China DOS Union

New Features of the Windows 98 Boot Disk
　

The Windows 98 boot disk has now been greatly changed. The following items are new features for Windows98.

- Multiple-configuration startup menu
- Real-mode CD-ROM support
- EBD.CAB file
- RAMDRIVE
- WINDOWS98 startup problems
- Using the tools on the boot disk

Multiple-configuration startup menu
==============
If you start the computer with the new Windows98 boot disk, the system will display a boot menu, used to load common CD-ROM drives or perform a normal clean boot.

After making a selection, the Config.sys file loads the corresponding CD-ROM driver (if selected), then loads a 2MB RAMDrive. The RAMDrive stores the diagnostic tools needed to solve common problems.


Note
RAMdrive may cause the CD-ROM drive letter to be moved back by one letter. If the CD-ROM is usually drive D:, it may now become drive E:.


Real-mode CD-ROM drivers
=====================
The Windows 98 boot disk contains general ATAPI IDE and SCSI CD-ROM drivers. Using these drivers, even if the Windows98 GUI is unavailable, the CD-ROM can still work normally in DOS.

Note that not all CD-ROM drives are supported. If the CD-ROM drive cannot work normally when using these drivers, then you must use the driver that came with the CD-ROM drive.


EBD.CAB file
============
The Ebd.cab file is a compressed file. During installation, its contents are decompressed to the Ramdrive. The following table lists the files contained in the Ebd.cab file.

File Function
Attrib.exe Add or remove file attributes
Chkdsk.exe Small and simple disk status tool
Debug.exe Debugging utility
Edit.com Real-mode emergency text editor
Ext.exe New simple file extraction utility
Format.com Disk formatting tool
Mscdex.exe Microsoft CD-ROM file extension for MS-DOS
Scandisk.exe Disk status tool
Scandisk.ini Disk status tool configuration file
Sys.com Transfer system files and make the disk into a boot disk

Creating a RAMDrive
=========================
The RAMDrive is created while processing the Config.sys file, and its size is 2MB.
The Ramdrive is created using system RAM to emulate a physical hard disk. Without creating a RAMdrive, there is not enough space on a single 1.44 MB floppy disk to store the diagnostic tools and CD-ROM drivers.

Warning:
Because the RAMDrive is created using system RAM while processing the Config.sys file, it exists only temporarily. If you restart the computer normally, it will disappear.


List of all components in the EBD
====================================
The following table describes the function of each file copied to the EBD.

File Function
Aspi2dos.sys Real-mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver
Aspi4dos.sys Real-mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver
Aspi8dos.sys Real-mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver
Aspi8u2.sys Real-mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver
Aspicd.sys Real-mode Adaptec CD-ROM driver
Autoexec.bat Startup batch file
Btcdrom.sys Mylex/BusLogic CD-ROM driver
Btdosm.sys Mylex/BusLogic CD-ROM driver
Command.com Command interpreter
Config.sys Loads device drivers
Drvspace.bin Microsoft disk-space management compression driver
Ebd.cab Cab file containing decompression utilities
Ebd.sys File identifying the ESD
Extract.exe File that expands the Ebd.cab file
Fdisk.exe Disk partitioning tool
Findramd.exe Utility for finding the RAMDrive during startup
Flashpt.sys Mylex/BusLogic CD-ROM driver
Himem.sys XMS memory manager
Io.sys System boot file
Msdos.sys Boot option information (paths, multi-boot, etc.)
Oakcdrom.sys General device driver for ATAPI CD-ROM drives
Ramdrive.sys Creates the Ramdrive at startup
Setramd.bat Searches for the first drive available to be used as the Ramdrive


Windows 98 startup problems
===================
This section contains some common troubleshooting steps. When you need to use the Windows98 boot disk, you can follow these steps. These steps will at least guide the user into “Safe Mode”, so that the extended Windows98 “Help” system can be obtained for further answers to the problems encountered.


Starting the computer in Safe Mode
--------------------
There are many reasons why Windows 98 startup may fail. The first step in detecting the fault is to try starting the computer in Safe Mode.
If Safe Mode works normally, you can use the extended “Help” system and troubleshooting located in the “Start” menu/“Help” option.

>>>To start the computer in Safe Mode:

1. Remove the boot disk and restart the computer. After the computer restarts, before Windows begins loading, hold down the CTRL key until the “Windows 98 Startup Menu” is displayed. (If you are running Windows 95, press F8 when the “Starting Windows 95” prompt appears.)

2. Select “Safe Mode” on the “Startup” menu.

If the computer can be started in “Safe Mode”, please use Windows 98 “Help” to resolve the existing problem.


Installation failure and the computer does not start
----------------------
There are many common reasons why Windows 98 installation cannot complete successfully. The following sections explain how to overcome these problems. For more detailed information about other installation problems, please refer to the Setup.txt file in the Win98 folder on the Windows 98 CD or the first installation floppy disk.

If you encounter the following error messages when running Setup:

* Invalid system disk
* Wrong MS-DOS version
* Command.com file missing or corrupted
* Compression driver error

It is very likely that the computer’s startup drive needs updated system files. The required files can be copied to the computer with the SYS command.

Note: If you are loading compression software, you need to know your host drive letter. It is usually H. If no compression software is loaded, you need to use the SYS command to transfer the system files to drive C.

>>>Use the SYS command to copy system files to the computer:

1. Restart the computer with the Windows 98 boot disk, select option 2 on the startup menu, then press ENTER.

2. At the A:\ prompt, type: SYS X: (where X is the host or startup drive).

3. If the above process succeeds, the “System transferred” message is displayed. If it does not succeed, check whether the host drive letter you typed is correct.

Important: If you have installed software that came with the hard disk, please read the documentation carefully to learn the detailed method for starting the computer with a floppy disk.


Anti-virus software
----------
If anti-virus software is still running during installation, it may prevent Setup from updating system files. If this is the case, disable or uninstall the anti-virus software, then run Setup again.

Note: Some computers have built-in anti-virus software. These built-in anti-virus programs should also be disabled before running Setup. If they are not disabled, you may receive a warning message notifying you that the master boot record has been changed. If you receive such a message, you must accept these changes; otherwise Setup may stop responding.


Setup stops responding while detecting hardware
----------------------------

If Setup stops responding while detecting hardware, turn off the computer, wait a few seconds, then turn it on again. This may need to be repeated several times, because Setup may stop responding in several different detection modes.

Note: Turn off the computer’s power. Do not use the reset button or CTRL+ALT+DELETE to restart the computer.

If installation still cannot proceed smoothly, you may need to start the computer in Safe Mode so that you can consult the help topics related to hardware detection.


Compressed drive not mounted
------------------
There are many reasons why a compressed drive cannot be accessed. If the Windows directory is on a drive that has not yet been mounted, Windows cannot start. If you suspect there is a problem with the compressed drive, try using ScanDisk to repair it.

At the A:\ prompt, type:

Scandisk /Mount X:

where X is the compressed drive letter. ScanDisk will repair this disk and mount the drive.

If there is not enough memory to check the compressed disk, please refer to the “Installing Windows 98 from MS-DOS” section of the Setup.txt file on the first installation floppy disk or the Windows 98 CD.


Using the tools on the boot disk
==================
This section introduces the utilities included on the Windows 98 boot disk. The steps to run these tools are as follows:

1. Insert the Windows 98 boot disk into the floppy drive, then restart the computer.

2. Select option 1 or 2 on the startup menu (depending on whether you want to access the CD-ROM), then press ENTER.

3. At the MS-DOS command prompt (A:\), type the name of the utility you want to run, then press ENTER.


SCANDISK.EXE and CHKDSK.EXE
----------------------------

These two programs are commonly used to check the hard disk for errors. If you suspect files on the hard disk are damaged or there are other problems, run ScanDisk to check and repair the hard disk.

To check all hard disks for errors, type:

Scandisk /all

To scan all surfaces of the hard disk and minimize data loss, type:

Scandisk /all /Surface

Note:
You may receive error messages about long file names. The MS-DOS version of ScanDisk can only detect problems with long file names, but cannot correct them. To correct such errors, you must run ScanDisk in Windows 98.

If you have compressed disks, you may receive the message “not enough memory to check compressed disks”. The solution to this problem is: follow the method introduced in step 1 earlier in this section, and use the Windows 98 boot disk to start the computer. Select option 2. This will provide enough memory for ScanDisk to check the compressed hard disk.

If ScanDisk cannot check your drive, try using CHKDSK.EXE. CHKDSK can check linked files and lost clusters.


SYS.COM
=======
The SYS command is used to copy system files from one disk to another. These system files are necessary when the computer starts.

>>>To transfer the system to drive C, type:

SYS C:

Then press ENTER. After a few seconds, the “System transferred” message will appear.

As a result of executing SYS, the following files are copied to the disk:

* IO.SYS
* MSDOS.SYS
* COMMAND.COM

If the SYS C: command does not work, and drive C is a compressed disk, then you need to type the name of the host drive. If you use the DblSpace or DrvSpace program, the host drive is usually drive H. If you do not know the drive letter, run ScanDisk and wait to see if there is a prompt about compressed disks.


FDISK.EXE and FORMAT.EXE
------------------------

The FDISK and FORMAT utilities are necessary when installing a new disk in the machine or cleaning an old disk. First use FDISK to create a partition, then use FORMAT to format that partition for use.

Warning: Improper use of FDISK may destroy all data on the hard disk. If you do not know how to use FDISK, consult the computer documentation first.

You can use the Windows 98 version of FDISK to create FAT32 partitions on disks larger than 512 MB. FAT32 reduces the cluster size on larger drives and allows a single partition to be created on hard disks larger than 2 GB.

To view the status of the current drive, at the MS-DOS command prompt type: FDISK /STATUS.

After partitioning the disk with FDISK, it is time to use the FORMAT command. To format the drive of the newest partition, type:

FORMAT X:

where X is the drive to be formatted.

To format drive C, you must format this disk as a system disk before it can be used to start the computer. Type /s after the FORMAT command:

FORMAT C: /s

After the drive is formatted, the system startup files will be copied automatically.


CD-ROM drives
--------------
The Windows 98 boot disk contains a set of general CD-ROM drivers. These drivers can be used with most IDE ATAPI and SCSI CD-ROM models.

If an individual CD-ROM drive cannot use these drivers, you need to use the driver that came with the CD-ROM drive.

The following are known issues with the CD-ROM drivers:

1. CD-ROM drives connected to a sound card cannot work normally.

2. Early CD-ROM drives (such as Mitsumi, Panasonic, and Sony) may not be able to use these drivers. Some old IDE controllers also cannot use them.

3. The SCSI drivers on the boot disk support most Adaptec, Buslogic, and Mylex adapters. Some other SCSI CD-ROM drives may not be able to use the drivers on the boot disk.

4. If the SCSI controller is configured to a non-default I/O region, the driver may not detect your SCSI card. For the default I/O region of that card, please refer to the SCSI driver documentation.

5. Drivers for many PC Card (PCMCIA) CD-ROM drives are not included.


EXT.EXE
-------
The EXT command is used together with the Extract.exe utility, making it easy to extract Windows 98 files to the hard disk. It can be used to restore missing or damaged files.

If you encounter messages such as “file missing”, “executable file error (such as a general protection error)”, or “illegal page error” during installation, this utility is especially useful.

>>>Steps to extract files with Ext.exe:

1. Restart the computer using the Windows 98 boot disk, select option 1, then press ENTER.

2. Insert the Windows 98 CD into the drive.

3. At the MS-DOS command prompt, type EXT, then press ENTER.

4. At the prompts, enter the location of the Windows 98 installation files, the location of the file to be extracted, and the location where the extracted file should be placed.


Note:
If the CD-ROM drive letter is E, then the location of the installation files is E:\WIN98.

If you want to extract multiple files at once, you can use wildcards.