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I used WinSetupFromUSB to create a multi-bootable USB that allows me to boot into MS-DOS 6.22, in addition to installers for Windows 7 and Vista. I need DOS 6.22 in order to run some legacy programs on very expensive hardware that I can't run the risk of trying another version of DOS or FreeDOS on.

DOS 6.22 and the Windows 7 installers boot well enough, but the problem I'm now having is that I have no way of supplying the legacy programs I need to DOS once its been booted from the USB. Copying these programs to the root of the USB doesn't seem to work; as soon as DOS is booted, all it sees are the 40 files that it comes packaged with.

Where in the bootable USB do I put my programs so that MS-DOS 6.22 can access it? If there is no such place, is there any other way to easily give DOS access to those programs?

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  • Presumably whereever the other MS-DOS files are being stored. (Just make a subdirectory, if you want. Or, if a directory is being copied without subdirectories, then use a ZIP file, and get Info-Zip's unzipper for MS-DOS.) Then, once you have the files where you want, you can move them. By the way, is there any reason why you need to use a USB memory stick instead of, say, a USB-connected CD-ROM drive (or other CD-ROM drive), or Ethernet?
    – TOOGAM
    Commented Jul 16, 2017 at 0:13
  • I can't find those files anywhere on the finished USB, so I'm guessing they remain packaged in the ISO. Would disassembling that ISO and then reassembling it into one that included the programs I need be an option?
    – Hashim Aziz
    Commented Jul 16, 2017 at 0:17
  • The reason for the USB is convenience - I want to package everything into a single bootable USB of mine that can be used to install versions of Windows 7 as well as run these utilities.
    – Hashim Aziz
    Commented Jul 16, 2017 at 0:18

2 Answers 2

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There is no easy way to do this with the DOS setup by WinSetupFromUSB as this utility was designed to create bootable USB install systems for older versions of Windows that originally couldn't install from USB.
Even though it can make a DOS USB stick too, it was never intended to be used as a full-fledged DOS.

I can give you an alternative:
Rufus can create MSDOS and FreeDOS USB sticks.
Especially FreeDOS is really nice as it plays along much better with todays computer hardware than the original DOS and for nearly all intends and purposes it is 100% compatible with MSDOS.

Rufus has several FAQ's that explain how to set it up with FreeDOS to make a DOS-based USB-stick to do Bios updates for computers that insist of doing such updates from DOS.
These instructions can also be used to setup other DOS programs: Simple replace the Bios flash-utility with your DOS program of choice.

EDIT: After seeing some of the comments

  1. Rufus can be used to setup a USB stick with any DOS version supplied by you. Getting a legal copy of MS-DOS is another matter. It is not for sale anymore. And telling you how to get one violates the charter of this web-site.
  2. Please bear in mind that getting any version of DOS to boot from a USB stick requires fooling DOS that it is booting from floppy, hard-drive or CDROM
    This means that any USB booted DOS is not running exactly as a normal DOS. There will be a minimal emulation driver loaded to make this possible.
    If 100% compatibility with a normal DOS is an absolute requirement (as you seem to imply in the comments) then forget about using USB in the first place. Install a hard-drive, use boot-floppies or a boot-CD.
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  • See here for why I can't use another version of DOS: superuser.com/questions/1228136/…. MS-DOS 6.22 is my only option in this case, and multibootable USB creators have so far proven to be the only method to more or less successfully do so, which is why I'm currently only purely looking for a direct answer to the question.
    – Hashim Aziz
    Commented Jul 15, 2017 at 19:26
  • I'm not limited to using WinSetupFromUSB - if you know of any other way to do this, I'm also open to those. I get that FreeDOS is the de facto standard nowadays, but I have a use case that really can't risk using any other version, and surely it can't be the case that DOS 6.22 has become so deprecated that it's no longer possible to use.
    – Hashim Aziz
    Commented Jul 15, 2017 at 19:29
  • @hashim I can't understand why are you so skittish about freedos, which is maintained open source, while ready to get a msdos 6.22 (illegally?) from who knows where, if your data is so important. If you already have some backup you may restore your data anytime and file a bug report to the freedos developers; with msdos, ms has left you already in the dark.
    – jarnosz
    Commented Jul 15, 2017 at 23:45
  • I really don't think you understand the sensitivity and risk of what I'm working on, even despite this being the third question of mine where I've defended my absolute requirement to use DOS. I don't expect you to, but I also don't expect to be constantly persuaded that my reasons for using DOS are unfounded as if I'm the one incapable of understanding. Since it's now come to this, I'm left with no choice but to make it clear, though I want to emphasise again that I really shouldn't have to, and I'd have appreciated just being trusted on it if you weren't going to answer the question at hand.
    – Hashim Aziz
    Commented Jul 15, 2017 at 23:51
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    @Hashim How is that program talking to the car ? Some sort of interface cable that hooks up to to the computer or is the DOS computer build into the car itself ? If it is the first case it is extremely unlikely that the exact DOS version makes any difference. Anyway you can have Rufus setup the USB disk with a DOS version that you supply.
    – Tonny
    Commented Jul 16, 2017 at 9:22
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Make sure your DOS setup has CD-ROM support, and burn your software to CD. MS-DOS is old enough it just doesn't have good support for modern conveniences like NTFS partitions (especially if it's GPT/UEFI) or USB drives, and CD may be your best option.

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  • But if I can already use the FAT32 USB to boot into DOS 6.22, wouldn't USB support be a given?
    – Hashim Aziz
    Commented Jul 16, 2017 at 0:59
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    Only the partition where DOS lives.
    – Joel Coehoorn
    Commented Jul 16, 2017 at 1:03

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