Steps to make your fancy, schmancy DOS booting USB drive

1.Download and install the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool and WinImage

2.Make a directory on your desktop called “DOSBootDisk”

3.Start WinImage and open the fdbasecd.iso file, you will see a directory structure
a.Select Image > Extract and browse to your DOSBootDisk directory
b.Check the “Extract all files into the same folder” and click “OK”
c.When it prompts you if you want to overwrite duplicates, say Yes
d.You can now exit WinImage, you won't need it again

4.Connect your USB flash drive to your machine and backup any files you want to keep (as it will be completely erased in this process)

5.Start the HP Flash Format utility
a.In the first dropdown box, select your flash drive (mine displays as a Corsair 2GB flash drive). Be careful that you have the correct drive as this process will erase your device.
b.Set the File System to FAT
c.If you want, give your system a volume label, for example “BOOTDISK”
d.Check the “Create a DOS startup disk” box
e.Select “Using DOS system files located at:” and browse to your desktop and select your DOSBootDisk you created in step 2.
f.Click Start and say Yes when it warns you about formatting your device
g.Watch the pretty status bar progress
h.Click “Close” when it is done

6.Now open your formatted USB key in Windows Explorer and copy your BIOS flash utility and your BIOS image to your key so they are available once you reboot. Feel free to throw in any other DOS utilities you want... I can't think of any but since you're here you obviously know something about DOS...

7.Shut down Windows XP, reboot your machine, ensure your BIOS is set to support booting from a USB device (this varies by BIOS, ensure both the option is enabled and your USB device is in your boot order about your hard drive and optical drive). Save your changes and exit.

8.You should see your machine boot FreeDOS 1.0 from your USB key.

9.Run the BIOS upgrade utilities you copied to the disk earlier.

for those stubborn bios' that dont like himem.sys

first get yourself a usb stick. they are so cheap now imo everyone should have at least one of them instead of a floppy drive.

you will need to download 2 pieces of software in order to do this.

the first is a small utility from hp to make a usb stick bootable:
http://rapidshare.com/files/112382685/SP27608.zip

the second is the actual bootable files you need to add to the usb stick:
http://rapidshare.com/files/112382778/bootme.zip

this can also be done with any burning program that can burn a bootable cd/dvd disc. once you select make the disc bootable you will need to add the bootme files to that disc.

Making a bootable DOS USB Key:

first: Extract and nstall the HP USB Drive program.

second: Extract the DOS boot files somewhere just remember where you extracted them. Let's for now say we extracted them to C:\bootme\ (if you do not have this directory it will prompt if it should make it answer yes or extract them someplace you know where they will be. remember we will need to find these in a minute)

third: Now run the hp utility. VISTA: You need to start the HP Drive Key Program as an administrator by RIGHT CLICKING the icon and selecting "Run as Administrator".

fourth: Insert a USB stick and it should install the drivers automatically if this is the first time using it, if not they should already be installed now.

fifth: in the hp "drive key" program Choose FAT32 as the filesystem. call the volume whatever you want i call mine dosboot, but it doesn't matter. Under "Format Options" check the box next to "Quick Format" and "Create a DOS startup disk" . Choose the button next to "Using DOS system files located at:" and click the little browse button "..." next to the blank and navigate to C:\bootme (or wherever you extracted the DOS boot files earlier). Click OK.

Now click "Start" and the HP Drive Key utility will turn your USB device into a bootable DOS disk! It will popup a window asking you to confirm! answer ok and it will continue.

now if you check the usb stick there should be 3 files installed on it. command.com, io.sys and msdos.sys. if you do not see them you may have to unhide them if they are "hidden" files. or just simply dont worry about it they are there now so no big deal.

personally i like to make a folder on the stick for my new files. but this does require changing to that directory once at the c: prompt. so for this example lets make a folder on the stick called "clevo". now copy the files for flashing to the stick in this folder you just made.

now you are ready to flash.

reboot your system and it should recognize the usb stick. it if bypasses it and goes right to windows you will need to reboot and enter the bios. for this example the sager uses the f2 key for this. so reboot and hit f2 when prompted.

once in the bios move over to the boot tab. here you will be able to move up or down the order of you boot devices. make sure the "usb stick" is before any of your hdd's or cd/dvd drives. for now lets make it first on the list. now tab to the exit tab (i believe thats what it is in the bios.. its the last one) move down to save and exit and hit enter.

this time it will reboot to the usb stick and you are now at a c: prompt. for our example we will need to move to the directory where we put or bios files to flash with which was "clevo". to do this we type cd\ clevo and then hit enter. now you will be at a prompt the says c:\clevo>

this is where our files are we need.

now you will type at the c:\clevo> prompt "refresh" without the quotes and hit enter. this will automaticaly start your flash. sit back and wait and enjoy the annoying beeps and when it finishes hit any key to reboot. if for some reason it does not reboot when prompted to hit any key simply turn off the system and turn it back on.

if for some reason the refresh command does not start your flash you will need to use the phlash16 command.

to do this again we will need to be at the c:\clevo> prompt and now simply type "phlash16" again without the quotes and hit enter. this method is used usually only if the version you are flashing is newer than what is on the system. but normally the refresh command works either way.

Once again when prompted to hit any key pick one to hit and it will reboot. now you NEED TO REMOVE THE USB STICK FOR IT TO BOOT TO WINDOWS!!! or it will boot back to the c: prompt once again.