asked on

Dual boot to DOS

I have rebuilt my old computer and replaced the hard drive with a new 4G drive. It is partitioned into a Primary DOS partition of 3.5G with the FAT-32 file system (Drive "C:\") and an Extended DOS partition of 500M with FAT-16 file system (Drive "D:\"). The machine boots to the C:\ drive which has Windows 98 installed. There are no old DOS or Windows 3.x or Win95 files on the drive.

I have found a number of my older programs will not run properly even in a DOS window in Win98 (probably because of FAT-32). I would like to be able to install my old DOS programs on the D:\ drive (I still have my old DOS 5.0 disks available) and to have the option of booting to the D:\ drive at start-up.

How do I configure the system to allow this option? Do I need a separate floppy boot disk with my DOS drivers, autoexec.bat, config.sys files etc. or can it all reside on the single hard drive?

Thanks for your advice.

Ken Zoller

k_zoller@sharon.k12.ma.us

rmarotta

kzoller,
I think you'll find everthing you need at the following site:
" Do it yourself Dual Boot of Windows 9x systems "

http://www.webdev.net/orca/Dualboot.htm

Let me know if you need any help with it.
Regards,
Ralph

dew_associates

Actually Ken, you can do it either way, either boot with a floppy to "D", or you can create a boot menu within Autoexec.bat to give you the option of booting windows on "C" or MSDos on "D". Are you familiar with Dos commands, including the use of a menu? This dos not, however, guarantee that your old 8 and 16 bit programs will work, especially of they require a bootable partition, which will not be available in "D".

BTW: What programs are you looking to run that your having trouble with?
Dennis

ho_yin_leung

You can't install the Dos on D drive, if you put on C Drive replace the command.com, Window won't boot up.
Use Partition Magic with BootLoader, you can partition the 1st Primary Partition for DOS. Dos must use 1st Primary partition, otherwise it won't work, but Windows 9X can boot on whereever partition.

rmarotta

ho_yin_leung,
Check the link I posted......
Ralph

dew_associates

Ralph, in all fairness, the site you pointed to does say dual booting Windows 95 and 98 etc.

On the other hand ho_yin_leung, had you read the question you would have seen that the questioner is asking how to boot either to Windows 98 or MSDos, and if to MSDos, then he wants to run some programs (or games) that won't run on fat 32. Windows MSDos can handle this and it can be don't with a boot menu very much like dual booting Windows 9X and Windows NT.

Ralph, your Hot on Dos, tell the guy how to use MSDos menus.
Dennis

rmarotta

FAT32 Dos menus?

dew_associates

Ralph, Dos is Dos, File Allocation Tables don't dictate whether MSDos 7 will run or not. Create the menu in the dos editor.

kzoller

ASKER

The site you suggested is to choose between Win98 & Win95. Partition Magic will work by moving Win98 but the Partition Magic Boot Manager runs each time the machine boots up. I would like to, for the rare times I want, to run old DOS 5.0 or 6.0, to perhaps boot from a floppy and be able to use the old DOS programs, etc. I would like to place them, and the needed mouse, CD, sound & video drivers either on the floppy or on my extended partition "D:\". Is this doable and if so, how? What should be on the bootable floppy -in addition to the system files - what should be in the config.sys and autoexec.bat files?

Thanks

dew_associates

KZ, on the presumption that you can identify your dos sound and video drivers, try this.

Make a bootable disk with Dos 6, you can use dos 7 from Windows 95/98 if you wish. If the system is currently Win98, go to My Computer, floppy "A" and then format a floppy with the system files transferred. Now you have a bootable disk.

On the "D" drive, make a folder than contains your video drivers and another for the sound drivers. Call them from your config.sys and/or autoexec.bat as per their respective manuals such as:

This is just an example of what might be in config.sys
===============

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6
SET CTSYN=D:\SOUND
D:\SOUND\CREATIVE\SBLIVE\DOSDRV\SBEINIT.COM

Are you comfortable with what you would like to do or do you need more?
Dennis

rmarotta

It's all at the site I gave you. Just browse it.
Ralph

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

MaCe

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dew_associates

Mace, your proposed answer won't work. Read the question. "C" drive is formatted Fat 32 and uses MSdos 7.x, and the questioner wants to boot dos to "D".

MaCe

Well then...he wants a dual boot? well...he gets it...

ok, dos isn't on D, but it boots dos though!

hmm...ok...the fat32 is a part we can think about,
although it works at my place..

now you say, i wonder how!!

hmm...
lets figure that one out, shall we...

** going back to test mode...

Thy shall not hide in the shadows, come out and show thyselfs

dew_associates

Mace, you're working too hard. All you have to do is use the Dos Menu commands in MSDos 7 and choose either Win.com on "C" or boot to dos on "D" by executing the batch command.

dew_associates

Mace, you're working too hard. All you have to do is use the Dos Menu commands in MSDos 7 and choose either Win.com on "C" or boot to dos on "D" by executing the batch command.