Detect a USB Flash Drive. Windows PE 2005 environment starts with the message Starting Installation Environment… and will progress to a Windows XP loading screen.
POSReady Setup starts. You can continue with an Interactive Installation or an Unattended Installation. On the Storage Configuration page, make sure that you select the partition on the destination USB flash drive. As soon as installation is complete, your computer will automatically restart.
Immediately after your computer restarts, disconnect the source USB flash drive from the computer to prevent restarting from the drive. POSReady will automatically start from the destination USB flash drive and start the First Boot Agent (FBA).
When FBA starts, insert the source USB flash drive again. FBA requires additional POSReady Setup files on the source USB flash drive to complete the installation on the destination USB flash drive. FBA will continue automatically, and will restart your computer when installation is complete.
Immediately after your computer restarts for the second time, you must disconnect the source USB flash drive from the computer to prevent starting up from the drive. Your computer will restart from the destination USB flash drive and a Microsoft Windows XP loading screen will appear. POSReady will start for the first time.
Installing Mass Storage Drivers from a USB Flash Drive
In POSReady you can install mass storage drivers from a USB flash drive. After completing the steps below your mass storage drivers will be available for use during setup.
Note
Installing mass storage drivers from a USB flash drive is only supported when you run setup from the same USB flash drive. If you choose to launch setup using the product installation disk, you will not be able to retrieve mass storage drivers from a USB drive.
How to install mass storage drivers from a USB flash drive
Connect your USB flash drive to a USB port and insert the POSReady installation disc in your computer. The POSReady Companion Setup is displayed.
Choose Create USB Flash Drive Install. The Install from USB Flash Drive page is displayed.
Choose your desired USB flash drive, languages, and applications.
Note
All data on your destination USB flash drive will be erased.
Choose Install. Your desired files will be copied on the USB flash drive and the drive can now be used as startup POSReady installation media.
In the root of the USB media, create a new folder named Drivers.
Copy your mass storage drivers to the Drivers directory.
See Also
Tasks
Configuring Your Computer to Detect a USB Flash Drive
Adding Drivers for Your POSReady Installation