DOS ain't dead

Hi again!

I posted here a while back asking about running my old MS-DOS 6.21 software and batch files in Windows DOS boxes:

Switch from MS-DOS 6.21 to Windows DOS Box?
http://www.bttr-software.de/forum/board_entry.php?id=13548

The replies I got gave me the impression that undertaking such a project would be opening a big can of worms. And, as my health has declined so precipitously in recent years, I don't think I would have the stamina to deal with the complications. I'm only able to work at my computer for a few minutes at a time these days.

So I've got another idea.

A major drawback for me is that saving large files to floppies really slows down my writing. And I like to save often, with multiple back-ups.

So I thought that if I were to switch to a Windows system, with my DOS programs running in a DOS box, I could plug a USB hub into the machine and write a batch file that would automatically encrypt and back-up my work to multiple flash drives as I worked.

That would eliminate the irksome disk swapping and the waiting for the floppy drive to write to the disks. Due to my failing health, I work in bed, and the front loading floppy drive is awkward to access.

So, I'm wondering, how likely is it that I could find a reliable MS-DOS driver for a USB hub?

Will in Seattle
a.k.a. "Clueless"

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Will in Seattle
a.k.a. "Clueless"
Running MS-DOS 6.21

Hi Will,

While USB flashdrive access in DOS _is_ possible...
it's not 100% straight-forward.

You'll need to try the various USB-DOS drivers to see which one works with
your particular computer and your particular USB flashdrive(s).

As a starting point, here are some of the many different USB-DOS drivers.

http://glennmcc.org/usb-dos/

Good luck.

> Hi again!
>
> I posted here a while back asking about running my old MS-DOS 6.21 software
> and batch files in Windows DOS boxes:
>
> Switch from MS-DOS 6.21 to Windows DOS Box?
> http://www.bttr-software.de/forum/board_entry.php?id=13548
>
> The replies I got gave me the impression that undertaking such a project
> would be opening a big can of worms. And, as my health has declined so
> precipitously in recent years, I don't think I would have the stamina to
> deal with the complications. I'm only able to work at my computer for a
> few minutes at a time these days.
>
> So I've got another idea.
>
> A major drawback for me is that saving large files to floppies really slows
> down my writing. And I like to save often, with multiple back-ups.
>
> So I thought that if I were to switch to a Windows system, with my DOS
> programs running in a DOS box, I could plug a USB hub into the machine and
> write a batch file that would automatically encrypt and back-up my work to
> multiple flash drives as I worked.
>
> That would eliminate the irksome disk swapping and the waiting for the
> floppy drive to write to the disks. Due to my failing health, I work in
> bed, and the front loading floppy drive is awkward to access.
>
> So, I'm wondering, how likely is it that I could find a reliable MS-DOS
> driver for a USB hub?
>
> Will in Seattle
> a.k.a. "Clueless"

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--
http://glennmcc.org/

> While USB flashdrive access in DOS _is_ possible...
> it's not 100% straight-forward.
>
> You'll need to try the various USB-DOS drivers to see which one works with
> your particular computer and your particular USB flashdrive(s).

Agreed. Each time i change systems, i have to go thru the USB-driver trial-and-error process until i find the ASPI system driver and the DOS disk driver that 1) work with the hardware (system and USB device) and 2) work with each other.

Why not just save backups to a temporary directory on hard drive... or (less secure but faster) an XMS RAM drive? So-o-o-o-o much easier....

- Doug B.

> > While USB flashdrive access in DOS _is_ possible...
> > it's not 100% straight-forward.
> >
> > You'll need to try the various USB-DOS drivers to see which one works with
> > your particular computer and your particular USB flashdrive(s).

FWIW: This is what I use in MSDOS 6.20 on my machine, and I suspect it may be OK on similar systems.

In CONFIG.SYS, I include the two lines:

device=c:\aspi_usb.drv\panasonc\usbaspi.sys /v /w
device=c:\aspi_usb.drv\novac\di1000dd.sys

The two .sys files may be found in a mixed .zip download of DOS USB drivers.
I can't remember where I got them from - but someone here will know.
I suggest Glenn's link and try the USBASPI.ZIP first.

If these two don't work, then a series of "mix and try" may find a pair that play nice together.

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