I have to convert an existing DOS bootable CD-ROM script so that I can use an IOMEGA USB CD-RW drive. My existing bootable CD looks like an A: drive when booted, then I can easily mount the rest of the CDROM as a CDROM drive using MTMCDAI.SYS and MSCDEX.EXE.

I have made some progress today, and can easily use aspiehci.sys / usbcd1.sys / and mscdex to mount the CDROM drive from a boot floppy. When I use the USB floppy and boot disk I can mount the CDROM drive everytime with no problems. It only when I use this boot floppy to create my bootable CD that I start seeing problems.

Here is the error message I am getting when booting from the CD.

IOMega ASPI USB-EHCI 1.0 V.13 09 May 2003
ID1 = IOMega CDDVD522416EC3C
Installed successfully

Bad or missing A:\DOS\USBcd1.sys
error in config.sys

Bad or missing command interpreter.

Here is a copy of my config.sys:
[COMMON]
SHELL=A:\COMMAND.COM A:\ /P

DEVICE=A:\DOS\aspiehci.SYS /int /all
DEVICE=A:\DOS\USBCD1.SYS /D:USB-CD

buffers=30
files=50
LASTDRIVE=M

And here is my autoexec.bat:
@ECHO OFF
echo -----------------
PROMPT $p$g
PATH A:\;A:\DOS;L:\;L:\DOS
DOSKEY

rem Initialize CD-ROM (L:\)
rem a:\DOS\guest.exe letter=L
A:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:USB-CD /L:L
if exist L:\install.bat goto finish

echo CD-ROM drive not initialized
goto end

:finish
rem take A:\DOS out of path
PATH L:\;L:\DOS;A:\;

rem Call CD Specific Install BATCH file
---------------
echo Call CD Install SCRIPT (Install.bat)
---------------
echo replace me later....
call L:\Install.bat
:end

Please keep in mind that the above two files and device drivers work just fine when I use a boot floppy, but as soon as I create a bootable CDROM with floppy imulation, I get the error.

Brian Strickland

When, for example, booting from a 98 cd, the boot process creates a ramdrive at a:. So a: is not the cdrom drive letter.

If your boot cd does the same thing and you haven't anticipated this it's possible the files you need aren't being copied to a: thus causing the error messages.

Try the Panasonic USB Drivers:

device=usbaspi.sys /v
device=usbcd.sys /d:usbcd001

mscdex.exe /d:usbcd001

http://panasonic.co.jp/pcc/products/drive/other/driver/f2h_usb.exe

I figured out what I was doing wrong with the CD-ROM boot CD. I had to add ramfd.sys in config.sys before I init the USB cdrom.

<CONFIG.SYS>
[menu]
menuitem=VMECD, Using standard VME CD-ROM (VMIVME-7459)
menuitem=USBCD, Using Iomega USB CDROM
menudefault=VMECD,30
menucolor=7,0

[VMECD]
;DEVICE=A:\DOS\MTMCDAI.SYS /D:MTMIDE01
DEVICE=A:\DOS\MTMCDAI.SYS /D:USB-CD

[USBCD]
DEVICE=A:\DOS\ramfd.sys

DEVICE=A:\DOS\aspiehci.SYS /int /all
DEVICE=A:\DOS\USBCD1.SYS /D:USB-CD

[COMMON]
SHELL=A:\COMMAND.COM A:\ /P
buffers=30
files=50
LASTDRIVE=M

<AUTOEXEC.BAT>
@ECHO OFF
echo -----------------
PROMPT $p$g
PATH A:\;A:\DOS;L:\;L:\DOS
DOSKEY

rem Initialize CD-ROM (L:\)
rem a:\DOS\guest.exe letter=L
A:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:USB-CD /L:L
if exist L:\install.bat goto finish

echo CD-ROM drive not initialized
goto end

:finish
rem take A:\DOS out of path
PATH L:\;L:\DOS;A:\;

rem Call CD Specific Install BATCH file
---------------
echo Call CD Install SCRIPT (Install.bat)
---------------
echo replace me later....
call L:\Install.bat
:end

Brian Strickland