China DOS Union

I keep updating my 4in1 bootable universal CD, using multi-boot functions and Wuyou Boot, and including various practical tools plus network connection under DOS (automatically recognizing NIC drivers). It also integrates fully automatic installation of win2000 pro, w2k server, w2k advanced server, and win98.

There’s no need to integrate fully automatic installation of win2000 pro, w2k server, w2k advanced server, and win98

Thanks to the poster above.

win97 on CD
Final effect of making the CD:
Boot the computer with the CD, and it can run win97 whether or not win97 was previously installed on the computer. As long as the computer has a hard disk and there is 100M of free space on it, this can be done.

The idea:
Make a compressed package of win97 in advance and put it on the CD. After booting from the CD, it can be extracted to the hard disk and the win97 inside can be run.
It must not affect the existing data on the hard disk; the biggest effect should only be occupying hard disk space.
Why use a rar package instead of ghost? Because ghost operates on the entire hard disk partition and would destroy the existing data on the hard disk. Likewise, if win97 were installed directly to the hard disk, it would also damage the hard disk’s original boot system.

Specific process:
1. Make the 97.rar archive to store win97
----------(1) Create virtual disk z:, and install win97 to drive z:.
The purpose of installing win97 to drive z: is to make all system-drive-related references in win97 point to drive z: (including the registry and all system shortcuts).
Run “ subst z: c:\ ” to virtualize drive c: as drive z:, then install win97 to z:\win_97. For the installation, the type with the fewest components should be selected to save space. When the system restarts for the first time, because it cannot find drive z:, it cannot proceed with the “final setup” during the win97 installation process. At this point you can edit c:\autoexec.bat and add the following line: “c:\win_97\command\subst z: c:\”, and add the following lines to c:\config.sys:
dos=noauto
DEVICE=\win_97\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
devicehigh=\win_97\ifshlp.sys
device=\win_97\emm386.exe

Then restart the computer, and the whole win97 installation process can be completed. After that, you can also enter win97 normally.
----------(2) Adjust long-name folders and files to conform to the 8.3 format
Because later extraction will be done under DOS, some folders and file names with long characters in win97 have to be changed in advance. Actually the win97 system is very small, and there are very few long-name folders involved, basically only the following:
c:\program file and the four folders inside it, (for convenience below, assume it is later renamed to program)
c:\win_97\start menu, and the folders inside it
c:\win_97\Temporary Internet Files,
Copy the contents of these folders into folders that conform to the 8.3 format, then modify the relevant items in the registry and the targets of the relevant shortcuts, and then delete these long-name folders.
As for long-name files, there’s no need to worry about them much. You only need to shorten some of the long names of shortcuts on the desktop and in the Start menu.

----------(3) Slim down win97, removing useless help files, input methods, and fonts. After slimming down win97, I reduced it to about 60M, and IE was still not removed.
----------(4) Pack win97. Use rar to compress c:\win_97 and c:\program (renamed from program file). After compression, the package size is under 30M. The compression ratio of the package I made was 40%, and the size was 28.5M.


2. Make a boot floppy, used to boot the computer from the CD and able to boot win97
Use the format a: /s command to make a win97 system disk, then process it so that it can mount the CD-ROM drive (I’ll omit the part about mounting the CD-ROM drive here), and load the smartdrv command so the disk can run faster. Then copy c:\msdos.sys over a:\msdos.sys and modify its contents as follows:
-------------------------

WinDir=Z:\WIN_97
WinBootDir=Z:\WIN_97
HostWinBootDrv=z

BootMulti=0
BootGUI=0
Network=0
------------------------
Copy the two files himem.sys and ifshlp.sys to the floppy, and add the following lines to a:\config.sys:
dos=noauto
DEVICE=a:\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
devicehigh=a:\ifshlp.sys
LASTDRIVE=z


3. Make the CD
Make a bootable CD containing 97.rar and rar.exe. The floppy image used by the bootable CD should be the floppy made in step 2.

4. Specific operation
After booting the computer with the CD, create a temporary folder on any partition of the hard disk (for example: c:\97temp), then extract 97.rar into that folder, and then execute the following three steps to enter win97:
c:\97temp\win_97\command\subst z: c:\97temp
set comspec=c:\97temp\win_97\command.com
win
After entering win97, the system may require the computer to restart because of driver updates. We can still boot the computer with this CD, without extracting the compressed file again, and just run the above three commands to start win97 again.
Because it will not affect the original data on the hard disk, when it’s no longer needed you only need to delete the c:\97temp folder. In fact, even if you do not delete it, this win97 cannot have any effect on your hard disk’s original system.
Also, if you do not use this CD or the floppy made above to boot the computer, there is simply no way to run this win97 on the hard disk.

Under the graphical interface you can do a lot of things, and it can recognize FAT32 partitions and run 32-bit applications.......

You can use some related small software to determine the CD drive letter, and then call the various programs and files on the CD through a menu.
If you boot the computer with this CD, the system will first show a menu for the user to choose the CD-ROM type. Under normal circumstances you can choose 3-IDE CDROM, and then the system will show the following menu. By choosing 0-5, the user can do the following: 0--run win97 on a memory-virtualized hard disk, this disk is drive z:; 1--install win97 to c:\97temp for later use; 2--call the win97 already installed in c:\97temp; 3--use some repair tools on the CD; 4--restart the computer; 5--return to the initial DOS state.