Start Up disk HELP!

Ok my moms laptop again. Well I found a floppy drive for her laptop. I was able to create a Windows 98 second edition startup disk no problem. Then I get somthing that says boot from cd. Well there is only one slot fo the Cd-rom drive and the floppy drive, so I thought I could quickly take out the floopy drive and replace it with the Cd-rom drive. But for saftey reasons the people at dell decided if a drive is not present then have the computer to shut down. So when I go to replace the floppy drive with the installation disk with the cd-rom drive with the boot up cd it decides to shut down.

I thought I might be able to transfer the files from my Computers cd-rom drive to a floppy and just run it off that. But I need to know what files to put on the floppy.

Well, could you possibly copy the floppy (it rhymes :) ) on a desktop PC and burn it onto a CD-R from there, then use the CD to boot the lappie?


Just an idea, hope it helps :)

NOpe doesn't work. I just tried it. The only thing it picks up is floppys . Maybe I should download another operating system that can boot from floopy and be saved by a floppy. Do you know of any I can run from floopy and that will boot up from auto-run.

Some Linux distributions will boot and recover from a floppy (most, in fact)...
however, if you're making a CD with boot files on, you have to make a Bootable CD instead of just an ordinary CD (it's an option in some CD burning software, Nero for example allows it) If you were already doing that, maybe its a BIOS option to choose which drives to boot from first??

I can't remember the full situation your dealing with, but how about this solution.

Boot from the floppy...
Transfer it to the HDD... (ensure that the Computer will now boot as though you had the floppy in the drive)
Shutdown, Attach your CD-ROM drive, and you should be able to continue your install...

*DISCLAIMER: This is a sketchy solution... it could possibly work, but I'm too buggered to figure out the finer details...*

Yeah, that sounds as though it *should* work, in theory. Of course computers have a mind of their own and theory cannot always be put into practice, but it sounds as though it'll work that way!

Nope that didn't work. Isn't the Windows 98 disk an Auto Run to? I'm not sure but I know that the disk won't run. I have to be able to load an operating system from floopy. I have about 14 floopys right now. If it's possible I could put linux on but what files do I need to copy or should I just copy everything.

What exactly didn't work?
If on attempting to boot did it give you lots of file not founds, you probably just have to change the locations in the config. files..

I don't know the specific files needed for a Linux install, but copying everything seems like a waste of time, for a basic install you'd only need the kernel and some basic programs, then you could get the rest from a CD once it'd booted up.

I can't give a specific list, but try doing a minimal linux install on a desktop PC then copying the contents of the HDD onto floppies or something.
Or, maybe get a linux distro that runs entirely from a single floppy, and then boot with that, copy it to a HDD so it boots from the hard drive then stick the CD rom in and do a fuller Linux install.

Here is one of the available distributions that can fit on one floppy, just as an addition to Rewandythal's post....
LOAF: Linux On A Floppy

Man! You have to love the fact that the people who designed this model assumed you would never need both a floppy and cdrom at the same time. Ok, follow these steps to install 98 in this scenerio.

1) Put in floppy drive and bootup with the 98 disk. Prompt to load w/o cdrom support (why? You don't have one yet)

2) FDISK if you need too

3) format using the system parameter. (ex. Format c: /s )
Note: This loads all the config files for msdos....you don't need the floppy to boot anymore. Also, make sure that you have format.com on that floppy (windows boot disks sometimes doesn't include that tool....God knows why?) If you don't have it...go to the machine that is running Win98 and do a find for files or folders and search for format.com and look in the c:....then copy it over to the boot disk.

4) Shutdown the system and switch out the drives for the cdrom.

5) Restart and allow the system to boot into msdos.

6) Once you have the a: flashing on the screen, switch over to the cdrom (cd d:) this should work as long as msdex is loaded (I don't remember if it does or not so pray to god you don't get an invalid drive specification)

7) From there......go to the win98 folder (cd win98) and type setup

If all this doesn't work.....you need to go to the BIOS and check under the cmos configuration that the primary or secondary boot device is set for the cdrom. Dell Latitude's can boot from the cdrom as well as Windows 98. If you put the drive in with the cd, boot up, and it doesn't ask you to hit enter to boot from cdrom (just says, please insert system disk or whatever, you don't have the bios settings right.

Note: You cannot hot swap those drives.....it will simply say that it is an invalid drive specification because the bios didn't detect the damn thing during boot (duh!!).

Note: If all else fails....make sure the bios has the cdrom set for a boot device. Once this is done, put in the cdrom drive as well as the 98 cd. Finnaly just boot the box and hit enter when it prompts to boot from the cd.

Let me know if you need more help

Cordially,

Sp1d3r

Ok, I ****ed something up. The dos level driver loader for cdroms is called mscdex.exe. Also, to switch to different drives once in dos use the 'cd' command such as cd c: I hate those damn smiley faces.


Laterz

Sp1d3r

Ok I got all the way to format. Anyway when I go to restart it and put in the cd it says "Invalid System Disk" so what do I do now. It won't go to ms-dos at all without that damn startup=disk. I'm going to try to copy the files from the startupdisk to the C:\ . If I can't get it to work what should I do? Get another hard drive?

Ok I'm at ms-dos after it booted up. Now for some reason I can change out the Cd drive for the floppy but can't change the floppy out for the cd-drive.

hey man I am not sure if this is far too late or what I stoped reading the thread a while ago 8þ

but the msg that comes up is
boot with CD suport
boot without cd suport?

u don't need the cd in to get to dos u just go the 2nd of the 2

check the bios for the swap saftey thing, also what is it u are trying to acheive? installing a OS? cause then maybe you should just ghost an image onto it.

anyways I hope I havn't just repeated what every1 else has already said 8þ

Ghosting an image would probably work, but unless you can boot from CDs that is not an option, in this particular case, since you won't be able to boot from a floppy then insert a CD (because both drives can't be in at the same time)

Look through your BIOS options to either enable booting from CD, or disable the safe-swapping feature that shuts it down if you swap the drives.

Apart from that, putting the contents of a DOS boot disk onto your hard drive should work, as long as the HDD is FAT/FAT32 formatted. From there you should be able to boot using the hard drive, with the CD Drive in, and install Windows in the usual way.

In order to get MSCDEX working, you'll need to copy the contents of a Windows 98 boot floppy to the hard drive, a 95 boot floppy does not contain MSCDEX.EXE, OAKCDROM.SYS and the required lines in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT

I know how Windows boot floppys work in regard to memory assignment and getting CD ROM drives working in DOS mode after trying to get some DOS based games distributed on CD working on my computer, many many years ago!

Well I did what Spider=Wolf suggested. Know I just have to download the drivers for the cd=rom and I should be able to boot one of the operating systems.

Ok,

So you managed to get the damn thing in MSDOS. Great, the next issue is getting the cdrom functioning within this **** excuse for a command prompt. (Not that I do not hold any hatred for dos of course). You need to check the bios settings real quick. You should be able to start the system now (with the cdrom drive plugged in) and load into the dos prompt (blinking a:). The drives should have loaded but of course may not have. Make sure that the Win98 cd is in the rom and type: cd d: and see if it gives you an invalid drive specification. If it doesn't you should be looking at a blinking d: From there....type cd win98..... hit enter and then type setup. If you do get an invalid drive specification then it is time to play with mscdex.exe, I can help with this later but I don't think that this would be a problem at the moment. Just follow the above and reply if something blows up.

Note: Windows 98 can boot from the bios (and a Dell has the ability to boot from cdrom)....in short. Go to the bios (I think you hit delete to enter setup when you first boot) and then select cmos configuration.....make sure that the primary boot device is set to the cdrom and save changes and exit. Put in the cdrom drive and win98 cd. Start the system and you should be prompted to boot from cd (hit enter) and then it will prompt you with various options for win98....choose to setup from cdrom and you are on your way. I have done this on those models of dells a few times in the past.....let me know if it doesn't work.

Cordially,

Spid3r

Cordially,

Sp1d3r

Thanks Sp1d3r-W0lf. I got the damn thing fixed, and I was able to partiton it with Red Hat Linux. Yippee. Thanks Alot for the good help.

If you boot from the win98 floppy,
do a SYS C:, and still can't boot from the
C drive, you probably have a hard
drive problem.
If it will boot from C drive, you should be able to
copy cdrom drivers, pcmcia support or
whatever to C: and then connect
cdrom, boot from C: and have access to cdrom.
Study your BIOS settings though.
Some times it's something simple.
:cool:

Quote:

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Originally posted by freeOn
Ok I got all the way to format. Anyway when I go to restart it and put in the cd it says "Invalid System Disk" so what do I do now. It won't go to ms-dos at all without that damn startup=disk. I'm going to try to copy the files from the startupdisk to the C:\ . If I can't get it to work what should I do? Get another hard drive?

---

You start with a simple copy of MS-DOS 6.20 or some Windows98 bootable disk. Don't use the windows thing, make your own floppy disk with your keyboard and CD-rom support (OAK technology has a driver that works on all CD rom drives, how to make 1 is posted on AO before) . Boot with that. Use Fdisk to create primary DOS partition. restart with the boot disk
use format c: /S to format your Harddrive and install the system files on it. restart after format. From now on you can boot from HDD. Make a copy of the CD drivers and the files autoexec.bat config.sys from your FDD to your HDD. Edit your autoaxec.bat and config.sys so it will look for the cd drivers where you had put them (see the copy above) Restart. (Remove FDD insert CDD).
Now your PC starts DOS with CD support. Insert your Win98 disk and install.

I you want to use linux. Boot with some DOS disk, Use Fdisk, make a partition. Restart. Do *not* format the disk with MSDOS. Set your BIOS to start with CD, if your CD drive supports 'El Torito index' it will be able to start from CD. Insert your Linux boot CD and install from CD to the empty partition you created with FDISK