2 replies to this topic

[forest1]

is it possible to configure a usb port to act and read like an A: / B: drive?

[obsar3]

Not sure I understand the question but I will venture an answer.

I don't think it's possible to configure a USB port in itself show up as a drive in Windows explorer.  If you plug a USB floppy drive or external hard drive into a USB port it should be identifed as a drive with its own letter in explorer, but that letter cannot be be the A: or B: drives, as those letters are reserved for floppy drives only.  

The A: and B: drives go back to early personal computers when computers didn't have hard drives.  You needed two floppy drives to run programs.   These drives are no longer used, but Windows still reserves drive A: and B: for floppy drives.

If you need to boot from a USB drive, that should be possible but you will need to make some changes in the boot order in your CMOS settings (select USB drive as the first drive to boot from).

Edited by obsar3, 14 May 2008 - 04:16 PM.

[forest1]

Not sure I understand the question but I will venture an answer.

I don't think it's possible to configure a USB port in itself show up as a drive in Windows explorer.  If you plug a USB floppy drive or external hard drive into a USB port it should be identifed as a drive with its own letter in explorer, but that letter cannot be be the A: or B: drives, as those letters are reserved for floppy drives only.  

The A: and B: drives go back to early personal computers when computers didn't have hard drives.  You needed two floppy drives to run programs.   These drives are no longer used, but Windows still reserves drive A: and B: for floppy drives.

If you need to boot from a USB drive, that should be possible but you will need to make some changes in the boot order in your CMOS settings (select USB drive as the first drive to boot from).

thanks for your reply my friend,but i already know drives A: / B: floppy drives.
The reason i ask is because its somethink my Mentor mentioned on a course i was on about using a usb memory stick like a floppy drive so he proberbly ment just what you have said in your last paragraph.

What i thought was that because most new computers dont come with floppys anymore it would be a good idea to use a usb device as a boot divice in case of a crash or say if your NTLDR is missing you could copy the NTLDR/NTDETECT.COM AND BOOT.INI on to the memory stick as backup in stead of a floppy.