Nope, I'm not crazy.  This can be done and it works quite well.

Have you used the Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) before?  If you haven't, you really are missing out.  The UBCD is a suite of top notch freeware tools that help you solve and recover from an abundance of bad scenarios.  I've been using UBCD for years.  Typically, one would put the UBCD into the computer that needs some fixin and restart it.  The BIOS would then detect the disk and boot from the CD ROM.  Rather than loading your traditional operating system (Windows), the UBCD loads it's own small OS and offers the user a menu to select tools from.  The tools incorporated into the UBCD include:

• CPU Tests
• Memory Tests
• Peripherals Tools
• CPU Information
• System Information
• Benchmark Tools
• BIOS Tools
• Hard Disk Installation Tools
• Hard Disk Diagnostic Tools
• Hard Disk Wiping Tools
• Hard Disk Cloning Tools
• Hard Disk Low Level Editing Tools
• Partition Tools
• Boot Managers
• File Tools
• Anti-Virus/MalWare Tools
• Network Tools
• DOS Boot Disks
• Linux Boot Disks

As you can see, there isn't much it can't do and the best part is that it is all FREE.  You can download it right from their site.  The most recent versions include scripts to prepare your USB drive so that it can be used on newer machines that support booting from USB devices.  Anyone who has every tried to fix a broken PC when their administrator tools CD was scratched will know why this is a good idea.  Plus, it's easy to store today's small and compact USB thumb drives.  If you have any trouble getting it going, this post explains a different process for creating your USB key UBCD.  This tool suite is a must for everyone from the system administrator to the DIY computer repairer.