Re: We're OT now... Re: Shared/moved Font Folder

Tech-Archive recommends: Fix windows errors by optimizing your registry

From: Ndi (NoSpam_at_Ndi.ro)
Date: 09/01/04 

Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2004 03:23:51 +0300

> Jeeze, you're patient!

  Uhmm, I like happy people.

> (Now it shows as FAT 12?...)

  Default for that size is FAT12. There are ways to convert to FAT16, but
why?
  FAT12 stops at some 512MB, IIRC. After that, from 512M to 2G, you need
FAT16, then FAT32.

> But looped at the logon screen (and looped and looped) odd?!

  You moved the drive letters and signatures. NT recognized its own drive,
but the swapping got scr*d. I remember it stores PATHS, not IDs so if you
remove/change/etc the swap location, it will refuse to log you on. If you
have enugh RAM to boot into it, you *do* get logged on and you get an
annoying pop-up thet tells you you don't have enough swap space.

  In this case, MS recommends repair (IIRC), repair re-sets swap to the
system drive. (Boot? Agh, I hate the names swap). Which you already did.

> Re-install even put "empty" io.sys, msdos.sys and autoexex. in that
> small FAT 12!? partition. I have no clue why and am not sure *what* type
> of partiton that is?!

  Most likely, it *is* FAT12. The files might be there for backwards
compatibility, especially if empty. Remember the "xxxxxxxx do not remove
these lines, MSDOS.sys needs to be >1024 bytes" like in W9x?

> I really don't want to do another re-install---looks like I will...?

  [scratching head] MSDOS does not know how to insert itself on the boot
system of NT. Unlikely...

> And I don't have a burner for you CD plan...

  Well, if you're ever close by, I'll burn you a copy :)
  When do you go through Eastern Europe?

> The standard situation for a computer that multiboots to Windows NT,
> Windows 95, or MS-Dos 6.22 is : the user selects a "Windows 95" entry
> in NT menu, and, then must press F4 if he wants to boot MS-Dos 6.22.

  I see. Well, what this does is install DOS7. DOS7 has an option to boot
back to the old operating system. The old boot sector is saved in the root
folder (should you choose to) and if you hit F4 at boot or F8 and choose
"previous version of MS-dos", then the boot loader will execute the old boot
sector.

  Even though it might come close to what you want, you don't technically
get DOS6, but DOS7 that executed a DOS6. Just for the fun of facts.

> BOOTPART DOS622 C:\BOOTSECT.622 "MS-Dos 6.22"
> BOOTPART WIN95 C:\BOOTSECT.W95 "Windows 95"
> BOOTPART REWRITEROOT:C:

  I doubt you need the .W95 unless you actually have a boot loader that does
this. Which you don't. (hopefully). Or if you don't go for the W95 solution.
Which you don't seem to like.

> The last line (REWRITEROOT:C:) MUST BE EXECUTED UNDER MSDOS, and moves the
> MS-Dos IO.* and MSDOS.* files to the beginning of the root directory.

  Needed by DOS6.22 at least.

> I'm back-------Seems like no re-install is necessary?

  Reinstall wasn't necessary for W98SE either, I said it's possible that you
might need to (I don't know, I didn't write it and I'm allergic to flying
tomatoes). Also, I remember vaguely that I said "Repair" at some point, not
re-install..

  You can just DOS the first drive (sys), then repair (one of) the W2k
installation(s). Once you repaired the boot loader, restore boot.ini and add
"MSDOS" as "c:\" in boot.ini. Like this:

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\NT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional"
/fastdetect
C:\="Previous Operating System on C:"

  The whole idea is that a normal SYS a: C: will most likely nuke the NT
loader, which needs to be reinstated. A repair will do that.

  I didn't repair 2k recently, but NT4 had this option to "Inspect boot
sector and boot files". Cute.

> Anyway, I am a bit slow about how to actually boot to DOS from the
> drive! What file(s) should/need to be in the primary? What should they
> "say"?

  For 6.22:

  command.com, msdos.sys, io.sys. Critical.
  dblspace.sys and so on and so forth, some moved in the \DOS folder.
Optional.

  Maybe you should pay Bootdisk.com a visit.

  For 7.0 and 7.1
  command.com (larger, some 90K)
  io.sys (larger, also contains code from msdos.sys)
  msdos.sys (actually, an INI file)

  But either way, if you're not too busy you can sys it and restore one of
the installations. Or you could get a small Windows in there, set MSDOS.sys
ini to "BOOTGUI=0" (start in msdos only) then nuke the C:\Windows folder
from DOS, since it's not needed. (You might want to keep Windows\command for
future debugging in DOS 7. That would elliminate the mangling of 3rd party
apps, since W98SE will not nuke the NT loader, but add itself to it
(boot.ini).

  Then copy the bootsect.dos and you can boot to previous DOS version.

> What is the "pointer" (syntax in boot.ini)?

  Already answered.

> DOS files in that FAT12(?!) partition with a folder for DOS elsewhere

  You mean a tools folder. You can't have actual DOS to another partition
mainly because your other partitions are NTFS. Besides, I have no idea if
DOS folder can be in another partition.

  Just get the 4 (3+bootsect.dos) files in the root and everything else in
\DOS. And a \Tools for your tools. 

--
Andrei "Ndi" Dobrin
Brainbench MVP
www.Brainbench.com

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