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Maybe you just want some advice on creating a Boot Disk. Or perhaps you have run into The Mscdex Problem - no access to the CD-ROM drive from the Windows95 Startup floppy. This means working in DOS Mode. If you have never used DOS, please have a look at DOS for Windows9x first. This Guide assumes little or no experience of DOS. In fact most of the preparation doesn't involve DOS at all, and where it does the commands are quite simple.
The Boot Disk Boot Floppy Files
| The Boot Disk | |
|---|---|
| A Bootable Floppy | |
| There are two types of Boot Disk - the Bootable Floppy and a fully checked and tested one for use specifically with Windows 95/98. If all you need is a minimal one to get the system started, you just need a "bootable" one. There is also the OEM Floppy (see below). Before using any floppy to make a Boot disk, it should be freshly formatted. This should be done in DOS mode rather than from within Windows, to minimise possible virus contagion. Reboot the computer, hit F8 as soon as "Starting Windows9x" appears (or hold down Ctrl for Win98), and from the Boot Menu choose "Command Prompt only". Place the floppy in the drive and at the prompt (C:\>) type: Format A: /U /S [Enter]( /U means Unconditional, ie completely. /S means copy the main System files to the floppy after formatting ). When asked if you wish to format another, either press Y (Yes - and insert another) or N (No). It is best to make two, in case one fails at a critical moment, such as just when you need it! When done, label the disks before you forget and use them for something else ... The Bootable Floppy will have no Config.sys or Autoexec.bat, and no mouse or CD-ROM drivers, but will enable you to get a PC started in DOS mode and do some basic troubleshooting. It will also have plenty of space left for adding other utilities you may want on a bootable floppy. (If extra space is needed and you are not using a compressed drive, you can delete the file Drvspace.bin).Whilst a Bootable Floppy can be used on other machines, it is safer to create your own. By all means lend one to a friend, but mark it and only use the other copy on your own PC. |
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| The OEM Floppy | |
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| If you have an OEM version of Win95 (ie Win95B or C) you may have been given the 'dealer' floppy with the CD. Dealers need them to load the CD and are not supposed to pass them on. They should in any case be modified, deleting the file "Sample.sys" and all references to it, and replacing them by the machine's own CD-ROM driver ('cdrom.sys', 'atapi.sys' or similar). The OEM Floppy boots the machine and copies the CD contents to the Hard Disk - usually the C: drive. Windows Setup is then run from the Hard Disk. This is faster than from a CD, as is making any changes to Windows Setup via the Add / Remove Programs option in Control Panel. In theory it makes the CD redundant, which is why new machines are often supplied without the CD. This is fine until Win95 goes seriously wrong. If you then need to reformat the Hard Drive (or at least drive C:) to do a full re-install, you have nothing to use to do it with! Don't rely on an OEM Floppy without testing it first. You can use the OEM Disk if you would prefer to reload Windows from the Hard Disk. Before you do, examine what's on it, to ensure you can control the process, and that it can access your CD drive. You must also be able to halt the process to reformat your C: drive before copying the CD, or Windows Setup will refuse to run because it detects remnants of a previous installation. This means delving into the disk's Config.sys, Autoexec.bat and Drvcopy.inf files as a minimum. (For help with editing such files see DOS for Windows9x). If you would prefer to use the OEM floppy, it may be simpler to use this Guide to make a first Boot Disk, which will have the DOS utilities for partitioning and formatting your Hard Disk etc, and run the OEM one second. If you do decide to do this, the sequence given on page 5 must be altered to ensure the DOS mode CD-ROM driver is installed first. |
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| A Windows9x Boot Disk If you are using Windows 98 I suggest you read the details below first then see Windows98 Differences. |
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| From now on all references to "Boot Disk" are to the one we are creating for your setup. It will work quite happily as a Bootable floppy, too. Better, in fact, but don't discard the simple version. First find another floppy with nothing useful on it (you did check the ones you used to make the plain Bootable version?). Place the floppy in the drive and at the prompt (C:\>) type: Format A: /U [Enter] ( Don't include the /S switch this time ).Remove it and reboot into Windows. Then go into Settings \ Control Panel \ Add/Remove Programs \ Startup Disk and click on Create Disk. That will get the thing started. The Boot disk also has Config.sys and Autoexec.bat, but they cannot be the same as the pair in the root C:\ folder. Don't simply copy them from C:\ to A:\ . This will cause problems since the file path names will be wrong. The commands will point to files on the Hard Disk, not those on the floppy, which defeats the object of having a Boot floppy in the first place. A Boot disk must be self-contained, with copies of the files which will be invoked by its own Config.sys and Autoexec.bat, and any others you may wish to use. So get a grip on the Startup floppy produced by Win95, delete the superfluous, stuff it with the files you do need, and edit its Config.sys and Autoexec.bat as appropriate. See Mscdex & CD-ROM Access for more details. The Boot floppy is not intended to be a full, system-booting disk, just something to get the machine going enough to troubleshoot, to provide enough for DOS mode use. (For example, Win9x needs the Registry files to load and you won't get those on the floppy). Do not use a Boot disk created by a friend. Create your own from the files on your own current setup, not from a previous one. This will avoid version conflicts if using it to troubleshoot. Possible virus dangers apart, another version incompatibility can be caused by using files from a different setup as regards the Hard Disk. If yours is formatted as FAT32, a Win95/95a boot floppy will have problems, as it will only be able to read a FAT hard drive. (Win95b onward support both FAT & FAT32). |
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| Boot Disk Files | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Working with files - Windows Explorer | |||
| If you have problems finding some of the files below, it is probable you have your Explorer setting on the Default, which deliberately 'hides' system files. This is for safety reasons, to prevent key files being accidentally moved or deleted. To enable you to see all the files, click on 'View' then 'Options'. Check the 'Show All Files' option on the 'View' tab, and click 'OK'. Remember to re-set the 'Hide' option when finished if your PC is used by anyone who might think it a good idea to move all "their" system files to another folder! | |||
| Essential Files | |||
The existing versions of:
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Notes:
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Updated versions of:
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Copies of the CD-ROM driver files:
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The names of "CD.sys" files vary from setup to setup. Have a look in the folder to which your CD-ROM drivers were installed. In an emergency, try any ATAPI-compatible CD-driver. Most modern ones will work on most systems, but check any documentation you may have first. (ATAPI = Advanced Technologies Attachment Packet Interface. Now you know.) Copy Mscdex.exe from the C:\Windows\Command\ folder. |
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| Not Essential but Useful - A Mouse As this Boot disk is intended for more than just re-installing, a Mouse can be useful. Some utilities which work from their own floppies include a mouse driver, some don't. |
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Copies of DOS Mouse driver files:
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The filenames of the "Mouse" files also vary. There may be no " \Mouse\ " folder on your machine, as standard two-button mice do not need installation files if intended only to be used under Windows9x. If you have no Mouse files, get a copy of "Mouse.com" from somewhere! It is not usually necessary to have both Mouse.sys and Mouse.com - Mouse.com on its own is sufficient. But if you do have Mouse.sys, Mouse.com is needed too. If you have an older version of MS-DOS (up to 6.0) it will be on disk 2. It may also be on another mouse's installation disk, or on some other Dos program disk. Look for "mouse.co_". Don't copy the file as it is. Open a DOS-box ("MS-DOS Prompt" from the Menu), and at the Command Prompt type: Extract A:\mouse.co_ C:\mouse.com [Enter]Close the DOS-box and move the file from C:\ to the Boot disk. Alternatively, do an Internet Search for it. Sorry - links to sites where it is available keep changing! |
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| Recommended files, from the C:\Windows\Command\ folder A number of these will already be on the Windows Startup disk. |
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| Once happy with the files on the Boot disk, delete anything you know is not needed, run Scandisk across it and Defragment it. Then Write-Protect it both as an anti-virus precaution and to prevent accidental use of it for something else. Viewed from the back, upside-down, the tab at upper left should not cover the hole, so open it. | |||
| Don't forget to test it ! If the test was OK, make at least one copy. Label all disks, and include the Windows version. (To get the exact version go into Settings - Control Panel - System) |
| Notes | |
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| If you are using Windows 98, now see Windows98 Differences. |
Now that wasn't so difficult really, was it?
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