How do I Burn a Bootable Flash Key?
While working from my hotel this week at VMworld 2010, it was necessary to rebuild my computer for some labs I was working on. There are two way to build a bootable Flash key with an OS. Let’s go over both methods and you can decide which one you prefer.
Creating a Bootable Flash Key via Command Line
We will begin by inserting a flash drive key into a laptop or desktop, as shown in Figure A.
Figure A.
Next, click the Start button and type cmd in the instant search bar. Right-click on the cmd entry and select Run as Administrator, as shown in Figure B.
Figure B.
Now we are ready to run Diskpart. Type diskpart, as shown in Figure C. Type List Disk, as also shown in Figure C, to find your USB key. In this case, it is Disk1.
Figure C.
We will continue by typing Select Disk 1 and cleaning the flash key by typing clean, as shown in Figure D.
Figure D.
Let’s continue by typing create partition primary, as shown in Figure E.
Figure E.ONext, type active to mark the disk as active; we are getting closer to the finish line. Now we are ready to format our partition by typing Format FS=Fat32, as shown in Figure F.
Figure F.
Now you can copy over the installation files of Windows 7 or any other installation media
Once you have copied the installation files, the next thing is to configure your laptop/PC to boot from the flash drive. You should log in to your BIOS settings to make sure booting from USB is available. Finally, start your laptop/desktop and select from which boot device you want to load the Operating System.
Creating a Flash Key with Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool
Now let’s move on to the method that I prefer. We will begin by downloading Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. Once installed Click the Start | Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool. The following tool opens in Figure G.
Figure G.
Next, click Browse and select your ISO image as shown in Figure H. Most downloads of software today are ISO images that allow you to burn DVD’s or run in virtual machines.
Figure H.
You have the option of choosing to create a USB or DVD media. For the purposes of this blog post, we will choose USB Device as shown in Figure I.
Figure I.
Finally, click Begin Copying. A message appears with the following information: “You have selected to erase all of the contents from the selected USB device (drive letter). All contents on this device will be lost. Are you sure you want to do this?” Click Yes, as shown in Figure J, and your bootable device is created.
Figure J.
Once completed, the USB device is ready to load the installation media. For example, I chose Windows 7 ISO image and 5 minutes later I had a flash key ready to load Windows.
Which of the two methods do you prefer? In my mind, it is a no brainer.
Acronis Adds a Cloud Based Disaster Recovery Service
I spent some time in the vendor area today and stopped by the Acronis booth. I am excited to report that Iland and Acronis join forces to bring together a powerful disaster recovery service in the Cloud. iland, a VMware service provider, teams up with Acronis to create an offering called Rapid-Response Cloud Based Business Continuity.
This service leverages disk images of virtual and physical machines (created by Acronis) and restores them into Iland’s Internet Solution Continuity Cloud as standby virtual machines. In the event of a disaster, It Admins can quickly restore these machines in the cloud via an Acronis Management Console.
This solution is currently available through iland and Acronis and leverages Acronis Backup and Recovery 10 Advanced Server Virtual Edition. For more information, please see the press release.
This partnership is a great fit. Backup and DR solutions are typically very expensive. In this scenario, Acronis leverages the cloud via iland and iland leverages Acronis Backup and Restore functionality. As the cloud continues to gain a foothold, we will see more and more marriages between cloud providers and services.
VMworld 2010: 10 Best Free Tools for vSphere Management
I’m sitting in David David’s 3rd VMworld 2010 session on 10 Best Free Tools for vSphere Management. It’s his third session because the first two (one on Monday and one earlier today) were packed and people were actually waiting outside the door trying to get in!
I guess everyone really loves free tools!
Up on the stage with David is Kendrick Coleman who is chiming in on his impressions of all of the free tools from his experiences with using them. Kendrick actually rated these free tools and has a whole list of free vSphere tools on his blog.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 best free tools for vSphere management straight from VMworld 2010 complete with links to where you can download each and every one of them. Enjoy!
David David’s 10 Best Free Tools for vSphere Management
Win a Ride in a Veyron Bugatti at VMworld 2010
On my daily walk to the VMworld Conference Center this morning, I passed by this beautiful car. I captured a quick Flip video. A drawing is open to the conference to be able to win a ride in this car. Maybe you can win a ride to the VMworld Party where INXS is playing LIVE tonight.
What do you think of the car? I wonder how much an alternator cost to replace. Yikes!
How Stuff Works in Virtualization
Day 3 of VMworld 2010 is underway and I am up early to get a head start on my jam filled day. With so many attendees, you really have to plan accordingly for the session you want to attend. A cup of Starbucks and I am on my way.
Have you ever wondered what the anatomy of a virtual machine (VM) is?
If so, this session shows you what files make up a virtual machine. I have several sessions to attend this AM but I wanted to drop by and sit in on some of Eric Siebert’s session on How Stuff Works in Virtualization.
Eric Siebert in action at VMworld 2010
New VMware vSphere 4.1 Features
New VMware vSphere 4.1 Features:
AD Integration, Lockdown, and Tech Support Mode
Recently VMware released the new version of vSphere. One of the biggest announcements of the release is that in 2011, VMware ESX will go away and be replaced with ESXi.
As part of that transition, VMware is releasing new features to ESXi to make it more appealing both to the current VMware Admins and to new VMware Admins (who may currently be Windows Admins).
While the new features of vSphere 4.1 list is very long (at least 35 new features), let me demonstrate the 3 that most caught my eye…
3 Screens and a Cloud: What is Cloud Computing?
Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer has claimed many times that computing was heading towards “three screens and a cloud.” The three screens being TV, computer and mobile phone, while the “cloud” ties them all together.
Driving the development of cloud computing, ironically is the mobile phone market. With services like Gmail, Dropbox and Apple’s MobileMe, cloud services are readily accessible to consumers and growing in popularity.
Have you ever seen a status update saying, “I lost my phone, send me your number!” That’s because all of their contacts were saved locally on the phone and couldn’t be accessed otherwise. Any Android phone (now the #1 selling smart-phone in the U.S.) actually requires you to set up a cloud service; a Google account. The consumer may not realize this, but every time a contact or calendar event is added, this data is synced with their Google account automatically.
While this doesn’t effect daily use, the magic comes in when that consumer drops or breaks their phone and is given a replacement. They sign into their Google account on the Android device and suddenly all their contacts, calendar events and emails “magically” appear. This is the beauty of cloud computing.
The “cloud” is actually a company’s server farm where your information is stored to be accessed from any Internet enabled device. For example, uploading a file to Apple’s MobileMe service means it can be accessed from any computer by going to me.com and logging in. Some benefits of the cloud are, the ability to access your files from any computer, using it as a backup service, and the ability for multiple people in various locations to collaborate on a single project.
Train Signal at VMworld 2010: Virtual Madness!
It’s day two at VMworld 2010 and so far it’s been absolute madness! There are over 17,000 attendees from 85 different countries, hundreds of sponsors and exhibitors, countless parties, meetups and events all contributing to the chaos.
But man, is it a ton of fun!
If you’ve never been to VMworld than make sure you sign up next year, it’s by far the most exciting IT event of the year. Here’s a shot of the crowd waiting for the doors to open to the welcome reception at the solutions exchange yesterday.
