You are not going to be able to create a Dos only system without using a elder motherboard from the generation that Dos was used during until Windows NT based OS's became the norm. Newer systems means that you are running FreeDos in a VM, or Windows 98.
Thanks. I believe you and I don't think I am going to be able to create anything to do with DOS. I believe I am giving up, at least until I get the other set of DOS installation disks I ordered and can try to once again access C: where DOS is installed. I have no idea when that may be either. I just spent the last 2 to 3 hours trying everything with USB sticks including trying to follow a video on how to install FreeDOS. I got something similar to the BSOD, but luckily the computer did reboot but it did destroy the USB stick I was trying to use to load FreeDOS.
Do not use a 3.5, use a CF card with reader. Something like this. Diskette Emulator - SIGMATEK also need this card. Amazon.com The reason for using a CF card is that they behave the same way that 3.5" floppies were read.
Does that mean they would boot to A: Drive or some drive I could get to C: drive from? I have DOS already installed but for some reason cannot boot to and get the A: prompt anymore using the external floppy drive. I believe, somehow, I have to get to A: Drive in order to access C: drive.
I just looked at the link to the CF card reader. Not sure, as I mentioned above, what I can do with it. Between it and the CF card I'd have to order it would be about twice the price I paid for this additional DOS installation disk set. Still, if using this CF setup allows me to copy the files from the WEB, as I believe you mentioned, and boot to this card and then allow me to access the C: drive where DOS is installed, it may be a lot less frustration. Thanks.
The CF drive is A: or B and works like I stated as a floppy. Why did you pay for the disks when they are free online. This is Microsoft's official Internet Archive page. MS DOS 6.22 Bootable iso : Microsoft : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
archive.org (aka the wayback machine) is not official anything. Microsoft has nothing to do with it. All files on it are contributions from individuals. The ISO download you linked to is one of those unofficial contributions.
However, I have downloads a number of things from archive.org knowing that all downloads there are unofficial and at my risk.
I downloaded MS-DOS 6.22.iso and burned it to a CD. It booted OK on my old computer. It created a read-only RAM drive called A: and copies the CDs contents to it. I assumed at that point I could remove the ISO in the CD drive and use it for other CDs. I also discovered that the computers floppy drive was now B:.
At this point the DOS computer is not very useful because there is no place to write to or install files. I used FDISK to create a 2GB bootable partition on the hard drive. After I rebooted I formatted the 2GB partition and called it C:. I then copied all the files from the A: RAM drive to it. When done I removed the CD and rebooted the computer. The computer now booted from the hard drive. so original CD was no longer necessary. Note since the computer was now booting from the C: partition on the hard drive the floppy drive was A: again.
It seems this is only a minimal install of MS-DOS 6.22 since there were only 40 files on the C: drive. I will have to investigate further on this and see if I can add to what is on the C: drive by creating another ISO file with additional files on it. Since the CD can hold a lot more files than what was on the original ISO I should be able to add a lot more.
I am trying to understand how this would work. The little, I think I know, I believe that CF drive would have to be the first drive in the boot up sequence of drives. Before I purchase these items I'd like to know a little more about them.
The BIOS I have represents the drives with an icon and you just click on and drag that drive to where you want it to be. For instance, the floppy drive is shown as multiple disks and the hard drive is shown as a hard drive. Do you think the BIOS would recognize the CF as any kind of drive? If it does, it would be easily recognized since I know what is there now. I ask this here because you seem familiar with the CF's use and also because this is what I found on the NET, "Basically the CF card must have the capability of identifying itself as a fixed disk instead of removable media. Without this, it won't be detected as a boot drive. You could still use the CF card, but only as a non-bootable second "hard disk." So do you know if it will establish itself as a hard drive to boot from? If I am understanding your links above they link me to to 2 options, I believe. I don't have any room for an internal CompactFlash Floppy Drive to be installed and not sure the Port PCI Express IDE Controller Adapter Card will fit anywhere on the mother board if both of its extensions must be in connectors on the board.
Also, about loading the MS-DOS 6.22 onto these CF cards - how many CF cards would I need to do this? I'm thinking if I can only get the computer to boot to the DOS installation screen, I may be able to exit it at that point and change to the C: drive where DOS is already installed? Does that sound feasible?
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I am fairly certain neither device linked above will work in my machine or I don't want to try it. The StarTech.com 1 Port PCI Express IDE Controller Adapter Card - Storage Controller - ATA - 133 MBps - PCIe x1 (PEX2IDE) connections don't match anything on my board. As far as the CFF 011CompactFlash Floppy Drive is concerned, first off I don't know what connections it is listing and secondly the only place I found to order it from is, I think, in Japan and it is $275.00 before shipping and probably other charges. My additional disks I ordered are on their way and if they don't work, I'm done trying. It just isn't worth the headaches to play around with DOS again.
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