Startup Disk (Emergency Boot Disk) Uses and Tools Using The Tools Available On The Startup Disk This section describes how to use some of the utilities included with the Windows Startup Disk. To run each program you should do the following: 1. Put the Windows Startup Disk in the floppy disk drive, and then restart your computer. 2. At the Startup menu, select the option you need (depending upon whether you need CD-ROM access), and then press ENTER. 3. At the MS-DOS command prompt (A:\), type the name of the utility you wish to run, and then press ENTER. Multi-Config Start Menu If you boot your computer using the Windows Startup Disk, a boot menu appears allowing you the option to load drivers for the most common CD-ROM drives or perform a normal clean boot. After you make your selection, the Config.sys file loads the appropriate CD-ROM driver (if selected) and then loads a 2MB RAMDrive. The RAMDrive is used to store all the diagnostic tools necessary to troubleshoot the most common problems. Note: The RAMdrive may cause your CD-Rom to be pushed back 1 drive letter. If your CD-Rom is usually drive D:, it will now be Drive E:. Real-Mode CD-ROM Support The Windows Startup Disk includes generic ATAPI IDE & SCSI CD-ROM drivers that allow your CD-ROM to function at MS-DOS when the Windows GUI is not available. Note: Not all CD-ROM drives are supported. If your CD-ROM drive does not function with these drivers, you must use the drivers that came with your CD-ROM drive. EBD.CAB File The Ebd.cab file is a compressed file whose contents are extracted to the Ramdrive during the startup process. The table below identifies the files in the Ebd.cab file. File Function Attrib.exe Add or remove file attributes Chkdsk.exe A simpler and smaller disk status tool Debug.exe Debugging utility Edit.com Real-mode emergency text editor Ext.exe New, simple file extract utility Format.com Disk format tool Mscdex.exe Microsoft CD-ROM file extension for MS-DOS Scandisk.exe Disk status tool Scandisk.ini Disk status tool configuration file Sys.com Transfers system files and make disk bootable Creating a RAMDrive The RAMDrive is created during the processing of the Config.sys file and is 2MB in size. The Ramdrive is created using system RAM to emulate a physical Hard Disk. Without creating the RAMdrive, we would not have enough space on a single 1.44 meg floppy disk to contain all the diagnostic tools as well as the CD-Rom drivers. Warning Since the RAMDrive is created during the processing of the Config.sys file and uses System RAM, it is only temporary. It will disappear if you restart your computer normally. List Of All Components On The Emergency Boot Disk (or Startup Disk) The following table describes the function of each file copied to the EBD. File Function Aspi2dos.sys Real-Mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver Aspi4dos.sys Real-Mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver Aspi8dos.sys Real-Mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver Aspi8u2.sys Real-Mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver Aspicd.sys Real-Mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver Autoexec.bat Startup batch file Btcdrom.sys Mylex/BusLogic CD-ROM driver Btdosm.sys Mylex/BusLogic CD-ROM driver Command.com Command interpreter Config.sys Loads the device drivers Drvspace.bin Microsoft DriveSpace compression driver Ebd.cab Cab file containing extract utilities Ebd.sys File identifying the ESD Extract.exe File to expand the Ebd.cab file Fdisk.exe Disk partition tool Findramd.exe Utility to find the RAMDrive during startup Flashpt.sys Mylex/BusLogic CD-ROM driver Himem.sys XMS Memory Manager Io.sys System boot file Msdos.sys Boot option information (paths, multiboot, and so on) Oakcdrom.sys Generic device driver for ATAPI CD-ROM drives Ramdrive.sys Creates a Ramdrive during startup Setramd.bat Searches for first available drive to be a Ramdrive SCANDISK.EXE and CHKDSK.EXE These two programs are useful for checking your hard disk for errors. If you suspect there may be file corruption or other problems with your hard disk(s), run ScanDisk to check for and repair errors. To check all your hard disks for errors, type: Scandisk /all To perform a full surface scan of your hard disk(s) for maximum protection against data loss, type: Scandisk /all /Surface Note: You may receive errors about Long File Names. The MS-DOS version of ScanDisk can only detect problems with long file names, it cannot fix them. To correct these types of errors, you must run ScanDisk from within Windows. If you have any compressed drives, you may receive an error message stating that there is not enough memory to check your compressed drives. To solve this problem, try starting your computer with the Windows Startup Disk, as described in Step 1, earlier in this section. Select the option to Start Computer without CD-ROM support. This may allow ScanDisk enough memory to check your compressed drives. If ScanDisk is unable to check your drives, try using CHKDSK.EXE instead. CHKDSK will check for cross-linked files and lost allocation units. SYS.COM The SYS command is used to copy system files from one disk to another. Your computer needs these system files to start. To SYS your C drive, type: SYS C: and then press ENTER. After a few seconds, a "System Transferred" message appears. The following files are copied to your hard disk during the SYS procedure: * IO.SYS * MSDOS.SYS * COMMAND.COM If the SYS C: command does not work and you have a compressed drive, you may need to type the drive letter of your host drive. With the DblSpace or DrvSpace programs, the host drive is typically designated drive H. If you are not sure of the drive letter, run ScanDisk and see if it prompts you about your compressed drive. FDISK.EXE and FORMAT.EXE FDISK and FORMAT are utilities necessary for installing a new hard disk in your computer or for starting over fresh with a clean disk. FDISK is used first to create a partition and then FORMAT is used to make the partition available for use. Warning: Using FDISK incorrectly can destroy all data on your hard disk. If you are unsure of how to use FDISK, see the General Information Main Page - How to format, partion, and do a clean install of windows. You can use the Windows version of FDISK to create FAT32 partitions on drives over 512 megabytes in size. FAT32 reduces the cluster size for large drives and allows you to create single partitions on drives over 2 GB. To view your current drive status, type FDISK /STATUS at the MS-DOS command prompt. After you have partitioned a drive using FDISK, you will need to use the FORMAT command. To format a newly partitioned drive, type: FORMAT X: Where X represents the letter of the drive that you want to format. If you want to format drive C, you need to make this disk a system disk so that your computer can start. To do this, type /s at the end of the FORMAT command. For example: FORMAT C: /s System Startup files will be automatically copied after your drive is formatted. CD-ROM Drivers The Windows Startup Disk includes a set of generic CD-ROM drivers. These drivers work with most IDE ATAPI and SCSI CD-ROM models. If your particular CD-ROM drive does not work with these drivers, you will need to use the drivers that came with your CD-ROM drive. Following are some known issues about the CD-ROM drivers: 1. CD-ROM drives connected to sound cards may not work properly. 2. Early proprietary CD-ROM drives (for example, Mitsumi, Panasonic, Sony) may not work with these drivers. Some older IDE controllers may fail as well. 3. The SCSI drivers on the Startup Disk support most Adaptec, Buslogic, and Mylex adapters. Some other SCSI CD-ROM drives may not work with the drivers on the Startup Disk. 4. If your SCSI controller is configured for a non-default I/O range, the drivers may not detect your SCSI card. Consult your SCSI driver documentation for the default I/O ranges for your card. 5. Drivers are not included for any PC Card (PCMCIA) CD-ROM drives. EXT.EXE The EXT command is used in conjunction with the Extract.exe utility to make it easier to extract Windows files to your hard disk. You can use this to replace missing or damaged files. This utility is extremely useful if you are receiving errors during startup about missing files, or execution errors such as General Protection Faults or invalid page faults. To use Ext.exe to extract a file, perform the following steps: 1. Use the Startup Disk to start your computer. Select the option to Start Computer with CD-ROM support, and then press ENTER. 2. Make sure the Windows CD is inserted in the drive. 3. Type EXT at the MS-DOS command prompt, and then press ENTER. 4. Follow the prompts to indicate the location of the Windows Setup files, the files you wish to extract, and the location in which you want to place the extracted files. Notes: 1. If your CD-ROM drive letter is E, then type the location to the Setup files as E:\WIN98. 2. If you wish to extract more than one file at a time, you can use wild card characters. |
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