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I understand this perfectly. My problem lays with misunderstanding what a MAC address is. I thought that a MAC address was like a VIN for a computer, that is a completely unique identification number that is specific to your machine. Also, I assumed that proprietary software like Windows...

But this is only possible if you have, on the live cd, every possible driver for every possible system. Is this the case? OK. You mean a different type of machine, correct? For example, I install Windows onto a USB and on that USB load the drivers for my Toshiba model ABC. It works...

Hi, I'm not sure this question is a motherboard question, but I'll give it a try. Where is the MAC address located in a computer? Is it on a chip somewhere on the motherboard? How can you get your computer to display its MAC address? Is it possible to disable the MAC address...

How is that possible? Don't the drivers need to interact with both the OS and the hardware? How can you write drivers that work with every possible hardware set? So you're saying that I can take a Live CD, pop it into an IBM platform machine, boot the operating system just fine, take it out...

Is this behavior particular to Windows? Why don't Tails or Linux behave this way? Or do they? I'm inexperienced. Do all operating systems exhibit this sort of limitation? I swear I've seen people pop Linux CDs into ODDs on a variety of computers with no problems.

Thanks. I thought the "magic number" was 0x55aa. Is the boot flag BIOS dependent?

Really? Why? How would the operating system and/or USB drive know that I'm trying to boot the operating system on a different machine than the one I used to install the operating system on the USB? Why does this matter? Is there some way to uniquely identify a machine? Thanks.

I'm sorry, I don't understand your question. Just to see if I can do it.

Hi, What are you changing in/on a USB when you make it bootable? Why must you make this change in order to boot an operating system from it? Why are some operating systems easier to boot from a USB than others? Apparently, Tails and Linux are readily USB bootable, but Windows may...

So you're saying that even if I could install Windows onto an external USB drive, I wouldn't be able to boot from that drive? Why not? This isn't true of every operating system. Why can I boot some operating systems like Linux of Tails from an external drive but not Windows? Thanks.

What about USB 3.0 to USB 3.0?

Hi, I have installed operating systems on interior hard drives from external drives, specifically from bootable USBs. But, how do I install an operating system on an external drive? Specifically, I would like to install Windows 7 from my bootable USB to another USB. Is this...

Hi, Is it possible on a modern personal computer to directly access the RAM? I want to place binary code directly into the RAM the way they used to do it in the old days. I know if I write a program in a language and compile / assemble it, the compiled file will contain machine code. If I...

Worked like a charm. Thanks!

I don't know what motherboard I have, but my computer model is Toshiba c55d-b5212, brand new laptop. Is there a way to see what motherboard I'm using without having to open the case?

Really? I have windows 7. But, doesn't the driver have to work with the peripheral device in question (here my USB 3.0), the processor I'm using, the operating system, and even the computer itself e.g. the motherboard? Where can I find a driver that will work for me?

Hello, I have a new laptop, and I wiped the drive to put an older OS on it. Unfortunately, I cannot find any drivers for my USB 3.0 that work with my OS. I searched for hours online and could not find any options. I've decided to try and write one myself. I have limited computer /...

Hi, I have a basic question. If I have my laptop connected to a network (specifically the internet) both through ethernet cable and wireless through the same router, which connection is my computer using? Can I change the priority? Thanks.

Thanks. Incidentally, within the context of computer science, what's a shell?

Hi, My question is about the BIOS, so I thought that I'd post it here as I couldn't find a sub-forum specifically geared toward questions regarding the BIOS. How many "levels" to the BIOS are there? How many ways are there to access the BIOS? Here is what I mean exactly. I knew that...