To Create a Boot Disk that allows you to Access your CD-ROM so that you can Format your Hard Drive then reinstall Windows 95.
FIRST
A VERY SPECIAL NOTE:
Before you Format your hard drive and do a clean installation of Windows. Make sure that you have all the drivers for things
such as: Modem, Printer,
Video Card, and Sound Card handy because it's more than possible that the version of Windows that you are
installing, won't have the correct drivers for those items and will ask for an
installation disk or CD
for those things.
Here is what you must do:
First back up any files that you want to keep regardless of whether or not you are
planning on formatting the drive and starting clean. Files to keep may include word processing documents, address books, email, bookmarks,
favorites, financial records, lottery numbers, custom cursors or icons and so on.
Next you must create a bootable disk by launching Windows Explorer, scroll
up and right clicking on your A: Drive Icon and
from the drop down menu select: Format. When the Format Window appears make sure that there is dot in the radio circle to the left of the word: Full, and lower
down that there is a check mark in the box to the left of the words: Copy system
files.
SPECIAL NOTE: If your current copy of Win 95 is an UPGRADE copy and if you don't have the WIN 3.x disk 1; put a file (any file) on a floppy
and name the file WIN.CN_ and use it when asked for disk 1. You can create the file using Notepad and save it to the boot floppy with the
name: WIN.CN_
Once you have a bootable disk you must place some files on the disk.
A CONFIG.SYS file such as the one below:
DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=A:\EMM386.EXE RAM
FILES=10
BUFFERS=10
DOS=HIGH,UMB
STACKS=9,256
DEVICEHIGH=A:\OAKCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD001 <<Or
your CD-ROM
DRIVER>>
LASTDRIVE=Z
You also must have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file with the following:
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $P$G
LH A:\MSCDEX.EXE /S /D:MSCD001
You can create the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files by opening a Windows Notepad
and copying and pasting the lines that I have written above, then saving them to
your FLOPPY drive as Autoexec.bat then copy and save the Config.sys file.
Remember you will have to copy your CD-ROM's driver to the boot disk and you will have to EDIT
the Config.sys file to reflect your Driver and not the one that I have listed.
You Must also Copy these files to the boot disk:
OAKCDROM.SYS <<<Or your CD-ROM Driver>>>
HIMEM.SYS
EMM386.EXE
MSCDEX.EXE
EDIT.COM
FORMAT.COM
Most of the files that are listed above can be found in your
C:\Windows\Command and or C:>\Windows folder.
Your CD-ROM driver should be on the installation disk that came with it!
If you can't locate your CD-ROM driver you can download the
generic one below:
After you create the Boot disk try booting with it to see if you have access to your CD-ROM. To do that, simply leave the Boot disk in your floppy drive and restart your computer.
When you get to an A:\> prompt type: D: [Enter] (if your CD-ROM drive is another letter, type it instead of D. Make sure that your Windows CD is in your CD-ROM drive and when you get to a D:\> prompt type: Dir/W [Enter] if the files on the CD are displayed on your screen then you know that you do have access to your CD-ROM drive.
When you are sure that you do have access to your CD drive, type: A: [Enter] and you will be returned to an A:\> prompt and ready to continue with formatting your drive using the instructions below.
ONE MORE VERY SPECIAL NOTE:
If you are going to Re-format your hard drive; follow the instructions below. If Not; Skip down and start at the following
Sentence: (After Formatting your drive, you will need to
copy all the files to the root directory of the Hard Drive.)
FORMAT
High-level formatting
High-level formatting verifies the information written by the low- level format and builds the file allocation table (FAT) used by DOS
to access files on the drive. If you put more than one partition on the drive, you must high-level format each partition. Refer to your.
DOS reference guide for instructions. Use the DOS FORMAT utility to high-level format the drive as follows:
Leave the the boot disk you created above (it contains
FORMAT.COM) in Drive A:
1. Type the following command at the DOS prompt: format
drive: /v /s Example: A:\>Format C: /V
/S [Enter]
drive: designates the drive you are formatting. If you are formatting the
boot drive or If your system contains only one drive, type C:
To format a second drive, type D:
/V tells the computer to create a volume label for
the partition after it is formatted.
Labeling can prevent someone from accidentally deleting the partition and losing
your data.
/S tells the computer to copy the necessary
system files to the drive to make it bootable.
2. When the computer prompts you for a volume label, you can assign a name to the drive volume of up to eleven characters or leave blank. Press
ENTER
After Formatting your drive, you will need to copy all the files on the floppy to the
root directory of the Hard Drive.
[Example] A:\>copy *.* C:\*.*
[Enter] C:\
designates the Root Directory.
After the files have been copied; change to your C: drive.
To do that type C: [Enter]
Next using EDIT go into the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files
on the C: Drive and change the Paths to reflect C:\ instead of A:\
To do that type: Edit Autoexec.bat [Enter]
when the edit window appears change the following lines:
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $P$G
LH A:\MOUSE
LH A:\MSCDEX.EXE /S /D:MSCD001
To Read:
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $P$G
LH C:\MOUSE
LH C:\MSCDEX.EXE /S /D:MSCD001
After doing that; on the menu click: File and from the menu
select: Save, Next click: File
then Exit.
Back at the C:\> prompt type: Edit
Config.sys [Enter]
and when the window appears change the following lines:
DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=A:\EMM386.EXE RAM
FILES=10
BUFFERS=10
DOS=HIGH,UMB
STACKS=9,256
DEVICEHIGH=A:\OAKCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD001
<<<OR YOUR CD-ROM Driver>>>
LASTDRIVE=Z
To Read:
DEVICE=C:\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\EMM386.EXE RAM
FILES=10
BUFFERS=10
DOS=HIGH,UMB
STACKS=9,256
DEVICEHIGH=C:\OAKCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD001
<<<OR YOUR CD-ROM Driver>>>
LASTDRIVE=Z
After you have changed the lines, click File, and from
the menu select: Save. Next click File then
Exit.
NOTE: You have to change the paths because before Win 95 is finished installing itself it will reboot, and if the all the files on the floppy are not on your hard drive; it won't finish installing.
After editing the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files; remove the floppy and reboot your computer. At the C:\> prompt change to
your CD-ROM drive by typing D: [Enter]
PS: If you have more than one hard drive your CD-ROM letter will be the drive letter following the letters of the
hard drives. For Example if you have two hard drives, your CD-ROM drive letter would be E: and so on and so on!
When you get to the D:\> prompt type: Setup
[Enter] Example: D:\>Setup
[Enter]
and the Win 95 installation program should start.
eric.groves (at) verizon.net