It can be said for sure that this is currently the simplest way in the world to make DOS recognize a USB flash drive. If there is an even simpler way to make DOS recognize a USB flash drive, tell me! Writing it this way is actually just to attract attention, hehe.
Writing articles is to attract attention. Sorry for wasting your time, hehe.
Making pure DOS recognize a USB flash drive is very simple. The method is as follows:
Requirements----
1. Set the BIOS boot setting to ZIP100 boot, or set it to USB FDD boot. On my computer, the boot order can be set however you like; as long as one of the boot options is ZIP or USB FDD boot, it will work. If there is no such boot option, then I don't know whether it will work.
There are several kinds of ZIP boot, remember to try them all! On my home computer it is set to boot as zip100, or usb fdd, and on my office computer it is set to boot as usb-fdd.
2. A pure DOS system must be installed on the computer's hard disk; an image DOS system is also fine.
3. You need a piece of software called gdisk, a small utility that comes with ghost.
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Method:
0. Before entering DOS, plug in the USB flash drive first.
1. Boot the computer into DOS. At this time the computer can recognize the USB flash drive, and its drive letter is D.
2. To verify whether it really is the USB flash drive, you can run gdisk on the computer.
3. After running it, you will be able to see the USB flash drive. If your computer has one hard disk, then at this time there will be one extra hard disk. You will see 2 hard disks.
4. If your computer has 2 hard disks, then at this time there will be one extra hard disk, and you will see 3 hard disks.
3. The last hard disk to appear is the USB flash drive. Its drive letter is D.
At this point, you can enter the USB flash drive, view your files, and use your files. I used my mobile phone as a USB flash drive and found it unstable.
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Appendix: gdisk syntax:
gdisk 1 displays the status of disk number 1
gdisk 2 /hide /p:3 hides the third partition of disk number 2.
gdisk 2 /-hide /p:3 shows the third partition of disk number 2.
gdisk is actually optional; I only use it to prove that an extra disk really does appear.
What is a bit regrettable is that on my computer, gdisk shows available, which means the USB flash drive is different from a real hard disk. I guess the USB flash drive does not have the kind of MBR a real hard disk has, so that is why it appears this way. If a USB flash drive could also imitate a real hard disk, then I think using a USB flash drive as a boot disk would not be difficult. I wonder what would happen if the USB flash drive were formatted under pure DOS. There is too much data on my USB flash drive, so I can't bear to experiment. If anyone is interested, give it a try; I also want to know the result. I also wonder whether PQ can recognize it after the USB flash drive is formatted under DOS.
In particular, everyone knows the famous software "One-Key Restore", so do you want to know where the backup files created by One-Key Restore are stored?
If you use gdisk (the corresponding software under an XP system is gdisk32), you can open the hidden disk.
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Programming idea:
If I install a DOS system on the computer in advance, then when backing up the system, suppose some partition is drive K, use gdisk to open it, use the ghost command to back up the system, store the backup file on this K drive, and then run gdisk to hide drive K. That way the backup files won't be lost. When the time comes to restore the system, just run gdisk to open drive K; after the restore is completed, hide drive K again. The ghost command can achieve one-key backup and restore.
Using the ghost command, it is very easy to realize the above programming idea.
=========================================
If you think what I said is helpful to you, then reply with a sentence. If it wasn't helpful, then don't reply.
[ Last edited by myzam on 2010-9-2 at 02:37 ]
Writing articles is to attract attention. Sorry for wasting your time, hehe.
Making pure DOS recognize a USB flash drive is very simple. The method is as follows:
Requirements----
1. Set the BIOS boot setting to ZIP100 boot, or set it to USB FDD boot. On my computer, the boot order can be set however you like; as long as one of the boot options is ZIP or USB FDD boot, it will work. If there is no such boot option, then I don't know whether it will work.
There are several kinds of ZIP boot, remember to try them all! On my home computer it is set to boot as zip100, or usb fdd, and on my office computer it is set to boot as usb-fdd.
2. A pure DOS system must be installed on the computer's hard disk; an image DOS system is also fine.
3. You need a piece of software called gdisk, a small utility that comes with ghost.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Method:
0. Before entering DOS, plug in the USB flash drive first.
1. Boot the computer into DOS. At this time the computer can recognize the USB flash drive, and its drive letter is D.
2. To verify whether it really is the USB flash drive, you can run gdisk on the computer.
3. After running it, you will be able to see the USB flash drive. If your computer has one hard disk, then at this time there will be one extra hard disk. You will see 2 hard disks.
4. If your computer has 2 hard disks, then at this time there will be one extra hard disk, and you will see 3 hard disks.
3. The last hard disk to appear is the USB flash drive. Its drive letter is D.
At this point, you can enter the USB flash drive, view your files, and use your files. I used my mobile phone as a USB flash drive and found it unstable.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix: gdisk syntax:
gdisk 1 displays the status of disk number 1
gdisk 2 /hide /p:3 hides the third partition of disk number 2.
gdisk 2 /-hide /p:3 shows the third partition of disk number 2.
gdisk is actually optional; I only use it to prove that an extra disk really does appear.
What is a bit regrettable is that on my computer, gdisk shows available, which means the USB flash drive is different from a real hard disk. I guess the USB flash drive does not have the kind of MBR a real hard disk has, so that is why it appears this way. If a USB flash drive could also imitate a real hard disk, then I think using a USB flash drive as a boot disk would not be difficult. I wonder what would happen if the USB flash drive were formatted under pure DOS. There is too much data on my USB flash drive, so I can't bear to experiment. If anyone is interested, give it a try; I also want to know the result. I also wonder whether PQ can recognize it after the USB flash drive is formatted under DOS.
In particular, everyone knows the famous software "One-Key Restore", so do you want to know where the backup files created by One-Key Restore are stored?
If you use gdisk (the corresponding software under an XP system is gdisk32), you can open the hidden disk.
=============================
Programming idea:
If I install a DOS system on the computer in advance, then when backing up the system, suppose some partition is drive K, use gdisk to open it, use the ghost command to back up the system, store the backup file on this K drive, and then run gdisk to hide drive K. That way the backup files won't be lost. When the time comes to restore the system, just run gdisk to open drive K; after the restore is completed, hide drive K again. The ghost command can achieve one-key backup and restore.
Using the ghost command, it is very easy to realize the above programming idea.
=========================================
If you think what I said is helpful to you, then reply with a sentence. If it wasn't helpful, then don't reply.
[ Last edited by myzam on 2010-9-2 at 02:37 ]