>
> "Anna" <myname@myisp.net> wrote in message
> news:%23R3aEde6FHA.476@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
>> (Background: The issue here is using a DOS-based program to recognize a
>> USB external HD for the purposes of partitioning/formatting such drive.
>> This would involve situations where (for one reason or another) a user
>> wants to partition/format a large-capacity, i.e., > 32 GB, USBEHD in
>> FAT32. As we know, a "normal" DOS boot disk will *not* recognize a
>> USBEHD.)
>>
>>> "Edward W. Thompson" <thomeduk1@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
>>> news:Oc57mvO6FHA.1148@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>>>>>> snip>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "Edward W. Thompson" <thomeduk1@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
>>>>>>> news:e1CiPP15FHA.2716@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
>>>>>>>> To use a USB drive with DOS you need to load a USB driver, I use
>>>>>>>> DUSE.
>>>>>>>> It simply is not correct to say you cannot use USB or firewire with
>>>>>>>> DOS,
>>>>>>>> you can provided you load the drivers. The drivers are readily
>>>>>>>> available
>>>>>>>> via 'Google'.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Edward:
>>
>>
>>>> "Anna" <myname@myisp.net> wrote in message
>>>> news:OW1IbgH6FHA.2888@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>>>>>>> Thanks for the information re the DUSE program. I note that in a
>>>>>>> number
>>>>>>> of prior postings you have mentioned that program in this context. I
>>>>>>> had previously requested additional details from you about using
>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>> program but I haven't come across any response.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Would you be good enough to provide details about using that
>>>>>>> program? I
>>>>>>> note the DUSE 4.4 program can be downloaded from the
>>>>>>> http://www.stefan2000.com/darkehorse...S/Drivers/USB/ site.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 1. Is it simply a matter of adding the DUSE.exe (and DUSELDR.COM?)
>>>>>>> file(s) to a DOS boot disk, e.g., a Win9x/Me Startup floppy boot
>>>>>>> disk)
>>>>>>> in order to use the program? Could you provide specific details re
>>>>>>> using
>>>>>>> the program?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 2. Do I understand from what you're indicating that when you boot to
>>>>>>> a
>>>>>>> DOS boot disk containing the DUSE file(s) with a USB external HD
>>>>>>> connected to the system, the USBEHD will be recognized for the
>>>>>>> purposes
>>>>>>> of utilizing the FDISK & FORMAT commands? So that one could
>>>>>>> delete/create
>>>>>>> partitions and format partitions on a USBEHD in this manner?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I (and I'm sure others) look forward to your response.
>>>>>>> Anna
>>
>>
>>>>> "Edward W. Thompson" <thomeduk1@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
>>>>> news:uvUzBRC6FHA.4012@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
>>>>>> I'm sorry I didn't respond to your question, I must have missed it.
>>>>>> On
>>>>>> the site you have mentioned I note the author has done all the 'hard
>>>>>> work'
>>>>>> and compiled bootable disks that incorporate the USB drivers. Just
>>>>>> download
>>>>>> one of his files, run the 'exe' and create a floppy, that should do
>>>>>> the trick. I am sure fdisk and format are included on his disks but I
>>>>>> haven't checked. If the utilities you need aren't on the disk you can
>>>>>> add them yourself of course.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If you want to create your own disk you need to add the 'duse.exe'
>>>>>> file
>>>>>> to the bootable floppy and modify 'config.sys' with the line
>>>>>> 'device=duse.exe' or 'devicehigh=duse.exe'.
>>>>>> When you now boot from the floppy, you will be able to read and write
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> your USB drive.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> As a suggestion go to www.bootdisk.com/usb.htm where you will find
>>>>>> everything you need to build a suitable floppy.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> As others have mentioned and you almost certainly know, format in DOS
>>>>>> will only allow you to format FAT, however once the disk is formatted
>>>>>> converting to NTFS should not be a problem.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hope this helps.
>>>>>
>>
>>
>>>> "Anna" <myname@myisp.net> wrote in message
>>>> news:OW1IbgH6FHA.2888@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>>>>> Edward:
>>>>> Thanks for the additional information re the DUSE program.
>>>>>
>>>>> We usually use a standard DOS boot floppy created as a Win9x/Me
>>>>> Startup
>>>>> floppy disk to boot to DOS to access the FDISK & FORMAT commands when
>>>>> >>> the need arises to partition/format large-capacity HDs FAT32. I
>>>>> assume there's no need to use any other type of DOS boot floppy to use
>>>>> the DUSE program after one modifies that boot floppy disk along the
>>>>> lines you indicated.
>>>>>
>>>>> I added the duse.exe (and duseldr.com) files to a DOS boot floppy disk
>>>>> and modified the config.sys file as you described. With a USBEHD
>>>>> connected to
>>>>> the system, we booted with that floppy. But we could not get to a
>>>>> prompt.
>>>>> The final message at the end of the boot process indicated "DUSE
>>>>> version
>>>>> 4.4 Build 110 Release (General) ..." and then a blinking cursor. No
>>>>> prompt. We tried it with different USBEHDs connected with the same
>>>>> results.
>>>>>
>>>>> If you could shed any light on this initial failure I would appreciate
>>>>> hearing about it.
>>>>> Anna
>>
>>
>> Edward responds...
>>>> It's a little difficult to troubleshoot your problem. I suppose there
>>>> is an outside chance that the DUSE file is corrupt. I assume your
>>>> config.sys file is similar to that shown in example 2 at
>>>> www.bootdisk.com/usb.htm.
>>>>
>>>> Your problem has nothing to do with connected USB devices but with the
>>>> bootable disk. What is strange is if you have a mistake in the
>>>> config.sys
>>>> script it is usually ignored and shows up as a error. In your case the
>>>> boot process hangs which may indicate a corrupt driver file, likely
>>>> the DUSE
>>>> file. You could download a fresh copy of DUSE and retry.
>>>>
>>>> What I would do is to download a bootable 'USB' floppy from
>>>> http://www.stefan2000.com/darkehorse...S/Drivers/USB/ and try that.
>>>> If
>>>> it functions then it will tell you the problem lies with the
>>>> configuration
>>>> on your floppy disk and isn't something more fundamental. You can then
>>>> compare the differences between the disks and identify the differences.
>>>> My
>>>> money is on a 'bad' copy of DUSE.exe
>>>>
>>>> Hope this helps and good luck.
>>
>>
>> "Edward W. Thompson" <thomeduk1@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
>> news:OAtOBma6FHA.2040@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>>> Since posting the above, your problems prompted me to retry my trusted
>>> multiboot floppy (USB/Firewire/CDROM) and much to my chagrin I find I
>>> have identical problems to yourself. Duse 4.4 causes the boot to hang
>>> (no A: prompt). Duse 4.9 loads the USB driver and the EHD is corectly
>>> identified during POST but the drive cannot be seen in fdisk or gdisk
>>> Why this is I really can't begin to speculate. I know the configuration
>>> I have used to function without problems on my three machines, what has
>>> changed to cause this hiccup is presently a mystery.
>>>
>>> I have managed to get to the point where POST indicates the USB driver
>>> is loaded and the EHD identification is shown but no drive letter. The
>>> lack of a driver letter is not surprising as both my EHDs are formated
>>> NTFS. However if I run fdisk or gdisk the EHD is not recognised. I
>>> guess it is back to the drawing board. I have tried all combinations of
>>> Duse and aspi drivers together with the Iomega 'guest' solution but so
>>> far no success.
>>>
>>> If I find a workable solution I will post back.
>>
>>
>> Edward:
>> Thanks for the additional info. I spent the better part of the morning
>> yesterday trying this or that configuration with a DOS boot disk & the
>> DUSE program. All my efforts ended in failure, i.e., I was unable to get
>> the FDISK command to recognize the existence of a USBEHD. Like you, I
>> tried various aspisys files in the configuration, but to no avail. I
>> finally gave up in frustration.
>>
>> I do look forward to any further posts by you re this issue. Since what
>> we are discussing has no further relevance to this specific thread, might
>> I suggest that we use the subject "Using a DOS boot floppy disk to
>> recognize a USB external HD", or some such? I'll be on the lookout for
>> it.
>>
>> Incidentally, you might be interested to know that we're (slowly) moving
>> away from using USBEHDs as we are building more & more machines with SATA
>> capability. The newer motherboards, are, of course, SATA-capable, and
>> many of them are coming equipped with an external SATA port. This yields
>> substantial benefits in that we can now easily connect an external SATA
>> drive to the machine which the system sees as an *internal* drive. Thus,
>> the "external" SATA drive is eminently bootable and of course has
>> substantial speed advantages over a USB/Firewire EHD. Note the SATA drive
>> utilizes the system's PS so that no external PS is necessary. It would
>> seem the best of all possible worlds, no? In those cases where the
>> motherboard has SATA capability but no external SATA port, we've been
>> using a simple, relatively inexpensive I/O device attached to the PCI
>> slot openings on the rear of the computer that contains SATA data/power
>> connectors. Again, no external PS is needed for the SATA drive.
>>
>> We've been encouraging our customers who are contemplating purchasing a
>> new system or upgrading their present system to build a system around a
>> SATA-equipped motherboard, particularly one with four (or more) SATA
>> connectors.
>> Anna


"Edward W. Thompson" <thomeduk1@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:%23mNfDqg6FHA.2176@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> OK Anna I'm pleased to report I can now access my USB EHD from DOS on my
> systems. The key files are 'usbaspi.sys' and 'di1000dd.sys'. The
> 'usbaspi.sys' MUST be the Panasonic version that can be found in the
> Panasonic driver klxrw40an.exe, folder F2H. The driver 'di1000dd.sys' can
> be found in 'mhairu.zip'. You can find both files by 'Googling' but if
> you have a problem let me know and I can email them to you. The entries
> in config.sys should be device=usbaspi.sys /w /v and device=di1000dd.sys.
>
> This works OK for me. The versions of these two files seem to be
> critical. It maybe that other versions of the files, of which there seem
> to be many, will also 'work' but the collective wisdom on the web is the
> versions I have indicated are the 'definitive' versions. On the basis of
> 'don't fix it if it ain't broke' I've only tried the recommended files and
> can confirm they 'work'. Now I'm back to where I thought I was a few days
> ago, that is a working floppy to load usb driver in DOS, I'm now going to
> try to get the DUSE driver working.
>
> Hope this 'solution' will work for you.

Edward:
Seems I'm getting closer but no brass ring just yet...

At the end of the boot process I get a "divide overflow" error and can go no
further.

Here's a snapshot of my floppy:
autoexec.bat
command.com
config.sys
DI1000DD.sys
drvspace.bin
duse.exe
duseldr.com
emm386.exe
fdisk.exe
format.com
himem.sys
Io.sys
mscdex.exe
msdos.sys
usbaspi.sys

Contents of autoexec.bat file:
@echo off
duseldr a:\duse.exe
MSCDEX /D:USBCDROM /S /M:15 /V

Contents of config.sys file:
device=a:\himem.sys
devicehigh=a:\emm386.exe
device=a:\usbaspi.sys
device=a:\DI1000DD.SYS
dos=high,umb

My DI1000DD.sys file totals 16,368 bytes
My usbaspi.sys file totals 39,179 bytes

See anything untoward in the above?
Anna