8 replies to this topic

[pantner]

Ok, so i have a DOS utility i want to run. It is too big to fit on a floppy disk.

I would like to boot off a CD for it, easy enough (at the moment)

i know how to make bootable CDs (ie, create a bootable IMG file and use that as the boot for the CD)

however, its not working quite right in this case.

In a Virutal machine it works without problem. Boots the DOS Floppy (DOS 6.22 in this case) and detects the CD Drive, assigns it a drive letter and i can run the program.

In the machines i wish to actually run it on it will boot into DOS, but when it tries to find the CD Drive, it errors saying it can't find it.
One machine is a Toshiba NB200. I have tried a USB optical Drive and also booting the ISO file from my USB Thumbdrive using GRUB4DOS. both ways had the same error.
The other machine i have tried is a Toshiba M750. Same error, can't find the CD Drive.

I assume that the reason is the DOS disk only has IDE drivers and the CD Drives are either USB or SATA...though i don't understand why it won't work when booting from GRUB4DOS on my USB Thumbdrive...

Is there a way to create a Bootable CD that doesn't emulate a floppy and you can see the root of the CD when you get into DOS instead of a "boot disk"?

[ktp]

DOS driver for SATA CD-ROM is gcdrom.sys You can search Google to find it.

[pantner]

DOS driver for SATA CD-ROM is gcdrom.sys You can search Google to find it.

That doesn't help the NB100/NB200 which doesn't have a CD ROM at all...

[pantner]

managed to sort it out myself.

i zipped the program and on a clean DOS floppy image i had it create a RAMDISK (C drive) and extract the zip into there.

[was_jaclaz]

Just for the record:

• You could use a "bigger sized" floppy image. (How big is the app? El-Torito floppy emulation supports 2.88 Mb floppy images also)
• There is the possibility to create the CD in Hard Disk emulation mode, thus with a filesystem of around 640 Mb
• A USB optical drive needs a USB stack for DOS.

jaclaz

[pantner]

Just for the record:

• You could use a "bigger sized" floppy image. (How big is the app? El-Torito floppy emulation supports 2.88 Mb floppy images also)
• There is the possibility to create the CD in Hard Disk emulation mode, thus with a filesystem of around 640 Mb
• A USB optical drive needs a USB stack for DOS.

jaclaz

I tried to do a 2.88MB floppy image (using VFD) but it would never boot. Though, i was using CD Burner XP to make the bootable CD, maybe it doesn't like the 2.88MB floppys.
any ideas how to do it in Hard Disk Emulation mode? i did try searching but couldn't find anything
i know you need USB Drivers and stuff. I've had to do it before...but there wasn't really a point including it in this boot as it will be used on lots if different computers.
At-least my solution doesn't require any drivers to be loaded

[sbaeder]

your work around (which is what dos actually did to include a lot of utilities) is a good one (as is trying to make a larger "floppy" image (which should work as well).

The original approach of having to "mount" (for lack of a better word) the CDROM as a CDROM would definately require the drivers, and as you already know, that would be an issue if you had to make it work on lots of different types of computers - especially modern ones with SATA and USB cdroms (or no cdrom at all and just a USB port...)

As long as the compressed file "fits", I would go with the current approach.

[pantner]

hehe, yea, i got the Idea from a Windows ME Boot Floppy

i just didn't understand why it wasn't working when using GRUB4DOS and booting from the ISO.

Im quite happy with the way this worked, but incase i have a similar problem again i would like to know how to do the HDD emulation on the CD.
Is that something that you know about?

[was_jaclaz]

Though, i was using CD Burner XP to make the bootable CD, maybe it doesn't like the 2.88MB floppys.
any ideas how to do it in Hard Disk Emulation mode? i did try searching but couldn't find anything

Use mkisofs.exe (and nothing else).

2.88 Mb work allright since the dawn of time.

About hard disk emulation mode you need to have a Hard disk image of a suitable size.

Then, read here:
http://www.boot-land...?...c=3890&st=6
up to post #10
and then again:
http://www.boot-land...?...=3890&st=25
http://www.boot-land...?...=3890&st=46



jaclaz