How to create USB floppy drive that works!

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Hi all,

My updated mobo is a very new Asus H87-Pro. It has no provision for a floppy drive. I’m left with the choice of purchasing an outboard USB floppy drive (without knowing if it will work or not), or building a USB floppy.

All my attempts at building a USB floppy have failed. So far I’ve used the following utilities:

– BootDisk2BootStick
– Novicorp WinToFlash
– Bootable USB Drive Creator
– Rufus
– HP USB BOOT TOOL

The H87-Pro has a new kind of BIOS called UEFI in which you can manually shuffle the device boot order, such as bringing the USB boot device to the head of the boot que. I’ve been through the rest of the BIOS over and over but I’ve not yet seen a positive result from the USB floppies I’ve spawned. My system always boots straight to Windows XP/SP3.

Can anyone throw any light on what I’m missing?

Thanks!

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My updated mobo is a very new Asus H87-Pro. It has no provision for a floppy drive. I’m left with the choice of purchasing an outboard USB floppy drive (without knowing if it will work or not), or building a USB floppy.

My system always boots straight to Windows XP/SP3.

Can anyone throw any light on what I’m missing?

nzo,
Hello…. I have a “coupla” thoughts…

1. How are you powering the floppy.. external ,or through the USB port …Ports can generally only supply about 500ma of power.

2. If the power from the USB is not an issue…might be not being “Powered up ” in time to be seen.:cheers: Just a thought …Regards Fred

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Hi Fred,
I have a spare PC with a working floppy drive and have been attempting to create a working USB (floppy) stick in various ways, using the USB floppy utilities I listed above.

I then bring the USB “Floppy” over to a USB port on the PC with the new mobo and attempt to have it boot to DOS Win98/ME which I’ve installed on the USB Floppy.

There is no other floppy drive than on the spare PC above.

When I boot the new mobo, the boot process bypasses the USB Floppy even though I’ve set up the BIOS to go to it.

That’s about where my DOS know-how ceases.

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When I boot the new mobo, the boot process bypasses the USB Floppy even though I’ve set up the BIOS to go to it.

That’s about where my DOS know-how ceases.

nzo,
Hello…. While were working on this …i think i have a possible “Work Around”

1. Partition your XP disk , as a Primary Partition… and use the “Floppy” to place the OS of choice on it

2. Use this Free Program to manage the new OS EasyBCD [/url] see screenshot …make sure that you click “Save or Add Entry” after settings…give it a shot ..i quad boot with XP in the mix also:cheers: Regards Fred

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Hi Fred,
I had already created a primary partition on the SATA drive. As an aside, to successfully do so I had to slipstream XP SP1, 2 and 3 together on a CD. Only SP2 or 3 have the necessary drivers/files to be able to install XP under the new motherboard. On its own XP SP1 consistently hangs during the install.

So my XP SP3 is installed and working. I don’t necessarily want to install another, or an alternative OS on that system. Rather I want to be able to use a number of handy DOS utilites to access or repair the system when I need to. Hence the need for the USB Boot Floppy.

I’ve now installed EasyBCD and it’s asking me for the Windows Vista/7 bootloader which I do not have. Neither do I have either of these as OS install CDs. EasyBCD won’t work in XP-only environments. I looked but could find no downloadable bootloaders on the net.

Thanks mate.

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…I then bring the USB “Floppy” over to a USB port on the PC with the new mobo and attempt to have it boot to DOS Win98/ME which I’ve installed on the USB Floppy…

By “USB Floppy” do you mean a USB “Thumbdrive” (AKA “Flash” drive)?

If so you should only need to copy all files from a Win98/ME boot floppy to the USB thumbdrive (but you might need to temporarily set Windows to “show all files” [see “Folder Options”] before you do so).

Note that the UEFI “BIOS” might not allow you to boot from USB sticks or CD/DVD drives until you turn off “secure boot” in the UEFI settings.

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Hi Fred,
I had already created a primary partition on the SATA drive. As an aside, to successfully do so I had to slipstream XP SP1, 2 and 3 together on a CD. Only SP2 or 3 have the necessary drivers/files to be able to install XP under the new motherboard. On its own XP SP1 consistently hangs during the install.

So my XP SP3 is installed and working. I don’t necessarily want to install another, or an alternative OS on that system. Rather I want to be able to use a number of handy DOS utilites to access or repair the system when I need to. Hence the need for the USB Boot Floppy.

I’ve now installed EasyBCD and it’s asking me for the Windows Vista/7 bootloader which I do not have. Neither do I have either of these as OS install CDs. EasyBCD won’t work in XP-only environments. I looked but could find no downloadable bootloaders on the net.

nzo,

Hello….
1. As far as the “SP-1 hangs ” install on SATA could be that there are no XP-SP-1 SATA drivers present.

2.I don’t understand ( forgive me I’m as dense as a locust post) why you would need a “Boot Floppy” just to copy Files folders utilities off it ?

3. The EasyBCD reference was to allow you to dual boot … with Win98ME.. Never tried it without Vista and or “7” :cheers: Regards Fred

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I’m sorry Fred – i think we may have reached a point where we both don’t understand each other’s questions I do appreciate your effort to help. Thank you.

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One can replace the XP bootloader with the Vista bootloader and then EasyBCD works, but, I’m not understanding exactly what you’re trying to do either. If its to get Win98/ME running on a very modern system, that’s what virtual machine software is for (VirtualBox and VMWare Player).

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No, not trying to install Win98/ME! I was recently (with the new mobo) in the uncomfortable position of being able to do zilch to get my system ready to accept an OS. No matter what I tried I couldn’t ‘get in’. On previous systems I was able to mount a floppy and dig around until I found a way.

I also wanted to learn how to access my system using a USB drive to boot it. As I said above, I’ve tried many ways to do that and failed. Obviously I missed the secret jellybean.

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No, not trying to install Win98/ME! I was recently (with the new mobo) in the uncomfortable position of being able to do zilch to get my system ready to accept an OS. No matter what I tried I couldn’t ‘get in’. On previous systems I was able to mount a floppy and dig around until I found a way.

I also wanted to learn how to access my system using a USB drive to boot it. As I said above, I’ve tried many ways to do that and failed. Obviously I missed the secret jellybean.

NZO,

If this is your desired end result you can take a couple of avenues to a bootable USB Key.

[*]Let Windows create a repair disk on USB.
[*]Use a program like Macrium Reflect Free or Pro which will create a bootable USB key that provides an icon to get to the command prompt when booted.
[*]

With either of these you can get to the command prompt and FDisk/Format/Dir/etc. your way around your drives. HTH :cheers:

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Ahh, I don’t have much experience there, I only made one USB boot drive for EaseUS ToDo Backup Workstation and all I did was tell the sofware where to put the files and it did ALL the rest. Works really well too, most of the time I don’t even have to hit whatever key a system requires to bring up the boot device list; it just starts booting automatically!

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NZO,

Here’s pictures (I had to take these with a camera so sorry for the poor resolution, etc.) of how my USB Key boots up on my new Dell 8700 with UEFI & Secure Boot using GPT disks.
On boot press F12 to get boot screen:
34490-DellUEFIBootScreen
Select – UEFI: OTi Flash Disk 2.00
34491-Win8RecoveryDiskScreen1
Select – Troubleshoot
34492-Win8RecoveryDiskScreen2
Select – Advanced Options
34493-Win8RecoveryDiskScreen3
Select – Command Prompt
Now you’re ready to slice and dice! HTH :cheers:

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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I think you’ld be better off simply purchasing an external USB floppy drive. They cost less than $20.

It would probably work right out of the box.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Right, mrj!
Both the price and “working out of the box”.
Been using one on both XP and WIN7 with no issues.

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Unlike OSX, no (modern) version of Windows will boot from an external device, whether a USB or eSATA hard drive or USB stick.

Also, as an aside, the vast majority of USB3 ports are currently not natively supported in the motherboard BIOS, and so the port is not active at all until the OS loads its drivers.

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not all ports on every new MoBo are USB3…methinks ‘thou would be aware enuf to be cognizant of that least thou would play in that playground’.

I didn’t say they were. Read more carefully.

the initial issue is to make a bootable USB stick. that issue is resolved.

That’s relatively easy to do. Getting it to boot windows, not so much. Not windows setup, but a full running version of windows.

Micro$oft does indeed have a bootable USB version of both 7 and 8 available…just not up front or easy to get…

Sure they do. Perhaps you’d care to post a link to where mere mortals can have a look at it. Again, not a bootable windows setup on a stick, but a fully running version of windows 7 or 8 on a USB stick.

Maybe you’d care to start by explaining how a generic bootable win7 on a USB stick would have the faintest idea of what hardware it was going to see when it loads, so the appropriate versions of the scores of necessary drivers are loaded.

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Perhaps you’d care to post a link to where mere mortals can have a look at it.

I suggest that the corresponding link may violate Microsoft licensing terms as it’s likely to be available only to Enterprise users, also a rule or two here at the Lounge could be infringed.

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Unlike OSX, no (modern) version of Windows will boot from an external device, whether a USB or eSATA hard drive or USB stick.

Also, as an aside, the vast majority of USB3 ports are currently not natively supported in the motherboard BIOS, and so the port is not active at all until the OS loads its drivers.

Maybe I’m confused here, but I KNOW I’ve seen in the BIOS of all modern computers I’ve worked on the option for booting from an external USB floppy drive.

Of course, it’s been many years since I’ve done desktop support or had the need to boot from an external floppy.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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one will have USB ports in two varieties, 2 & 3. three’s require a hardware driver to be available as they are not native, i.e. contained within BIOS code, and are therefore not recognized on initial boot ROM instructions. So, since the hardware leg which is in connection with USB 3 is not in code it does not get ‘turned-on’. So, one must determine the 2 or 3 location to achieve a read from a USB port prior to full hardware initialization being completed. Just selecting boot from USB does not go far enuf.

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Right, mrj!
Both the price and “working out of the box”.
Been using one on both XP and WIN7 with no issues.

Sometimes we overcomplicate things.

Keep it simple is my motto. The older I get the simpler I get. :p

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Will this work for booting from a USB flash drive to XP (see doc below is just copy and past)
FYI I have windows 10 and trying to boot using XP trying to use AutoCAD 95 lt

Dave

Step 1: Format USB
Step 2: Generate and Transfer .pmq File
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Next, run the Target Analyzer tool (ta.exe or tap.exe) on the target machine to generate the .pmq file on the target machine, then transfer it to the development machine.
To generate and transfer .pmq file
1. On the target machine, in the Command Prompt window, run the following command:
Copy
tap.exe /o TargetDevice.pmq
The target device .pmq file is generated.
2. Transfer the TargetDevice.pmq file to the development machine.
Step 3: Import .pmq File to Target Designer
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Next, import the .pmq file to Target Designer
To import the .pmq file
1. On the development machine, run the Target Designer.
2. From the File menu, choose New.
3. In the New Configuration dialog box, enter the name of the configuration in the Configuration Name box. Choose OK.
4. From the File menu, choose Import.
5. In the Choose File for Import dialog box, locate and choose the TargetDevice.pmq file, then choose Open.
6. In the Import File dialog box, enter a log file name in the Log file box, then choose Start.
Target Designer imports TargetDevice.pmq.

Step 4: Add USB Boot Component
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Next, use Target Designer to add the USB Boot 2.0 component to the run-time image.
To add the USB Boot 2.0 component
1. Find USB Boot 2.0 in the component browser, as shown in the following illustration.

2. Right-click USB Boot 2.0 and choose Add.
3. From the Configuration menu, choose Check Dependencies.
The Dependency Check status box appears.
4. When the dependency check completes, close the Dependency Check status box.
The Tasks pane displays components with dependency check errors.
5. For each component in the Tasks pane, double-click on its line.
The Resolve Dependency dialog box appears.
6. In the Resolve Dependency dialog box for each component, choose the component required to resolve the dependency, then choose Add.
Repeat Resolve Component Dependency procedure until all dependencies are resolved
Step 5: Build USB Bootable Target Image and Transfer to USB Media
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Finally, build the USB bootable target image and transfer it to the USB media.
To build and transfer USB bootable image
1. From the Configuration menu of Target Designer, choose Build Target Image…
2. In the Build dialog box, choose Build.
3. In the Microsoft Target Designer dialog box, choose Yes.
4. Again, in the Microsoft Target Designer dialog box, choose Yes.
The target USB bootable image builds.
5. In the Build dialog box, choose Close.
6. From the File menu, choose Exit to close Target Designer.
7. Copy the USB bootable image files to the USB media

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eSATA is the exception there since it is identical to SATA except its external and Windows just sees it as another SATA drive, I have a couple systems running from eSATA drives.

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Last time I tried that (booting from eSATA), it didn’t work. Perhaps it was a hardware issue. Thanks for the update.

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Hi all,

My updated mobo is a very new Asus H87-Pro. It has no provision for a floppy drive. I’m left with the choice of purchasing an outboard USB floppy drive (without knowing if it will work or not), or building a USB floppy.

All my attempts at building a USB floppy have failed. So far I’ve used the following utilities:

– BootDisk2BootStick
– Novicorp WinToFlash
– Bootable USB Drive Creator
– Rufus
– HP USB BOOT TOOL

The H87-Pro has a new kind of BIOS called UEFI in which you can manually shuffle the device boot order, such as bringing the USB boot device to the head of the boot que. I’ve been through the rest of the BIOS over and over but I’ve not yet seen a positive result from the USB floppies I’ve spawned. My system always boots straight to Windows XP/SP3.

Can anyone throw any light on what I’m missing?

Thanks!

Answer: if you want to hook up a floppy drive or an A drive purchase a usb floppy drive at best buy or on amazon.com and if you wanna make it an internal floppy drive watch this youtube video i will post a like to this guys video heres the link to make your internal drive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91MblZpho1A

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I have a few External USB Floppy Drives, what I frequently use is a TEAC FD-05PUB. They may be getting harder to find.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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By “USB Floppy” do you mean a USB “Thumbdrive” (AKA “Flash” drive)?

There are floppy drives that connect via a USB cable, I have 3, one is a TEAC, one is a Dell and the third is generic.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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There are floppy drives that connect via a USB cable, I have 3, one is a TEAC, one is a Dell and the third is generic.

Sorry, didn’t look closely enough at the rest of the thread. You are quite right.

I haven’t bothered with floppy drives for at least the past 2 years or so. I can do all I need to using bootable USB thumbdrives.

BartPE (very useful – have been using it for years): http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

PeToUSB – Boot BartPE From USB: http://www.fileol.com/utilities/petousb-boot-bartpe-from-usb-3.0.0.7.html

How to boot BartPE from USB: https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/932238/all

I often have to retrieve user’s data from unbootable customers’ HDDs. To do so I can plug in a USB HDD, then boot from a BartPE CD or USB thumbdrive which has the “Total Commander” add-on (not essential but nice to have), then copy the data from the customer’s HDD to the USB HDD.

Also, I have often worked on customers’ PCs which were unbootable (or were restarting during Windows startup) due to NTFS filesystem corruption. Boot from BartPE CD or USB stick, then run “chkdsk c: /r” repair scan from Command Prompt.

Note that to use BartPE you need a valid copy of WinXP (preferably w/ SP3). If you want to install BartPE to a USB stick, then the stick has to be minimum 256MB.

Most times I boot from a BartPE CD, but some newer laptops/ultrabooks/notebooks don’t have CD/DVD drive, so it is easier to boot from USB thumbdrive.

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