Embedded OS

allencga

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New to the forum and new to computer building in general. Is it currently possible to build a desktop or tower PC in which the OS is embedded and boots from ROM instead of booting from a mechanical drive? I want to use Windows 7 in 64 bit or MAC OS X in a dedicated purpose computer that will run only one program. The goal here is to decrease boot time and increase reliability for use by those who are not necessarily computer literate(musicians). Is there a version of Windows 7 in 64 bit available that could be built into the PC that would also allow "turning off" of some of the "bloatware" and unnecessary features that come with normal versions of Windows?
 
the rom is tiny, (and readonly).

if you could write your own embedded os, it's be incredibly small. (think text only with very limitted command set). you'd have to write your own drivers for the hardware too...

definitely not windows 7. (or any version of windows, perhaps windows 3.1 if you were really lucky, and really skilled to get it on there!)

if you don't want a mechanical hard drive. then look at booting a full OS from USB, or solid state disks
 
Well, you certainly wouldn't be able to incorporate an OS in the BIOS ROM of your computer, however, as root suggests, you could make a bootable USB drive and use that as the core OS.

I would think Windows would be kind of overkill, but I understand that if your program is designed for WIn only, then that's what you would have to use.

This isn't a 'from scratch' design, I take it, rather something more along the lines of "I don't want my users to screw things up and/or deviate from the core program" such as a handful of computers for the music department at the local high school.

At any rate, you can design a boot disc with many of the unnecessary features turned off from the get-go, but it will require a little programming savvy and a bit of research to accomplish.
 
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