I recently used some Linux utilities to format a USB stick and install FreeDOS on it via unetbootin. I wanted to use this to run a utility to check on the SSD of my Dell Mini (which supposedly can show errors that prevent the OS from booting). I went through the motions as if I had created a DOS-bootable stick via Windows: after installing FreeDOS I simply copied the files I wanted directly to the root drive of the stick. Now, if I boot into the stick from my Ubuntu machine, I can easily change from A: to C: and examine the contents; I can even run the utility file no problem. However, when I try to do the same thing on the Mini, I run into problems. I can check the A: drive without issue, but if I linger on the C: drive, things start freezing; dir halts after listing the directory contents, and if I try running the executable I get a flashing cursor after hitting enter and that's it. I've tried all available boot options (LiveCD, with HIMEM and the other option enabled, or with no drivers), but they all yield the same results.
Has anyone else ever encountered something like this? Thanks.