Thinkpads Forum

Hello all,
Correct me if I am thinking incorrectly. I am use to using my win98se boot diskette for running Fdisk and format of HD's. I have come across a couple laptops with cd-rom's and no floppy drives. I am currently unable to purchase a USB floppy, so I am curious to see if there is a CD version of the boot diskette available, which will allow me to do the same thing from the cd-rom on boot. I have tried to burn a bootable cd and copy the files, but I keep doing something wrong, and it doesn't work quite right.
Any ideas?
Thanks,

oldgrandpainmi

Try this:

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but I have seen it mentioned several times here in the forum.

tfflivemb2

I'll let you know how it works out tomorrow, hopefully. I tried to download it tonight, but with only a dial-up connection, the 81meg file will take 7-8 hours to download. For some reason, my download manager won't work right, so I am going to use a friends cable connection. Thanks for the link.
OGPIM

Wow, didn't realize that the file was that large.

Try this instead, I have used these:

http://www.bootdisk.com/

My first question is, what are you using for an install CD? That is, do you have a retail version of '98 that won't boot, or an upgrade, or what?

All versions of XP are supposed to boot.

Now, having said that, and depending on your burner software version, you should be able to make a bootable CD. In my Nero, you simply select "data" cd, then "bootable" and it askes for a floppy with whatever you want on there for the "boot image." The version of Nero I have can ALSO make a bootable CD from a "bootable image."


Now don't confuse this with the "entire CD" ---that is---the part that you can "see" when you browze it. The boot section of the CD is invisible, unless you get into it with somethink like ISO buster.

When a CD boots, say, a factory "OEM" Windows 98 CD, the "boot" section emulates your A: drive, and, if you have a floppy, "bumps" it up to B:, so it is still accessible during that time.

You, therefore, can do the same thing--build a bootable CD from a floppy, and then the body of the CD can have nothing--or anything you want.

For example, I burned a custom CD, on which the boot sector is a modified Windows 98 floppy, and the body of the CD has BOTH the '98 and ME setup files in separate folders--so I can use that CD to install and troubleshoot EITHER 98 or ME.

You can ALSO make a DOS launched XP install CD. Same deal--make a custom boot floppy for your startup, boot sector, and then just copy the \I386 folder to the CD.

roadrunner,

As I stated, I am looking for a bootable cd that will allow me to fdisk, scandisk, and format, amoung other things, to a couple laptops without floppy's.

I did try to do exactly as you stated. I did make a bootable cd and copied my win98se boot floppy files to it, but I cannot seem to get the right boot image copied correctly. The image I got was unfamilar to me, and would not allow me to run the win98se fdisk files copied from the diskette. It would give me 'wrong dos version' errors. Having never done this before, I may be close to what I want, but I need to select the correct image first. This, I think, is my problem. Maybe if I select the correct image, I could get around it.

If you, or anyone else, could explain how to set the boot image to me, I would appreciate it. Having never done this before, it is 'hit or miss' right now.

Thanks for the reply,
OGPIM

You are going to have to be much more specific

What brand and version of "burner" software are you using?

Where did you get, and how did you make the boot (floppy)?

You say you "copied my win98se boot floppy files to it"


Explain that statement. You don't "copy" the files, and what is "it?"

Tell us, in other words, exactly what you did and how you tried to do it?

FIRST someone has to know what your burner software is, and what you are using for a "boot image."

Are you actually using a TESTED bootable floppy for the image?

Are you using a "boot image" file?

Also, be aware, that depending on the source of the bootdisk, you may have to copy some of the command files you want to use, onto the body of the CD separately. Many bootdisks, (floppies) for example, do not have format.com on them. Ditto with some of the other basic utilites. You have to get thes rounded up, copied into a folder, so that when you make the CD, you can put them on there.


So far as Windows 95/98/ME, all the files I've ever needed were either on the standard 98SE startup floppy, or in the \Win98, (or appropriate) directory on the install CD.

Roadrunner,

Sorry about all of the problems.

First, I am using "CD Burner XP Professional" to burn cd's.
Second, I am copying the HD utility files from my ORIGONAL MSWin98 boot diskette (floppy).

Except for the boot image, I set up my software to burn the cd as a bootable CD, then I TRIED to set the boot image to what I thought was correct, and copied all the floppy boot files to it.
It burned with the wrong image, as I didn't know what exactly I was doing, and put an unfamilar image on it. When I put the newly created cd into the laptop and booted from it, it came up with a system that would allow me to get to the a:\ prompt, but would not allow me to use any of the MSWin files, giving 'wrong DOS revision' errors.

So, basicly, I am trying to take my origonal MS Win98se boot diskette and copy it onto cd to allow me to do the excat same thing as if I were to install it into a floppy drive and boot from the a:\.

I know the floppy is fine, as I can boot off of it with my desktop, and get to all of the files correctly. I can run scandisk and fdisk with no errors. This is what I am trying to accomplish using the cd-rom as a boot device on the laptops.

My ignorance lies in what, and how, to set up the boot image (I think).

Hope this answers everything.

OGPIM

OK, lets back up a tad:

1. What type of laptop are we talking about? (Please include the type number, ie. 2645-xxx)

2. Have you checked your boot order in the BIOS?

These questions are important for a number of reasons, such as some older machines will not read a "burnt" disk.

Yes, maybe I wrongly assumed that the target machine HAS been tested to boot from a known good CD



Alright, I'm not familiar with that software, so I just downloaded it. I

didn't spend much time--I just tried one.


I guess you know how to copy whatever extra files you want to "the

compilation?"

Then, when you get ready to burn "the compilation" to CD, go up to the

top, click DISC, "boot options", and click the box "make Disc Bootable"


I haven't yet figured out how to change the default boot image, but they

give you one already. (C:\Program Files\CDBurnerXP Pro

3\Tools\DosBootimage.IMA )


(My Nero software can build a boot sector for the CD directly from a floppy)

Click OK to exit the box


Click "burn" and a box should appear, along with the message "The disc

is set to bootable"


One thing I forgot to do is slow down the write speed, which seems to

enhance readablility, and be aware---some older CDROM drives don't

happily read "burned" CD's--my old 380XD was that way.


Alright, I've tried it, and it works, sorta. THe boot image does NOT like

my Thinipad 600X, it works just fine on my desktop PC--boots from a cold

start, and you can "read" the data section of the CD. The supplied boot

image seems overly complicated to me. We probably need to figure a way to

build a substitute boot image.

The supplied (default) image worked OK on my desktop

On my Thinkpad 600X, It started to give some "EMM" error, and then flashed

off. I finally hit it right with "F8" and got it to go to the "step by

step confirmation. HIT "N" for NO on the FIRST item, you can hit Y for

YES on the rest, and it did boot and read OK in my 600X, so it DOES
work.


Now we need to figure out how to build a better boot image.

Have you been to the "forums" or the FAQ section of that software to look

for hints?


http://www.cdburnerxp.se/forum/viewtopic.php?t=796


This may be the gold mine, here:

http://cdburnerxp.se/help/bootdisc


Or, maybe not. Whatever they are showing there for screenshots doesn't

match what I can bring up in the program. I'm off for now---this does

work, but I can't figure out how to generate a different boot image

If you can get this this far, or list your troubles, looks to me like the

only flaw now, is to create/substitute a better or alternate boot image.

It DOES WORK as is.


Post back

Well, I found this:


http://www.aptv38.dsl.pipex.com/RescueM ... eMEDos.htm


down the page I tried this


http://www.aptv38.dsl.pipex.com/Downloa ... age152.zip


and could not get it to work. I made the image from a known good, tested floppy, saved it and renamed to .ima, and burned the CD as above. Won't boot.


So----I got your software to build a bootable CD using the default boot image,


I cannot figure out how to build a better one.

Alrightey, THIS WORKS

There may be other programs, I did find this:


http://www.nu2.nu/download.php?sFile=dd.zip


Unzip it somewhere that you know where it's at, you must run it from a "command line." It worked ok from a command prompt on my XP machine

Get out your DOS command skills


After you've unzipped dd.exe somewhere, open a command prompt, and change directories until you are where it's at

Type DD and the ENTER key


It will say


usage: dd drive file
dd file drive
dd drive drive


These are the options, so in this case, take your favorite boot floppy an jam'er in A:\

pick a file name for the output image, could be just bootme.ima


So, type

dd A:\ bootme.ima and the ENTER key

I think there must be a space between "DD" and the A, and between "\" and the filename.


Now, after that's done, copy the image you've just created to wherever it is that the burner software looks for it, in the version I just downloaded it's


C:\ProgramFiles\CDBurnerXP Pro 3\Tools\


Now, when you burn a CD, you should be able to select that image you've just created. I tested this (so far I've burned 4 CD's with this software) and it works just great.

440roadrunner wrote:There may be othe programs, I did find this:
http://www.nu2.nu/download.php?sFile=dd.zip

Thanks for the link, was looking for such a tool today before getting sidetracked.

BTW, you can forgo the DOS prompt by right clicking on the file (dd.exe in this case) then clicking "Properties," then click the "Program" tab. In the "Cmd line:" text box, append what you would type on the command line, leaving a space after the program name; then click OK. For example, my command line read C:\TEMP\dd.exe, so I appended that line to read: C:\TEMP\dd.exe B:\ myboot.img

This creates a shortcut to the program which you can double click on to run. It worked like a charm, creating the file myboot.img in my C:\TEMP folder. Though I'm an old DOS hand, sometimes it can be difficult navigating thru the tree structure with long filenames and spaces in them. This way you can avoid DOS completely.

Thanks for all of the ideas. I have not had a chance to try them yet, but I will.

While surfing the web last night, I did find out the bit of information I have been looking for. To make my CD-rom boot like a Win boot diskette, I have been suffering with the problem of not copying the correct boot image file when making the cd bootable. There is a web site that explains how to, in detail, create your own bootable cd-rom with the files from my Win98se boot diskette. The key was mentioned earilier in this thread, by Roadrunner (I think. I can't see all of the way back in the thread right now). He said he used Nero. Here is why:

The key is to have Nero CD copying software. In the Nero files there is a file named DosBootimage.IMA . If a cd is made bootable with this boot image file, the cd will boot the same way as the floppy diskette does in the floppy drive on power-up. Then copy the boot diskette files to the CD and it works exactly the same.

I would appreciate if anyone could eather try this, or, if you have Nero, send me a copy of this .IMA file to try. I used to have Nero 6.0, but have lost the files durring a HD crash, and cannot find my CD copy. If you can't, it is not a problem. It is just a thought. I was able to find my origonal copy of WinXPpro last night and used it to partition and format the laptop drives as I needed.

Now that I have started this project of making a bootable CD, I'd like to try this latest idea to see if it works. Seems too easy not to try.

Thanks for everyone's help.

OGPIM
oldgrandpainmi@aol.com

My copy of Nero the DosBootimage.IMA creates a bootable CD the machine boots from and that runs Caldera Dr-Dos 7.03. I can also create a bootable CD that is a working copy of a W98 floppy boot disk as described by 440roadrunner above.

If the WinXP disk is working I assume this problem is taken care of. If you want further information about the CD's I created, let me know.

If you don't have Nero or something like it, here's a link to free CD burning software for Windows: http://www.deepburner.com/?r=download

OK, guys, as you know, I have been trying to make a CD boot to mimic a Windows boot diskette, as I do not have a floppy drive. I have figured it out!!! I am using it as we speak on a laptop.

First of all, I was right. I was using the wrong boot image. Using the Nero (which i got from a neighbor) image file, and the burning software I currently have on my desktop, both produced Caldera DR-DOS. Caldera will not run MS-Dos programs, and I find it much easier to to use MS DOS for partitioning and formatting HD's than Caldera.

Anyway, after trying and trying, I finally got my brain working and found the file I need at http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm. Half way down the page is a colum labeled Non-Windows Based Image Files W/ImageApp . There is a file named, of course, Win98se. I downloaded this image file and unziped it, only to find the file I have been looking for.

When you extract the files, you get:

Win98sec.img
Firm
read me
license

I opened my CD copy software and made the disk bootable to the Win98SEC image file. Then I copied the 4 files to disk. (I also added a copy of fdisk that was also on that site that was made for the 180g+ HD's in its own folder, just in case.) I burned the disk and put it into a laptop with a 60g HD, and went to town. Works EXACTLY as if I were to put my boot diskette in the a: drive of my desktop.

I am not 100% sure that I am done making this cd, but as I write this, I am done with this one I just made. I may make another later. A couple words of warning though. The first CD I made was on a CD-R/W. I tried to add the newest version of fdisk after it was origonally burned, and it stopped booting. I did continue the session, but it just stopped. Next, when I added Fdisk to the same place as the 'Firm' program file, it also stopped booting. Thus the reason for making a seperate file for this version of Fdisk.

Anyway, this should be the end of this subject for me.

OGPIM