Making a Win98 Boot disc

I'm trying to get a 2nd system for older software running Windows 98SE. I
only have a backup copy of my old install CD (the original no doubt walked years ago) and it isn't a bootable one.

I have no means of making a bootable floppy, I have looked at downloadable
ones and I'm not sure which one to get. I've tried a couple and either they
are the wrong ones or there is a hardware fault with the floppy drive (old hardware). My
options to download seem to be:

Automatic Boot Disk:
Windows98_SE.exe
Windows98_SE_No_Ramdrive.exe

Diskette Images:
Windows98_SE.img
Windows98_SE_No_Ramdrive.img

No idea if I have a Ramdrive.

So failing that I need to burn a copy of the CD with a boot sector
containing the relevant files. As far as I know. But I have no idea how to
do that and what files I'd need (or where they would be.) My copy of Nero
has no options to make a boot disc and I can't figure out how to do it in XP, assuming you even can.

So any tips would be gratefully accepted.

 

you can go to bootdisk.com, but i preferred to make one off the win98 op system the original one i preferred.

 

What exactly happpens when you try to use the disk you created with Windows98_SE.exe?
Just checking but you realize that Windows98_SE.exe is a program to create a bootable floppy disk. You run it on a Windows system and it will prompt you to create a disk.

You could also try one of the Win95 disks since you will be doing a fresh install of 98 and only need to get the CD running.

Edit:
I'm actually not sure Win95 has cdrom support but one of the Win98 disks (first edition) should be ok. My point is that if you only need to boot the computer the boot up disk doesn't have to match the OS you want to install.

 

I went thru this once when my Win98 install floppy became corrupted. There are two floppies for win98SE, one that came with the disk goes directly to the choices of running the install after the "with or without cd-rom support" and I would always choose "with" and it would boot the cd for installing the OS. The other you make during install called an emergency boot disk, that does not start the installation but installs a ram drive (ram drive is a virtual drive created by using some hard drive space as virtual ram which allows the floppy to create a small platform for you to use to run some dos applications and activate the rom drives with drivers). You can still use this to run your installation but its tricky. For one the ram drive takes a temporary drive letter which moves your cd-rom up one letter, so if you have 1 hard drive and your cd-rom was D then the ram drive would steal D (it will always take the first available since you can't have a cd-rom without the ram drive present) and your cd-rom would then be E (if you have two hard drives then try F). So to install from the emergency floppy at the A:/ prompt type "e:/setup.exe or f:/setup.exe for two HDD" and it will run the disk in that drive. If you have more than one Rom drive just keep trying the next letter, maybe G.

Now, to get back to it, when my store bought floppy took a poop I missed having the option to go straight to install, and after a lot of searching and comparing files from different boot floppies I found, I actually created a new install floppy. I'm going to upload it for you:

Code:

http://rapidshare.com/files/107159451/98_Floppy_Image.rar

Install the floppy program and run it, point it to the imz file and with a good floppy in the drive create your disk. Hang on to the rar file incase your floppy becomes corrupted for next time.

If your floppy drive is shot, it would be easier to get a new one than to find or create a bootable cd, I have tried to find a tutorial on the web and have not succeeded. I did eventually find a bootable copy from another forum, I can use my original serial on, but its too big for me to upload in a reasonable amount of time (my up speeds suck).

I hope this does it for you.

 

I haven't had a chance to try any of the suggestions yet and posting from work atm.

Have now discovered that another CD writing app I have can burn bootable CDs. However it needs the boot files as an .ima file. There is apparantly software that can create one (using the same files that would go on the floppy I assume) and hopefully it's not too complicated.

If you can download everything you need to make bootable floppies then I would guess you can get ready made .ima files too. Anyone know where though? I tried Googling and not getting much joy.

 

I found a WIn98 .ima but it isn't a Win98SE one. Does that matter though, the floppy is basically just to get a command prompt to be able to boot the CD rom isn't it?

 

command prompt and a driver to boot the cd

 

Make your boot floppy from your 98 CD. Load the CD into a working machine. Navigate to; %CDROM%\tools\mtsutil\fat32ebd and run the fat32ebd.exe file.

Or;

Win98SE Boot Disk*

*The above bootdisk image file is a self extracting file and has to be executed (run) from a running Windows machine in order to create the actual startup diskette on one of your floppy disks. (This image file produces the same bootdisk which 98SE creates.) This downloaded image file will format the floppy disk to ensure its integrity, write the files to the disk, then verify the file write, so it'll take a minute or three to create the bootdisk.

Ensure the floppy drive is set as the first boot device in the bios.

NOTE: When you boot a machine with this boot floppy, it creates a RAMDRIVE in system memory to contain DOS system tools/drivers. Thus it will move your "normal" CDROM device/drive letter "up" one level. (If your CDROM is normally E: it will be F: when booting with this bootdisk.)

The path to the found CDROM will be set with the bootfiles, so entering (example) A:\>f:\setup is the same as entering A:\>setup at the A:\> prompt. There is no need to include the cdrom drive letter. The path dictates that the instruction (command line input) will look at the CDROM for Setup before it looks elsewhere. The CDROM device letter will be assigned near the end of the floppy boot process, right after MSCDEX is loaded.

 

what about when you are upgrading win98 to xp and it says that it doesn't have any previous win installed how do you get passed that?