make bootable CD from DOS floppies

[molecule]

there are a couple of posts that search for similar solutions ... but with what I am proposing I would be hyjacking their threads

 

problem ... install a multi-FD program (with boot disk plus 2nd, 3rd, ...) to a bootable CD

 

go to http://bootcd.narod.ru/images_e.htm and download .ima image files of blank formatted FDDs. Images range from 1.44, 2.88, 100mb for zip, 700mb for cdroms.

 

http://www.shaneo.com/bootdisks/ has images of bootdisks for all windows systems, but they are all 1.44 .imas

 

so now we have a blank iso big enough to work with (which ImgBurn can burn to CD as bootable, if we can make it bootable)

 

problem ... how to add files to the image and get the two boot files, io.sys and msdos.sys (or whatever), in the right place ...

 

go to Virtual Floppy Disk VFD at http://chitchat.at.infoseek.co.jp/vmware/vfd.html and Virtual Floppy Drive.

 

It's a little bit clunky to use ... there is no intallation, it's just an executable. Expand to any location and start vfdwin.exe. before it can create vfds, the driver needs to load. starting with the [Driver] tab (tab 3), select the driver vfd.sys in the same directory then (.) Manual, then [install] the driver, then [start] the driver. (On vfd shutdown, you need to Uninstall driver, then Stop driver) if you already have two real FDDs installed as A & B, your 2 VFDs can be named M and N or whatever. Starting with tab for [Drive 0], select a drive letter (say M), give it persistent-global scope, then [Open] an image file for editing. Select the 2.88 raw image as the target.

 

Using 2000sp4, I had to use Explorer to reformat the 2.88 target drive to clear off all files.

 

Using ImgBurn, I then made an ima file of the source diskettes, the first being the bootable one. open the ima for the bootable fdd in the tab for [Drive 1] as VFD drive M. first copy the hidden io.sys boot file from the bootable 1.44 source, then save the 2.88 ima. do the same for msdos.sys. Theoretically the disk should be bootable. Then copy the rest of the program files from the remainder of the source FDDs into the 2.88 ima.

 

Burn the 2.88 ima using ImgBurn as follows ... select mode Build ... don't add any files to the file box. On the advanced tab, bootable disk subtab, select Make Image Bootable, select image type 2.88 FD, select the 2.88 ima as the boot image. burn the disk.

 

basically, the config.sys needs to load a cdrom driver and the autoexec needs to label the CDROM, in my case as drive Z

config.sys:
DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
DEVICE=EMM386.EXE NOEMS
DEVICEHIGH=A:\ASPICD.SYS /D:ASPICD00
FILES=30
BUFFERS=10
STACKS=9,256
DOS=HIGH,UMB
BREAK=ON
LASTDRIVE=Z

autoexec.bat
LOADHIGH A:\MSCDEX.EXE /D:ASPICD00 /L:Z

the named files need to be version compatible with io.sys and in this case, in the root dir

The CD comes back "half bootable" ... whatever loads is able to produce text (maybe BIOS)

 

it says "NTLDR is missing ... press any key to continue" pressing any key loads from HDD not from the CD.

 

... any ideas on how to build a bootable CD if I have a 2.88 blank image and the io.sys files?

[LIGHTNING UK!]

You should have the OS format your VFD as a system disc, don't just copy over the IO.SYS etc and expect it to work.

 

Once you've done that, copy over all the non system files from the 3 discs and make your config.sys and autoexec.bat changes.

 

If you're loading aspicd.sys, can't you just put the content of FDD 2 & 3 as normal CD-ROM content where it's then accessed via the CD-ROM drive letter?

[molecule]

thanks Lightning!

 

Your idea about format /s the VFD drive is good one! (How did I miss it?)

 

NT noob here ... the format.com in windows 2000 formats the VFD just fine, but MS dropped the /s switch, and since they also dropped the sys.com file, there is no way install io.sys etc. 2000 doesn't build a boot floppy like 98 and XP do. You can tell, my mind is still functioning at the level of DOS 1.0 -- LOL

 

Also, poking around I found out that the older oakcdrom, aspicd, etc. drivers were originally designed for EIDE CDROMs. Sometimes they don't see SATA CDROMs even if BIOS tries to have them emulating EIDE.

 

There are several FreeDOS drivers made specifically for SATA CDROMs that have to boot under DOS. Start information is available here

 

http://www.bootablecd.de/FreeDOS/help/en/hhstndrd/base/gcdrom.htm

 

I have a 2.88 ima file, so my next task is to somehow start io.sys on the boot sector. VFD doesn't run in 98se, so I can't go that route. Not really a ImgBurn problem, but thought you might like to know about the DOS driver for SATA CDROMs. Without it (that is, with the older EIDE drivers), what happens is that the CD will apparently boot OK, but then its filesystem will not be recognizable, and so it can't recognize command.com. Or, something like that ...

[LIGHTNING UK!]

In Vista you can just right click the floppy drive in Explorer, select 'Format...' and there's a checkbox to make an MS-DOS startup disc.