How to clone bootable floppy to an HDD?

strollin · 24 Mar 2016

I was afraid of that. You may need to use a version of DOS to make the hard drive bootable. Download a DOS boot disk (something like DOS 6.22) from the site provided earlier in the thread. Boot from the DOS disk and try the format /s command. Depending on how large the hard drive is, you may need to create a smaller partition in order for DOS to be able to recognize the drive.

If you get the hard drive bootable to a DOS prompt, then try copying the program files from your floppy to the hard drive and see if the program will run (make sure not to overwrite system files such as command.com or io.sys). It might run if it isn't dependent on Win ME.

GEWB · 24 Mar 2016

See if this site has what you want: (bootdisk.com)

hhttp://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

You might start with DOS 6.22 and see if it does what you want.

Regards,
GEWB

Indianatone · 24 Mar 2016

If I remember correctly Windows 95/98/ME need a FAT disc smaller than 2.1gb and FAT32 of 8GB max (As does NT4) That may be your issue. Try making a very small partition, use fat 32 and use FDisk then use sys c:\ to make it bootable. I am off to dig out my Windows 95 Tomb Manual the size of a bible and look up this issue.

jumanji · 24 Mar 2016

My brain has rusted over the years, I can just recall I had the Power Quest Partition Magic on two Floppies. To run Partition Magic you boot from the first Floppy and then it will ask you to insert a second floppy and voila Partition Magic runs.I spent months and months trying to create a bootable CD from those two Floppies. I just pulled out the Old CD and it says 'Created with BCDW 201a."

May be a stupid idea, but let me be stupid :). You can create a bootable CD with that bootable floppy and perhaps make your HDD a virtual CDROM drive to run the CD image.

Bootable CD Utilities by reanimatolog - Bootable CD Wizard - Freeware Multiple-Image Bootable CD Manager

WinISO Virtual Drive ? a tool for mounting disc images onto your PC

Indianatone · 24 Mar 2016

I found this old PDF from a magazine CD from 1996. It is about installing a HD under Windows 95 / DOS. Maybe this will be of some help?

MilesAhead · 24 Mar 2016

kkehoe said:

If you boot without that overlay being loaded, you couldn't see the drive correctly.

That brings back memories of installing Linux. The boot partition had to fit within the first 1023 cylinders of the drive because the BIOS call only allocated 10 bits for the number of cylinders. Once Linux booted it switched to logical block addressing. So if a tiny partition is attempted the OP should do the math and make sure it fits within 1023 cylinders.

Edit: for that matter perhaps a Linux wiz can figure out how to load the whole thing into a ramdisk on bootup and run it there?

dc2000 · 25 Mar 2016

Guys, first off, let me say that I really appreciate all your input!

Secondly, just off subject let me say that Win ME SUCKS!!!!

I can seriously make a bootable disk C: using MS DOS 6.22 with:

1. Boot into MS DOS 6.22 floppy
2. FORMAT C:/s
3. SYS C:

reboot using HDD and that's it, good to go.

WHY? WHY! Can't I do the same with this WinME?????? I literally spent 2 days banging my head against it and nothing. Is it when Bill Gates went apesh*% about people stealing his software? Anyway, just a rhetorical remark. Sorry. I just had to say this....

Here's what I do, tell me what am I doing wrong:

1. Boot from a WinME CD or actually for this method to work, a floppy that I made with it, using WinME from here

2. I then pick to boot with CD support from a boot loader menu.

3. When I get A:\ prompt I type:

Code:

SYS C:

for which it gives me the schpiel that "cannot find system file blah-blah" (the screenshot I gave before.)

4. So I found this page that describes how to fix that error.

5. So I create this folder "C:\windows\command\ebd" using md commands like it was described in the link above.

6. Then remove read-only, hidden, system attributes from io.sys on the floppy that I booted from, copy it into that folder above and set attributes back. These 3 commands:

Code:

attrib -r -h -s a:\io.sys
copy a:\io.sys C:\windows\command\ebd
attrib +r +h +s a:\io.sys

7. Then switch back to A: and do:

Code:

sys c:

8. This time it gives me a message that system was transferred.

9. I take bootable floppy out and reboot using hard drive C: and see this:

Arghhhh!!!!

PS. Also as someone suggested to try to run my files using MS DOS 6.22. I tried, but unfortunately the "wattest.exe" quits with the message "Error in EXE file" so I wish I could go that route, but I can't!

Any more ideas guys?

dc2000 · 25 Mar 2016

Oh, forgot to say, the partition on disk C: is formatted as FAT. Its size is 4 MB to appease DOS. I set it as primary and also active.

I did all partitioning & formatting in Computer Management console on my Win7 machine, and then set it active via FDISK after I booted into DOS.

strollin · 25 Mar 2016

Maybe this will help: How to create a floppy boot disk in Windows

Edit: Only the links for DOS 6.22, Win 95 and Win XP work for me.

Indianatone · 25 Mar 2016

dc2000 said:

Oh, forgot to say, the partition on disk C: is formatted as FAT. Its size is 4 MB to appease DOS. I set it as primary and also active.

I did all partitioning & formatting in Computer Management console on my Win7 machine, and then set it active via FDISK after I booted into DOS.

Maybe that is the issue. Windows 7 has a DOS emulator. Try setting up the partition in DOS with the 95 boot floppy fdisk rather than 7 computer management and make it active using fdisk from the Win 95 boot disk.