How to Create a DOS Boot Disk Using a Flash Drive

A DOS boot disk can be very handy for system repairs. Booting from an external device allows you to use utilities without any interference from the contents of your hard drive. Unfortunately, most modern computers ship without floppy drives. Most of them can boot from a flash drive however. It is possible to turn your USB flash drive into a boot disk, loaded with utilities for those hard-to-fix occasions.

Things You'll Need

• HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
• Windows 98 boot disk system files
• A USB flash drive

Instructions

1. Connect your flash drive to your computer, and start the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool.

2. Select your flash drive with the pull-down menu at the top of the window. Make sure FAT32 is selected as the file system.

3. Check "Create a DOS Start-up Disk", and select "using DOS system files located at...".

4. Browse to the downloaded Windows 98 boot disk system files and hit "OK".

5. Click "Start" at the bottom of the window, and accept the warning that this will erase your flash drive. When the progress bar completes, your USB flash drive is a DOS boot disk.

Tips & Warnings

• Not all computers can boot from a flash drive. Your mileage may vary on computers older than 3 or 4 years.

• Creating a boot disk necessarily involves erasing all data on your flash drive.

Resources

• HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
• HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool