InitDisk & FreeDOS Method For Making A Bootable SpinRite USB

SpinRite is the leading disk maintenance, disk repair, and data recovery tool, for magnetic hard disks and for SSD hard drives.

These are instructions for using GRC’s InitDisk utility to create a bootable-USB for running SpinRite_6 on most USB-bootable windows and Linux hardware. This method was intended to be used with windows as the OS to download and run the files to create the USB (but WINE may also work if you have no copy of windows). If you are having trouble with getting SpinRite to boot using other methods, try this…

Overview:

Using a utility made by GRC, we will be reformatting a USB drive and installing FreeDOS onto that USB drive. Once that is done, booting a computer from that FreeDOS-USB will boot the computer into command-line DOS. We will also put a copy of SpinRite.exe onto the USB drive so that when you boot up into DOS you can run SpinRite from the DOS command line. The advantage of this method is that it usually works whereas many computers and USBs will not work trying to boot from a SpinRite.iso file.

(Note: First purchase your copy of SpinRite from GRC: https://www.grc.com/cs/prepurch.htm)

Step 1. Download The InitDisk Utility

Download from https://www.grc.com/initdisk.htm

(This is just a screenshot to show you what to look for)

(This is just a screenshot…)

To do this:

Click the green ‘Download now’ button on the GCR page (which hopefully looks like the above screenshot).

Step 2. Open an Admin Command Prompt (in windows os)

To do this:

- type “command” into the windows search bar

- right-click “command prompt app” and select ‘run as administrator’

This will open a windows admin command terminal (which looks like any other terminal).

Step 3. Run InitDisk with FreeDOS from the command line: initdisk freedos

C:\Users\your_user_name\Downloads>initdisk freedos

To do this:

Change directories (cd) into the location (folder/directory) where the downloaded initdisk.exe file is located on your computer.

(if you downloaded it, it may be in your downloads folder)

This step may look ~like this in the command terminal:

C:\windows\system32>cd C:\Users\your_user_name\Downloads\

To copy the file path, use shift+right_click and select: ‘copy as path’ on the initdisk.exe file (a trick from listening to the creator of SpinRite on his show, ‘Security Now’).

(Note: You will need to remove the quotes and remove the file name, but this will copy the correct file path.)

e.g. “C:\Users\your_user_name\Downloads\initdisk.exe” -> C:\Users\your_user_name\Downloads\

Then, type in: “initdisk freedos”

e.g. The last two steps may look ~like this in the command terminal:

C:\windows\system32>cd C:\Users\your_user_name\Downloads\
C:\Users\your_user_name\Downloads>initdisk freedos

(Note: If you just type ‘initdisk’ without typing ‘freedos’

the program will nicely reformat your disk, but it will not install FreeDOS,

and you do need it to install FreeDOS.)

Step 4. Follow the on-screen instructions within the initdisk program in the terminal

Most likely, the program will tell you, in text in the terminal, to insert your USB stick, or to remove and then re-insert your USB stick. Do that.

After a pause the program will report stats on the USB, then require you to type in “NUKE” and hit enter before it formats the USB (since doing so will destroy what was previously there).

If you are sure that you are using the USB that you want to use, proceed with reformatting the drive AND installing FreeDOS.

Step 5. Copy SPINRITE.EXE onto the drive

(Just drag and drop it into the USB)

To do this:

You have your FreeDOS bootable media, now you need to add SpinRite to that USB.

Open your newly created FreeDOS-USB in a file explorer.

Download or locate your copy of SpinRite_6 (and likewise find that in a file explorer).

(Note: the original zip file downloaded after your purchase of SpinRite will need to be opened/unzipped to make a SprinRite_6.exe file.)

Copy and paste SprinRite_6.exe directly into the main directory of the USB that you just put FreeDOS on. (Don’t cut and paste…keep your copies!)

(Note: I recommend renaming the SpinRite_6.exe file to a short name with no lower case letters so that it will be completely visible and easy to use when you use FreeDOS. e.g. I renamed the file “S6.exe” (or just “S6” with windows adding the .exe)).

(Note: .exe NOT .iso

Other methods of running SpinRite involve making and using a bootable .iso of SpinRite, and putting that on a disk/CD/floppy/USB/etc. to boot from. For reasons that are beyond me, this .iso method does not work with many computers and with many brands of USBs, even if those same computers and USBs would otherwise be happy with running a linux or BSD .iso from those same USBs).

The method described in this guide does not use an .iso, and this method works even when normal .iso methods will not. Instead of booting a SpinRite .iso, this method first runs (boots into) FreeDOS (an open-source version of DOS). So do not put a SpinRite.iso file onto the FreeDOS USB, even if you are used to booting from an .iso on a USB. If counter-intuitive, we are putting the .exe (SpinRite_6.exe) onto the USB. The computer will boot into DOS, then from DOS we run SpinRite.)

Step 6. Booting the USB drive and manually starting SpinRite from the DOS prompt

(In short: insert USB -> boot -> type: S6 -> press enter)

To do this:

Shut down the computer (the computer that you want to use SpinRite on).

Insert the USB that you just made (the FreeDOS-SpinRite-USB) into the computer.

Start the computer.

If all goes well, your computer should boot into a screen showing directory contents in all capital letters and a prompt at the bottom.

It may look ~like this:

CONFIG    SYS
AUTOEXEC  BAT
MKEYB     EXE
S6        EXE
4 file(s)
8 dir(s)
C:\>

FreeDOS has no GUI, this is what FreeDOS looks like when it runs.

If your screen looks like this, congratulations! It worked, you are now in DOS. It may look strange, but this is not an error screen, don’t worry. Your computer booted into DOS perfectly.

At the bottom should be the DOS command line prompt:

C:\>

This is where you will type commands.

There is only one more step and it is extremely easy. Just type the name of the SpinRite file with no suffix (no .exe).

If you look in that list of files and items that printed out on the screen above the command line, you should see “S6” (or whatever you named your SpinRite file) in the list.

(Note: If the filename you used is long, then that filename may not show up completely, and getting the file name and the upper-lower case letters handled correctly may be difficult.)

Just type “S6” (or whatever you named your file) as a command and hit return. (If you used a long file name and it is not working, try a short file name.)

e.g. (This is what the prompt looks like, and what you should type in. Then hit return.)

C:\>
C:\>S6

This should run SpinRite.

Follow the SpinRite instructions and enjoy!!

Note: If this works, all credit goes to the fabulous GRC technical support for creating the tools and this method. If this does NOT work, all fault lies with me for incorrectly writing up the instructions.