Dual boot XP and DOS

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Guest

I want to build machines with WIN XP as the OS that will be used in a
classroom. But, I also want a partition on the HD in DOS that will hold a
Ghost image of the box with the basic build I need so that I can refresh the
WIN XP after a class is finished. I've created the partitions and I have a
DOS 6.22 boot disk that I can use to boot the DOS partition. Do I have to do
this in a particular order, and what do I do with the boot.ini if anything.
 
Firstly, I would use 'DOS 7' from a Win98 or Win95b installation, as they
'understand' FAT32, whereas DOS6 or Win95a do not, limiting you to 2GB
partition size. http://bootdisk.com should have something suitable.

You need to create a FAT32 partition. If your Windows partition is NTFS,
this will appear as C: to DOS.

Note carefully: If your Windows partition is FAT32, then revise these
instructions to use D: as the DOS drive.

Do SYS C: (or D:) from a DOS-boot floppy or CD. Make sure you get the right
one, or you will wipe-out the NT loader. Do 'DIR D:' first and see if the
contents look sensible.

Now copy the foll.to it:
IO.SYS
MSDOS.SYS
COMMAND.COM
CONFIG.SYS
AUTOEXEC.BAT
HIMEM.SYS (if required)
MOUSE.COM (If mouse support required in Ghost)

Making it boot:

Option 1: Using the NT loader:

Create a BOOTSECT.DOS file on the DOS partition
See this page for instructions:
http://mirror.href.com/thestarman/asm/mbr/bootini.htm
Note that BOOTSECT.DOS is partition-specific, you cannot copy the one from
the Windows partition.

Finally, modify the BOOT.INI file on the active partition to include a line:
D:\ = "System Reload" (In this case it always D: as the NT loader DOES
understand NTFS partitions)

Option 2: Using Ranish Partition Manager

Install DOS as above, then use Ranish to change the Master Boot Record to
"Boot Manager" type, select a default (Partition 1) and a timeout.
To boot DOS you will then hit the "2" key whilst the timeout is in force.
Much simpler to setup, but harder to automate the changeover.

Hope this helps. Actually, a lot easier to do than describe.
 
MacLeod wrote :
I want to build machines with WIN XP as the OS that will be used in a
classroom. But, I also want a partition on the HD in DOS that will hold a
Ghost image of the box with the basic build I need so that I can refresh the
WIN XP after a class is finished. I've created the partitions and I have a
DOS 6.22 boot disk that I can use to boot the DOS partition. Do I have to do
this in a particular order, and what do I do with the boot.ini if anything.
Click to expand...

Why not use a boot manager with a built-in image function?
http://www.terabyteinc.com/bootitng.html
 
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