DOS boot disk question - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

scavengertype · 02-07-2004, 08:10 AM

Man, it's been a LONG time since I had to make a DOS boot disk.

I am setting up a RAID 0 in my system, and I need to get to the command prompt to use fdisk to format the array. When I make a regular boot disk in XP, it doesn't recognize any of my drives except A: and B: (and i don't have a B: drive) I visited bootdisk.com and made one of his DOS disks, and that had all the utilities on it including FDISK, but still didn't recognize my drives.
I have installed both disks in the RAID array, set up the array using the Mobo's software, and gotten to the A: prompt, where I can't do anything. I also tried using the WinXP CD, but I kept getting errors during the install, I was assumming this is because I didn't format the existing drive using FDISK first.
Do I have to edit config.sys or autoexec.bat with my drive letters or something?
I have a ASUS A7V333 with an Athlon XP 2000+, WinXP SP1, and a WD 80 gig, partitioned into C: (9GB-OS) and E: (70GB-Progs and storage).
Just to clarify, I am setting up RAID with the existing WD 80GB, which is currently still full of data, and a brand new WD 80GB (same model)...

Ahh boot disks......takes me back to the days of trying to get Wing Commander 3 to run on a 486SX.................

Thanks.

saltfish · 02-07-2004, 08:57 AM

Not sure, but.. ..does your RAID card require a driver to be used in DOS? Go to the mfg of your RAID card and see if there are any dos drivers that are needed to enable the drives.

-SF

scavengertype · 02-07-2004, 10:03 AM

Thanks for the help, i checked ASUs and there is a driver for the RAID utility.
The thing is, after my first attempt failed, i put my original HD back in as the master IDE and everthing was as it was before. I am trying to make a boot disk that recognizes my HD as it is, before I try again in the RAID config. This is probably a really stupid question.

Does it have something to do with NTFS???

yakimushi · 02-07-2004, 10:17 AM

DOS can't read NTFS... and FDISK will only create FAT16 and 32 partitions.

My personal favorite boot utility is the Ultimate Boot CD, since I no longer have a floppy. Find it here: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com

Perhaps you'll find it useful.

02-07-2004, 08:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
scavengertype Tilted	DOS boot disk question Man, it's been a LONG time since I had to make a DOS boot disk. I am setting up a RAID 0 in my system, and I need to get to the command prompt to use fdisk to format the array. When I make a regular boot disk in XP, it doesn't recognize any of my drives except A: and B: (and i don't have a B: drive) I visited bootdisk.com and made one of his DOS disks, and that had all the utilities on it including FDISK, but still didn't recognize my drives. I have installed both disks in the RAID array, set up the array using the Mobo's software, and gotten to the A: prompt, where I can't do anything. I also tried using the WinXP CD, but I kept getting errors during the install, I was assumming this is because I didn't format the existing drive using FDISK first. Do I have to edit config.sys or autoexec.bat with my drive letters or something? I have a ASUS A7V333 with an Athlon XP 2000+, WinXP SP1, and a WD 80 gig, partitioned into C: (9GB-OS) and E: (70GB-Progs and storage). Just to clarify, I am setting up RAID with the existing WD 80GB, which is currently still full of data, and a brand new WD 80GB (same model)... Ahh boot disks......takes me back to the days of trying to get Wing Commander 3 to run on a 486SX................. Thanks.

02-07-2004, 10:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
scavengertype Tilted	Thanks for the help, i checked ASUs and there is a driver for the RAID utility. The thing is, after my first attempt failed, i put my original HD back in as the master IDE and everthing was as it was before. I am trying to make a boot disk that recognizes my HD as it is, before I try again in the RAID config. This is probably a really stupid question. Does it have something to do with NTFS??? Last edited by scavengertype; 02-07-2004 at 10:08 AM..

02-07-2004, 08:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
saltfish !?!No hay pantalones!?! Location: Indian-no-place	Not sure, but.. ..does your RAID card require a driver to be used in DOS? Go to the mfg of your RAID card and see if there are any dos drivers that are needed to enable the drives. -SF

02-07-2004, 10:17 AM	#4 (permalink)
yakimushi Addict	DOS can't read NTFS... and FDISK will only create FAT16 and 32 partitions. My personal favorite boot utility is the Ultimate Boot CD, since I no longer have a floppy. Find it here: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com Perhaps you'll find it useful.