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I have an old laptop that currently runs Ubuntu only. I would like to install DOS 6.22 on it also.

I have tried using various tools to make a USB pen bootable with command.com etc. However, my one and only USB pen is 8 GB which is way too much for plain FAT.

Does anyone have suggestions as to what I could try? I don't mind partitioning the hard drive of the machine if necessary ...

Thanks!

Format it using diskpart. Check out the process here

I am wondering if there is a USB driver for DOS. I have an old Pentium 2 laptop here with a USB and only Dos 6.22 to watch demos and it would be better if I could use the USB instead of writting CDs on my main laptop for transfering stuff.

Well, I could google it, lol :)

There is.

I've already tried formatting the USB pen for fat32 and all I get when booting it on the laptop is a blank screen - which to me looks as if something is wrong :)

I've not studied the page, but you could always try FreeDOS instead of DOS6.22: http://wiki.fdos.org/Installation/BootDiskCreateUSB.

Also, a quick search for "freedos on usb" gives a few results of people doing the same thing, and a few (better) tutorials.

That "HP's USB Disk Storage Format Tool" should work. Format the stick with that and copy the DOS files over including the hidden ones. That should do it.

I'm not interested in other variants of DOS - and I've already tried the HP-tool.

I am currently formatting the USB pen using diskpart (which I had never heard of before :)

rasmus, go to a job fair and get dozens of 512mb usb sticks

the only way that i can get the laptop to "respond" to the usb PEN is by using diskpart. however, when I do that no system files are copied during format etc.

I'm not trying to be funny rasmus but - "sys x:" yet? Might have to boot off a freedos cd, sys the new drive/partition, unzip 6.22 files to ramdrive (tweak config.sys maybe to make it bigger than needed) or a temp dir on usb drive then xcopy (overwite) command.com etc. from the 6.22 folder to the usb (x:) drive. Hope that helps, otherwise that is how you suck eggs!

back in the days, i'd run a command like "format x: /q/s"

Maybe try unetbootin - I'm pretty sure it's in the repos from Hardy up. (G)parted the partition as vfat, install freedos with unetbootin then cp the 6.22 sys file over to the root. It'll boot thru grub but @ least it's bootable then you can step into dos with all hw ints ok.

Careful with those raw eggs as they can contain salmonella, fella!
This might help if you want to do it with buntu rather than vm or using a livecd. On that note - I just thought (been drinking you know) why not mount a freedos iso (with fuse) then replace all the fdsys files with 6.22 files? Worth a try maybe?

rasmus: jeg har en 1gb stick du godt må få hvis det er ;)

I think 90% of the battle is getting a usb drive partitioned so it's recognisable with MS systems. Windows has no way to partition a USB drive (it seems to think it's a giant floppy o0). You can partition with OSX, but windows doesn't like it for some reason. I had to partition mine with linux, then both osx + windows see the partitions (the USB partitioning tools didn't work for me either).

After that, it should be possible to do your format /q /s (assuming that's still supported in windows?)

psonice: im struggling with the format command. the diskpart trick made the bios boot on the disk, however it's lacking operating system :(

can you use freedos to run the ms dos format command? or something? i really have no clue :-)

i know you have no clue :)

i'll stop trying to help :-)

but keep us posted when you worked it out!

hmm.. if there's no more sys or format /s commands, how do you make a disk bootable?!

If you've got a proper boot sector and a FAT or FAT32 partition what is holding you back from copying the system files from the DOS disk disks. All you need are the hidden files "io.sys" and one or two others plus "command.com".