http://bretjohnson.us/forum

Hi all,

Would like a hoary old disk utility which runs under FreeDOS to be able to "see" USB connected drives. But am very unfamiliar with how things work under-the-hood.

Despite reading through the docs, I'm lost. Realize no guarantee the USB drivers here will work, but could anyone give an example of what needs to be done to load things properly to try - maybe a batch file?

Detail:
Following online instructions, used HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool HPUSBFW.EXE pointed to a FreeDOS CD's ODIN directory's files, to make a bootable USB stick. Selected in the BIOS, it boots, and from it the utility runs.

Regarding USB drive access, the FreeDOS website pointed straight here to Bret's website. So, after reading, and still rather blindly, copied USBDRIVE.COM, USBUHCIL.OVL, USBUHCIL.COM, and USBHOSTS.COM onto the stick. But found running USBDRIVE.COM from the command line isn't enough.

Besides those four files, the only system files on the stick seem to be see COMMAND.COM, KERNEL.SYS.

Maybe all that's needed is a batch file of some sort, in an appropriate order? (Again assuming things can work with the system.) Thanks for any suggestions.

-Jim

You're correct, USBDRIVE all by itself is not enough. You need to install USBUHCIL first to initialize the correct UHCI USB host controller, and then USBDRIVE can access the disks attached to that host controller. You may also need to install USBHUB, if the disk you're using isn't attached directly to a host port.

USBHOSTS can help you figure out how many UHCI controllers you actually have (most computers have more than one), and also help you figure out which one your disk is plugged into. USB is, unfortunately, very complicated, so it's almost impossible to provide a generic setup that will work for you -- what you need to do depends on your specific hardware and requirements. It gets even messier if you're using a USB keyboard and/or mouse.

Thanks for the comments.

Guess the default "legacy USB support" enabled BIOS, doesn't necessarily make things easier.

Bret wrote:... USB is, unfortunately, very complicated, so it's almost impossible to provide a generic setup that will work ...

Certainly beginning to understand that. Expect to be doing a lot more reading and testing when time is available.

And after command-line USBUHCIL got "There is no UHCI compatible USB host controller installed", and then USBHOSTS showed two EHCI - suspect that the 2012 B75 Express chipset Intel board may be like the P55 you mention on your front page.

-Jim

PS Your generosity in sharing your USB drivers with the world is very much appreciated.

jy20 wrote:suspect that the 2012 B75 Express chipset Intel board may be like the P55 you mention on your front page

Yep, most modern computers don't have USB 1.x (UHCI or OHCI) controllers any more, at least on the motherboards. If you have spare PCI slots, you can add a USB controller card. If you want to try and use my drivers as they are now, though, you'll need to make sure it's UHCI compatible (chip set will probably be made by Via Technologies -- don't know that anybody ever used Intel chips on an external USB card).

Intriguing what you wrote about the newer mobos being designed with an integral USB 2.0 hub. (More economical?)

Thanks for the suggestions. If I decide to go for it, then guess will initially check if some local shop wants to get rid of any old PCI cards taking up space.

A quick online search first hit generic cards from across the Pacific for <$3 total shipped to US for "NEC", or <$4 for "VIA" chipsets. (Would it be a quality-control gamble that they won't short out themselves or the motherboard…) The ones sold in the US seem also to be split between NEC and VIA chipsets. Few even mention the particulars of the HCI - even in the specs; guess it's not considered a significant selling point. When listed, OHCI appears more often (assume UHCI must be licensed).

jy20 wrote:Intriguing what you wrote about the newer mobos being designed with an integral USB 2.0 hub. (More economical?)

I think so. I can't imagine any other reason to do it. Though the price difference can't be very significant, a few pennies is all it takes to obsolete a technology.

jy20 wrote:A quick online search first hit generic cards from across the Pacific for <$3 total shipped to US for "NEC", or <$4 for "VIA" chipsets. (Would it be a quality-control gamble that they won't short out themselves or the motherboard…)

NEC (and almost everybody else) will be OHCI, VIA will be UHCI. I've never heard of quality control issues with any USB controller cards, though that's certainly a possibility.

jy20 wrote:Few even mention the particulars of the HCI - even in the specs; guess it's not considered a significant selling point.

No, nobody cares much since most OS's will support either. In reality, they are VERY different from each other. UHCI is actually simpler and easier to implement in the hardware, and puts more onus on the software to manage things.

jy20 wrote:When listed, OHCI appears more often (assume UHCI must be licensed).

Yes, I think you must license UHCI from Intel, and I think VIA is the only one who ever did it. I don't think you need to license OHCI at all.