Bluetooth in 'DOS'

BearPup · 05 Feb 2015

Hello All,
I have a Bluetooth mouse connected to my netbook, and all works fine. However, the backup / cloning software I use operates outside of Windows. In fact Keriver 1-click Restore operates right after the initial boot-up sequences finishes. The problem is that my Bluetooth mouse doesn't function in this 'in-between state' between DOS and Windows.

My question: is there a way, possibly through a TSR, that would load the Bluetooth drivers before the Keriver software starts. Would a driver or TSR in the folder Keriver reads from to list the various restore images available do the trick? Is there a program that can 'force' the Bluetooth driver to load 'early'?

Any help greatly appreciated.
Regards,
BearPup

TVeblen · 08 Feb 2015

No, I doubt it.

This is more of a problem with programming. Anything you could do on the hardware side would need to be recognized by the Keriver software, and there is no guarantee of that.

The software is expecting and looking for a standard keyboard and mouse (and a touchpad doubles for a standard mouse) so that's what you've got to provide.
Get yourself a cheap wired mouse to use during backups. It will also come in handy during repairs and diagnostics if you would ever need to do any of that.

BearPup · 08 Feb 2015

Thanks for replying. I guess I'm stuck in the Windows 3.1 era where one could load a TSR and run pre-Windows software, like Norton Utilities. I have a wireless mouse which I'll just have to keep at the ready when I do my weekly backup. Such is progress!

strollin · 08 Feb 2015

I'd find a different backup program. There shouldn't be any reason to enter any type of DOS mode during backup operations. It is necessary to do that for restoring system files but not for backup.

In case anyone reading this thread isn't familiar with the term, TSR stands for Terminate and Stay Resident. It was a precursor to multitasking for DOS which allowed a program to be loaded in memory but then exit back to the DOS prompt. Generally, a certain key combo would cause the TSR to popup over any program you were currently running. Probably the best known TSR was Borland's Sidekick which popped up by pressing Ctrl-Alt and provided notepad, calculator, calendar and phone dialer.

With Windows multitasking capability there's no reason for TSRs today which is why they're no longer used.

The main problem with trying to load a Bluetooth driver in this DOS mode would be finding a DOS Bluetooth driver. I doubt any company provides a BT driver that supports DOS.

BearPup · 08 Feb 2015

Hadn't really thought of it as needing a DOS Bluetooth driver, but you're right about needing that, which pretty much wipes out that approach. So I either backup from within Windows, or look for a new backup program that can load a Bluetooth driver. Thanks for responding.

Regards,
BearPup

strollin · 08 Feb 2015

Another option would be to learn to use the keyboard when the backup program is running and not rely on the mouse.

BearPup · 08 Feb 2015

Hadn't even thought about using the keyboard - Duh! Talk about not being 'connected'! Again, thanks for your responses.

Regards,
BearPup