Can't boot from usb

[gamon12]

Hi there, I've got msi wind u100 netbook and I can't boot the windows xp from my 4gb usb flash drive.

My notebook doesn't have a cd-rom so I guess usb is my only choice.

I used "Win to Flash' application to format my usb and install windows xp and windows 7 on it, but neither works.

When I select the option to boot from my usb stick, a black screen appears with " _ " sign flashing and it will stay this way until I turn my laptop off.

Any ideas what might be the problem? I'm rather a computer-illiterate person so any help would be greatly appreciated

Or would there be any way to format and install it from windows menu? Like right click on C drive, click format and then install the windows from E drive? or would my laptop turn off completley after this kind of format?

 

[RealBeast]

You cannot actually boot an XP installation from a USB drive, but you can install XP or 7 from a usb drive.

Proper preparation of the USB stick and a bios that will allow booting from a USB device are necessary. Which do your want to use XP or 7?

For Win 7 there are many ways and I've used most of them, here are several: http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/7850-Installing-Windows-7-From-USB-Drive-3-Steps-Easy-Process

For XP it is a little more constrained, but there are still ways, again I've used several with success and here is one: http://en.kioskea.net/faq/3065-installing-windows-xp-from-a-usb-key