Creating a Bootable CD - image file?

[King_Drax_I]

Hi folks - I have tried to find an answer to this in the main help pages but can't make sense of it in the context of my problem. I have used ImgBurn to create an ISO image from a set of files and folders; that is, I have built a set of files and made an iso image of them.

 

However, it would not boot. I discovered it was because I had not set it to boot under 'Advanced' - 'Make Image Bootable'. However, when I try to 'Extract Boot Image', that's where I come unstuck. I want to make an original CD of my files and make it bootable, not to copy the bootable bit from another CD. The list of files on the CD does have an .IMA file in it, but it complains about it not being in the right place, in that if I try to put it on my hard drive, it complains that it can't put the image on the disc I'm writing to. If I put it in a separate partition on my hard drive, it tells me that the file size will be enormous - the size of the partition, in fact!

 

So to recap, I have a list of files on my hard drive, one of which is an .ima file of about 1.4Mb, and I want to create an iso image that, when it's burned to a CD, will be bootable. The only thing I can think of is to burn all the files to CD [not bootable] and then extract the whole lot to an image file on my hard drive, which kind of misses the point in that it uses a blank CD and I wanted to create the image on my hard drive. So, how should I *really* go about it, please?

 

Thanks in advance

Tony

 

PS ImgBurn log:

 

I 11:10:35 ImgBurn Version 2.5.0.0 started!

I 11:10:35 Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600 : Service Pack 2)

I 11:10:35 Total Physical Memory: 1,964,136 KB - Available: 1,314,464 KB

I 11:10:35 Initialising SPTI...

I 11:10:35 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices...

I 11:10:36 Found 1 DVD±RW/RAM!

I 11:18:28 Project Loaded Successfully!

I 11:18:28 File Name: C:\Main Folder\~~DBAN\dbandualmodebootable.ibb

I 11:19:00 Operation Started!

I 11:19:00 Source Drive: C:\

I 11:19:00 Boot Image File: C:\Main Folder\~~DBAN\DBAN_1_0_7_I386.IMA

I 11:19:00 Creating Boot Image...

E 11:19:04 Operation Failed!

Edited February 9, 2010 by King_Drax_I

[LIGHTNING UK!]

You're trying to make a boot image *based* on your C:\ drive!

 

That's why it's huge and why you can't save it to C:\ (how would that ever work?!)

 

On the bootable tab, just select 1.44mb floppy as the type and point it to the REAL *.ima file that the disc/files are supposed to be booted from.

[King_Drax_I]

You're trying to make a boot image *based* on your C:\ drive!

 

That's why it's huge and why you can't save it to C:\ (how would that ever work?!)

 

On the bootable tab, just select 1.44mb floppy as the type and point it to the REAL *.ima file that the disc/files are supposed to be booted from.

Thanks for the quick response

 

By 'based on', I meant I want to create the image *from* a few files on the C: drive (about 30Mb) and save the image *to* the C: drive as well. That was what it didn't seem to like.

 

However I think I see where you're pointing to, so I will give it a shot tonight and with your permission will repost if I have any more problems!

 

Edit: Ok, have tried it. It says 'You can't save the boot image file to the same drive you're trying to read!'

 

Where, then?

 

Edit 2: Sorted it. I was trying to use 'EXtract Boot Image'. Not necessary.....

Edited February 9, 2010 by King_Drax_I

[LIGHTNING UK!]

That might be what you're trying to do but what you actually attempted (according to your log) was to save your entire C:\ drive (every single sector in the entire partition - files, file system info, blank space etc) to an image file - which you would then use as the boot image for a disc.

 

So don't attempt that again as it's not what you actually want to do.

 

When in build mode, you configure the destination drive/file name in the 'destination' box that's on the left side of the main screen (not on any of the tabs).