Sounds excessively complex for something rufus will do in 10 minutes where you can set your brain to cruise control. And a decent USB3 flash drive will outperform gigabit ethernet and be super reliable. Plus using a USB key lets you do inplace upgrades of windows ... which are now pretty reliable, and let you fix a multitude of system problems without manifestly affecting the user profile and data. Given that operating system images change frequently enough that it is easiest to just download the latest image.
Furthermore, for your situation, I would seriously look into using virtual machines to segment your different game servers, and to actually also audition different operating systems before deciding what to use for production. This completely also sidesteps the whole needing to create USB keys and such thing too for the most part. So either Hyper-V under windows, or KVM/QVM under Linux. Both are great options that I use and can recommend. And if you are brave, you can do your auditions, and if everything goes well in setting up a virtual machine for the game, say on your desktop, you can just copy/migrate the virtual machine to your server and save yourself a ton of work.
@@canthearu4876 Agreed. Also, the majority of regular users don't have their homes wired for ethernet so PXE is a non-starter. Good alternative is an M.2 NVME drive in a USB enclosure that can push at least 10 gigabit. Little bigger than a thumb drive but with speeds that beat an internal SATA SSD.
Yeah, I used to have a decent dual cpu server and I ran proxmox on it. I loved it. But unfortunately it died and just didn't have the desire (or money) to replace it. Thank you very much for watching and commenting!
@@pessimism056 - Pretty much any USB3 flash drives are plenty fast for a one time install of an OS, practical, and easy to use instead of complicated PXE method. heh
@@KMHardware For auditioning Linux distributions, you can still enable Hyper-v if you are running a pro version of windows 10 or windows 11 on any of your desktops. Now, this doesn't address hardware compatibility, but generally for linux, there isn't a huge difference between different distributions for that.
When you install Windows, at the "select drive" part, you don't have to manually create a new partition on it. Just select the empty drive and click on Next. The installer will create the correct partitions on the drive.
Thank you for the excellent comment! Viewers like you providing useful comments is exactly in line with my vision for this channel. At work, I use SCCM to image our computers. Its pretty much fully automated and I never have to manually do any tasks. The computer in this video did not like having all my other storage drives connected. Once I disconnected them, the windows installer behaved exactly as you pointed out on your excellent comment. Thank you very much for watching and commenting!
msata to usb-c cradle. i use two 32gb msata drives one has windows 10 on it the other has regular ventoy with a handful of linux distros. very fast very robust and just as portable as a typical flash drive.
Yeah, I use regular ventoy at work all the time. Until very recently, I had no clue they had a network boot version! I have an external m.2 sata storage drive at home and yes, it's really fast compared to a regular USB stick. But it gives me issues every once in a while. Especially on older machines.
If you use that UNRAID, you could just spin up iventoy as an unraid application and point it right to ISOs stored on the unraid storage. Would take much less cpu than a Linux mint install with iventoy. But thanks for showing me pxe boot!
Lol!! Me looking around the room nervously hoping nobody would notice I said "unraid server" in my video.... hahaha!! Yes sir, you are 100% correct. I'll show myself out now.
@KMHardware hahaha. I was dead on it!! You should do a BBS video; I run 2o for beeRS BBS - one of the most popular and would give you access to all the things...
I'd like to see you put that mini PC in your pocket then ride a bike to a friends house or go to school with that PC to give them the files ;-) usb drives are not dead just yet. Plus you could use iVentoy on an external usb3 m.2. I have a few here that have a nice slim metal case and can take nvme or sata.
What annoys me the most is how slow external USB media is to write. I do have an external SATA based M.2 drive, but that thing gives me booting issues sometimes. Especially with my really old motherboards.
I don't know why people still bother with SD cards when there are better options out there. There are actually some good thumb drives. None of them are SanDisk branded. Or a USB SSD drive if you don't mind carrying something quite large around.
I was initially sceptical about this idea as never booted up from a network device before and wasn't familiar with PXE even though its been around a while and have seen the network boot option for years but never knew how it was used without a server, thought this might be a bit too complicated but glad I watched this video as its opened up a lot of options and doesn't look that difficult to use.
Ventoy (regular) has been used (and loved) by IT professionals for many years. I've never heard anything bad about it. But, a little caution always goes a long way and I'd never fault you for it! Thanks for watching and commenting.
What method do you all use to install various operating systems? Let us know in the comments!
I need to follow your example, because I hate flash drives too.
i bought a 100 pack dvd for 7$ only so i use dvd for all my operating systems
USB flash drive. I have several (8+) and it has been working fine for years for me.
@eazy_black Welcome to 2007. Are you still on Vista also?
I still use burned media every once in a while. My stock of blank media is lasting a long time! Not like the old days!
2025! The Year of the Cassette Comeback!
I still remember my families Commodore 64 in the 80s and waiting for my games to load from cassette!
DAT what's up! (pun in DAT tapes) hehe
Sounds excessively complex for something rufus will do in 10 minutes where you can set your brain to cruise control. And a decent USB3 flash drive will outperform gigabit ethernet and be super reliable. Plus using a USB key lets you do inplace upgrades of windows ... which are now pretty reliable, and let you fix a multitude of system problems without manifestly affecting the user profile and data.
Given that operating system images change frequently enough that it is easiest to just download the latest image.
Furthermore, for your situation, I would seriously look into using virtual machines to segment your different game servers, and to actually also audition different operating systems before deciding what to use for production. This completely also sidesteps the whole needing to create USB keys and such thing too for the most part.
So either Hyper-V under windows, or KVM/QVM under Linux. Both are great options that I use and can recommend.
And if you are brave, you can do your auditions, and if everything goes well in setting up a virtual machine for the game, say on your desktop, you can just copy/migrate the virtual machine to your server and save yourself a ton of work.
@@canthearu4876 Agreed. Also, the majority of regular users don't have their homes wired for ethernet so PXE is a non-starter. Good alternative is an M.2 NVME drive in a USB enclosure that can push at least 10 gigabit. Little bigger than a thumb drive but with speeds that beat an internal SATA SSD.
Yeah, I used to have a decent dual cpu server and I ran proxmox on it. I loved it. But unfortunately it died and just didn't have the desire (or money) to replace it. Thank you very much for watching and commenting!
@@pessimism056 - Pretty much any USB3 flash drives are plenty fast for a one time install of an OS, practical, and easy to use instead of complicated PXE method. heh
@@KMHardware For auditioning Linux distributions, you can still enable Hyper-v if you are running a pro version of windows 10 or windows 11 on any of your desktops. Now, this doesn't address hardware compatibility, but generally for linux, there isn't a huge difference between different distributions for that.
Great video. I will try to do the same.
Do it! It's awesome! Thanks for watching and commenting! :)
Christmas is a 12 day festival. It is still Christmas.
When you install Windows, at the "select drive" part, you don't have to manually create a new partition on it.
Just select the empty drive and click on Next. The installer will create the correct partitions on the drive.
Thank you for the excellent comment! Viewers like you providing useful comments is exactly in line with my vision for this channel. At work, I use SCCM to image our computers. Its pretty much fully automated and I never have to manually do any tasks. The computer in this video did not like having all my other storage drives connected. Once I disconnected them, the windows installer behaved exactly as you pointed out on your excellent comment. Thank you very much for watching and commenting!
Windows Definitely allows for virtual drive OS images it don't have to be USB flash. I have one saved to the clued at all times.
my servers use ubuntu server since i only use the terminal on my servers anyway and can SSH into them
SSH is great! The game server I setup had all the games on it configured by connecting to it with SSH. Thanks for watching and commenting! :)
msata to usb-c cradle. i use two 32gb msata drives one has windows 10 on it the other has regular ventoy with a handful of linux distros. very fast very robust and just as portable as a typical flash drive.
Yeah, I use regular ventoy at work all the time. Until very recently, I had no clue they had a network boot version! I have an external m.2 sata storage drive at home and yes, it's really fast compared to a regular USB stick. But it gives me issues every once in a while. Especially on older machines.
If you use that UNRAID, you could just spin up iventoy as an unraid application and point it right to ISOs stored on the unraid storage. Would take much less cpu than a Linux mint install with iventoy. But thanks for showing me pxe boot!
Lol!! Me looking around the room nervously hoping nobody would notice I said "unraid server" in my video.... hahaha!! Yes sir, you are 100% correct. I'll show myself out now.
@KMHardware nah, you made content which is rad!! For me, the tinkering IS the project. Always break things!!
Just between me and you, my next video is combining my unraid, iventoy and game server using proxmox. Don't tell anyone. Hehe
@KMHardware hahaha. I was dead on it!! You should do a BBS video; I run 2o for beeRS BBS - one of the most popular and would give you access to all the things...
I'd like to see you put that mini PC in your pocket then ride a bike to a friends house or go to school with that PC to give them the files ;-)
usb drives are not dead just yet. Plus you could use iVentoy on an external usb3 m.2. I have a few here that have a nice slim metal case and can take nvme or sata.
Yeah, you're right about the USB drive. There's no replacement for portability. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I ended up going with an under-$10 COASD adapter (usb-A and -C) and SD cards. You can get like a 5-pack of 32GB PNY on Amzn for under $20
What annoys me the most is how slow external USB media is to write. I do have an external SATA based M.2 drive, but that thing gives me booting issues sometimes. Especially with my really old motherboards.
I don't know why people still bother with SD cards when there are better options out there.
There are actually some good thumb drives. None of them are SanDisk branded.
Or a USB SSD drive if you don't mind carrying something quite large around.
I was initially sceptical about this idea as never booted up from a network device before and wasn't familiar with PXE even though its been around a while and have seen the network boot option for years but never knew how it was used without a server, thought this might be a bit too complicated but glad I watched this video as its opened up a lot of options and doesn't look that difficult to use.
I'm glad you watched the video too!!! Thznk you! :) Give it a shot! I think it's such a slick system.
@@Shocker99 - USB3 is plenty fast of an OS install, cheap and ubiquitous. IF it ain't broke don't fix it. heh
I use an old 128GB SSD on a S-ATA to USB adapter with Ventoy. It's waaaaaayyyyyy faster than any USB stick you could ever buy.
Yeah, i'd rather not install my operating systems with a partial closed source software based in china/russia.
Ventoy (regular) has been used (and loved) by IT professionals for many years. I've never heard anything bad about it. But, a little caution always goes a long way and I'd never fault you for it! Thanks for watching and commenting.
What nonsense
I can certainly appreciate your candor! Thanks for watching and commenting!