Make an Emergency Boot Disk

Please read the disclaimer at the end of this page, before preforming this procedure.
Every computer should have an emergency boot disk. Hard disk drives fail. It's not if, but, when your hard disk drive fails to boot, that you will be thankful that you have an emergency boot disk.

To completely eliminate the need for a boot disk, and free yourself from the worries of a hard-disk crash, see our Dual Drive Backup System.

Making an emergency boot disk is a multi-step process, and varies depending on the operating system, version of Windows, and the hardware in your particular computer. The following steps should be considered a guide and not absolute step-by-step instructions. You may need to apply a little creativity during the following procedure. Please read this entire procedure before you start, if you do not understand each and every step, and why you are doing it, DON'T start this procedure before you Contact Us.

1. Place a new, write enabled, empty floppy disk in the A: drive. (The floppy disk is write enabled when the upper right hole is blocked by the black slider.)

2a. If your computer is running DOS or Windows 3.x: do the following, else If your computer is running Windows 95 or 98, go to step 2b )

If your computer is running DOS or Windows 3.x: From the DOS prompt type:

FORMAT A: /S /U /V:BOOT
and press the Enter key. ( Please note the spaces. Double check that you have typed an "A" after the format command, and not a "C".) After the format process is complete you will need to copy a few files to the floppy disk.
The following files should be found in the C:\DOS or C:\(DOS subdirectory:

FDISK.EXE, FORMAT.COM, SYS.COM
Copy these files to the floppy by typing:
COPY C:\DOS\FDISK.EXE A:\ (Enter)
COPY C:\DOS\FORMAT.COM A:\ (Enter)
COPY C:\DOS\SYS.COM A:\ (Enter)

(Go to Step 3 )
2b. If your computer is running Windows 95 or 98 Double click the My Computer icon, then double click the Control Panel icon, then double click the Add/Remove Programs icon. Now single click the Startup Disk tab at the top right of the box, follow the instructions.

3. You now have a bootable floppy disk. If you have a CD-ROM drive, a PCMCIA modem or other special devices, (And are running DOS, Windows 3.x or 95) you will need to copy the drivers and other routines to the floppy disk and make some changes to them. If you are running Windows 98 or better, you won't have to do the following. (If you are running Windows 98 or better, skip to step 6.)

Examine the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in the root of your hard disk. Find the line(s) that reference you CD-ROM driver. You should see a line like this:

DEVICE=C:\DEV\ATAPI_CD.SYS /D:SONY_000
in the CONFIG.SYS file. Notice the subdirectory that the device driver is in, and copy all the files found in that subdirectory to a similarly named subdirectory on the floppy disk. ( Your subdirectory and/or driver name may be different. Here's where that creativity of yours comes in.)
In the AUTOEXEC.BAT file you should see a line something like this:

C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:SONY_000 /L:E
Find and copy the MSCDEX.EXE file from the hard drive to the root of the floppy disk.
4. Copy or make an ASCII file in the root of the floppy called CONFIG.SYS this file should only contain lines something like the following:

LASTDRIVE=Z
DEVICE=A:\DEV\ATAPI_CD.SYS /D:SONY_000

Plus any other drivers you copied to the floppy.
5. Copy or make an ASCII file in the root of the floppy called AUTOEXEC.BAT this file should only contain lines something like the following:

A:\MSCDEX.EXE /D:SONY_000 /L:E
PROMPT=$p$g
Plus any other drivers you copied to the floppy. (No path statements or other lines should be in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file). Notice all references to the hard drive have been changed to the floppy drive. The switch at the end of the MSCDEX line /L:E will force the CD-ROM to occupy drive E: If you have only one hard drive, this switch will leave a space for an additional hard drive to be added later, in the D: position. Remember your CD-ROM will now be E:
6. Testing your emergency boot disk: First remove the floppy disk and write protect it. Write protection can be achieved by exposing the hole in the upper right hand corner of the floppy.

Shut down the computer in the normal way, and turn it off.
Insert the floppy in drive A: and turn the computer back on.
If your computer's CMOS settings are set to allow your computer to boot from the floppy disk, you should hear the floppy drive accessing and eventually you should see the A:\> prompt on the screen. If the computer boots from the hard drive you will need to change the CMOS settings in your computer. ( See the CMOS Settings side-bar for instructions about setting the CMOS to boot from the A: drive first.)

7. Testing the CD-ROM drivers: Once you have your computer booting from the floppy disk, Insert any CD-ROM disk in the drive and type E: and press the Enter key, then type DIR and press Enter. You should see a directory of the CD-ROM.

8. The ultimate test of your emergency boot disk: DON'T do the following unless you feel comfortable, and understand the safety issues when working inside your computer. Even if you do know how to work inside your computer, I strongly suggest you review the issues at Under The Hood of Your Computer before attempting the following.

Shut down your computer in the normal way, and turn it off. Remove the cover and unplug the power cord to the hard drive. Insert the emergency boot disk in the floppy drive, and turn on the computer. After it boots up check the CD-ROM again. ( This test simulates a hard drive failure, and double checks that the floppy boot does not reference any files or drivers on the hard drive.)

Congratulations you now have the single most important piece of insurance for your computer. Label the floppy and store it in a safe place.







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Use the above procedure at your own risk!
J.R. has been building and repairing computers for over 25 years, and has personally used the above procedure on thousands of computers. Each computer is different and the competence of the user can vary. J.R. Whipple, in no way warrants the above procedure, nor can he be held responsible for any problems, loss of data, loss of business, or any other damages caused by the application of the above procedure. If you are not comfortable with the above procedure, DON'T DO IT. If you need help please Contact Us before attempting the above procedure.

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