Hi Guys. I have a dual boot Win2k/Mandriva system and would now like a good old DOS 6.2 bootable (via lilo) partition. Do I need to start over and install DOS, then Win2k, then Mandriva or is there another method ?

Reason for the DOS partition is to allow me to run Norton Ghost from there rather than from floppy, IYKWIM :-)

MS-DOS 6.22 does not support FAT32 or NTFS or ReiserFS. It is recommended to install to the C: drive on a FAT16 Formated Partition, though some boot managers can overcome this limitation.

Thanks franki,

I don't need DOS to be able to recognise anything else on the HDD. I've just tried installing DOS, then Win2k, then Mandriva. I can not figure out how to get the DOS partition to boot from Lilo (I just get a flashing cursor) as it looks like Win2k has somehow stomped over the DOS partition ! The Win2k boot loader does however give me the option to boot Win2k or DOS - not really what I want :-(

This is really a *NIX issue bugger all to do with MS-DOS, but try this which is for Grub but believe LiLo is similar:

http://forum.linspire.com/viewtopic.php?p=478824&highlight=#478824

If this does not work go over to where this post belongs in the Linux forum

you can do it this way.
make the dos partition bootable by format /s

get this program MBR.EXE from here
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html

install DOS to the previous partition and add the MBR.EXE program too as its a dos program tool.

while in DOS.

run the MBR and use the SELM switch
read the doc files for the mbr exe program

this will write code in the master boot record and enable you to get a 2 second hotkey to boot to dos during system start up.

simmular to booting to system bios setup

you should also get PTEDIT for both dos and windows as if somthing should happen while tring to get this right you can manualy change the partition boot record to what it is suposed to be.
PTEDIT is included with partition magic
both win32 and the dos versions.

get a snap shot of the partition with it before you change anything so you know what it needs to be changed back to.

really only intrested in the 1st 2 collums
reguarding the type of partition and weater it is the boot partition or not.as this is what MBR changes.

read the docs!

add ptedit for dos to the dos partition too.

Is Win2k on a primary or exteded volume partition ?
The only way I think to get it to work like you want is for Win2k and DOs to be both on a seperate primary partition. If they are it can be likely be fixed.

[The Win2k boot loader does however give me the option to boot Win2k or DOS - not really what I want :-(] when you select DOS , does it work ? Not sure from your post

I've got dos on a 40mb primary partition 1st and then winnt on the 2ed 130gig ntfs and a fat32 10gig after winnt.

all 3 are primary partitions on the same drive.

when i start my computer i get a two seconed message "press F11 to boot to dos" then i get the press F12 to go to the bios setup stuff the normal stuff.

if i hit F11 when the message is up i boot to dos.

if i dont it continues to boot to windows.

I use the dos for recovery utility partition and the fat32 for a ghost image for restoration.

its loaded up with extended dos tools such as ptedit,mbr,dos4ntfs,dosshell,savepart,hex edit yada yada yada

i have the boot partition normaly set to the win ntfs partition to boot windows.

when i press F11 the mbr code changes the active partition from winnt to dos and then the system boots to dos.

once in dos the mbr is called again to reset the active partition to the win partition for the next system restart.

its in the docs for the MBR.EXE

using PTEDIT
the first 2 collums of my partition table looks like this normaly
DE 00 1st partition
07 80 2nd partition
DB 00 3rd partition

after the MBR changes it it looks like this
06 80 1st partition
07 00 2nd partition
DB 00 3rd partition

within the dos autoexec.bat a call to MBR
resets the partition master boot recored to normal for the next system restart

drive type DE hides the partition from windows its a 06 or fat16
00 = its not the active or boot partition
07 is NTFS formated 80 = its the active or boot partition
DB another hidden drive fat32

DE and DB are use simply because my dell reconises the DE type while windows doesnt
and gives me the option to boot to a utility partition. my compaq doesnt and i need to use the MBR.EXE for it.

from dos i can call to the other partition fat32 and do a system image restore or work anyother options.

The MBR.EXE is a fantastic DOS tool and has broader uses then what i am using it for.

Some OS's will not boot if the cylinder range of the partition is greater than 1023 or the partition span cylinder 1023. I believe some boot loaders can fake the number so it appears OK, that is one reason it is recommended that DOS be loaded first.

Thanks everyone, that's given me several things to experiment with today. I'm also going to try using FreeDOS rather than MS-DOS 6.2

I had posted this in the Linux area but had no replies yet !

Top Farmer. Yes, the DOS boot does work OK. If I select Windows from the Lilo options I get the Windows 2000 or DOS menu as Win2k starts to load. It would be OK under normal circumstances but the machines I'm hoping to use this setup on are in a training suite and I really don't want the trainees to see that option - I've cut the Lilo timeout down to 6 secs so they can't see that either as the monitor takes about that long to warm up and Win2k is the default O/S - but I know I can quickly press down-arrow & enter if I want Linux :-D

Take a look at boot manager PLOP
http://www.plop.at (not a typepo it is .at not .com)
It will take a little more time when you want to boot into DOS or linux but the trainees will not beable to , nor will they see the partitions.
It is also not to easy to setup till you learn how.

You would have to rewrite all partitons VBR (volume boot record) data. (mybe best to start over)

Or on the way you have it (if win2k boot manager is simular to XP's) just change the time out to 3 sec. or so in boot.ini. The draw back is XP will see the DOS and Linux partitions.

Thanks Top Farmer,

I eventually found boot.ini, edited the timout and delete the text string for MS-DOS (so the user won't see it). I now get the Lilo boot loader with Windows or Linux options, if I choose Windows I briefly get the Windows bootloader and I can hit down-arrow & Enter to get DOS. This loads the o/s and runs all the NET commands required for me to run Ghost. Splendid :-)

Other tricks you may want to consider.

There is a proggie called VFLOPPY. It's distributed as a rar file, and it's in chinese.

What it does is to allow you to build a bootable DOS disk inside something like NTFS, which will boot some kind of MS-DOS or PC-DOS. You make the disk image up yourself, and attatch the vfloppy files to it. You then make an entry in the NTLDR menu.

Another alternative is to use something like GRUB or memdisk to load a floppy for you.

W

The dream you dream alone is only a dream,
The dream we dream together is reality.