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hi, i've just got a small ipaq desktop, with no cdrom or floppy, and cant boot from usb either.
can someone tell me why im having trouble finding info on installing dos to c: using a 2nd pc with cdrom/floppy... then swap the hdd to the ipaq.
is this possible or am i missing something on how dos runs, the long goal is to be able to go to d://winxp/startinstall
ive only found info on booting from media.
seems the long way round, but im not forking out for a slimline cdrom. and im retarded in dos.
ill probly format and try linux next anyway.. but i would like to know if im missing something.
cheers.
If you set up a HD in another box, it wil probably boot in that ipad as long as the BIOS gets the right drive type.
BTW this is not DOS path:
d://winxp/startinstall
=====================================
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.M2
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yea ive had no problem with the ipaq recognising and trying to boot from the hdd
what im after is maybe a tutorial or some info on installing dos to the hdd and configuring to boot straight into dos.
>> BTW this is not DOS path:
>> d://winxp/startinstallyeah i know. i just dont know what its sposed to be yet.
cheers
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No, your not missing anything. There's no reason why DOS installed from a different computer would make any difference. DOS is just DOS, it doesn't write any machine specific files during install like Windows. But, it's possible that the computer you using to install it with is addressing the hard drive differently than the ipaq is, so the ipaq isn't directing the hard drive to the correct sector to find the OS boot code.
If that is the case, then you'll have the same problem with any OS. At the initial boot code level, all OSs are the same.
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ok cool thats about what i hoped.. but any pointers on installing dos to hard drive.. as opposed to booting from media?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPAQ_(...
"It featured an interchangeable 'Multi-Bay' slot that could accept a 3.5 inch floppy disk drives, optical drives, or a secondary hard disk device. The slot was the same as those found on many Compaq Armada and many other HP/Compaq laptop computer systems."
All you need to do is buy a CD Drive.... this is assuming you do not have an 'Internet Appliance model'
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Although AUTO for hard drive ID should be the same in all situations (since it's based on drive geometry) that's often not the case with some brand name PCs--especially compaqs. Depending on the specifics of your problem, that may be the reason.
If you absolutely can't work with the drive on the ipaq--by temporarily adding a cdrom or floppy--then your best bet is to do the dos installation on another compaq. You'll need to use fdisk to remove and then recreate the partition WHILE IT'S CONNECTED TO THE COMPAQ. Then format, install dos and move the drive to the ipaq.
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MS-DOS is usually booted from a boot floppy and the hard drive is SYSed to make it bootable:
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resonatored,
There is something else you could try. I don't like to "recommend" it because doing this might just be an exercise in tedious futility. But, an IDE drive is an IDE drive-it is a standard, and the reason why the ipaq isn't using the same geometry may have something to do with the configuration in the computer BIOS used to install DOS to the hard drive. In most computers (since late 1990s, anyway) there are configuration options for setting up the hard drive. Enabling LBA, as one example. Usually it's best to just use the AUTO function which will let the BIOS decide based on what it detects about the particular hard drive. But, in the case where you are changing the hard drive to a different computer, you might try disabling the AUTO and manually configuring how the hard drive is set up. Ideally, you would look at the ipaq bios while the hard drive is installed in it, then see if you can match that in the computer used to install the DOS. It may just be something like the install computer is using LBA and the ipaq isn't.
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thanks pyrolitic, ive got it sussed now. i wasnt really having any trouble with the ipaq recognising the hdd. just with what to do next.. i had no periphrials for booting from media, and had no idea how dos worked.
so the end result was to slave into 2nd pc, format it, sys it (the bit i was after), replace hdd into ipaq as primary and boots straight to dos. now i can kick off windows.
i should have set up smartdrive but im a fair distance running round between pcs and internet, and plugging and unplugging so i couldnt be bothered ill just let it run..
and i cant quite remember how i actually sysed it. im pretty sure i used the FreeDos live cd
thanks all, going to read a book while regretting no smartdrive
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