Back in 2015 I swore by booting from a USB stick for diagnostics, but now I just use a network boot server for the whole shop.

What's your take on ditching portable media for PXE boot setups, or do you still keep a trusty flash drive on your keyring?

3 comments

3 Comments

clairec788d ago

My old shop in Tulsa had a PXE server on a Dell Optiplex 3020. Once it was set up, imaging 20 machines at once was a game changer. I still keep a Ventoy USB in my bag for one-off jobs or when the network is down. The PXE is great for volume, but that flash drive has saved me more than once at a client's site with spotty wifi.

willow_king4d ago

Yeah, I've definitely been that guy trying to image a single laptop from a USB 2.0 drive that feels slower than dial-up. PXE is the dream until you're at some remote office and their network is held together with hope and old cables. My bag has that same trusty USB, right next to my collection of random dongles that only work sometimes.

violay277d ago

But what if your network is solid and you have to do fifty machines? @clairec78, that Ventoy USB sounds slow and messy for that many. A good PXE setup just runs itself once it's going, no swapping drives or waiting around.

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