# Boot Pc From Iso Image



## Jiffyman

I was wondering if there is any software out there that I can use to boot a pc from an iso image. I know its possible cause the servers at my dads work boot from iso images cause they don't have cd rom drives. The only problem is that I just can't seem to find any software that can do it.


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## PC eye

Virtual drives are used to load iso images for different Linux distros. This allows Linux to run on a Windows based system. You first need to install an iso image to a hard drive in order to boot from it directly. There are other programs that create virtual drives for loading iso images while in a Windows environment. In addition to those there are programs liek Acronis that clone drives. It depends more on the type of iso image that will be booted from.


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## tlarkin

you can download deamon tools or alcohal120 and try mounting ISOs and run them like an actual disk through drive virtualization.

D-Tools is free, and when you install it, make sure you uncheck the box that asks you to install their web tool bar, its actually adware.  Its not malicious, its just annoying, and they made it so you don't have to install it.


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## 4W4K3

tlarkin said:


> you can download deamon tools or alcohal120 and try mounting ISOs and run them like an actual disk through drive virtualization.



But how would you boot from that?

I use daemon tools alot but the virtual drive only exists in the Windows environment. I don't think your BIOS will recognize it at all, like a partition.


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## tlarkin

ah yes, totally forgot about the boot part in the OP....

Well, things like live and PE disks usually aren't ISOs per se.  They have a boot sector and other things of the like.  You can't just boot from an ISO, you have to have it set up to extract things from the image and load it in memory.

You could look at some of the live linux distros, or bartsPE for windows and make your own bootable windows enviroment.

As for virtual machines, that is somewhat different.  You could look into VMware or something of the like, but I think we need more information from the original poster to better answer their question.


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## PC eye

The iso images referred to there are on a network where cloning drives sees a networking type of OS like Server 2003 running. There the workstation is tied into a network rather then being a stand alone. Then that could also be XP Pro being used there.


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## kof2000

it can be a server somewhere in the room and network boot enabled on device priorites and pxe boot enable it sort of something similar to a network install. it works wonders if the pcs doesnt have a cd rom or small hdd. installing xp on 55 computers at once is pretty fun 

it is probably not a software probably your dads workplace runs a similar network and the computers get their file and run their stuff though the main server.


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## Zim0n

burn it to a cd... or mount it and see if you can choose when you hit f12 at startup, or you could do a net boot but i dont know how you set it up to that, some server stuff


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