How to use an USB stick from DOS

This information is relevant for legacy installations only.

• The USB stick needs to be formated in FAT32 legacy format.
  (See below for more information.)
  
  
• In DOS you usually need to insert the USB stick before you
  boot the computer in order for the stick to be recognized.
  
  
• You need a computer that supports USB sticks from DOS.
  Ekstremely old computers may not support this.
  
  
• On older computers you may also need to activate an
  option in BIOS before you can use an USB stick.
  These options varies from computer to computer.
  
  
• For very old computers without suffisient BIOS support
  you can try installing DOS drivers (se below).
  

FAT32 legacy format

Microsoft have for unknown reasons changed the results of the
FAT32 formatting functions in Windows 10 and newer versions.

This means that e.g. USB sticks formatted on newer versions of
Windows may no longer work on older legacy DOS systems

So instead of using the built in formatting functions in Windows it
is recommended to use a free 3dparty program to format to
FAT32 for use on legacy systems.

Download the newest version of the free program 'RUFUS' and
use the option 'Not bootable' to format to legacy FAT32.

This takes one click only and you do not need external datafiles.

RUFUS is also available for MAC users. If you MAC has
USB C ports only, you will need an adapter for USB A to C.

Check if you have the right kind of USB stick

Plug the USB stick into a Windows computer, then right-click the
icon for the USB stick found in 'My Computer', and select
'Properties' and see what it says after 'File system'.

It should say either 'FAT' or 'FAT32'. If it says anything else you
need to format the stick with a FAT-format.

To format the stick right-click the icon for the USB stick again, then
select 'FORMAT'. When you format a USB stick all information
on it is deleted so make sure you have backup if you would need
that information later.

If formatting in Windows leaves you with an USB stick that is not
recoqnized on a DOS legacy system try formating as legacy FAT32
instead, as explained above.

Test if a USB stick works from DOS

Insert the USB stick BEFORE you start the computer. Watch the
screen for a message about a USB stick being recognized.

In DOS you access a USB stick by its drive letter and if you are
lucky the drive letter for the USB stick is displayed on the screen
when the computer boot up.

If not you have to try to find the drive letter of the USB stick
by trial and error:

Searching for a USB stick in DOS

The drive letter for the hard disk is always C in DOS.

At the DOS prompt (the C:/>), type in ...

DIR C:  [Enter]

This will give you a list of all the files in the root directory
on the hard disk.

Now the trick is to try all the other letters from A to Z
and see if the USB stick happens to respond to one of
the letters.

In DOS the hard disk is always drive C so you can skip
that letter.

A floppy drive will usually be drive A: and drive B:
(it can be both at the same time) but a USB stick
can also use A or B.

If you have a CD-rom it is usually drive D: or E: but a
USB stick can also use these letters.

Usually the USB stick will be the first letter after the
hard disk or the CD-rom.

Computers without BIOS support for USB sticks

You can download drivers for USB support here

Check the readme.txt file inside the zip archive
for instructions.

For further information refer to www.bailine.com/faq