Below is the record of my email correspondence with UNIKA's technical support staff:
(UNIKA
> Dear customer, hello:
>
> We are very sorry, but after company consideration, we are unable to provide you with the relevant source code in that BIOS!
>
> Thank you for your concern and support for UNIKA's series of products.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> UNIKA Technical Support unikarduser@unika.com.cn
> UNIKA Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. · China R&D Center
> Tel: 023-68609467
> Fax: 023-68609772
> ZIP: 400039
> Address: Bldg. B 1-8-5, Yugao Building, Shiqiaopu, Chongqing, China
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Zen"
> To:
> Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 1:27 AM
> Subject: Matters related to USB under DOS
>
(Zen
> > Hello!!!
> > Question: Does the UP4X400N support booting the computer from a USB device?
> > Answer: Yes, the UP4X400N fully supports this technology. Just adjust the BIOS and set First Boot Device to your USB device. Bootable USB devices can be divided into several kinds such as USB-FDD, USB-ZIP, and USB-HDD, and the widely used USB flash drive is defined as a USB-HDD device in Award's latest specification, so you only need to set it to USB-HDD mode when formatting it. In addition, the UP4X400N can also support using USB storage devices directly in DOS mode. Depending on the hard disk partitions, the drive letter of the USB storage device may differ. Generally speaking, the drive letters for USB storage devices are C: (USB boot) and D:.
> >
> > I am Zen, a moderator of the "China DOS Union" (http://dosbbs.2ya.com). I saw some forum users report that after using your company's motherboard, they could set up USB support for direct use under DOS, and I am very interested in this. I hope to get some help from you, or the relevant source code parts in the BIOS. I wonder whether you can help?
> > Many thanks!
(Zen
Looks like we'll have to research and analyze the BIOS ourselves. We regret your company's decision, but we can understand it, and especially, thank you!
What can now be confirmed is that UNIKA's BIOS contains code with full support for using USB under DOS. I have already downloaded the relevant BIOS, and I hope to analyze its program together with interested friends and extract it. Since UNIKA is unwilling to make this technology public, we can only do it ourselves. I hope that through our efforts, we can add this function to all motherboards, so that the development of DOS can play an even greater role!!!!
(UNIKA
> Dear customer, hello:
>
> We are very sorry, but after company consideration, we are unable to provide you with the relevant source code in that BIOS!
>
> Thank you for your concern and support for UNIKA's series of products.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> UNIKA Technical Support unikarduser@unika.com.cn
> UNIKA Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. · China R&D Center
> Tel: 023-68609467
> Fax: 023-68609772
> ZIP: 400039
> Address: Bldg. B 1-8-5, Yugao Building, Shiqiaopu, Chongqing, China
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Zen"
> To:
> Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 1:27 AM
> Subject: Matters related to USB under DOS
>
(Zen
> > Hello!!!
> > Question: Does the UP4X400N support booting the computer from a USB device?
> > Answer: Yes, the UP4X400N fully supports this technology. Just adjust the BIOS and set First Boot Device to your USB device. Bootable USB devices can be divided into several kinds such as USB-FDD, USB-ZIP, and USB-HDD, and the widely used USB flash drive is defined as a USB-HDD device in Award's latest specification, so you only need to set it to USB-HDD mode when formatting it. In addition, the UP4X400N can also support using USB storage devices directly in DOS mode. Depending on the hard disk partitions, the drive letter of the USB storage device may differ. Generally speaking, the drive letters for USB storage devices are C: (USB boot) and D:.
> >
> > I am Zen, a moderator of the "China DOS Union" (http://dosbbs.2ya.com). I saw some forum users report that after using your company's motherboard, they could set up USB support for direct use under DOS, and I am very interested in this. I hope to get some help from you, or the relevant source code parts in the BIOS. I wonder whether you can help?
> > Many thanks!
(Zen
Looks like we'll have to research and analyze the BIOS ourselves. We regret your company's decision, but we can understand it, and especially, thank you!
What can now be confirmed is that UNIKA's BIOS contains code with full support for using USB under DOS. I have already downloaded the relevant BIOS, and I hope to analyze its program together with interested friends and extract it. Since UNIKA is unwilling to make this technology public, we can only do it ourselves. I hope that through our efforts, we can add this function to all motherboards, so that the development of DOS can play an even greater role!!!!
