I don’t need USB flash drives anymore!

No more booting from USB when installing operating systems. netboot xyz is awesome.

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[zenmaster]

dont need a usb drive, but need another computer and a network

[RealLimerickman]

I am old enough to remember booting up os on floppy disc and cd. USB was a miracle device.

[loganm]

I thought the trashcan was a 2013 Mac pro for a second.

[maxaalde]

Dude, I'm already happy that I don't have to burn a DVD-RW for ~30 min anymore

[TheOnlyTwitchR]

Oh man, I've been wanting to set this up for years now...

Maybe tomorrow, just like every other time

[PCSJEFF]

1999: PXE protocol appears in commercial BIOS
2024: this video

[JontyLevine]

2014: I can’t access my photos. The network is down and they’re on someone else’s computer.
2024: I can’t boot up my operating system. The network is down and it’s on someone else’s computer.

[Derpuwolf]

For anyone who thinks it’s kinda pointless, I don’t think this is necessarily meant for a single install kinda thing, but for a power user or a shop that’s constantly installing or changing OSs.

[thecloudtherapist]

Ahh, yes. PXE booting. Takes me back to my data centre days from 15-20 years ago. Along with IPMI, SNMP, WMI and protocols such as IP Multicasting 😄

[rsatonyplayz]

This will be a great idea if u have brand-new 100s of computers for ur office/school/college and I need to install windows on all in a short period

[complexity]

Its traditionally called a PXE server. System Adminstrators usually have the PXE server working with your main DHCP router to present OSs to you at the PXE boot phase of your client machine. Its easier to boot from a USB. But if you change the boot order of your bios to boot from another computer over the network. Most administrators use a good bootloader to do all this without setting up a PXE server.

[nekoill]

My brother in Christ, we've had PXE for ages, it's the only conceivable way you can modernize a big factory for instance, without needing a billion USB sticks and without being chewed up by datasec

[trueriver]

I think this is dangerous. The issue arrives from the apparently convenient feature that the software is "always up to date".

Up to date could include that it's been handled to include malware.

That's why wise installers download the hash for the .iso file from a trusted site, verified with a cryptographic signature, and then check offline that it verifies OK before using it.

I'm sceptical whether this process, where the file is downloaded and booted without operator intervention, actually does all of that.

Even if it does do it, by havening the checkpoint process defined in code, that too becomes hackable.

This is just another example of something being offered to save a few minutes work (and only occasionally in this case) that is setting us up for a messy comeback someone in the future.

[lopwidth]

One word: Ventoy. Easiest solution out there and you can install it on a small external drive. Just copy isos on there and boot. No complicated configuration

[getfragged]

This is also a great idea for a repair shop or mobile PC repair. Or even a hobbyist that often finds themselves helping out friends/family/acquaintances repair their computers. For example the last three months i’ve somehow found myself randomly taking on the task of attempting to troubleshoot 6 different systems and in every scenario eventually doing a fresh OS install.

[EpicLPer]

Windows Installs via Netboot are rather annoying tho cause you need to remember a few commands before you can actually start the installer

[rabarber]

For the people at home: you should not throw electronics in general waste bin.

[stuartmacleod]

Im just glad you dont have to use multiple floppy disks anymore

[zirize]

In the past, there was a concept called a Diskless workstation. There was a central server, and all clients booted from the network without disks. They used NFS to access the server's file system. About 25 years ago, I developed a machine to test ODDs (like CD-ROM drives), and it was operated using a method of running dozens of small embedded computers as diskless workstations using a central server.

[james-m-]

This seems like it would open up some really serious security concerns