Substitute Command and External Floppy Drive Under XP

[Ben Alias]

I do not use XP--yet. My computer is a desktop running ME. But I
have a friend who recently bought a small laptop running XP and asked
me to help her set it up. The computer she bought has no floppy disk
drive, but has a number of USB ports.

This is a problem because one of the main programs she uses comes on
floppy disks. Worse, it has both copy protection and installation
limits. She has used up her "credits" for "full installs," but has an
unlimited number of what I will call "limited installs," by which I
mean that when the program starts, it goes through a verification
process during which it requires that floppy disk # 1 (the "key" disk)
be inserted in Drive A: or B: , and the program checks that the key
disk is valid before it will run. Since she has no Drive A: or B: ,
this poses a problem.

My first question is this: Can the "Substitute" command be used under
XP to substitute A: for E: or F: or whatever drive letter the system
assigns to an external USB floppy drive, in order to run this program?

My second question is this: Does the ability to substitute A: have
anything to do with the status of A: within the computer's BIOS? One
fellow I talked with suggested I might need to go into the computer's
BIOS and turn "off" A: to make it available for substitution. True?

Thank you for any information you can provide.

C'ya,

Ben

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I do not use XP--yet. My computer is a desktop running ME. But I
have a friend who recently bought a small laptop running XP and asked
me to help her set it up. The computer she bought has no floppy disk
drive, but has a number of USB ports.

This is a problem because one of the main programs she uses comes on
floppy disks. Worse, it has both copy protection and installation
limits. She has used up her "credits" for "full installs," but has an
unlimited number of what I will call "limited installs," by which I
mean that when the program starts, it goes through a verification
process during which it requires that floppy disk # 1 (the "key" disk)
be inserted in Drive A: or B: , and the program checks that the key
disk is valid before it will run. Since she has no Drive A: or B: ,
this poses a problem.

My first question is this: Can the "Substitute" command be used under
XP to substitute A: for E: or F: or whatever drive letter the system
assigns to an external USB floppy drive, in order to run this program?

My second question is this: Does the ability to substitute A: have
anything to do with the status of A: within the computer's BIOS? One
fellow I talked with suggested I might need to go into the computer's
BIOS and turn "off" A: to make it available for substitution. True?

Thank you for any information you can provide.

C'ya,

Ben

You can do it by running these commands from the Command Prompt:
mountvol
mountvol A: /d
subst a: x:\

And to reverse the process:
subst a: /d
mountvol \\?\Volume{f9d9b800-63d8-11da-89fa-806d6172696f}\

You'll have to copy the long volume ID from the appropriate entry
you see when you run mountvol for the very first time.

The method is independent from any BIOS drive manipulation.

 

[David Candy]

It depends on the program. There are no standards for copy protection so your question is unanswerable. You have to suck it and see.

 

[DanS]

ber of USB ports.

This is a problem because one of the main programs she uses comes on
floppy disks. Worse, it has both copy protection and installation
limits. She has used up her "credits" for "full installs," but has an

<SNIP>
C'ya,

Ben

What is the name of the program if I may ask ?

 

[Ben Alias]

You can do it by running these commands from the Command Prompt:
mountvol
mountvol A: /d
subst a: x:\

And to reverse the process:
subst a: /d
mountvol \\?\Volume{f9d9b800-63d8-11da-89fa-806d6172696f}\

You'll have to copy the long volume ID from the appropriate entry
you see when you run mountvol for the very first time.

The method is independent from any BIOS drive manipulation.

Thank you. I really appreciate the information. I had never heard of
the "mountvol" command before, and will read up on it.

Thanks again,

Ben


P.S.: My friend is out of town and will not return for about 2 months.
So I won't know whether this will work for her until she returns in
two months with her portable computer.

 

[Ben Alias]

What is the name of the program if I may ask ?

You may ask, but I'd rather not say. It is basically a fancy-schmansy
word processing program that outputs written material in unusually
formatted style, which is used in/demanded by a particular industry.
It is not the kind of software that you would use unless you were
involved in this particular industry. It is not the kind of software
you would find on the shelf at your local Office Depot or Best Buy or
similar retail store or whatever.

Yes, she could just buy a newer version of the software on CD-rom and
install it, but this would cost several times the price of an external
floppy drive. Also, since her software was issued ca. 1998, a
competing brand has gained popularity within her industry. So if she
was forced to spend $X on the upgrade, she might choose to spend $X +
20 % to get the Brand Y software. She is reluctant to do this not
only because of the expense but because she is unsure how well Brand Y
software would "convert" the written items she has done in Brand X
format.

This is largely a question of economics.

C'ya,

Ben

 

[David Candy]

Unlikely

 

[David Candy]

He wanted to search the technical support for the product, moron.

 

[DanS]

You may ask, but I'd rather not say. It is basically a fancy-schmansy
word processing program that outputs written material in unusually
formatted style, which is used in/demanded by a particular industry.
It is not the kind of software that you would use unless you were
involved in this particular industry.
It is not the kind of software
you would find on the shelf at your local Office Depot or Best Buy or
similar retail store or whatever.

Most commercially-useful industry specific software is not available at CC
or BB, but that doesn't mean that because you are not involved in that
industry, that you have no knowledge of anything that may pertain to it.
Software is software, and whether it's some obscure word processor or some
CAD package, or anything for that matter, they all 'talk' to the PC in the
same manner.

Yes, she could just buy a newer version of the software on CD-rom and
install it, but this would cost several times the price of an external
floppy drive. Also, since her software was issued ca. 1998, a
competing brand has gained popularity within her industry. So if she
was forced to spend $X on the upgrade, she might choose to spend $X +
20 % to get the Brand Y software. She is reluctant to do this not
only because of the expense but because she is unsure how well Brand Y
software would "convert" the written items she has done in Brand X
format.

This is largely a question of economics.

C'ya,

Ben

Why would you rather not say ? Sorry to say it this way, but that's just
plain stupid.

I can then offer no help what-so-ever on trying to get the s/w to run
without having to go through some lame protection scheme because she didn't
buy enough 'full installation credits' (whatever that would mean).

FWIW, an 8 year-old s/w package that is used in a 'secret' industry, AND
losing users because a competing product has gained more popularity because
it is better than NEW versions of whatever she has, should be replaced.

I would suggest getting an eval copy of each of the companies respective
product and have her see for herself if either new version has better, more
productive features than the circa 1998 version. If they don't offer an
eval download through their website, contact them directly and if she's a
regular user that is registered, they SHOULD have no problems providing an
eval.

'Several times the cost of an external floppy' means what ? How much ?
Economics....what are the economics ? Was it even examined ? Used for a
business....it's tax deductable (I know, not a huge savings, but some none
the less). Even the laptop used if used for business is tax detuctible.

What if some new feature(s) allow her to cut 25% off the time it takes to
do whatever it is she does ? That looks to me to be economically good. It
wouldn't take long for that initial outlay to be made back in just saved
time (read as $'s) alone.

DanS

 

[Frank]

I do not use XP--yet. My computer is a desktop running ME. But I
have a friend who recently bought a small laptop running XP and
asked
me to help her set it up. The computer she bought has no floppy
disk
drive, but has a number of USB ports.

This is a problem because one of the main programs she uses comes
on
floppy disks. Worse, it has both copy protection and installation
limits. She has used up her "credits" for "full installs," but
has an
unlimited number of what I will call "limited installs," by which
I
mean that when the program starts, it goes through a verification
process during which it requires that floppy disk # 1 (the "key"
disk)
be inserted in Drive A: or B: , and the program checks that the
key
disk is valid before it will run. Since she has no Drive A: or B:
,
this poses a problem.

My first question is this: Can the "Substitute" command be used
under
XP to substitute A: for E: or F: or whatever drive letter the
system
assigns to an external USB floppy drive, in order to run this
program?

My second question is this: Does the ability to substitute A: have
anything to do with the status of A: within the computer's BIOS?
One
fellow I talked with suggested I might need to go into the
computer's
BIOS and turn "off" A: to make it available for substitution.
True?

This thread peaked my curiosity. I just tried:
No legacy floppy, the Sony USB floppy came up in XP as A:
Legacy floppy in a position, the Sony USB floppy came up in XP as B:
BIOS drive A = none, drive B = none
It even booted with the boot from USB device enabled in BIOS.
Your post _suggests_ that you have not tried a USB floppy.
Good Luck