Making boot CD and using DSRFIX

I have been trying to use an older bootable CD that has DSRFIX on it. For some reason, the system boots up, but does not see the DSRFIX.COM nor PTEDIT.EXE files.

The only files I see (via DIR) are Kernal.sys, command.com,ctmouse.exe and so on. These seem to bee the "bootable" part of the CD. Odd, but not too worried I simply went to another PC to d/l and then burn a CD with the 2 files thinking I should be able to put them in the CD drive which came up as A:, an use the two files from there since I was already booted.

I couldn't ever see anything more than the files that I thought were the bootable environment. When I took the CD back to the PC that I d/l'd them at the only thing showing were the .COM and .EXE files that I wanted. ??

So, perhaps the ailing computer in (FREE) DOS mode didn't re-read the A: drive? So I CD'd to B:, and then back to A:. Still, just the kernal files.

OK, so I went back to the author's site and d/l'd a bootable iso file and wrote it to CD from the working computer. I couldn't get the ailing computer to boot from it at all. (I did not use the "Makebootable" option in ROXIO as it wanted a bootable floppy image which I don't have and thought I was getting the bootable image as part of the .iso image.)

So, lots of other things and happened upon the UltimateBootCD which has a DSRFIX in it. I couldn't get it going from that. I have lots of boot CDs from one thing or another and know the systm boots with the CD. I'm just doing something wrong.

I see this site has the UBCD 5.1.1. If I d/l this file do I still need an .iso file of a boot floppy, or is it included?

I've used DSRFIX a number of times and don't understand what is going on as I've gotten myself confused. Can someone here help me make a bootable of the UBCD, AND should I have been able to stick the CD in the CD drive after having used a different bootable CD and use the two files (DSRFIX.COM and PTEDIT.EXE?)

Sure miss floppies when at DOS level....
Thanks!

 

I'm not sure what the problem is but perhaps as the first CD boots it isn't running autoexec.bat or config.sys so the path is not being set correctly?

With the first/older CD where all files are there except DSRFIX.exe try the command from the A:> prompt cd cd this will put you into the "cd" directory that should have dsrfix.exe in it. It is confusing because the name of the directory is "cd" and that is also the command and also we are talking about booting from a CD. Poor naming choice.

Then do a dir command and see if you see DSRFIX.exe. If you see it then try to run it.

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Another option would be to use imgburn to burn the DSRFIX.iso file. You would start imgburn and choose "Write IMAGE file to disc" option. Browse to your iso file and then click the double icon to burn the disc. That should make a bootable CD with all files in the correct place. Guide for imgburn: http://www.calibancomputer.com/computer-tutorials.htm#burning (I only suggest imgburn because it is simple and I am unfamiliar with the exact steps for burning ISO in Roxio, but using the MakeBootable option would probably be one of the steps necessary for Roxio.).

 

Well, I've finally made a disk that is recognized and booted and had the DSRFIX option available. I used it and thought I understood the report then ran it with /f to resycn the mbr and now I cannot boot past the blue line that says dell.com.

I once got to the ghost screen but it says it didn't complete so I gave up and pulled the recovery CD. But even afgter using it, I only get to the bell dell.com line and it just keeps flashing.

Any ideas?

Would formatting the partition of C: help? Do I have to format the whole disk and lose the Restore partition?

Thanks!

 

Give the exact label on the Recovery CD and what were the steps you followed when using it?

When you say "keeps flashing" do you mean a blinking cursor in the top left corner?

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For background, what was the reason for your seeking out the DSRfix software?

 

The disk is the Dell O/S Recovery Disk that used to ship with systems. I get it booted and loaded, then when you exect it to reboot and start with the EULA screen, it reboots, and never gets past the blue stripe that says dell.com. This just prior to the windows starting up - beyond POST and BIOS.

This blue line just keeps flashing and it appears to be looping.