(See addendum, updated 3/1/04)
Just received the Lexar Jump Drive (128MB, USB 1.1) via UPS. I had a chance to try it out with my Dell Inspiron 600m and it works even better than expected.
Windows XP detects the drive automatically, and assigns a drive letter automatically. From then it’s a simple drag-and-drop process to get whatever information you need onto or off of the drive.
As far as a boot device, the drive works marvelously. I formatted the drive using a special utility and copied some test files over to the drive. With the USB drive inserted, press F12 upon booting, select USB Storage Device. The drive boots to a c:\ prompt in the matter of a few seconds, and I could access every one of my test files. Now I have a means of updating the system BIOS without a floppy drive, one of the only concerns I had with my 600m.
I was also very successful in testing the drive under Linux. After inserting the drive on the same laptop running RedHat 9, I ran:
[root@psi root]# tail -n 6 /var/log/messages
Apr 29 21:01:15 psi kernel: hub.c: new USB device 00:1d.0-1, assigned address 5
Apr 29 21:01:18 psi /etc/hotplug/usb.agent: Setup usb-storage for USB product 5dc/80/1
Apr 29 21:01:18 psi kernel: SCSI device sda: 251904 512-byte hdwr sectors (129 MB)
Apr 29 21:01:18 psi kernel: sda: Write Protect is off
Apr 29 21:01:18 psi kernel: sda: sda1
Apr 29 21:01:18 psi devlabel: devlabel service started/restarted
The output of the /var/log/messages logfile shows that the drive was detected and is active as device /dev/sda1. Since the drive was formatted in Windows with the FAT16 file system, the following command mounts the key drive:
[root@psi root]# mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb
Now you can simply goto /mnt/usb and browse the contents of the USB drive. After removing the drive, /mnt/usb will appear empty, but is still mounted. This means the next time you insert the drive, you will not need to mount it, you can just browse to the directory and the contents will appear.
Discuss this post in the forums.
Hi Oliver,
Is the utility you mentioned (link: 404) the same as the one found at http://www.memorykeytools.com/? I have a D800 and a Sandisk Cruzer (with 256MB), but all I’m seeing (long delay after booting) is FreeDOS…FreeDOS FAT Kernel… and just a blinking cursor with a locked up computer. Is there another utility to do this?
Thanks,
Dave
Hi Oliver,
I created usb bootable disk using the Memory Key Boot Utility. But When I start the system it is asking for:
Bad or missing command Interpreter : 2 – /P /E:256
message. Please help me to create this bootable usb key.
Nava
hi,
i have the 128mb dell usb memory key, and the utility i got with the dimension system comes up with an error when i try to format it. saying “drive geometry is not unknown. cannot format”
Yeah, same for me David
Hi i’m trying to create a network bootable usb memory key? How can this be accomplished? Thanks
I have a 512m pny attache which I would like to make bootable so I could run 98 on it.. I have an Inspiron 8600…is it possible to do this? If so how?
thanks
lois gillaspie
I am trying to get my Fry’s computer to boot from a Lexar JumpDrive.
When I plug it into the USB port and boot it; the bios detects it but
it never is aviable as a boot device.
The options for booting USB in the Phoenix bios are:
USB-FLOPPY, USB-CDROM and USB-ZIP;
does anyone know which one to use? I’ve tried all three and disable
the harddrives but the bios still won’t treat the USB flash drive
as a bootable device.
Any suggestions?
Hi Kirk,
I had the same problem, upgraded the MoBo BIOS and you loose all those USB bootable devices and the USB device is seen by the BIOS as an HDD, so you set that as your first boot HDD and eureka it boots. I have a Lexar Jumpdrive and I got the Boot utility from Lexar, but the HP USB boot utility works as well.
MoBo is an ABIT MX4SG-N and the BIOS version is now 1.09
Hope this helps?
Dayman
You most also enable enable dos usb support to boot from ms dos partitions. you should find this option in your bios setup. I am using the AMI setup
You most also enable enable dos usb support to boot from ms dos partitions. you should find this option in your bios setup. I am using the AMI setup
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To create a USB Flash bootable device, look at my webpage: http://www.geocities.com/cwwilson721
As for getting your particular computer to boot to USB, there are MANY options. I have a Gateway Solo 1450, and to get it to boot to USB, I have to boot w/usb attached, then disable the HDD in BIOS, then reboot, renable the HDD, then reboot again.
MANY dELL’S( AT LEAST IN THE PAST 2 YEARS OR SO) boot to USB if you press F12 during the Dell screen.
On other systems,Some people have reported that it needs to be set as a zip drive to boot.
If you need hel creating a USB bootable device, you can IM me on AIM,Yahoo!,and MSN using username cwwilson721. Or e-mail me at cwwilson721@yahoo.com
However, if you need help getting your computer to actually boot to USB, look all over the web. Don’t forget to use the manufacturer’s website
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my pwen drive is detected by compter but when i try to save data it says the disk is writ protected and i could not format that too