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Emergency bootdisk page 2 (back to page 1)

Windows9x bootdisk "from scratch" - TweakCentral shows you how

I made a disk image file so you can just make a dos boot disk.
Download it (bootdisk.zip 806 KB 06/09/99)
By downloading this file, you agree to the legal notice below.

The instructions on this page are a pain. I'm going to try to put up a disk-image of a boot-disk I have and you can just download that and pop-in a floppy. How sweet is that?

Until then, these instructions will have to do:

*NOTE: about FAT32
When Microsoft says that DOS and FAT32 are not compatible, they mean it.
If you have a FAT32 Hard-Drive and try to read/write files from DOS, you will have trouble accessing it.

Create an Emergency Boot-Disk Step-By-Step:

Method 1. With the w95 Startup-disk applet.

Method 2. From Scratch

Regardless of which method you use, ALWAYS - Start with a ** NEW ** Floppy Disk.  It's always a good idea to use a new floppy for vital information.  Throw away old floppies in favor of new ones if you can.  And ALWAYS run a quick SCANDISK when re-using old floppies and throw away any with "bad clusters."

1. Start the Applet:

Go to control panel | Add/Remove Programs and select the Startup Disk tab.

2. Get a new floppy ready and press the create disk button.

3. CD-Rom Drivers:

If you want to use this disk to access your CD-Rom (ie for re-installing w95), you'll have to add the CD-Rom drivers yourself.  If you do not intend to use this disk with a CD-Rom drive, you are done.

Obtain some real-mode (dos) drivers for your CD-Rom Drive.   These can be obtained from your CD-Rom's manufacturer.  I've read that "there are no such thing as generic real-mode CD-Rom drivers," but I use this one from TEAC (download it here).  It has worked on every CD-Rom drive I've tried it on.
Extract the teac_cdi.sys file and add it to your floppy.

4. Modify the config.sys file:

Open the config.sys file on the boot-disk (a:\config.sys) wiith a text-editor (MS Word, Wordpad, Notepad...etc).
Add the following lines (at the bottom of whatever is already there):
device=himem.sys
device=a:\teac_cdi.sys /d:teac-cdi   (*this line will be different based on your cd-rom driver - see your driver's documentation).
Save the file.

5. Modify the autoexec.bat file:

Open the autoexec.bat (a:\autoexec.bat) file as you did the config.sys file in step 4.
Add the following line:
a:\mscdex.exe /d:teac-cdi /m:15
(the "teac-cdi" portion of this line should match the line in the config.sys and the /m: switch determines the number of buffers mscdex uses - it's not critical, but may create problems if it's missing.)
Save the file.

That's it, you're done.  You can try the disk by leaving it in your computer and resarting.  You should be presenetd with the DOS prompt and when you type dir d: (substitute the letter of your cd-rom drive for "d") you should see the files on your CD-Rom.  If this does not work, be sure you have typed the lines correctly in the config.sys and autoexec.bat files in steps 4 & 5.

1. Format the disk (either using Windows and checking the "copy system files" box or using a dos prompt and typing: format a: /s)

2. Copy the following files to the disk:
Some files may have "hidden" or "system" attributes and may not be displayed unless you have view/options set up properly
location	filename
C:\windows\command	attrrib.exe chkdsk.exe debug.exe (optional) edit.com fdisk.exe format.exe mscdex.exe scandisk.exe scandisk.ini sys.com*
C:\windows\	command.com emm386.exe himem.sys* regedit.exe
C:\	io.sys* msdos.sys*
	*these files should have been created upon format, add them if they're not there.

5. CD-Rom Drivers:

Obtain some real-mode (dos) drivers for your CD-Rom Drive.   These can be obtained from your CD-Rom's manufacturer.  I've read that "there are no such thing as generic real-mode CD-Rom drivers," but I use this one from TEAC (download it here).  It has worked on every CD-Rom drive I've tried it on.
Extract the teac_cdi.sys file and add it to your floppy.

6. Create a config.sys file:

Create a new file wiith a text-editor (MS Word, Wordpad, Notepad...etc).
Add the following lines:
device=himem.sys
device=a:\teac_cdi.sys /d:teac-cdi   (*this line will be different based on your cd-rom driver - see your driver's documentation).
Save the file as "config.sys" on your floppy.

7. Create an autoexec.bat file:

Create a new text file as you did in step 4.
Add the following line:
a:\mscdex.exe /d:teac-cdi /m:15
(the "teac-cdi" portion of this line should match the line in the config.sys and the /m: switch determines the number of buffers mscdex uses - it's not critical, but may create problems if it's missing.)
Save the file as autoexec.bat

You're ready to go. Test the disk to make sure it works: Leave it in the drive and reboot your computer.  When the prompt comes up type d: (substitute the letter of your CD-Rom drive for "d") and then type dir.  If your disk isn't configured properly, you'll get an "invalid drive specification" error.   If this happens review the steps above and make sure the autoexec.bat and config.sys files are entered properly.

If everything is working properly, open the write-protect tab and keep this disk in a safe place (make a back-up copy of this disk if you're really into safety).

If you ever have a bad-day and your computer gives up the ghost, you will be VERY GLAD you have this disk.

< Page 1
Bootdisk main page

*LEGAL NOTICE: It is assumed that you already own all of the files contained in the image. If you own Windows 95, 98 or 98SE you do. But if you do not, you may not download the file.







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