How to install FreeDos onto a usb stick?

The FreeDos project offers a number of downloads, but all of these contain an installer that tries to install FreeDos from an installation media onto the harddisk. Selecting the mobile stick as installation target is not supported. Since typical USB sticks typically large enough to contain the OS plus applications, writing onto the harddisk is often not intented. Some pages point to tools like Rufus, which can create a bootable FreeDos installation from a template, but this disk is then missing the typical FreeDos components. So how can a complete FreeDos be installed onto a bootable usb stick to create a live USB version with FreeDos?

3 Answers

Unfortunately the current information on the FreeDOS Wiki is not up to date, but with the help from FreeDos Developer Jim Hall I could find the solution:

1. Download the USB “Full” installer from the FreeDOS page.
2. Unpack the downloaded zip
3. Use a USB formatting tool (for example rufus) to write the image to USB (take care to write over the right drive)
4. Move the directory D:\FDSETUP\BIN to D:\BIN

5. Edit first and last two lines in D:\FDCONFIG.SYS as follows

   !COUNTRY=001,858:\BIN\COUNTRY.SYS
   !LASTDRIVE=Z
   !BUFFERS=20
   !FILES=40
   DOS=HIGH
   DOS=UMB
   DOSDATA=UMB
   DEVICE=\BIN\HIMEMX.EXE
   SHELLHIGH=COMMAND.COM \BIN /E:2048 /P=\AUTOEXEC.BAT

6. Edit D:\AUTOEXEC.BAT as follows (Windows will hide this file, but you can open it by directly giving the filename). Only the line setting the DOSDIR needs to be changed and some display code at the end of AUTOEXEC.BAT are to be removed

   @echo off
   SET DOSDIR=
   SET LANG=
   SET PATH=%dosdir%\BIN
   SET DIRCMD=/P /OGN /Y
   rem SET TEMP=%dosdir%\TEMP
   rem SET TMP=%TEMP%
   rem SET NLSPATH=%dosdir%\NLS
   rem SET HELPPATH=%dosdir%\HELP
   rem SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330
   rem SET COPYCMD=/-Y
   DEVLOAD /H /Q %dosdir%\BIN\UDVD2.SYS /D:FDCD0001
   SHSUCDX /QQ /D3
   rem SHSUCDHD /QQ /F:FDBOOTCD.ISO
   FDAPM APMDOS
   rem SHARE
   rem NLSFUNC %dosdir%\BIN\COUNTRY.SYS
   rem DISPLAY CON=(EGA),858,2)
   rem MODE CON CP PREP=((858) %dosdir%\CPI\EGA.CPX)
   rem KEYB US,858,%dosdir%\bin\keyboard.sys
   rem CHCP 858
   rem PCNTPK INT=0x60
   rem DHCP
   rem MOUSE
   rem DEVLOAD /H /Q %dosdir%\BIN\UIDE.SYS /H /D:FDCD0001 /S5
   SHSUCDX /QQ /~ /D:?SHSU-CDR,D /D:?SHSU-CDH,D /D:?FDCD0001,D /D:?FDCD0002,D /D:?FDCD0003,D
   rem MEM /C /N
   SHSUCDX /D
   rem DOSLFN
   rem LBACACHE.COM buf 20 flop
   SET AUTOFILE=%0
   SET CFGFILE=\FDCONFIG.SYS
   alias reboot=fdapm warmboot
   alias reset=fdisk /reboot
   alias halt=fdapm poweroff
   alias shutdown=fdapm poweroff
   rem alias cfg=edit %cfgfile%
   rem alias auto=edit %0
   vecho /p Done processing startup files /fCyan FDCONFIG.SYS /a7 and /fCyan AUTOEXEC.BAT /a7/p

7. Delete D:\SETUP.BAT

8. Done, safe your files and safely remove the USB stick

Boot and test

The USB key now boots directly into FreeDOS and loads into high memory, leaving roughly 600KB of common memory for programs.

I'm pretty sure the OP wants to create a complete LiveUSB install of FreeDOS. This creates a USB flash drive that boots FreeDOS and has all the software installed:

Yes, the rufus way works, and so far it's the only way I know to make a FreeDOS USB boot. But it partitions and formats the drive without alignment, which will produce excessive write/erase activity of the flash memory and prematurely wear out the drive. That's not a problem if you're just flashing a BIOS or something, but it is if you will be often updating files.

BTW, if you use the trishtech link, there is a problem installing FreeDOS into VirtualBox, at the "install freedos to hdd" screen. If you just go ahead, you will get rolling "illegal instruction" messages. Workaround: Press Tab, then add " raw" (no quotes) to the boot line, then press Enter.