<s>
F6	B-Application
disk	I-Application
is	O
a	O
colloquial	O
name	O
for	O
a	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
containing	O
a	O
device	B-Application
driver	I-Application
that	O
enables	O
Windows	B-Application
Setup	I-Application
to	O
install	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
on	O
storage	O
devices	O
based	O
on	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
,	O
SATA	O
,	O
or	O
RAID	B-Architecture
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
family	I-Device
prior	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
required	O
F6	B-Application
disks	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Setup	I-Application
supports	O
loading	O
third-party	O
drivers	O
from	O
USB	O
drives	O
and	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
F6	B-Application
disk	I-Application
is	O
named	O
after	O
the	O
manner	O
in	O
which	O
it	O
is	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
installation	O
process	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Setup	I-Application
must	O
load	O
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
for	O
the	O
storage	O
system	O
on	O
which	O
Windows	O
will	O
be	O
installed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
ships	O
Windows	O
with	O
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
that	O
support	O
popular	O
storage	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
use	O
these	O
drivers	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Setup	I-Application
prompts	O
its	O
user	O
to	O
press	O
the	O
F6	B-Application
key	I-Application
shortly	O
after	O
the	O
setup	O
process	O
starts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hardware	O
manufacturers	O
often	O
provided	O
their	O
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
on	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
however	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Setup	I-Application
only	O
supported	O
reading	O
storage	O
drivers	O
from	O
the	O
root	B-Application
directory	I-Application
of	O
a	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
users	O
must	O
have	O
copied	O
said	O
drivers	O
from	O
their	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
an	O
F6	B-Application
disk	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Setup	I-Application
runs	O
on	O
a	O
copy	O
of	O
Windows	O
Preinstallation	O
Environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
read	O
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
from	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
and	O
USB	O
flash	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
doing	O
so	O
required	O
third-party	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
nLite	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
DISM	O
utility	O
supports	O
customizing	O
a	O
Windows	O
installation	O
source	O
.	O
</s>
