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A couple of years ago it was not possible to boot from USB on every computer (where the BIOS doesn't support this). There was a tiny ISO image which allows for booting from a USB stick.

Now we have the same situation with software for virtual machines such as VMWare, Parallels Desktop and this ISO is useful again. I use Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac OS X which doesn't have an option to boot from USB or USB stick.

I have following real world situation: I have HDD with Linux installed. It is not like Live CD, it is already configured by me. I use it on my computer at work to boot environment I like and I use it at home to have same environment. Sometimes I work with Mac OS X and want to download something for my Linux (such as updates and new software) and configure something if I need.

I can't boot from it using Parallels Desktop or VMWare because BIOS in this VMs doesn't recognize my USB or it can't be attached before I run my VM.

Where can I find an ISO that would allow me to boot from a USB stick?

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9
  • 1
    I don't understand why this question got downvoted. It closely matches to what I want: boot a VMware VM from a USB device. Since you cannot assign a USB device to a VM before it actually boots, you have a chicken-and-egg situation.
    – Jeroen Wiert Pluimers
    Commented Nov 4, 2011 at 13:09
  • @JeroenPluimers Because you can boot from an ISO directly, there is no need to boot from a virtual or real usb. The question is premised on a misunderstanding.
    – Paul
    Commented Nov 4, 2011 at 13:39
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    @Paul I don't get it: Booting from USB is different than booting from ISO, so booting from virtual/real USB is a need in the virtual world just as it was a need in the physical world a couple of years ago.
    – Jeroen Wiert Pluimers
    Commented Nov 4, 2011 at 16:56
  • @JeroenPluimers It is ok, the original question omitted the relevant portion of the question, where the user wanted a writable image - a portable boot environment. The question has been updated now, so my answer is now off topic.
    – Paul
    Commented Nov 5, 2011 at 4:34
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    I know about them well, thanks. I've asked clearly about booting from USB, not about booting from CD. Last VMs I know was Qemu & Bochs where I can boot from USB without problems. and I don't understand why it's difficult to boot from USB on modern hardware and software.
    – Eir Nym
    Commented Nov 5, 2011 at 16:11

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
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Add a new Hard Disk to your VM and then select the option to use a physical disk. Afterwards just choose the disk that corresponds to the USB disk, you can even use the option to select individual partitions to deduce what is the actual # for your USB drive.

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  • Thank you! I'll try it! Today I mostly use xhyve with same trick.
    – Eir Nym
    Commented Jan 3, 2016 at 14:53
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    You're welcome! I just ran into this need a few hours ago and that is what worked for me. Although it's not exactly what I wanted, what I was really after was USB emulation but this is close enough for now and works fine. Cheers.
    – ner0
    Commented Jan 3, 2016 at 20:21
  • Can you boot from this as well?
    – Jeroen Wiert Pluimers
    Commented Jan 16, 2016 at 13:30
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    @JeroenWiertPluimers Yes, in fact that is the main purpose for me.
    – ner0
    Commented Jan 16, 2016 at 17:17
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    wow!!! just worked :)
    – omid
    Commented May 26, 2022 at 10:46
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Use the Plop boot manager:

  1. From the download page, download 5.0.13.zip
  2. Unzip the file
  3. Make your VM's virtual DVD/CD drive use plpbt.iso as the image
  4. Connect your USB drive to the VM's virtual hardware
  5. Boot your VM from the ISO
  6. In the boot screen select you want to boot from USB
  7. Continue the boot from USB
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  • thanks. it copies my answer. But I'll approve yours.
    – Eir Nym
    Commented Nov 4, 2011 at 11:03
  • Oh sorry, I didn't read the link from your answer; just typed down what I found out yesterday myself. Please feel free to copy my answer to yours and I'll delete mine and upvote yours.
    – Jeroen Wiert Pluimers
    Commented Nov 4, 2011 at 11:12
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    @JeroenWiertPluimers I have tried this using this with parallels 8 on mac, with plop 5.0.13 and 5.0.14, with windows/linux vm's using cd as boot first. When I tell plop to load a usb device, it just hangs. I have also tried making a mv out of plop, same failure point.
    – demure
    Commented Aug 13, 2013 at 21:38
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    @JeroenWiertPluimers Parallels 9 seems to have fixed this issue. (Do you recommend deleting my first comment to prevent confusion?)
    – demure
    Commented Aug 30, 2013 at 1:50
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    @JeroenWiertPluimers, ner0 gives more elegant solution.
    – Eir Nym
    Commented Jan 12, 2016 at 13:04
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I've found what I want! Google search string was "boot from iso old bios"

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0

If you want a small image you should check out damn small linux, you can find some pretty detailed instructions here.

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3
  • can I boot from this linux to any system on USB I want?
    – Eir Nym
    Commented Nov 5, 2011 at 8:28
  • As long as the system supports a boot from USB drive then this will work. I misunderstood your question, I think what you were looking for can be found in the answer you chose. Once you have the Plop boot manager working you can use whatever flavor of linux you would like, assuming I understood your question right this time. Another thing, if you decide you don't like damn small linux you can always check out puppy linux, they share a similar mantra.
    – John
    Commented Nov 5, 2011 at 13:31
  • VMWare and Parallels Desktop doesn't allow to boot from USB directly. VirtualBox allows with tricks. /me smiles.
    – Eir Nym
    Commented Nov 5, 2011 at 23:34

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