What is going on?

Just yesterday morning I posted the following message that, if I recall
correctly, had BootSisk as a title. I looked for replies just a while ago
and can't even see the initial post. Before logging out, yesterday, I checked
its status and it was there. What gives?

This was my original problem:

My Computer has a 30GB MAXTOR 6E030L0 HD as Primary Master (C, a 10GB
IBM-DTTA 351010 HD as Primary Slave (D, a writeable CD-ROM (F and a 250MB
Zip Drive (E, besides the A:, of course. There is currently no problem with
the Unit. However, while testing my BootDisk (created in some way when I
upgraded WIN98 OS to WIN98SE ......no recollection of how the BootDisk was
created) I was surprised to find out that the directory of C: is actually the
one from the Slave Drive. The directory of D: shows 15 files.....the
Diagnostic Files listed in the BootDisk. The CD-ROM becomes the E: Drive. The
Primary Master and the Zip Drive are not accessible. Is this a common
occurrence? Would I have to disconnect or disable the Slave HD if I should
have problems and need to use a BootDisk to get going? I never uninstalled
the WIN98 OS of the Primary Slave.
Similar results occur when using a BootDisk downloaded from Bootdisk.com.

Before going to BootDisk.com, I was and still am unable to create another
BootDisk from WIN98SE OS. The problem is that, when I try to do so, the
System asks me to insert the WIN98SE CD, but it cannot find the files needed.
By choosing ‘skip file’, I can see all the files that the System is looking
for. Those files are in the WIN98 Folder of the CD in Base4.cab and
Base5.cab. Those files are also in C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder. When I
type the locations of any of those folders in the Dialog Box, the System
ignores all and insists that they cannot be found and keeps on prompting me
to insert the WIN98SE CD. What am I doing wrong?
Any help will be appreciated.
PAL

You can make a floppy boot disk with the Fat32ebd.exe file located on the
W98 CD: tools/mtsutil/fat32ebd (will not create a ram drive when used). I
am not clear on what you are seeing with your boot disk but it may be the
type that creates a ram drive and throws the drive lettering sequence off by
one letter.

C: drive will be the one that has W98 on it. If both drives have W98
installed, C: drive will be the drive marked as Active. You can check the
partitions by using fdisk.

--
Regards

Ron Badour, MS MVP Windows 98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo

"BAP" wrote in message
...
Just yesterday morning I posted the following message that, if I recall
correctly, had BootSisk as a title. I looked for replies just a while
ago
and can't even see the initial post. Before logging out, yesterday, I
checked
its status and it was there. What gives?

This was my original problem:

?My Computer has a 30GB MAXTOR 6E030L0 HD as Primary Master (C, a 10GB
IBM-DTTA 351010 HD as Primary Slave (D, a writeable CD-ROM (F and a
250MB
Zip Drive (E, besides the A:, of course. There is currently no problem
with
the Unit. However, while testing my BootDisk (created in some way when I
upgraded WIN98 OS to WIN98SE ......no recollection of how the BootDisk
was
created) I was surprised to find out that the directory of C: is actually
the
one from the Slave Drive. The directory of D: shows 15 files.....the
Diagnostic Files listed in the BootDisk. The CD-ROM becomes the E: Drive.
The
Primary Master and the Zip Drive are not accessible. Is this a common
occurrence? Would I have to disconnect or disable the Slave HD if I
should
have problems and need to use a BootDisk to get going? I never uninstalled
the WIN98 OS of the Primary Slave.
Similar results occur when using a BootDisk downloaded from Bootdisk.com.

Before going to BootDisk.com, I was and still am unable to create another
BootDisk from WIN98SE OS. The problem is that, when I try to do so, the
System asks me to insert the WIN98SE CD, but it cannot find the files
needed.
By choosing 'skip file', I can see all the files that the System is
looking
for. Those files are in the WIN98 Folder of the CD in Base4.cab and
Base5.cab. Those files are also in C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder. When I
type the locations of any of those folders in the Dialog Box, the System
ignores all and insists that they cannot be found and keeps on prompting
me
to insert the WIN98SE CD. What am I doing wrong?
Any help will be appreciated.
PAL

On 3/2/05 8:43 PM India Time, _Ron Badour_ wrote:

You can make a floppy boot disk with the Fat32ebd.exe
file located on the W98 CD: tools/mtsutil/fat32ebd (will
not create a ram drive when used). I am not clear on
what you are seeing with your boot disk but it may be the
type that creates a ram drive and throws the drive
lettering sequence off by one letter.

I think RAMDRIVE is created AFTER the hardisk partition drives.

Could someone please clarify.


C: drive will be the one that has W98 on it. If both
drives have W98 installed, C: drive will be the drive
marked as Active. You can check the partitions by using
fdisk.


-- Regards Ron Badour, MS MVP Windows 98 Tips:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo "BAP"
wrote in message
...


Just yesterday morning I posted the following message
that, if I recall correctly, had BootSisk as a
title. I looked for replies just a while ago and
can't even see the initial post. Before logging out,
yesterday, I checked its status and it was there.
What gives?

Don't you think you should have specified which
mail/newsreader are you using?

check the settings in that.


This was my original problem:

?My Computer has a 30GB MAXTOR 6E030L0 HD as Primary
Master (C, a 10GB IBM-DTTA 351010 HD as Primary
Slave (D, a writeable CD-ROM (F and a 250MB Zip
Drive (E, besides the A:, of course. There is
currently no problem with the Unit. However, while
testing my BootDisk (created in some way when I
upgraded WIN98 OS to WIN98SE ......no recollection
of how the BootDisk was created)

Is this bootdisk a floppy disk or a CD?

If it is a floppy, there should not be any change at all in
the sequence of drives.

If it is CD and you have booted from CD, the sequence might
change.

Please provide relevant details.

I was surprised to
find out that the directory of C: is actually the one
from the Slave Drive. The directory of D: shows 15
files.....the Diagnostic Files listed in the
BootDisk. The CD-ROM becomes the E: Drive. The
Primary Master and the Zip Drive are not accessible.
Is this a common occurrence?

I have never heard of nor faced the above ever.

Would I have to
disconnect or disable the Slave HD if I should have
problems and need to use a BootDisk to get going?

That is too drastic.

First, think of primary steps.

If you remove your bootdisk, and boot, do your all drives
appear, and do they appear in the right sequence?

I
never uninstalled the WIN98 OS of the Primary Slave.
Similar results occur when using a BootDisk
downloaded from Bootdisk.com.

What is the booting order in your system setup (press del
key when system is booting),
go to second option

It is mentioned there.


Before going to BootDisk.com, I was and still am
unable to create another BootDisk from WIN98SE OS.

How are you creating a bootdisk from wind98se os?

Is it through
Start-Settings-ControlPanel-AddRemoveProgram-StartupDisk-CreateDisk?

That creates a floppy disk.

The problem is that, when I try to do so, the System
asks me to insert the WIN98SE CD, but it cannot find
the files needed.

Is it able to access the CD?
Is the CD drive diode turning on and off after you have
inserted the CD, and give OK in the alert window.

By choosing 'skip file', I can see
all the files that the System is looking for. Those
files are in the WIN98 Folder of the CD in Base4.cab
and Base5.cab. Those files are also in
C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder. When I type the
locations of any of those folders in the Dialog Box,
the System ignores all and insists that they cannot
be found and keeps on prompting me to insert the
WIN98SE CD. What am I doing wrong? Any help will be
appreciated. PAL

I don't think that the system needs to access CD or win98
setup files for creating a startup disk.

Pl provide more details as asked.

--
Rawat

Yes, the letter assigned to RAM Drive is the one immediately following
hard disk partitions. Ron was referring to CD and DVD and other
"removable media" drives.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User
http://www.grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://www.grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"V S Rawat" wrote in message
...
On 3/2/05 8:43 PM India Time, _Ron Badour_ wrote:

You can make a floppy boot disk with the Fat32ebd.exe
file located on the W98 CD: tools/mtsutil/fat32ebd (will
not create a ram drive when used). I am not clear on
what you are seeing with your boot disk but it may be the
type that creates a ram drive and throws the drive
lettering sequence off by one letter.

I think RAMDRIVE is created AFTER the hardisk partition drives.

Could someone please clarify.


C: drive will be the one that has W98 on it. If both
drives have W98 installed, C: drive will be the drive
marked as Active. You can check the partitions by using
fdisk.


-- Regards Ron Badour, MS MVP Windows 98 Tips:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo "BAP"
wrote in message
...


Just yesterday morning I posted the following message
that, if I recall correctly, had BootSisk as a
title. I looked for replies just a while ago and
can't even see the initial post. Before logging out,
yesterday, I checked its status and it was there.
What gives?

Don't you think you should have specified which
mail/newsreader are you using?

check the settings in that.


This was my original problem:

?My Computer has a 30GB MAXTOR 6E030L0 HD as Primary
Master (C, a 10GB IBM-DTTA 351010 HD as Primary
Slave (D, a writeable CD-ROM (F and a 250MB Zip
Drive (E, besides the A:, of course. There is
currently no problem with the Unit. However, while
testing my BootDisk (created in some way when I
upgraded WIN98 OS to WIN98SE ......no recollection
of how the BootDisk was created)

Is this bootdisk a floppy disk or a CD?

If it is a floppy, there should not be any change at all in
the sequence of drives.

If it is CD and you have booted from CD, the sequence might
change.

Please provide relevant details.

I was surprised to
find out that the directory of C: is actually the one
from the Slave Drive. The directory of D: shows 15
files.....the Diagnostic Files listed in the
BootDisk. The CD-ROM becomes the E: Drive. The
Primary Master and the Zip Drive are not accessible.
Is this a common occurrence?

I have never heard of nor faced the above ever.

Would I have to
disconnect or disable the Slave HD if I should have
problems and need to use a BootDisk to get going?

That is too drastic.

First, think of primary steps.

If you remove your bootdisk, and boot, do your all drives
appear, and do they appear in the right sequence?

I
never uninstalled the WIN98 OS of the Primary Slave.
Similar results occur when using a BootDisk
downloaded from Bootdisk.com.

What is the booting order in your system setup (press del
key when system is booting),
go to second option

It is mentioned there.


Before going to BootDisk.com, I was and still am
unable to create another BootDisk from WIN98SE OS.

How are you creating a bootdisk from wind98se os?

Is it through
Start-Settings-ControlPanel-AddRemoveProgram-StartupDisk-CreateDisk?

That creates a floppy disk.

The problem is that, when I try to do so, the System
asks me to insert the WIN98SE CD, but it cannot find
the files needed.

Is it able to access the CD?
Is the CD drive diode turning on and off after you have
inserted the CD, and give OK in the alert window.

By choosing 'skip file', I can see
all the files that the System is looking for. Those
files are in the WIN98 Folder of the CD in Base4.cab
and Base5.cab. Those files are also in
C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder. When I type the
locations of any of those folders in the Dialog Box,
the System ignores all and insists that they cannot
be found and keeps on prompting me to insert the
WIN98SE CD. What am I doing wrong? Any help will be
appreciated. PAL

I don't think that the system needs to access CD or win98
setup files for creating a startup disk.

Pl provide more details as asked.

--
Rawat

You are right and so is Gary--I was thinking about the CDRom/DVD drive
letters but did not convey that very well in my message.

--
Regards

Ron Badour, MS MVP Windows 98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo

"V S Rawat" wrote in message
...
On 3/2/05 8:43 PM India Time, _Ron Badour_ wrote:

You can make a floppy boot disk with the Fat32ebd.exe file located on the
W98 CD: tools/mtsutil/fat32ebd (will
not create a ram drive when used). I am not clear on what you are
seeing with your boot disk but it may be the
type that creates a ram drive and throws the drive lettering sequence
off by one letter.

I think RAMDRIVE is created AFTER the hardisk partition drives.

Could someone please clarify.


C: drive will be the one that has W98 on it. If both drives have W98
installed, C: drive will be the drive marked as Active. You can check
the partitions by using fdisk.


-- Regards Ron Badour, MS MVP Windows 98 Tips:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo "BAP"
wrote in message
...


Just yesterday morning I posted the following message
that, if I recall correctly, had BootSisk as a
title. I looked for replies just a while ago and
can't even see the initial post. Before logging out,
yesterday, I checked its status and it was there.
What gives?

Don't you think you should have specified which mail/newsreader are you
using?

check the settings in that.


This was my original problem:

?My Computer has a 30GB MAXTOR 6E030L0 HD as Primary
Master (C, a 10GB IBM-DTTA 351010 HD as Primary
Slave (D, a writeable CD-ROM (F and a 250MB Zip
Drive (E, besides the A:, of course. There is
currently no problem with the Unit. However, while
testing my BootDisk (created in some way when I upgraded WIN98 OS to
WIN98SE ......no recollection
of how the BootDisk was created)

Is this bootdisk a floppy disk or a CD?

If it is a floppy, there should not be any change at all in the sequence
of drives.

If it is CD and you have booted from CD, the sequence might change.

Please provide relevant details.

I was surprised to
find out that the directory of C: is actually the one
from the Slave Drive. The directory of D: shows 15
files.....the Diagnostic Files listed in the
BootDisk. The CD-ROM becomes the E: Drive. The Primary Master and the
Zip Drive are not accessible.
Is this a common occurrence?

I have never heard of nor faced the above ever.

Would I have to
disconnect or disable the Slave HD if I should have
problems and need to use a BootDisk to get going?

That is too drastic.

First, think of primary steps.

If you remove your bootdisk, and boot, do your all drives appear, and do
they appear in the right sequence?

I
never uninstalled the WIN98 OS of the Primary Slave. Similar results
occur when using a BootDisk
downloaded from Bootdisk.com.

What is the booting order in your system setup (press del key when system
is booting),
go to second option

It is mentioned there.


Before going to BootDisk.com, I was and still am
unable to create another BootDisk from WIN98SE OS.

How are you creating a bootdisk from wind98se os?

Is it through
Start-Settings-ControlPanel-AddRemoveProgram-StartupDisk-CreateDisk?

That creates a floppy disk.

The problem is that, when I try to do so, the System
asks me to insert the WIN98SE CD, but it cannot find
the files needed.

Is it able to access the CD?
Is the CD drive diode turning on and off after you have inserted the CD,
and give OK in the alert window.

By choosing 'skip file', I can see
all the files that the System is looking for. Those
files are in the WIN98 Folder of the CD in Base4.cab
and Base5.cab. Those files are also in
C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder. When I type the
locations of any of those folders in the Dialog Box,
the System ignores all and insists that they cannot
be found and keeps on prompting me to insert the
WIN98SE CD. What am I doing wrong? Any help will be
appreciated. PAL

I don't think that the system needs to access CD or win98 setup files for
creating a startup disk.

Pl provide more details as asked.

--
Rawat

To Ron Badour: Thanks, Ron!
.......
Ron: - You can make a floppy boot disk with the Fat32ebd.exe file located on
the W98 CD: tools/mtsutil/fat32ebd (will not create a ram drive when used).
I am not clear on what you are seeing with your boot disk but it may be the
type that creates a ram drive and throws the drive lettering sequence off by
one letter.
.......
BAP:- Not quite sure about what you mean. My Floppy BootDisk has 25 files.
The ones dealing with ram
are Setramd.bat, Ramdrive.sys and Findramd.exe. These, incidentally, are in
my C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder, as well as in the CD's Base5.cab folder.
.......
Ron:- C: drive will be the one that has W98 on it. If both drives have W98
installed, C: drive will be the drive marked as Active. You can check the
partitions by using fdisk.
........
BAP:- Both HD's have a single partition. Unfortunately, the active C: drive
is the Primary Slave when I
boot with the Boot Disk.
------------------------------
To V S Rawat: Thanks, V S!
......
BAP:- ? Just yesterday morning I posted the following message that, if
I recall correctly, had
BootSisk as a title. I looked for replies just a while ago and can't
even see the initial post.
Before logging out, yesterday, I checked its status and it was there.
What gives?
.......
V S:- ?Don't you think you should have specified which mail/newsreader are
you using? check the settings in that.
.....
BAP:- My ISP is AOL 9.0 Security Version. With it I upgraded the original
AOL 9.0 the same day, I
believe. Could that be the problem?
..............
V S:- ? Is this bootdisk a floppy disk or a CD?
If it is a floppy, there should not be any change at all in
the sequence of drives. If it is CD and you have booted from CD, the
sequence might change.
Please provide relevant details.
.......
BAP:- It is a Floppy Disk and, when asked during boot time, I chose to have
CD-Rom support.
.........
V S:- ?If you remove your bootdisk, and boot, do your all drives appear, and
do they appear in the right
sequence?
.........
BAP:- All are in the proper order with a normal boot.
........
V S:- ?What is the booting order in your system setup (press del key when
system is booting), go to second option. It is mentioned there.
.....
BAP:- Can't do that right now. I will get back to you, if I can make some
sense of what I see. But, would it show the normal setup that leads to a
normal boot? I got the impression that the Floppy disk comes alive after all
that initial stuff.
.......
V S:- ?How are you creating a bootdisk from wind98se os?
Is it through
Start-Settings-ControlPanel-AddRemoveProgram-StartupDisk-CreateDisk? That
creates a floppy disk.
.........
BAP:- That is what I try to do, but still cannot create the bootdisk, as
explained in my post.
........
V S:- ?Is it able to access the CD?
Is the CD drive diode turning on and off after you have
inserted the CD, and give OK in the alert window.
........
BAP:- Yes! I can go to it and see its directory and all. Not sure what the
‘alert window’ is.
...........
V S:- I don't think that the system needs to access CD or win98 setup files
for creating a startup disk.
......
BAP:- I did not think so, myself.
------------------------------------------------
Thank you, Ron, V S and Gary for your inputs.
I do hope you fellows overlook my inadequate expertise on this matters. I
also hope that I’ve given
sufficient details to resolve this problem. As mentioned in my original
post, the Computer is working
relatively well and I should not be so concerned. If I should need to use
the BootDisk, I won’t mind to
disable the Primary Slave HD. That should force the system to see the
Primary Master as the active Drive.
-------------------------------------------------------------
"BAP" wrote:

Just yesterday morning I posted the following message that, if I recall
correctly, had BootSisk as a title. I looked for replies just a while ago
and can't even see the initial post. Before logging out, yesterday, I checked
its status and it was there. What gives?

This was my original problem:

My Computer has a 30GB MAXTOR 6E030L0 HD as Primary Master (C, a 10GB
IBM-DTTA 351010 HD as Primary Slave (D, a writeable CD-ROM (F and a 250MB
Zip Drive (E, besides the A:, of course. There is currently no problem with
the Unit. However, while testing my BootDisk (created in some way when I
upgraded WIN98 OS to WIN98SE ......no recollection of how the BootDisk was
created) I was surprised to find out that the directory of C: is actually the
one from the Slave Drive. The directory of D: shows 15 files.....the
Diagnostic Files listed in the BootDisk. The CD-ROM becomes the E: Drive. The
Primary Master and the Zip Drive are not accessible. Is this a common
occurrence? Would I have to disconnect or disable the Slave HD if I should
have problems and need to use a BootDisk to get going? I never uninstalled
the WIN98 OS of the Primary Slave.
Similar results occur when using a BootDisk downloaded from Bootdisk.com.

Before going to BootDisk.com, I was and still am unable to create another
BootDisk from WIN98SE OS. The problem is that, when I try to do so, the
System asks me to insert the WIN98SE CD, but it cannot find the files needed.
By choosing ‘skip file’, I can see all the files that the System is looking
for. Those files are in the WIN98 Folder of the CD in Base4.cab and
Base5.cab. Those files are also in C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder. When I
type the locations of any of those folders in the Dialog Box, the System
ignores all and insists that they cannot be found and keeps on prompting me
to insert the WIN98SE CD. What am I doing wrong?
Any help will be appreciated.
PAL

On 3/3/05 4:55 PM India Time, _BAP_ wrote:

To Ron Badour: Thanks, Ron!
.......
Ron: - You can make a floppy boot disk with the Fat32ebd.exe file located on
the W98 CD: tools/mtsutil/fat32ebd (will not create a ram drive when used).
I am not clear on what you are seeing with your boot disk but it may be the
type that creates a ram drive and throws the drive lettering sequence off by
one letter.
.......
BAP:- Not quite sure about what you mean. My Floppy BootDisk has 25 files.
The ones dealing with ram
are Setramd.bat, Ramdrive.sys and Findramd.exe. These, incidentally, are in
my C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder, as well as in the CD's Base5.cab folder.
.......
Ron:- C: drive will be the one that has W98 on it. If both drives have W98
installed, C: drive will be the drive marked as Active. You can check the
partitions by using fdisk.
........
BAP:- Both HD's have a single partition. Unfortunately, the active C: drive
is the Primary Slave when I
boot with the Boot Disk.
------------------------------
To V S Rawat: Thanks, V S!
......
BAP:- ? Just yesterday morning I posted the following message that, if
I recall correctly, had
BootSisk as a title. I looked for replies just a while ago and can't
even see the initial post.
Before logging out, yesterday, I checked its status and it was there.
What gives?
.......
V S:- ?Don't you think you should have specified which mail/newsreader are
you using? check the settings in that.
.....
BAP:- My ISP is AOL 9.0 Security Version. With it I upgraded the original
AOL 9.0 the same day, I
believe. Could that be the problem?

Sorry BAP. I have no experience with AOL. I used Netscape
and now use Thunderbird.

A message getting displayed, disappearing, appearing can
only be explained by some filters or thread collapse/expand
in your newsreader. Hope some AOL expert could provide some
clue.

..............
V S:- ? Is this bootdisk a floppy disk or a CD?
If it is a floppy, there should not be any change at all in
the sequence of drives. If it is CD and you have booted from CD, the
sequence might change.
Please provide relevant details.
.......
BAP:- It is a Floppy Disk and, when asked during boot time, I chose to have
CD-Rom support.

Floppy disk will occupy A (and B) which are already there.

As you mentioned later below, that your both HDD have single
partition, that will become C and D.

I am not sure whether RAMDRIVE is assigned before or after
zipdrive. anyone.

I am also not sure whether zipdrive is recognized when
booted from bootdisk

Could someone please provide the expected sequencing of
drives for BAP's box in case of booting from bootdisk?

.........
V S:- ?If you remove your bootdisk, and boot, do your all drives appear, and
do they appear in the right
sequence?
.........
BAP:- All are in the proper order with a normal boot.

Just one more exercise for you. I agree that it is becoming
tedious questioning. I am just trying to understand it.

Now, try with bootdisk WITHOUT CD ROM SUPPORT.

What drives do you see?
........
V S:- ?What is the booting order in your system setup (press del key when
system is booting), go to second option. It is mentioned there.
.....
BAP:- Can't do that right now. I will get back to you, if I can make some
sense of what I see. But, would it show the normal setup that leads to a
normal boot? I got the impression that the Floppy disk comes alive after all
that initial stuff.

No. It is much earlier any botting takes place. No floppy
will be accessed by that time.

When you start/ restart your box, press DELETE key a few times.

A window will open having startup setup options.

Select the second option (I don't recall the name. someone
please?). In this the sequence of first two or three boot
devices will be listed. Could you please post them.

.......
V S:- ?How are you creating a bootdisk from wind98se os?
Is it through
Start-Settings-ControlPanel-AddRemoveProgram-StartupDisk-CreateDisk? That
creates a floppy disk.
.........
BAP:- That is what I try to do, but still cannot create the bootdisk, as
explained in my post.
........
V S:- ?Is it able to access the CD?
Is the CD drive diode turning on and off after you have
inserted the CD, and give OK in the alert window.
........
BAP:- Yes! I can go to it and see its directory and all. Not sure what the
‘alert window’ is.

You had mentioned that system asks for a CD. I was asking
about that window as alert window. Does system check for CD
DRIVE before that alert and after you press some key to
proceed in that alert window?

...........
V S:- I don't think that the system needs to access CD or win98 setup files
for creating a startup disk.
......
BAP:- I did not think so, myself.
------------------------------------------------
Thank you, Ron, V S and Gary for your inputs.
I do hope you fellows overlook my inadequate expertise on this matters. I
also hope that I’ve given
sufficient details to resolve this problem. As mentioned in my original
post, the Computer is working
relatively well and I should not be so concerned. If I should need to use
the BootDisk, I won’t mind to
disable the Primary Slave HD. That should force the system to see the
Primary Master as the active Drive.

I am not having previous posts in this thread, hence asking
some questions which might have been mentioned.

Do both your C and D disks are having w98 installations?

Also, how are you concluding about C as primary and D as
slave in normal boot, and D as slave in bootdisk boot? Are
you checking the list it is showing at the time of booting,
just after memory test?


-------------------------------------------------------------
"BAP" wrote:


Just yesterday morning I posted the following message that, if I recall
correctly, had BootSisk as a title. I looked for replies just a while ago
and can't even see the initial post. Before logging out, yesterday, I checked
its status and it was there. What gives?

This was my original problem:

My Computer has a 30GB MAXTOR 6E030L0 HD as Primary Master (C, a 10GB
IBM-DTTA 351010 HD as Primary Slave (D, a writeable CD-ROM (F and a 250MB
Zip Drive (E, besides the A:, of course. There is currently no problem with
the Unit. However, while testing my BootDisk (created in some way when I
upgraded WIN98 OS to WIN98SE ......no recollection of how the BootDisk was
created) I was surprised to find out that the directory of C: is actually the
one from the Slave Drive. The directory of D: shows 15 files.....the
Diagnostic Files listed in the BootDisk. The CD-ROM becomes the E: Drive. The
Primary Master and the Zip Drive are not accessible. Is this a common
occurrence? Would I have to disconnect or disable the Slave HD if I should
have problems and need to use a BootDisk to get going? I never uninstalled
the WIN98 OS of the Primary Slave.
Similar results occur when using a BootDisk downloaded from Bootdisk.com.

Before going to BootDisk.com, I was and still am unable to create another
BootDisk from WIN98SE OS. The problem is that, when I try to do so, the
System asks me to insert the WIN98SE CD, but it cannot find the files needed.
By choosing ‘skip file’, I can see all the files that the System is looking
for. Those files are in the WIN98 Folder of the CD in Base4.cab and
Base5.cab. Those files are also in C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder. When I
type the locations of any of those folders in the Dialog Box, the System
ignores all and insists that they cannot be found and keeps on prompting me
to insert the WIN98SE CD. What am I doing wrong?
Any help will be appreciated.
PAL

--
Rawat

Sorry, V S, I’m getting somewhat confused about it all. This is what I’ve
come up to this point.
When booted normally, My Computer shows: A: Drive as the Floppy, no B: is
shown, C: is the Primary
Master of 30GB size, D: is the Slave HD with 10GB, E: is the ZIP Drive and
F: is the CD_ROM Drive.
When pressing Del key while booting with the Floppy BootDisk:
The CMOS window shows all Drives (Primary Master & Slave and Secondary
Master & Slave) to be on
Auto. Arive is shown as 3.5 Mb Diskette and B: as none.
The IDE window shows the size of the Primary Master is about 30GB and that
of the Primary Slave is
about 10GB. No size is shown for the Secondary Master or Slave.
If I allow booting with CD-ROM support, the remaining message on the screen,
before the A: Prompt, is
Diagnostic Tools were successfully loaded to drive D
MSCDEX Version 2.25 Copyright (C) Microsoft Cor. 1986-1995 All rights
reserved
Drive E: = Driver MSCD001 Unit 0.
The Command Dir in A: shows the Floppy’s contents - in B: (Surprising -
never tried it earlier) shows the
ZIP Drive contents - in C: shows the Slave HD contents - in D: shows the
Diagnostic Tool Files - in E:
shows the CD-ROM CD’s contents. F: is invalid.
Booting without CD-ROM support, all is the same except that both E: and F:
are invalid Drives.

The OS in the Slave CD is W98. I might have tried to upgrade it to W98SE,
but I reverted to W98
because of some forgotten problem. That HD developed some bad tracks and I
decided to replace it with
a new and larger capacity Maxtor HD. Its OS and Files were transferred to
the new HD via Maxtor’s
software. The new HD became the Primary Master. I kept the old CD as the
Slave. A few months back I
upgraded the Master to W98SE. I can’t recall, but the CD must have prompted
me to create a BootDisk
and I accepted. That had to be source of the BootDisk that I am using. As
I’ve stated, I cannot create
another startup floppy with the current OS.

Sorry, V S! Still confused about this:
You had mentioned that system asks for a CD. I was asking about that window
as alert window.
Does system check for CD DRIVE before that alert and after you press some
key to
proceed in that alert window?
I now see that you might be asking if I notice if the CD is accessed when I
try to create the bootDisk.
The light does not change to green and a new window pops up and in the
Dialog section shows
C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS. When I change it to F:\WIN98\Base5.Cab and Press
OK, the light still
won’t change. It I type C:\Windows\Command\EBD (that is where the files that
the system is looking for)
the OS still will not do anything.
Sorry to be such a 'pest'!
Thank you!


"V S Rawat" wrote:

On 3/3/05 4:55 PM India Time, _BAP_ wrote:

To Ron Badour: Thanks, Ron!
.......
Ron: - You can make a floppy boot disk with the Fat32ebd.exe file located on
the W98 CD: tools/mtsutil/fat32ebd (will not create a ram drive when used).
I am not clear on what you are seeing with your boot disk but it may be the
type that creates a ram drive and throws the drive lettering sequence off by
one letter.
.......
BAP:- Not quite sure about what you mean. My Floppy BootDisk has 25 files.
The ones dealing with ram
are Setramd.bat, Ramdrive.sys and Findramd.exe. These, incidentally, are in
my C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder, as well as in the CD's Base5.cab folder.
.......
Ron:- C: drive will be the one that has W98 on it. If both drives have W98
installed, C: drive will be the drive marked as Active. You can check the
partitions by using fdisk.
........
BAP:- Both HD's have a single partition. Unfortunately, the active C: drive
is the Primary Slave when I
boot with the Boot Disk.
------------------------------
To V S Rawat: Thanks, V S!
......
BAP:- ? Just yesterday morning I posted the following message that, if
I recall correctly, had
BootSisk as a title. I looked for replies just a while ago and can't
even see the initial post.
Before logging out, yesterday, I checked its status and it was there.
What gives?
.......
V S:- ?Don't you think you should have specified which mail/newsreader are
you using? check the settings in that.
.....
BAP:- My ISP is AOL 9.0 Security Version. With it I upgraded the original
AOL 9.0 the same day, I
believe. Could that be the problem?

Sorry BAP. I have no experience with AOL. I used Netscape
and now use Thunderbird.

A message getting displayed, disappearing, appearing can
only be explained by some filters or thread collapse/expand
in your newsreader. Hope some AOL expert could provide some
clue.

..............
V S:- ? Is this bootdisk a floppy disk or a CD?
If it is a floppy, there should not be any change at all in
the sequence of drives. If it is CD and you have booted from CD, the
sequence might change.
Please provide relevant details.
.......
BAP:- It is a Floppy Disk and, when asked during boot time, I chose to have
CD-Rom support.

Floppy disk will occupy A (and B) which are already there.

As you mentioned later below, that your both HDD have single
partition, that will become C and D.

I am not sure whether RAMDRIVE is assigned before or after
zipdrive. anyone.

I am also not sure whether zipdrive is recognized when
booted from bootdisk

Could someone please provide the expected sequencing of
drives for BAP's box in case of booting from bootdisk?

.........
V S:- ?If you remove your bootdisk, and boot, do your all drives appear, and
do they appear in the right
sequence?
.........
BAP:- All are in the proper order with a normal boot.

Just one more exercise for you. I agree that it is becoming
tedious questioning. I am just trying to understand it.

Now, try with bootdisk WITHOUT CD ROM SUPPORT.

What drives do you see?
........
V S:- ?What is the booting order in your system setup (press del key when
system is booting), go to second option. It is mentioned there.
.....
BAP:- Can't do that right now. I will get back to you, if I can make some
sense of what I see. But, would it show the normal setup that leads to a
normal boot? I got the impression that the Floppy disk comes alive after all
that initial stuff.

No. It is much earlier any botting takes place. No floppy
will be accessed by that time.

When you start/ restart your box, press DELETE key a few times.

A window will open having startup setup options.

Select the second option (I don't recall the name. someone
please?). In this the sequence of first two or three boot
devices will be listed. Could you please post them.

.......
V S:- ?How are you creating a bootdisk from wind98se os?
Is it through
Start-Settings-ControlPanel-AddRemoveProgram-StartupDisk-CreateDisk? That
creates a floppy disk.
.........
BAP:- That is what I try to do, but still cannot create the bootdisk, as
explained in my post.
........
V S:- ?Is it able to access the CD?
Is the CD drive diode turning on and off after you have
inserted the CD, and give OK in the alert window.
........
BAP:- Yes! I can go to it and see its directory and all. Not sure what the
‘alert window’ is.

You had mentioned that system asks for a CD. I was asking
about that window as alert window. Does system check for CD
DRIVE before that alert and after you press some key to
proceed in that alert window?

...........
V S:- I don't think that the system needs to access CD or win98 setup files
for creating a startup disk.
......
BAP:- I did not think so, myself.
------------------------------------------------
Thank you, Ron, V S and Gary for your inputs.
I do hope you fellows overlook my inadequate expertise on this matters. I
also hope that I’ve given
sufficient details to resolve this problem. As mentioned in my original
post, the Computer is working
relatively well and I should not be so concerned. If I should need to use
the BootDisk, I won’t mind to
disable the Primary Slave HD. That should force the system to see the
Primary Master as the active Drive.

I am not having previous posts in this thread, hence asking
some questions which might have been mentioned.

Do both your C and D disks are having w98 installations?

Also, how are you concluding about C as primary and D as
slave in normal boot, and D as slave in bootdisk boot? Are
you checking the list it is showing at the time of booting,
just after memory test?


-------------------------------------------------------------
"BAP" wrote:


Just yesterday morning I posted the following message that, if I recall
correctly, had BootSisk as a title. I looked for replies just a while ago
and can't even see the initial post. Before logging out, yesterday, I checked
its status and it was there. What gives?

This was my original problem:

My Computer has a 30GB MAXTOR 6E030L0 HD as Primary Master (C, a 10GB
IBM-DTTA 351010 HD as Primary Slave (D, a writeable CD-ROM (F and a 250MB
Zip Drive (E, besides the A:, of course. There is currently no problem with
the Unit. However, while testing my BootDisk (created in some way when I
upgraded WIN98 OS to WIN98SE ......no recollection of how the BootDisk was
created) I was surprised to find out that the directory of C: is actually the
one from the Slave Drive. The directory of D: shows 15 files.....the
Diagnostic Files listed in the BootDisk. The CD-ROM becomes the E: Drive. The
Primary Master and the Zip Drive are not accessible. Is this a common
occurrence? Would I have to disconnect or disable the Slave HD if I should
have problems and need to use a BootDisk to get going? I never uninstalled
the WIN98 OS of the Primary Slave.
Similar results occur when using a BootDisk downloaded from Bootdisk.com.

Before going to BootDisk.com, I was and still am unable to create another
BootDisk from WIN98SE OS. The problem is that, when I try to do so, the
System asks me to insert the WIN98SE CD, but it cannot find the files needed.
By choosing ‘skip file’, I can see all the files that the System is looking
for. Those files are in the WIN98 Folder of the CD in Base4.cab and
Base5.cab. Those files are also in C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder. When I
type the locations of any of those folders in the Dialog Box, the System
ignores all and insists that they cannot be found and keeps on prompting me
to insert the WIN98SE CD. What am I doing wrong?
Any help will be appreciated.
PAL

--
Rawat

On 3/4/05 7:19 PM India Time, _BAP_ wrote:

Sorry, V S, I’m getting somewhat confused about it all.
This is what I’ve come up to this point. When booted
normally, My Computer shows: A: Drive as the Floppy, no
B: is shown,

Just a remark: B is same as A. It is used for floppy to
floppy copy. You put first floppy, give the command copy A:
B:, and it will keep on asking to you to put first/second
floppy in the same floppy drive so that it copies.

C: is the Primary Master of 30GB size, D: is the Slave HD
with 10GB, E: is the ZIP Drive and F: is the CD_ROM
Drive. When pressing Del key while booting with the
Floppy BootDisk:

just a remark: Del key pressing does not alter how
you are booting. Del key is accepted before any botting is
done through any drive, so it will always take you to bios
setup. thought you might like to know about it.

The CMOS window shows all Drives (Primary Master & Slave
and Secondary Master & Slave) to be on Auto. Arive is
shown as 3.5 Mb Diskette and B: as none. The IDE window
shows the size of the Primary Master is about 30GB and
that of the Primary Slave is about 10GB. No size is shown
for the Secondary Master or Slave.

The above is shown if you have selected the first option in
the bios setup window that opens up after pressing del.

If you select the second option in that screen, that will
show at least three booting devices. I was asking about that
sequence.

Explore other option in that menu, and somewhere you are
sure to see "first boot device/ second boot device". What is
written in front of that.

If I allow booting with CD-ROM support, the remaining
message on the screen, before the A: Prompt, is
Diagnostic Tools were successfully loaded to drive D
MSCDEX Version 2.25 Copyright (C) Microsoft Cor.
1986-1995 All rights reserved Drive E: = Driver MSCD001
Unit 0. The Command Dir in A: shows the Floppy’s contents
- in B: (Surprising - never tried it earlier) shows the
ZIP Drive contents -

wow. that is a new information for me.

Could anyone pleae please describe how can zip drive gets
shown in B: which is reserved for floppy drives?

in C: shows the Slave HD contents - in D: shows the
Diagnostic Tool Files - in E: shows the CD-ROM CD’s
contents. F: is invalid.

I get the picture.

I am bowled. It should not happen. your 30 GB should appear
as C:, your 10 GB should appear as D:, diagnostics in E:,
CDROM in F:, invalid G:

I wonder why it is not happening, unless there is something
in booting sequence.

Booting without CD-ROM support, all is the same except
that both E: and F: are invalid Drives.

The OS in the Slave CD is W98.

that is what I had guessed that you D is also having w98
bootup, otherwise there is no way it can appear as C.

Don't know why it is bypassing C and is booting from D.

I might have tried to upgrade it to W98SE, but I reverted
to W98 because of some forgotten problem. That HD
developed some bad tracks and I decided to replace it
with a new and larger capacity Maxtor HD. Its OS and
Files were transferred to the new HD via Maxtor’s
software. The new HD became the Primary Master. I kept
the old CD as the Slave.

typo.

You kept the only HD (not CD) as slave.

A few months back I upgraded the Master to W98SE. I can’t
recall, but the CD must have prompted me to create a
BootDisk and I accepted. That had to be source of the
BootDisk that I am using. As I’ve stated, I cannot create
another startup floppy with the current OS.

Sorry, V S! Still confused about this: You had mentioned
that system asks for a CD. I was asking about that window
as alert window. Does system check for CD DRIVE before
that alert and after you press some key to proceed in
that alert window? I now see that you might be asking if
I notice if the CD is accessed when I try to create the
bootDisk. The light does not change to green and a new
window pops up and in the Dialog section shows
C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS. When I change it to
F:\WIN98\Base5.Cab and Press OK, the light still won’t
change. It I type C:\Windows\Command\EBD (that is where
the files that the system is looking for)

That mean system is not recognising your CD drive.

I am assuming that you are trying to create a bootdisk in
normal startup (without bootdisk)

the OS still will not do anything. Sorry to be such a
'pest'!

Oh. It is OK to ask questions. We are all here to get our
queries clarifies, and problems cleared.


Thank you!


"V S Rawat" wrote:


On 3/3/05 4:55 PM India Time, _BAP_ wrote:


To Ron Badour: Thanks, Ron! ....... Ron: - You can
make a floppy boot disk with the Fat32ebd.exe file
located on the W98 CD: tools/mtsutil/fat32ebd (will
not create a ram drive when used). I am not clear on
what you are seeing with your boot disk but it may be
the type that creates a ram drive and throws the
drive lettering sequence off by one letter. .......
BAP:- Not quite sure about what you mean. My Floppy
BootDisk has 25 files. The ones dealing with ram are
Setramd.bat, Ramdrive.sys and Findramd.exe. These,
incidentally, are in my C:\Windows\Command\Ebd
folder, as well as in the CD's Base5.cab folder.
....... Ron:- C: drive will be the one that has W98
on it. If both drives have W98 installed, C: drive
will be the drive marked as Active. You can check
the partitions by using fdisk. ........ BAP:- Both
HD's have a single partition. Unfortunately, the
active C: drive is the Primary Slave when I boot with
the Boot Disk. ------------------------------ To V S
Rawat: Thanks, V S! ...... BAP:- ? Just yesterday
morning I posted the following message that, if I
recall correctly, had BootSisk as a title. I
looked for replies just a while ago and can't even
see the initial post. Before logging out, yesterday,
I checked its status and it was there. What gives?
....... V S:- ?Don't you think you should have
specified which mail/newsreader are you using? check
the settings in that. ..... BAP:- My ISP is AOL 9.0
Security Version. With it I upgraded the original AOL
9.0 the same day, I believe. Could that be the
problem?

Sorry BAP. I have no experience with AOL. I used
Netscape and now use Thunderbird.

A message getting displayed, disappearing, appearing
can only be explained by some filters or thread
collapse/expand in your newsreader. Hope some AOL
expert could provide some clue.


.............. V S:- ? Is this bootdisk a floppy disk
or a CD? If it is a floppy, there should not be any
change at all in the sequence of drives. If it is CD
and you have booted from CD, the sequence might
change. Please provide relevant details. .......
BAP:- It is a Floppy Disk and, when asked during boot
time, I chose to have CD-Rom support.

Floppy disk will occupy A (and B) which are already
there.

As you mentioned later below, that your both HDD have
single partition, that will become C and D.

I am not sure whether RAMDRIVE is assigned before or
after zipdrive. anyone.

I am also not sure whether zipdrive is recognized when
booted from bootdisk

Could someone please provide the expected sequencing of
drives for BAP's box in case of booting from bootdisk?



......... V S:- ?If you remove your bootdisk, and
boot, do your all drives appear, and do they appear
in the right sequence? ......... BAP:- All are in the
proper order with a normal boot.

Just one more exercise for you. I agree that it is
becoming tedious questioning. I am just trying to
understand it.

Now, try with bootdisk WITHOUT CD ROM SUPPORT.

What drives do you see?

........ V S:- ?What is the booting order in your
system setup (press del key when system is booting),
go to second option. It is mentioned there. .....
BAP:- Can't do that right now. I will get back to
you, if I can make some sense of what I see. But,
would it show the normal setup that leads to a normal
boot? I got the impression that the Floppy disk comes
alive after all that initial stuff.

No. It is much earlier any botting takes place. No
floppy will be accessed by that time.

When you start/ restart your box, press DELETE key a
few times.

A window will open having startup setup options.

Select the second option (I don't recall the name.
someone please?). In this the sequence of first two or
three boot devices will be listed. Could you please
post them.


....... V S:- ?How are you creating a bootdisk from
wind98se os? Is it through
Start-Settings-ControlPanel-AddRemoveProgram-StartupDisk-CreateDisk?
That creates a floppy disk. ......... BAP:- That is
what I try to do, but still cannot create the
bootdisk, as explained in my post. ........ V S:- ?Is
it able to access the CD? Is the CD drive diode
turning on and off after you have inserted the CD,
and give OK in the alert window. ........ BAP:- Yes!
I can go to it and see its directory and all. Not
sure what the ‘alert window’ is.

You had mentioned that system asks for a CD. I was
asking about that window as alert window. Does system
check for CD DRIVE before that alert and after you
press some key to proceed in that alert window?


........... V S:- I don't think that the system needs
to access CD or win98 setup files for creating a
startup disk. ...... BAP:- I did not think so,
myself.
------------------------------------------------
Thank you, Ron, V S and Gary for your inputs. I do
hope you fellows overlook my inadequate expertise on
this matters. I also hope that I’ve given sufficient
details to resolve this problem. As mentioned in my
original post, the Computer is working relatively
well and I should not be so concerned. If I should
need to use the BootDisk, I won’t mind to disable the
Primary Slave HD. That should force the system to see
the Primary Master as the active Drive.

I am not having previous posts in this thread, hence
asking some questions which might have been mentioned.

Do both your C and D disks are having w98
installations?

Also, how are you concluding about C as primary and D
as slave in normal boot, and D as slave in bootdisk
boot? Are you checking the list it is showing at the
time of booting, just after memory test?



-------------------------------------------------------------
"BAP" wrote:



Just yesterday morning I posted the following
message that, if I recall correctly, had
BootSisk as a title. I looked for replies just a
while ago and can't even see the initial post.
Before logging out, yesterday, I checked its status
and it was there. What gives?

This was my original problem:

My Computer has a 30GB MAXTOR 6E030L0 HD as Primary
Master (C, a 10GB IBM-DTTA 351010 HD as Primary
Slave (D, a writeable CD-ROM (F and a 250MB Zip
Drive (E, besides the A:, of course. There is
currently no problem with the Unit. However, while
testing my BootDisk (created in some way when I
upgraded WIN98 OS to WIN98SE ......no recollection
of how the BootDisk was created) I was surprised to
find out that the directory of C: is actually the
one from the Slave Drive. The directory of D: shows
15 files.....the Diagnostic Files listed in the
BootDisk. The CD-ROM becomes the E: Drive. The
Primary Master and the Zip Drive are not
accessible. Is this a common occurrence? Would I
have to disconnect or disable the Slave HD if I
should have problems and need to use a BootDisk to
get going? I never uninstalled the WIN98 OS of the
Primary Slave. Similar results occur when using a
BootDisk downloaded from Bootdisk.com.

Before going to BootDisk.com, I was and still am
unable to create another BootDisk from WIN98SE OS.
The problem is that, when I try to do so, the
System asks me to insert the WIN98SE CD, but it
cannot find the files needed. By choosing ‘skip
file’, I can see all the files that the System is
looking for. Those files are in the WIN98 Folder of
the CD in Base4.cab and Base5.cab. Those files are
also in C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder. When I type
the locations of any of those folders in the Dialog
Box, the System ignores all and insists that they
cannot be found and keeps on prompting me to insert
the WIN98SE CD. What am I doing wrong? Any help
will be appreciated. PAL

-- Rawat


--
Rawat

Thank you for your patience, V S!
Just some observations, answers to you questions, etc.
..........
V S - Just a remark: B is same as A. It is used for floppy to floppy copy.
You put first floppy, give the command copy A: B:, and it will keep on asking
to you to put first/second
floppy in the same floppy drive so that it copies.

BAP - Got It!
................

BAP
The CMOS window shows all Drives (Primary Master & Slave
and Secondary Master & Slave) to be on Auto. Arive is
shown as 3.5 Mb Diskette and B: as none. The IDE window
shows the size of the Primary Master is about 30GB and
that of the Primary Slave is about 10GB. No size is shown
for the Secondary Master or Slave.

V S - The above is shown if you have selected the first option in the bios
setup window that opens up after pressing del. If you select the second
option in that screen, that will show at least three booting devices. I was
asking about that sequence. Explore other option in that menu, and somewhere
you are sure to see "first boot device/ second boot device". What is written
in front of that.

BAP - Not too sure if I understand your instructions, as I fail to see the
method of exploring the option you describe. I did see a boot sequence that
shows A, C, SCSI. Is this what you are referring to?
Few entries below that sequence, I notice an entry that says, HDD
S.M.A.R.T. Disabled.
Is this significant? Sorry for failing you.
..........
V S - typo.
You kept the only HD (not CD) as slave.

BAP - Correct! Sorry!
...........
BAP
I notice that if the CD is accessed when I try to create the bootDisk. The light does not change to green

V S - That mean system is not recognising your CD drive. I am assuming that
you are trying to create a bootdisk in normal startup (without bootdisk)

BAP - Yes! Normal Startup.
-----------
BAP:
The Dialog section, I presume by default, whenever I try to create the
BootDisk and the System cannot find the Files in the CD, insists on showing
C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS as the location where to copy the Files from, but
still can’t find them and reverts to asking for the CD. Since the System
ignores the latter, I copied the necessary Files from C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\EBD
to the C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS Folder and tried again. Still NO GO and the
OS still prompts me to
insert the W98SE CD. Does this mean that the OS is not looking into this
Folder, either?
PAL
---------------------------------------------------------


"V S Rawat" wrote:

On 3/4/05 7:19 PM India Time, _BAP_ wrote:

Sorry, V S, I’m getting somewhat confused about it all.
This is what I’ve come up to this point. When booted
normally, My Computer shows: A: Drive as the Floppy, no
B: is shown,

Just a remark: B is same as A. It is used for floppy to
floppy copy. You put first floppy, give the command copy A:
B:, and it will keep on asking to you to put first/second
floppy in the same floppy drive so that it copies.

C: is the Primary Master of 30GB size, D: is the Slave HD
with 10GB, E: is the ZIP Drive and F: is the CD_ROM
Drive. When pressing Del key while booting with the
Floppy BootDisk:

just a remark: Del key pressing does not alter how
you are booting. Del key is accepted before any botting is
done through any drive, so it will always take you to bios
setup. thought you might like to know about it.

The CMOS window shows all Drives (Primary Master & Slave
and Secondary Master & Slave) to be on Auto. Arive is
shown as 3.5 Mb Diskette and B: as none. The IDE window
shows the size of the Primary Master is about 30GB and
that of the Primary Slave is about 10GB. No size is shown
for the Secondary Master or Slave.

The above is shown if you have selected the first option in
the bios setup window that opens up after pressing del.

If you select the second option in that screen, that will
show at least three booting devices. I was asking about that
sequence.

Explore other option in that menu, and somewhere you are
sure to see "first boot device/ second boot device". What is
written in front of that.

If I allow booting with CD-ROM support, the remaining
message on the screen, before the A: Prompt, is
Diagnostic Tools were successfully loaded to drive D
MSCDEX Version 2.25 Copyright (C) Microsoft Cor.
1986-1995 All rights reserved Drive E: = Driver MSCD001
Unit 0. The Command Dir in A: shows the Floppy’s contents
- in B: (Surprising - never tried it earlier) shows the
ZIP Drive contents -

wow. that is a new information for me.

Could anyone pleae please describe how can zip drive gets
shown in B: which is reserved for floppy drives?

in C: shows the Slave HD contents - in D: shows the
Diagnostic Tool Files - in E: shows the CD-ROM CD’s
contents. F: is invalid.

I get the picture.

I am bowled. It should not happen. your 30 GB should appear
as C:, your 10 GB should appear as D:, diagnostics in E:,
CDROM in F:, invalid G:

I wonder why it is not happening, unless there is something
in booting sequence.

Booting without CD-ROM support, all is the same except
that both E: and F: are invalid Drives.

The OS in the Slave CD is W98.

that is what I had guessed that you D is also having w98
bootup, otherwise there is no way it can appear as C.

Don't know why it is bypassing C and is booting from D.

I might have tried to upgrade it to W98SE, but I reverted
to W98 because of some forgotten problem. That HD
developed some bad tracks and I decided to replace it
with a new and larger capacity Maxtor HD. Its OS and
Files were transferred to the new HD via Maxtor’s
software. The new HD became the Primary Master. I kept
the old CD as the Slave.

typo.

You kept the only HD (not CD) as slave.

A few months back I upgraded the Master to W98SE. I can’t
recall, but the CD must have prompted me to create a
BootDisk and I accepted. That had to be source of the
BootDisk that I am using. As I’ve stated, I cannot create
another startup floppy with the current OS.

Sorry, V S! Still confused about this: You had mentioned
that system asks for a CD. I was asking about that window
as alert window. Does system check for CD DRIVE before
that alert and after you press some key to proceed in
that alert window? I now see that you might be asking if
I notice if the CD is accessed when I try to create the
bootDisk. The light does not change to green and a new
window pops up and in the Dialog section shows
C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS. When I change it to
F:\WIN98\Base5.Cab and Press OK, the light still won’t
change. It I type C:\Windows\Command\EBD (that is where
the files that the system is looking for)

That mean system is not recognising your CD drive.

I am assuming that you are trying to create a bootdisk in
normal startup (without bootdisk)

the OS still will not do anything. Sorry to be such a
'pest'!

Oh. It is OK to ask questions. We are all here to get our
queries clarifies, and problems cleared.


Thank you!


"V S Rawat" wrote:


On 3/3/05 4:55 PM India Time, _BAP_ wrote:


To Ron Badour: Thanks, Ron! ....... Ron: - You can
make a floppy boot disk with the Fat32ebd.exe file
located on the W98 CD: tools/mtsutil/fat32ebd (will
not create a ram drive when used). I am not clear on
what you are seeing with your boot disk but it may be
the type that creates a ram drive and throws the
drive lettering sequence off by one letter. .......
BAP:- Not quite sure about what you mean. My Floppy
BootDisk has 25 files. The ones dealing with ram are
Setramd.bat, Ramdrive.sys and Findramd.exe. These,
incidentally, are in my C:\Windows\Command\Ebd
folder, as well as in the CD's Base5.cab folder.
....... Ron:- C: drive will be the one that has W98
on it. If both drives have W98 installed, C: drive
will be the drive marked as Active. You can check
the partitions by using fdisk. ........ BAP:- Both
HD's have a single partition. Unfortunately, the
active C: drive is the Primary Slave when I boot with
the Boot Disk. ------------------------------ To V S
Rawat: Thanks, V S! ...... BAP:- ? Just yesterday
morning I posted the following message that, if I
recall correctly, had BootSisk as a title. I
looked for replies just a while ago and can't even
see the initial post. Before logging out, yesterday,
I checked its status and it was there. What gives?
....... V S:- ?Don't you think you should have
specified which mail/newsreader are you using? check
the settings in that. ..... BAP:- My ISP is AOL 9.0
Security Version. With it I upgraded the original AOL
9.0 the same day, I believe. Could that be the
problem?

Sorry BAP. I have no experience with AOL. I used
Netscape and now use Thunderbird.

A message getting displayed, disappearing, appearing
can only be explained by some filters or thread
collapse/expand in your newsreader. Hope some AOL
expert could provide some clue.


.............. V S:- ? Is this bootdisk a floppy disk
or a CD? If it is a floppy, there should not be any
change at all in the sequence of drives. If it is CD
and you have booted from CD, the sequence might
change. Please provide relevant details. .......
BAP:- It is a Floppy Disk and, when asked during boot
time, I chose to have CD-Rom support.

Floppy disk will occupy A (and B) which are already
there.

As you mentioned later below, that your both HDD have
single partition, that will become C and D.

I am not sure whether RAMDRIVE is assigned before or
after zipdrive. anyone.

I am also not sure whether zipdrive is recognized when
booted from bootdisk

Could someone please provide the expected sequencing of
drives for BAP's box in case of booting from bootdisk?



......... V S:- ?If you remove your bootdisk, and
boot, do your all drives appear, and do they appear
in the right sequence? ......... BAP:- All are in the
proper order with a normal boot.

Just one more exercise for you. I agree that it is
becoming tedious questioning. I am just trying to
understand it.

Now, try with bootdisk WITHOUT CD ROM SUPPORT.

What drives do you see?

........ V S:- ?What is the booting order in your
system setup (press del key when system is booting),
go to second option. It is mentioned there. .....
BAP:- Can't do that right now. I will get back to
you, if I can make some sense of what I see. But,
would it show the normal setup that leads to a normal
boot? I got the impression that the Floppy disk comes
alive after all that initial stuff.

No. It is much earlier any botting takes place. No
floppy will be accessed by that time.

When you start/ restart your box, press DELETE key a
few times.

A window will open having startup setup options.

Select the second option (I don't recall the name.
someone please?). In this the sequence of first two or
three boot devices will be listed. Could you please
post them.


....... V S:- ?How are you creating a bootdisk from
wind98se os? Is it through
Start-Settings-ControlPanel-AddRemoveProgram-StartupDisk-CreateDisk?
That creates a floppy disk. ......... BAP:- That is
what I try to do, but still cannot create the
bootdisk, as explained in my post. ........ V S:- ?Is
it able to access the CD? Is the CD drive diode
turning on and off after you have inserted the CD,
and give OK in the alert window. ........ BAP:- Yes!
I can go to it and see its directory and all. Not
sure what the ‘alert window’ is.

You had mentioned that system asks for a CD. I was
asking about that window as alert window. Does system
check for CD DRIVE before that alert and after you
press some key to proceed in that alert window?


........... V S:- I don't think that the system needs
to access CD or win98 setup files for creating a
startup disk. ...... BAP:- I did not think so,
myself.
------------------------------------------------
Thank you, Ron, V S and Gary for your inputs. I do
hope you fellows overlook my inadequate expertise on
this matters. I also hope that I’ve given sufficient
details to resolve this problem. As mentioned in my
original post, the Computer is working relatively
well and I should not be so concerned. If I should
need to use the BootDisk, I won’t mind to disable the
Primary Slave HD. That should force the system to see
the Primary Master as the active Drive.

I am not having previous posts in this thread, hence
asking some questions which might have been mentioned.

Do both your C and D disks are having w98
installations?

Also, how are you concluding about C as primary and D
as slave in normal boot, and D as slave in bootdisk
boot? Are you checking the list it is showing at the
time of booting, just after memory test?



-------------------------------------------------------------
"BAP" wrote:



Just yesterday morning I posted the following
message that, if I recall correctly, had
BootSisk as a title. I looked for replies just a
while ago and can't even see the initial post.
Before logging out, yesterday, I checked its status
and it was there. What gives?

This was my original problem:

My Computer has a 30GB MAXTOR 6E030L0 HD as Primary
Master (C, a 10GB IBM-DTTA 351010 HD as Primary
Slave (D, a writeable CD-ROM (F and a 250MB Zip
Drive (E, besides the A:, of course. There is
currently no problem with the Unit. However, while
testing my BootDisk (created in some way when I
upgraded WIN98 OS to WIN98SE ......no recollection
of how the BootDisk was created) I was surprised to
find out that the directory of C: is actually the
one from the Slave Drive. The directory of D: shows
15 files.....the Diagnostic Files listed in the
BootDisk. The CD-ROM becomes the E: Drive. The
Primary Master and the Zip Drive are not
accessible. Is this a common occurrence? Would I
have to disconnect or disable the Slave HD if I
should have problems and need to use a BootDisk to
get going? I never uninstalled the WIN98 OS of the
Primary Slave. Similar results occur when using a
BootDisk downloaded from Bootdisk.com.

Before going to BootDisk.com, I was and still am
unable to create another BootDisk from WIN98SE OS.
The problem is that, when I try to do so, the
System asks me to insert the WIN98SE CD, but it
cannot find the files needed. By choosing ‘skip
file’, I can see all the files that the System is
looking for. Those files are in the WIN98 Folder of
the CD in Base4.cab and Base5.cab. Those files are
also in C:\Windows\Command\Ebd folder. When I type
the locations of any of those folders in the Dialog
Box, the System ignores all and insists that they
cannot be found and keeps on prompting me to insert
the WIN98SE CD. What am I doing wrong? Any help
will be appreciated. PAL

-- Rawat


--
Rawat