# Installing from another computer



## shuxuef (Nov 15, 2011)

Hi, there.

I have a laptop, which dual-boots with one of the operating system being FreeBSD. I also have an old desktop, with a broken CD-drive. Is it possible to install FreeBSD on the desktop using my laptop? Thanks!


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## drhowarddrfine (Nov 15, 2011)

If it has a USB port or floppy drive, yes. Look in the handbook for how.


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## wblock@ (Nov 15, 2011)

Make a USB memory stick on the laptop, boot it on the desktop.


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## shuxuef (Nov 15, 2011)

Thank for replying. The floppy disk driver is not working either. 

I only have the following booting options:


```
IDE CD-ROM Device
Hard-Disk Drive C:
Diskette Drive
Integrated NIC
```

Does that mean that I can't use the USB to boot?


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## wblock@ (Nov 15, 2011)

Some machines don't show the USB boot option unless there's a bootable USB device attached.  But some don't have it at all.

If you have an external USB drive adapter, the drive could be taken out of the desktop and attached to the laptop, FreeBSD installed on it, and then replaced.  But it might be easier or cheaper to just find a working CDROM drive.  They're pretty much free now, at least the non-recording ones.


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## shuxuef (Nov 15, 2011)

wblock@ said:
			
		

> Some machines don't show the USB boot option unless there's a bootable USB device attached.  But some don't have it at all.
> 
> If you have an external USB drive adapter, the drive could be taken out of the desktop and attached to the laptop, FreeBSD installed on it, and then replaced.  But it might be easier or cheaper to just find a working CDROM drive.  They're pretty much free now, at least the non-recording ones.



Thanks a lot! I just tried the USB drive and it's working! Nice!


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