Hi people, I've got this old VIGLEN Contender, Pentium I, 40MB RAM, HDD 2GB. I'm trying to get it to work with Win 98 but it happens that I've checked the BIOS and there is no option for booting from CD. The only options are Floppy,HDD,and Network. How can I get the BIOS to take CD_ROM as a boot option? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks

You don't need to boot from CD to install 98. Go to www.bootdisk.com and download a Windows 98 (or Windows 98SE) OEM boot disk file. Make a boot disk, boot from the floppy and it will load a driver for your CD-ROM drive. Insert the 98 CD and type setup at the command prompt.

OK... Thanks a lot. What about Linux? You see, my initial idea was to make this a nice linux box but when I was confronted with this problem I though that it would be easier to install Windows. Now, coming back to the same issue, do you think I could get the BIOS to have the CD-ROM as another boot option? Thanks

I bet that because your computer is older, it simply doesn't have the capability of booting from the CD. That is really a small problem to work around. Linux, like Windows, can be installed using a bootable installation floppy. So that won't be a factor in deciding Linux vs. Windows. Best Luck, Bob

You could always write a boot diskette boot strap program that load the boot image from the CD Rom drive. I have not seen any around, so OK, its not that easy or no one found a need for one.

Easy to be done actually. Try the Super DOS boot disks I made in the past, and select "Boot from CD Drive" in the boot menu.

I have a CD-ROM Bootstrap Floppy to make CD Drive bootable on older machines on my PowerLoad Bootdisk Project Page. It has limited uses however since you can start the PC with a normal bootdisk with CD-ROM Driver and access the CD anyway! Please reply with a message to let us all know we are on the right track with your problem