[subject changed]

This is a long post - please ignore if not interested in *maybe* booting
OS/2-eCS off a USB2 Flash hard-drive!

Mike O'Connor wrote:

 >Keith Myers wrote:
 >
 >>Hi MIke, actually USB 2.0 is backwards compatibler with USB 1.1  
standard.  It'll plug in an be recognized just the same, just won't run 
at USB 480 Mb/sec speeds. 
 >>I don't think it really matters what chipset supports the USB 
interface.  The
 >>Base USB drivers cover the all of the OHCI,UHCI,EHCI flavors as far 
as I can tell from the documentation.  My chipsets are VIA based.  I 
thought that most of the EHCI chipsets are of the USB 2.0 flavor.  Maybe 
you don't have to spend money on a addon PCI card after all.  Have you 
looked at your Hardware Manager
 >>profile lately?  Does it have an entry for a USB 2.0 Hub in there? Do 
you have
 >>this statement in config.sys?:
 >>
 >>BASEDEV=USBEHCD.SYS
 >>
 >>I think you might be already set up for the quick drive.
 >>
 >Hi Keith,
 >
 >No, I definitely only have USB 1.1 ports/controllers on all the
 >motherboards I own - some are OHCI, another UHCI and  they're none of
 >them current generation or anything vaguely near it, ditto the VAIO
 >Laptop from early 1999! The (in-stock) USB 2.0 PCI-card I decided on
 >wasn't that expensive for a four port model, only fractionally more than
 >the two port card, which was out of stock! Still not as cheap as what
 >they are there though! From further looking I see that the EHCI
 >specification isn't specific to iNTEL or VIA etc., so shouldn't be any
 >[basic] problems with USB 2.0 devices, only possibly incompatibilities
 >with certain peripherals.
 >
Well updating my status here - the PCI-USB2-card arrived first this
A.M., followed by the USB2-512MB drive ordered a day earlier than the
card [same supplier, different courier service] and surprisingly cheaper
freight - both about the same weight, in similarly sized packages, both
sealed with the following warning:

   "WARNING: By opening this package you agree
    that you have read and understood the Microsoft
    Distribution and Preinstallation Agreement
    affixed to this package and agree to its terms and
    conditions"

Each item came with a CD containing drivers and Acrobat documentation .
Downloaded some extra software from *www.legendmemory.com/pendrive*:

                Products: Legend PROFESSIONAL        Posted on: Jan 27,  
2004

   Legend PROFESSIONAL USB 2.0 Pen Drives with Password protection and
   pre-loaded Bonus software. Simply plug into any USB port and the
   computer will detect it as a removable drive.
   ~ Available in: 64MB / 128Mb / 256Mb / 512Mb** / 1GB / 2GB / 4GB

** I now have this one!

   NOW with pre-load Bonus Software.
   PENMAIL, PCLOCK, SECRETZIP, PEN BOOT, PEN AUTORUN.

   (Order Code: LPEN2xxx, xxx = 064 /128 / 256 / 512 / 1GB / 2GB)

   !! Bonus Software !!!

   PENMAIL - Just like Outlook Express, send/receive emails from any
   computer using PenMail.
   PEN PCLOCK - Use your Pen Drive as a key to lock/unlock your computer.
   PEN SECRETZIP - Encrypt, Zip and Password protect files on your Pen
   Drive.
   PEN BOOT - Allows your computer or Notebook to boot from your Pen Drive.
   PEN AUTORUN - Automatically runs a stored program when you use your
   Pen Drive.
   (* Software only operates on Windows OS with USB support.)

   ...Download Here...

   ~ Pen AutoRun
   ~ Pen PCLock
   ~ Pen SecretZip
   ~ Pen Boot
   ~ Pen Mail

   ~ Windows 98 Driver

   Product Features

   ~ Mobile USB Flash Drive
   ~ Capacity 64MB ~ 2GB
   ~ No driver required for Windows ME/2000/XP.
   ~ Supports Windows 98SE, ME, XP, 2000 and Mac OS 8.6 or above.
   ~ Supports Linux Kernel version 2.4.0 and later.
   ~ Does not require any external power source, it is powered from the
   USB port.
   ~ Write Protect Switch
   ~ Hot swappable Plug & Play
   ~ Warranty Period: 3 year.

   Specifications
   ~ Interface USB 2.0 compliant
   ~ Write Protect Hardware Switch for Write Protection
   ~ OS Supported:
   Windows 95/98SE
   Windows Millennium
   Windows 2000/XP
   Mac OS 8.6 & above
   ~ Power Supply DC 5V +/-5%, through USB port.
   ~ USB boot supported.
   ~ Power Consumption Suspend Current < 500 uA, Active Current < 140 Ma
   ~ Operation voltage 5V± 10% (supplied by USB port)
   ~ Environment Operating Temperature: 0 to 60°C
   ~ Non-Operating Temperature: -25°C to 75°C
   ~ Size: 80 x 20 x 10 mm (L x W x H)
   ~ Humidity: 10% to 80% non-condensing (Operating)

   Package Contents
   ~ USB Flash Hard Drive 2.0
   ~ Driver CD
   ~ Quick Installation Guide
   ~ USB extension cable
   ~ Neck Strap

After reading everything I decided to first check out the USB2-drive
under USB 1.1 on my VAIO Laptop under W98.
Auto-running the installation program on the CD and following the
instructions *wasn't* successful, although it said it was, as after the
mandatory reboot W98 "discovered" the drive and told me to run the
installation "setup.exe". This was mentioned as a possibility in the
documentation! Uninstalled the application with the setup.exe, tried
again, same result!  Then I used the W98 driver that I had downloaded,
running it directly from the eCS-JFS drive it was sitting on across the
LAN, and the operation was successful that time!

Accessing the new "Removable Disk (E:)" I found that indeed the
additional programs mentioned above were already on the drive, with the
exception of the W98 driver.

Reading up on the documentation :

    PEN BOOT - Allows your computer or Notebook to boot from your Pen Drive.

It appeared that there were two possibilities for booting from the USB2
drive:

In the FAQ is the following:

    Q5 Can I boot up my system with my device?
    A5 The answer is both YES and NO.
    Yes, if

    (a)  you have a security Pen Drive 1.1 (security USB disk) and your
    motherboard supports USB-FDD as a boot device (check the security
    user manual)
    (b) If your motherboard supports USB-ZIP or USB-HDD as one of the
    booting devices. however this is highly motherboard dependent, no
    guarantee.

In the Makebootable_User_Guide.pdf is the following:

    Introduction

    MakeBootable! is an easy-to-use application software that can make a
    great addition to your Legend Pen Drive 2.0. It allows you to make your
    Pen Drive a boot-up disk without erasing any data in the device. It
    consists of a single executable file and requires no installation. Just
    a few clicks on the mouse and get ready to explore this extra feature
    with your Pen Drive!

    System Requirement

    Microsoft Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
    Legend Pen Drive 2.0
    Motherboard / BIOS with USB boot support

    Before You Start

    1. File System Format

    This program does not support FAT32 and NTFS file systems.
    If your USB device is under FAT32 or NTFS file system format, simply:
    i. Backup your files in the device
    ii. Perform FAT format
    iii. Move the files back to the device.
    The program will show an error message if the program does not
    support the file system format in your device.

    2. BIOS Constraints

    As for Pen Drives that features TWO disk drives simultaneously (I.e.
    security mode), the BIOS will recognize ONLY the disk drive in first
    priority. (I.e.if you made your floppy drive bootable, but the USB
    drive in your device is first priority, you won't be able to boot up
    with floppy drive of your device.

In Step 4 it says:

    If the disk drive you selected already contained boot-up system
    files, an error message will appear. You must delete those files
    (COMMAND.COM, DRVSPACE.BIN, IO.SYS, and MSDOS.SYS) before you can make
    the disk drive bootable. Click on the "OK" button to continue.

Step 5 says:

    You need to change the boot-up setting in the system BIOS. With your
    device inserted, restart the machine. Enter the BIOS setup menu and
    change the boot device setting.
    If the boot-up files are created in the USB drive, select USB-HDD or
    USB-ZIP (preferred).
    If the boot-up files are created in the floppy drive of your device,
    select USB-FDD (for Pen Drive that supports security mode).


So it's looking good for a USB-Flash Boot of eCS from this device, on
someone's [or store's] system that has a BIOS that supports either
USB-HDD or USB-ZIP booting devices!

FWIW In the PenMail application are the following statements:

[following a graphic which actually looks very similar to what I'm
currently in, IBM WB-Mail!]

    As you can see, the interface is very similar to that of Outlook
    Express and Outlook. This is intentional, since many people are already
    familiar with this particular interface.

Later under "Reply Email" it says:

    Note that any original attachments will be attached and replied to
    the sender as well.

As I have never used any M$ mail applications, I presume that is what
also happens in Outlook Excess etc., and probably explains why I get
massively untrimmed responses from Windoze lusers!

-- 
Regards,
Mike

Failed the exam for
--------------------
MCSE - Minesweeper Consultant and Solitaire Expert
--------------------
[ISP blocks *.exe, *.cmd, *.bat, *.reg attachments]
[Please use zipped versions of above]



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
$9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/9rHolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

 
Yahoo! Groups Links

 To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/os2hardware/

 To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    os2hardware-unsubscribe{at}yahoogroups.com

 Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
 




---