Will usb and wifi work before installation of OS?

modeonoff

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Jul 16, 2017
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Hello, I am ordering components to build a computer. I wonder if I should also order an internal optical drive. I know we can download OS installation files (Linux and Windows) using another computer and usb stick. Will there be a possibility that a X299 motherboard will not accept usb stick before installation of OS?
 
Solution
USB usually works depending on the OS, some don't work well with USB 3 but most work fine with USB 2. Sometimes weird stuff happens - was installing an OS via a USB 3 port, booted fine, started installing, then got stuck because it couldn't find the drive any more (no usb 3 drivers). Tried again on a USB 2 port no problem. It was linux but i forget which distro.

WiFi though probably not, if you want internet access before or during installation ethernet is a lot more likely to work. You don't really need a connection to install an OS though.
USB usually works depending on the OS, some don't work well with USB 3 but most work fine with USB 2. Sometimes weird stuff happens - was installing an OS via a USB 3 port, booted fine, started installing, then got stuck because it couldn't find the drive any more (no usb 3 drivers). Tried again on a USB 2 port no problem. It was linux but i forget which distro.

WiFi though probably not, if you want internet access before or during installation ethernet is a lot more likely to work. You don't really need a connection to install an OS though.
 
Solution
All modern motherboards and even going back several years support usb boot. Win10 has usb 3 support where Win7 didn't so that made things a bit fiddly changing boot modes to legacy. If you're planning to run Win10 you'll have no problems.

Windows 10 will probably install your wifi and lan drivers itself for you to activate but not sure. Win10 has great driver support but newer hardware like anyother os might require the mobo cd.

You'll probably be fine letting Win10 handle drivers albeit optical drives dont cost much and handy to have.
 
I've installed Ubuntu and MINT from USB multiple times, no issues. It does often detect wi-fi as well and ask for a user name and password during install but that's less reliable, and not needed for an install anyway.

I find Linux wi-fi support to be a bit patchy, while it usually finds and installs drivers they don't always work well and can be a bit of a headache to fix. I have had poor results with a couple of TP-Link USB wi-fi adapters.
 
You could boot from the install disk without installing and try out the wi-fi first, if it seems like it works ok then use it during install.
You don't even need to reboot to install in that case, the option is right on the desktop in Ubuntu live. If it doesn't work then skip the option to connect when installing and sort it out after. Or use an ethernet cable for the initial setup.

It's one of Linuxes best features IMHO, the ability to boot up and run a fully working OS directly off the install disk without the need to install it first.