Creating a Windows 98 Startup Disk

Do you need some help creating an Emergency boot disk (also called Startup Disk)?. Following are some useful tips on doing this. You should always try the disk out to ensure that it works then store in a safe place. Because floppy media occasionally corrupts I find that it is important to make a new Startup disk periodically. Also if you have used the Windows Update Site and downloaded the Y2K fix I have been advised to make a new Startup disk as I understand that the io.sys file has been altered and that is one of the files that is placed onto your Startup Disk. (If I'm wrong please correct me.)

1) When making a Startup disk you should use a new disk - one that hasn't been used before - fresh from the box.  I've been told that erasing/reformatting a floppy disk can still leave a tiny amount of "residue" on it which could affect the startup process. Floppies are cheap and when you need a boot disk you want one that works!

2) The first logical place to try to make a Startup Disk is with the Add/Remove Programs "Startup Disk Tab". Go to Start->Settings->Control Panel and open Add/Remove Programs. Follow the instructions for making a Startup Disk. You will need to insert your Windows 98 CD when prompted to do so.

3) If  for some reason you can not use the above it is still easy to create a boot disk. With a new disk in Drive A go to Start->Programs and launch MS-DOS Prompt. At the prompt type "sys A:" (without the quote marks) and hit Enter. This will install Command.com and the hidden files io.sys, Msdos.sys, and Drvspace.bin onto the floppy.

4) If you need CD-ROM drivers on your Startup Disk you can simply use the CD-ROM God Disk. Use the  procedure in #3 to  create a bootable Startup Disk then unzip and install the CD-ROM God Disk onto it. The CD-ROM God is a boot disk that has 50+ CD-ROM drivers. It has basic ATAPI drivers, and model specific drivers. As long as you can guess what type of CD-ROM you have, CD-ROM God will work. You can find out what type of CD-ROM you have by going to Control Panel->System Properties->Device Manager and clicking on the CD-ROM device.

5) This  is an excellent site BootDisk.com for info about creating your own startup disk.

6) And check  here at DOS 6.00 Through Windows 98 - Bootdisks by Micron -  to download a variety of executable files which enable you to quickly create boot disks for a number of operating systems from DOS to Windows

7) Check out the great  info that James Liles shares with us in this Newsgroup Archive - Creating a Startup Disk

8) There is an interesting recent article by Fred Langa you might want to take a look at which discusses several different types of *Bootdisks*. Check out the following: http://www.winmag.com/columns/explorer/1999/1025.htm