Creating a Bootable DOS USB Stick

This article explains how to create a bootable FreeDOS USB stick.^[1] FreeDOS is GNU licensed and DOS compatible. To create the stick, you will need either the program Rufus for Windows or Unetbootin for Linux and Windows.

Creating a Bootable DOS Stick in Windows

Rufus is an open source program licensed under the GPL scheme.^[2]

Download Rufus from the Rufus website under Rufus downloads (rufus.akeo.ie).
Rufus does not need to be installed. After the download has been completed, you will need to run the program as administrator.
You do not need to download FreeDOS, since Rufus will install it directly using a template.

After starting Rufus as Admin, follow these instructions:

Select the USB stick to be formatted. Click next on the drop-down menu to create a bootable disk using and select FreeDOS.
Now click on Start to format the stick and install FreeDOS.
Approve the warning that the stick will be deleted/formatted by clicking OK. Any data on the stick will be lost!
The installation of FreeDOS starts.
The USB stick is now completed and Rufus can be exited.

OS-independent Alternative

A further possibility for installing FreeDOS on a USB stick comes in the form of UNetbootin. It is available for all conventional operating systems.^[3]

Preparation

A FAT32 formatted USB stick is needed for the installation. To do this in Ubuntu, use the following command:

The USB stick is the device /dev/sdb
Note: Formatting the stick will erase all of its data

sudo mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdb1

Creating a DOS Stick with Unetbootin

In Ubuntu, the code is installed via apt using apt-get install unetbootin
- Or download UNetbootin from UNetbootin downloads (unetbootin.net).
A download of FreeDOS is not necessary as Unetbootin distributions can independently download and install the program.

In the Distribution section, use the drop-down menu to find the various operating systems.
Select FreeDOS from the list.
Choose the USB stick to be formatted. Confirm with OK. If your stick does not appear in the menu, you need to mount it first.
FreeDOS is downloaded, extracted and installed.
The USB stick is now finished. You can now perform a restart to use the stick or exit UNetbootin.