DOS Boot Blues

[Guest]

When I boot to DOS from floppy it will not detect my C:\ partition (NTFS).
It is a boot disk created in Windows XP, does it support NTFS? I have looked
for solutions on the net, but the ones I tried had either the same or an
extended problem. Thankyou in advance, I need to update my BIOS!
Damo

 

[Guest]

Sorry, more info, the actual problem is when I type c: it says bad command or
file name or something like that

 

[Guest]

i have always had problems with XP bootable disks try creating one on a win
98 OS machine and when it asks you at the very begining what you want it to
do choose option 1.

 

[Bob Harris]

DOS, by itself, can not see NTFS partitions. And, the boot floppy created
by XP is really based on ME, not XP. (Why, I do not know; ask Bill Gates.)

The good news is that there are many work-arounds or alternatives:

1. Get free read/copy NTFS drivers for DOS:
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/ntfswin98.shtml

2. Download the multiple-floppy setup disks from Microsoft, intended to
help install XP on computers without a bootable CDROM drive, but which
should work on any PC:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q310994

3. Boot directly from the XP CDROM and run the recovery console:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/win_xp_rec.htm


http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/wxprcons.htm


http://www.xxcopy.com/xxcopy33.htm (near bottom)


4. get a free LINUX distribution, whihc can see NTFS disks. I like
KNOPPIX, version 3.8.1. However, that is a 700 Meg download as an ISO file.
You will need a third-party CD-writing software to convert it to a CD. Nero
and Easy CD Creator work well:
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

 

[Bruce Chambers]

When I boot to DOS from floppy it will not detect my C:\ partition (NTFS).
It is a boot disk created in Windows XP, does it support NTFS?

No. MS-DOS cannot read NTFS partitions.

I have looked
for solutions on the net, but the ones I tried had either the same or an
extended problem. Thankyou in advance, I need to update my BIOS!
Damo

What does updating the BIOS have to do with accessing an NTFS partition
from DOS? The contents of the hard drive are completely irrelevant to
the BIOS, which is stored in a chip on the motherboard. To update your
BIOS, very carefully follow the instructions provided by the
motherboard's manufacturer.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Damo

To create a diskette that can update BIOS, you have to make a system
diskette with the bare minimum to get the computer started.. you then copy
the BIOS flash utility and new BIOS bin file to the diskette..

When booting from the diskette, at no point do you have to access a hard
drive, so there is no question of the diskette needing to read an NTFS
partition..

Take a look at this website.. http://freepctech.com/pc/001/006.shtml

Upgrading BIOS is simple enough but can go badly wrong.. ensure that you
have a VERY good reason for doing it before you start the process..