MS-DOS Bootable Flash Drive - Create

How to Make a MS-DOS Bootable Flash Drive​

   Information

This will show you how to create a flash drive that is able to boot your computer into a MS-DOS environment. This will be accomplished by using the HP Flash Utility and the Windows 98 MS-DOS System Files

   Warning

The flash drive being used in this process will be formatted. Please backup all of your data on the drive beforehand!

   Tip

List of MS-DOS commands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here's How:
1. Download the HP Flash Utility View attachment hpflash1.zip and also download the Windows 98 MS-DOS System Files View attachment win98boot.zip. Extract hpflash1 to a location readily accessible


2. Run the installer and follow the simple on-screen instructions

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3. Extract the contents of "win98boot" to a location readily accessible

4. Run the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool that was just installed. Choose your flash drive from the drop down list at the top. Also make sure that the file system is set to FAT32.

5. Under Format Options tick the "Create a DOS startup disk" option. Click the "..." button near the empty text box to browse to the location of where you extracted the Windows 98 MS-DOS System Files (see step 3).

   Tip

Tick "Quick Format" under Format Options to speed the process up (if you don't want a comprehensive format). You may also want to give the drive a label by typing one in the Volume Label text field

6. Click the "Start" button.

   Warning

After you click the "Start" button , you will be given one final prompt that warns you that the flash drive selected will be formatted. This is your last chance to backup data on the drive; after you click yes it will be too late

   Tip

You may remove the files extracted from the archive "win98boot", they are not needed anymore

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why would a MS-DOS USB Drive be useful today? Wasn't that included in older Operating Systems?
A: MS-DOS was the underlying layer of the Windows 9x series of Operating Systems (Windows 1-ME) that was the "functionality" of the system. A MS-DOS bootable disc can be used to run many recovery tools (still used today) and also update the BIOS of the computer. If you are running an x64 system with no floppy drive and a manufactuer who only provides a 16-bit BIOS updater, this method is the only way to update your BIOS.

Q: I checked my flash drive after applying the steps above and it is empty? What gives?!
A: Unless the option to show protected operating system files is checked in folder options, Windows will hide these files due to their attributes matching that of system files. Don't worry, the relevant files are still there

Q: Alright I successfully completed the steps above, now what do I do?
A: Now you can download the tool you wanted to run (such as CHKDSK) or your BIOS update application (from the manufactuer) and place the files on to the root of the flash drive. You can find most tools by doing a simple google search

   Tip

The Windows 98 MS-DOS System Files archive (win98boot) above has some system tools already included (ex. FORMAT, FDISK, SYS). Just drag and drop these files onto your flash drive

Q: My flash drive has been converted to the MS-DOS System Disc and I have some tools/BIOS revisions on the drive as well, how do I boot up MS-DOS?
A: This will largely depend on your model of computer but you will need to restart you computer with the flash drive plugged in and boot to the drive by means of a boot menu or by modifying your BIOS to boot to the flash drive first. Consult the manual of your computer or the respective manufactuer's website for further details.

Q: I have no further need for the MS-DOS System Disc, how can I remove it from my flash drive?
A: You may format the flash drive with the built in Windows format utility or you may format it by using the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool that was used above.

Hope it helps,
Chris

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Open a Command Prompt at Boot in Windows 7
• How to Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disc
• How to Create a Windows 7 Installation USB Key
• How to Install Windows 7 from USB Pen Drive Using Grub4Dos
• How to Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive for UEFI in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Get and Use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool

 

[antiplank]

Thanks for the quick reply Brink! I think maybe I wasn't being clear. When I load up fdisk and try to change the current fixed disk drive it only shows the thumb drive. I've tried to cd to everything from a: to z: from the prompt to no avail.

 

[Brink]

What were you wanting to do?

You might see if you may be able to boot to a normal command prompt at boot instead to see if you may be able to do it in this command prompt instead.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/682-command-prompt-startup.html

 

[johnnycrash]

No drives other than the USB stick on A:

I have the same problem where the only drive that shows up is the A drive which is my USB stick. No other drive letters exist. I have 3 drives in addition to the USB stick. 1 is a 597MB USB external drive. One is a SATA RAID with 2 SSD drives. One is single SATA drive. None of these drives show up although the BIOS recognizes them.

Sager 9260 which is a Clevo D900C motherboard. 6GB ram.

 

[cytherian]

Hey Shawn, I'm interested in making a bare bones bootable USB DOS prompt tool for basic repairs and tests. However, if my memory serves me correctly Win98 does not support NTFS. So, if you have any NTFS partitions (as most of us do), they won't be viewable/accessible from a Win98 DOS prompt. Isn't that right? If so, is there some means of allowing access to NTFS partitions?

Ultimately if it's not feasible or would require too much tweaking, I guess I could always boot into command mode from a Windows 7 installation disk to get access. But the convenience of a durable USB drive is more appealing than a fragile CD/DVD.

Seems that by default Win98 does not support NTFS, but there's a program called "NTFS reader" that enables you to access and manipulate files. But it uses a separate program executed from the command line, so you can't use other DOS commands through it.

 

[HappySeven]

Doesn't Work

I put my USB stick in the USB port, and HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool reads "SanDisk Cruzer Pattern 7.01 (476939 MB) (C:\D:\)

I click FAT and quick format, then try to format and it says the specified device is currently used by other applications please close them before formatting the device.

so I try another stick, it calls it PNY (476939 MB) (C:\D:\) and says the same error.

this stuff is annoying dude, why isn't there a method that just works out there? I tried Rufus but Rufus even doesn't work.

 

[bobbyrae]

Tutorioal on Bootable Flash drive for Win7 not working

I downloaded the files and installed the HP USB storage tool on my SSD drive. Then I inserted a SanDisk Cruzer and tried to format it.

The first thing was the Windows-based HPUSBFW utility simply would not run. It kept saying that I needed administrator rights, but I AM an administrator! :shock: I am the only user on the system and it clearly has me categorized as an admin.

So then I tried using the command line tool to do the same thing with more typing. But I get...

***ERROR*** \\.\PhysicalDrive1: Access is denied.


BUT, if I use the built-in format command (from Win7) right there in the same command window below this error, it will do it. Trouble is, that thing won't install DOS.


So what is going on here? Is this utility just too old? My guess is that it doesn't understand current Win7 security.

 

[essenbe]

Tutorial on Bootable Flash drive for Win7 not working

Right click it and select 'run as administrator' it should work if you give admin permission. If that does not work try right clicking it, select properties and 'unblock' at the bottom, then run as administrator.

 

[Brink]

Hello Bobby, and welcome to Seven Forums.

See if right clicking on the HPUSBFW utility and clicking on Run as administrator may allow it to run.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[bobbyrae]

tutorial too old?

Thanks you guys for the responses, but it did something strange after running as admin. I can't remember exactly now, but it messed up the flash drive and I had to start all over. I found that the Rufus utility was MUCH better.

I think maybe the real point I wanted to make is that this tutorial is quite old and presenting problems for many people and so should either be updated or marked as questionable. Otherwise people have to waste time finding out that it doesn't work for them and then go through all the responses to figure out what does.

While I really did benefit from coming here, there was a lot of avoidable frustration, too.

 

[Arjuna]

Does anyone know why this Drivekey app installer "hpflash1.exe" would access my other than boot or install drive when installing? Seems suspicious to me.

 

[pvanbavel]

usb key locks up on windows98 screen

followed directions on this thread to build a simple dos prompt tool on a usb stick for upgrading BIOS.

using a Lenovo Z575 laptop with AMD A4 processor. comes up on the windows98 splash screen and freezes there.

usb stick works fine on my HP desktop with I5 Intel cpu. what is wrong?

 

[NeitanDoreiku]

I followed these steps to a tee on two flash drives. It corrupted both flash drives. I am a technician in need of updating the BIOS on my server rack, and now my only two flash drives are dead. What gives? Is this unsafe for Windows 10?