FreeDOS and USB Flash Drives

[bdmchl]

Using FreeDOS 1.1, I'd like to be able to copy my word processing files to a USB Flash drive using one of two USB ports on my laptop.

I've read USBINTRO.DOC and have tried various combinations of USBUHCI and USBDRIVE without any luck.

Has anybody had any success using FreeDOS with USB Flash drives?

-- Michael

[Bret]

I don't normally use FreeDOS myself, but have tested the drivers with FreeDOS and they do work. Just so you know, these drivers are pretty slow compared to some of the others, so you may like the other ones better. But, these drivers are the only ones that support "plug-and-play" and other "advanced" features, so if you're not as much concerned about speed as the other stuff, you'll probably like these better.

There could be any number of reasons why you're having problems. The first thing to do is to make sure that you actually have a UHCI controller and, if you have more than one, that the correct one is enabled for the port you are plugging your flash drive into. Have you verified that is the case?

[bdmchl]

Yes, I've run USBDRIVE /s to verify that my laptop has UHCI.
After reading USBINTRO.DOC, it's just not clear to me how to map one of my laptop's two USB ports to a drive letter in order to access a flash drive.

[Bret]

If USBUHCI (or USBUHCIL) and USBDRIVE are installed, each compatible flash drive you have should get assigned a drive letter. You might need to use the /T:Y option with USBDRIVE if it's formatted with FAT32 (you theoretically shouldn't need to do that if you're using FreeDOS, but it's probably worth a try). Note that it's not a specific USB slot that gets assigned a drive letter -- they are assigned based on which flash drive gets plugged in first and how many partitions each drive has.

If it still doesn't work wiht the /T:Y option, send the output of the /S, /D, /I, /C, /V, and /F options of USBDRIVE and we'll do some more advanced troubleshooting.

[bdmchl]

Got it working.

After re-reading your original reply ("the correct one is enabled for the port you are plugging your flash drive into"), I tried the other USB port. Also, I plugged the Flash drive in *after* running USBDRIVE and obtaining the drive letter. It does take a few moments, but your built-in message says as much.

Thank you very much for your help.

[Doyle33]

I’ll tell you right up front: The FreeDOS method I have is not perfect. It appears to work better for smaller drives (e.g. 256MB). For larger drives, I know of an alternate solution that unfortunately requires a licensed version of Windows 95, 98, or ME.


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[Bret]

A little more detail, please. What is your "imperfect" method for FreeDOS? Why does it only work up to 256 MB?

Requiring a licensed version of anything, particularly Windows, doesn't seem like a very viable FreeDOS solution to me.

[bdmchl]

FWIW: FreeDOS and USBDRIVE is working just fine with my 4GB Verbatim flash drive.

[kevin11]

My photo stick and FreeDOS is working fine .