Quick Boot to GUI Disks
- From: "Wintips&Tricks" <wintips@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Wintips&Tricks" <wintips@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 14:23:35 -0400
Wintips&Tricks
June 24, 2004 - Issue 7
If you also have an interest in the Windows Registry, you may want to subscribe
to Registry Answers, as well.
//www.freelists.org/webpage/regtips
I also write for ABC and TechTrax where you may see expanded html versions of
select Registry Answers and Wintips&Tricks articles, as well as
other articles not included in the newsletter.
Most recent articles
Windows Defrag - Customizing Applog to make programs load faster
Applies to Windows 98/98se/Me only
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/abc4/v36/vic36.htm
Shift to Turn Off Caps
Applies to Windows 2000/XP only
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=389
Also, a tip I wrote for ABC was recently picked up by PC World magazine.
A Shortcut to Safe Mode
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,115065,pg,2,00.asp
Original tip here.
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/abc2/v14/newabc14.htm#tip
This only applies to Windows 95/98/98se where native dos still exists.
***
If you are a newbie wishing to learn computers from the ground up in plain
english, check out my
Newbie Club page for ebooks on a various aspects of computing. You may want to
bookmark it.
http://newbieclub.com/?vic
***
Quick Boot to GUI Disks
Boot to Windows not DOS!
by Vic Ferri
for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP - single or multi boot systems.
Here, I will show you how easy it is to create a boot disk that will boot you
right into colorful Windows - not into black and white Ms-Dos
as a typical Windows startup disk does. Such a disk can come in very handy in
the event of a hard drive problem relating to a damaged boot sector or
MBR (master boot record) or when you cannot boot due to a missing or corrupt
essential boot file. This type of disk is also convenient in a situation
where you lose your boot menu in a dual or multi boot system. With such a disk,
your boot menu will always show.
It is amazing that this boot disk method is not as widely known as it should be.
For example, a common 2k/XP boot problem is a missing NTLDR file. At bootup
you get an error stating something like "NTLDR is Missing
Press any key to restart" but restarting just brings you back to the same
error which you just can't get past. If you search the net for "missing ntdlr"
and read some of the solutions posted on how to fix this problem, almost all
suggest the need to enter the Recovery Console or Ms-Dos or perform
a complete reinstall! Here is just one example of someone with this problem
and the solutions suggested.
http://www.techimo.com/forum/t37563.html
With the type of boot disk we will be creating here, such a situation would be
nothing to panic or worry about because you would still be able to boot into
real Windows and use your computer as you normally do. You would have full
access to your system and the internet with no real symptom of anything
being wrong. Fixing the boot problem would just be a matter of replacing the
file which would be right on your bootdisk. NTLDR is an essential boot file in
NT/2000/XP (equivalent to IO.SYS in 9x) and you would be booting from it, but
from the boot disk, not your hard drive, so it matters not if it is missing on
your
hard drive - you'd still be able to boot up into Windows and then just take a
copy of NTLDR from the floppy you booted from and place it in your c drive.
Problem solved and problem very minor.
This is all based on common sense - there are just a few specific crucial
files neeeded for the boot process, so why not put a copy of those files on a
floppy disk (or if you normally boot from cd and know how to make a bootable
cd, use a cd instead of floppy) and in time of startup troubles, use the disk
to get you into real 32 bit Windows? It's actually very easy to do.
First, make sure you have Show All Files enabled as these boot files are hidden
by default.
In any folder, click Tools>Folder Options>View to see if you have all your
files showing.
Windows 95/98/Me
1. Insert a floppy into your floppy drive (note that anything on it will be
wiped out)
2. Double click My Computer, right click your A: drive and click Format.
Under Format Type choose FULL.
3. Go to your root drive (c:) and copy the following files to the floppy disk:
IO.SYS
MSDOS.SYS
And if for any reason you are using CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, copy those
files, as well, to the floppy disk.
If you are not sure you need them, just open each with Notepad and see if they
contain any commands.
Regardless, these files are not essential to boot up a Windows system.
And that's really all there is to it (but I would follow the TIP I give below
on editing msdos.sys first)
Those two little files are all you need to make it possible for you to get to
the final stage of the Windows startup routine which is to load Windows
(win.com) Normally, if you have a boot problem, you can never reach the
loading Windows stage.
Test it out by restarting your computer with the floppy disk in the drive. It
should get you into Windows. Then if you are brave, do a more realistic
test by renaming IO.sys to something like IO.bak and then try booting
without the disk first to confirm you have a real problem.
Then boot with the disk to see how easy it is to get into Windows, where you
can rename the file back to its original name.
However, do not do this test unless you tested the disk first and know it works.
TIP: though not essential, I would strongly recommend you edit your your
msdos.sys file before copying it to the floppy
This will help speed up and optimize the bootup process (even without the boot
disk)
I made a bat file that you can use to make editing msdos.sys quite easy.
You can download it from our Wintips&Tricks File section:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinTips-Tricks/files/
Name of file is MsDosEdit.bat
Before proceeding with this, I advise you make a backup of your msdos.sys.
If you prefer to edit msdos.sys manually, remove the system, hidden and
read-only attributes of the file and then
open it with Notepad (do not forget to reset the attributes after you finish
editing)
If using the bat file I made, just double click it and it will open msdos.sys
in notepad.
In either case, Msdos.sys will look somerthing like this
[Paths]
WinDir=C:\WINDOWS
WinBootDir=C:\WINDOWS
HostWinBootDrv=C
[Options]
BootMulti=1
BootGUI=1
DoubleBuffer=1
AutoScan=1
WinVer=4.10.2222
;
;The following lines are required for compatibility with other programs.
;Do not remove them (MSDOS.SYS needs to be >1024 bytes).
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxa
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxb
Under the [Options] section, add the following lines if they do not exist or
make sure their values are as below if they do.
BootGUI=1
logo=0
DisableLog=1
And unless you are a rare one who still uses drive compression for whatever
reason, make sure to add these two lines, as well.
dblspace=0
drvspace=0
The above 2 lines disable the useless loading drivespace and doublespace at
bootup and speed up normal booting by several seconds.
I mean, does anyone really still compress their hard drives today? Personally,
I never used drive compression even when I had a 486 PC
with a 250 mb hard drive.
Save your changes and if using my bat file, just press any key to exit. If you
edited it manually, save, exit and replace the read-only, hidden
and system attributes. Then copy the file to the floppy.
Tip - why not copy some other useful files to the floppy.
A few you might want to add are fdisk.exe, format.com, sys.com, scandisk.exe,
attrib.exe, extract.exe and deltree.exe...
All these files can be found in the Command folder (\Windows\Command)
Windows NT/2000/XP
1. Place a floppy disk into your floppy drive
2. Open My Computer, right click your 31/2 Floppy (A:) drive and choose Format.
Perform a default format - not Quick format and
DO NOT check "Create an Ms-Dos Startup Disk"
3. From your root drive, c:, copy the following files to the floppy disk:
BOOT.INI
NTDETECT.COM
NTLDR
And that's all there is to it. To test it out, simply place the disk in your
floppy drive and start or restart your computer.
Then if you're brave, and want to test it more realistically, delete or rename
NTLDR, and boot without and with the disk to
see how easily it can save you in such a situation.
Dual or Multi Boot Windows Systems
For a multi boot, follow the steps for the Windows NT/2000/XP disk and make
sure all these files are copied to the disk
BOOT.INI
NTDETECT.COM
NTLDR
IO.SYS
MSDOS.SYS
BOOTSECT.DOS
If you have the Recovery Console on your boot menu, also copy the file
BOOTSECT.DAT to the floppy
And as stated for 9x, if for any reason you are using CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT, copy those files, as well.
You now have a boot up disk that will show your mutli boot menu and allow you
to boot to the system of your choice.
This can be very convenient in cases where you might lose your boot menu as can
happen if you install Windows 9x on an
XP system or format 9x on a dual or multi boot system.
Tip - add Hal.dll to your boot disk too. It's in your System 32 folder. This
is another common file that is often found missing or corrupt in XP
and without it, you cannot boot from your hard drive.So as a preventive
measure, put it on the floppy and then if you ever run into a missing hal.dll,
you can just copy it from the floppy to your System32 folder.
Also note that these dual/multi boot disks are particular to your own system.
They are not interchangeable.
So if you have more than one dual or multi boot PC, you need to create a
separate boot floppy for each one.
Finally, it should be stated that these boot disks are not a replacement for
your standard Windows startup disks.
There are different situations where you really cannot boot into Windows and
will need to use them.
As I said in the beginning, this type of boot disk is only for problems
relating to the MBR or a missing or corrupt essential boot file.
I hope you found this article helpful or at least learned something from it.
Your feedback is always welcome as are any questions or tips you would like to
have considered for submission.
wintips@xxxxxxxxxx?Subject=feedback
Help keep these newsletters free.
An easy way to do that while benefiting yourself as well, is by supporting our
printing associates.
Two of our most popular printing suppliers are::
Mr Inkman - Besides the low prices, it is their guarantee policy that makes
them popular.
No time limit - two weeks or two years later.. ...if you have a defective
cartridge it will be
replaced free or money refunded if no solution found. Ships to Canada for only
4.50 per order and just 3.50 for USA.
123 Inkjets offers free shipping always to USA only (Canada - 7 dollars)
and a one year guarantee on cartridges.
Both are listed on our printing suppliers page, as are other printing suppliers.
Always order from this page to ensure proper credit.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/printersupplies.htm
Thanks for your support. It is most appreciated.
vic
Wintips&Tricks
//www.freelists.org/webpage/wintips
Yahoo Support group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinTips-Tricks/
Registry Answers
//www.freelists.org/webpage/regtips
ABC
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/abc/
TechTrax
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMIssue.asp?ISI=0
To unsubscribe, click here and hit Send
wintips-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=unsubscribe
Other related posts:
- » Quick Boot to GUI Disks
