Starting up the computer may seem simple, you just push the button and it whirs to life. The boot process uses a complex system of checks and programs to operate flawlessly. It runs through the CD drive, USB drives and finally the internal hard drives. When it finds the drive with the operating system on it, the boot program starts it up.

About the Two Types of Boot Drives

There are two types of boot drives. The one that you are probably familiar with is the internal disk drive in your computer. This boot drive will be a section of your hard drive with your computer's operating system installed on it. If your computer runs Windows, it will generally be the drive labeled “C” in your computer. 95% of the time, your computer will boot from here. But what about that last five percent? That is when you will be using an external boot drive.

An external boot drive is any device that is loaded with an operating system. A computer will be able to use that operating system to boot up and run without using the internal drive. They are used by inserting the USB into the computer while it is off. When the computer is turned on the bootloader will find the USB before it finds the internal drive.

They are used to help repair a malfunctioning computer. They are also used to copy important documents off an otherwise not working computer. Some are used to create a very small portable personal computer. Most computer users will need a boot drive at some point in time.

Making  Your Own Boot Drive

Making a boot drive is easy. Many modern systems include a wizard to create a bootable USB drive just for emergencies. Windows users will be able to find everything they need on the Windows website. For example, a Windows 7/8 user can simply download a tool to turn any USB drive that is four gigs or larger in size into a bootable Windows drive.

More adventurous users can pick an operating system that is designed to run on a USB drive. A program like Unetbootin is used to create a bootable USB drive with your choice of operating system. Like the Windows tool, it uses a wizard to easily create a boot drive. This type of boot drive is like having an entire computer in your pocket. You can run programs and create and save files. People who often use many different computers find this kind of drive very boot useful.