I'm trying to reinstall DOS (and then WFW 3.11) on an old 386 computer but I'm having a problem I can't quite figure out. I can't get the BIOS/CMOS to recognize my bootup floppy and boot from it instead of from the hard drive. I have tried all kinds of bootup floppies including bootdisk.com, powerload and even making my own so I know that the flopppies aren't the problem. I have a 1.44MB (3.5") drive on B: and a 1.2MB (5.25") drive on A:. In my CMOS setup I have "check for floppy on bootup" enabled and I can change the bootup sequence from A:,C: to C:,A:. I have this set to A:,C:. But B: is not an option and this is the drive that I need to boot from. I noticed that in the standard CMOS setup that I could change the floppy drives so I switched floppy drive A: to 1.44MB and floppy drive B: to 1.2 MB but this did not seem to help. So I just changed it back. MY NEXT GUESS, is that I need to also change the ribbons on the physical floppy drives inside the case but I have never been inside a computer before and don't want to if I don't have to. HOWEVER, if someone lets me know that this is what I need to do then I guess I will have to do it. Could you please give me some details on exactly what I need to do once I get the case open in order to switch the drives (And if possible some reasoning behind why this needs to be done for my own self-assurance). From what I have read, all I have to do is switch some ribbons. Also, do you know if I still have to change the drives in the CMOS standard setup and is there anything else I need to know to get this done. Also, another small question: Is the first DOS 6.22 (or 5.0) disk bootable so that I could just put it in to reinstall DOS? When I reinstall WIN98 I use a boot disk, format using fdisk and then run the setup from the CD, but do I need to do this when reinstalling DOS? Thanx for any help Jordan

First things first. Are you sure it's a 1.44 MB floppy and not a 720 K? That would prevent a boot floppy from working. Question two. Does the light on the floppy drive flick on during POST and then turn off afterwards or does it just stay on? If the light stays on and NEVER turns off, the ribbon cable is probably on backwards. If the light never turns on, the power is probably disconnected. Just a couple of quick checks to start with. :)

Oh, forgot a question. A properly created DOS 6.22 install disk (disk 1) should boot just the same as a 98 boot disk - just without the CD-ROM support.

Holy crap. Thanx for the quick reply DoOMsdAY. I don't think either of those things are the problem. The drive reads 1.44MB double sided HD floppies and in the CMOS setup it says that the drive is a 1.44 MB drive. Also, when I boot the PC up the light flicks on and then goes off (whether or not a floppy is in the drive). Then I can access the drive normally from within DOS or Windows to access files on the floppy, format it, or do whatever else I want. The system just doesn't bootup using the floppy. Any other suggestions? Thanx again, Jordan

Okee, hmmm...weird. Could you try unplugging the data cable from the hard drive and see what happens? I know of some large disk access drivers that mess with booting from a floppy.

The floppy seek option in the bios isn't really anything useful other than a check for hardware failure. If you want to change your 1.4 drive to A: check the jumpers on the drive. If memory serves me, then the jumper needs to be set to DS1, and the ribbon cable with the twisted pair needs to be on the drive designated as A:. Give that a try.

Swap the ribbon cables to the drives and then swap them in the BIOS. If you just change the BIOS entry neither drive will be able to work.