Re: Backup Program Availability
- From: "Dave Carlson" <dgcarlson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:47:54 -0700
Chris,
This is *exaction* what I needed. Very excellent explanation of something that
has been worrying me for a while. I'll get sighted help to set my USB port of
choice to be bootable via the BIOS settings, and then proceed as you recommend.
I do have a USB floppy drive that I can then use to create a system disk as you
suggest.
Dave
----- Original Message -----
From: Delaunay Christophe
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 07:16
Subject: RE: Backup Program Availability
Hi Dave,
Sorry. Not sure I really understood your question but maybe it could be what
you want to know.
You just wrote:
[DC]
>Do you have a process for enabling this capability in the USB port?
[ChD]
For the very first time the PCs I need to maintain were started, I needed
sighted assistance to set up their BIOS in such a way that they could boot from
a USB device. Sometimes, it just consisted of modifying the boot sequence.
Sometimes, in older PCs, I also needed to set a specific option for them to
handle USB keys as removable disks.
In order to know how to configure the PC you're planning to manage, you must
refer to its motherboard manual since I couldn't find two different brands with
the same BIOS settings.
[DC]
>I can't seem to get any autorun capability in any of my USB ports.
[ChD]
Autorun won't be available at this stage since you must be able to control
the PC even though it's unable to start up from its regular windows partition.
What you need is not a USB key with an autorun but a truly bootable USB key.
Here is how I created my first one:
(1) With a quite old PC equipped with a floppy drive, I booted from an old
DOS disquette.
(2) Before starting the PC, I also plugged in the USB key I wanted to
render bootable.
(3) At the DOS prompt, ("A:\>"), I noticed the key was identified as C:.
Therefore, I entered:
format c: /s
(4) After having formatted the USB key, when the prompt came back, I
switched the PC off, removed the boot disquette and the USB key.
(5) Finally, I rebooted the PC from its regular windows partition and when
the desktop was displayed, I plugged my newly formatted USB key in again.
(6) I completed the operation by adding the files I need on the key with
windows explorer and creationg the appropriate config.sys and autoexec.bat
files at the root of the key. Please note that the "command.com" file which
must also be at the root of the USB key must be the exact copy of the one which
was used on the floppy disquette.
(7) Now, when one of the PCs I need to maintain has a big big problem, I
only need to turn it off if it is not already, plug in the USB key and my
Braille display, turn it on again and after awhile, I got a DOS prompt on my
Braille display from which I just need to launch image.
Contrarily to Norton Ghost which also can do this but with highly graphical
(i.e. inaccessible) screens, Image For DOS only displays text screens and
therefore is fully controllable by a blind person.
HTH. Have a nice day. Chris
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