Bootable vs non-bootable

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gordon Nelson
  • Start date Start date
G

Gordon Nelson

Am I correct that a full version of Win9X will boot, but an upgrade version
will not?
 
As far as I know, retail versions of 9x systems were never bootable. OEM's made recovery CD's that were bootable.
 
No version of Win9x (to my knowledge) is bootable. You start the install by
inserting the setup floppy and booting from that.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)

If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
I am trying to load Windows into an old Dell laptop which has a CD module
and a Floppy module. They are installed separately into the same place on
the laptop chassis. You cannot operate them both without shutting down the
computer and removing one and installing the other. So if I boot from a
floppy, I then have to shut off the computer to install the CD module. I am
dead in the water. If I could use my desktop to create a bootable CD and use
that to boot up the laptop I'd be in business.

Any suggestions as to how to do this?
 
Does your BIOS recognize a USB floppy or CD drive? If so, you could
have both at the same time which might work.
 
I do not believe the BIOS will recognize a USB drive. In any event, I do not
have one. Nifty idea, though.
 
Boot from the floppy with a DOS boot disk, and reformat the drive, if desired. Use the /S switch to make the hard disk bootable.

Modify Config.sys and AUTOEXEC.BAT on the hard disk to load the CD-ROM drivers.

Copy XCOPY (not sure if its EXE or COM), MSCDEX.EXE and the CD-ROM driver SYS file from the floppy to the hard disk. Shutdown and swap the floppy for the CD. Boot from the hard disk and run XCopy to copy the necessary files from the (9x CD to the hard disk. XCOPY /? will give you a full list of the command line options. Run the DOS setup program, not the 32 bit version.
 
Boot the floppy.
From the floppy run

format c: /s
sys c:

Now copy the entire contents of the floppy to the HD,

copy a:\*.* c:\

Shutdown and swap the modules. Boot the HD with CD-Rom support and start the
setup.
 
I recall seeing a few self booting Windows 98 SE Full versions. IIRC no
Upgrade versions were bootable.
 
I never saw a retail version that was bootable - full or upgrade.
I did see OEM versions that was bootable

--
Jon Hildrum
DTS MVP
(e-mail address removed)
www.hildrum.com
Harry Ohrn said:
I recall seeing a few self booting Windows 98 SE Full versions. IIRC no
Upgrade versions were bootable.
--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


Gordon Nelson said:
Am I correct that a full version of Win9X will boot, but an upgrade
version will not?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Yes I think you are right Jon. The bootable versions were OEMs as I recall.

--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


Jon_Hildrum said:
I never saw a retail version that was bootable - full or upgrade.
I did see OEM versions that was bootable

--
Jon Hildrum
DTS MVP
(e-mail address removed)
www.hildrum.com
Harry Ohrn said:
I recall seeing a few self booting Windows 98 SE Full versions. IIRC no
Upgrade versions were bootable.
--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


Gordon Nelson said:
Am I correct that a full version of Win9X will boot, but an upgrade
version will not?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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