This describes how to make a USB-FDD (super-floppy) layout, bootable USB stick. The result will be bootable by the ASUS EeePC, Everex Cloudbook and the HP-2133.

This media layout (USB-FDD) is limited to 1Gbyte or smaller (2Gbyte if careful and lucky) USB sticks.

• A computer running Linux or other *nix system.
• The utility packages dosfstools and syslinux.
• A 1Gbyte or smaller USB stick.

Use your system's package manager to install the above two packages if not already installed.

• cat /proc/partitions

Insert the USB stick to be written, repeat the above command; The newly displayed device is the one you just plugged in.

The newly added device will be presumed to be /dev/sdc in the following.

• dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdc bs=512

• mkfs.vfat -I /dev/sdc

• syslinux /dev/sdc

The USB stick is now bootable. If you tried it at this point, you would get the syslinux sign-on notice and boot prompt.

Make a place to mount the stick if you do not already have one.

• mkdir /media/usb1

Mount the stick.

• mount /dev/sdc /media/usb1

Copy any desired files to the stick. Read the directions given by the command:

• man syslinux

to learn how-to setup the configuration file.

The stick just created can be used to boot Linux and DOS programs, including Windows.

The FAT driver in Linux does not support the sync command, do:

• mount -o remount /mnt/usb1
• wait while the file buffers are flushed
• umount /mnt/usb1

Enjoy.