How can I make a cd-rom so that it can install DOS 6.22 and Win 3.11? I tried the DOS 6.22 - just copying the contents of the three disks, but right at the start of the installation, I was told to put disk 1 into A-drive - so i failed! Anyone know what to do?

it ain't gonna werk.
the dos 6.22 code is targeted for a floppy drive.
it won't recognise cd-rom drive

You need a the version of DOS that was made for installation from a CD. I don't believe that it was ever sold separately. It was available as part of the MSDN subscription in the early 90's.

Surely you could make your own installer? A bootable CD (made with the DOS 6.22 startup files) with a menu system like

"1. Install DOS"
"2. Command Prompt"

for xample, making the install DOS option create a folder on the C: drive 'DOS', using an Autoexec.bat to copy all the DOS files into it from a folder on the CD, then using the SYS command to make the hard drive bootable?

Im probably way off but I just thought i'd post anyway!

good luck

Alex

Provided your bios suports boot from CD there may be an alternative. You could copy a Norton Ghost boot disk to CD.

Next install Dos and Windows in the traditional way with floppies. You could even add a few applications you know you are always going to want.

Here's the tricky part. You won't have the drivers installed to write to CD when you use the Norton Ghost boot disk. So you will have to have at least temporarily a second hard drive. This is because when you use Norton Ghost you cannot create an image on the same drive you are coping even if it is a different partition.

With your second hardrive pluged in, use the Norton Ghost boot disk to boot up your computer.

After Ghost starts up, make an image of your newly created OS that you have setup the way you want onto your second hard drive.

You next task is to boot into an environment that you can copy your image file for the newly installed OS to your Norton Ghost boot disk CD.

With this acomplished, you will easily be able to restore your hard drive to the original OS using the ghost image file of the original OS located on your Norton Ghost boot disk CD.

MS-DOS 6.22 SETUP indeed looks for the Floopy Disk Label (DISK     1) followed by Disks 2 & 3 if you get that far! Windows 3.1 SETUP looks for a file called DISK1 so no such problem with 3.1 as with 6.22

What I did was install MS-DOS 6.22 onto a clean harddrive so that all files were expanded into C:\DOS

Then I did the following:

Created a 6.22 bootable CD/R
Copied contents of C:\DOS into \DOS
Copied contents of all Windows 3.1 install disks into \Windows
Copied edited AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files to \Root
Created a basic install Batch File to Format HD, SYS it and copy \DOS directory, \Root diectory to HD Root, then run Windows setup.

I used this CD for more than a few installs.

Bit of a effort to make. But you only do it once! I also carried a MS-DOS 6.22 CD Bootdisk as well, just in case.

P.S. Picky I know, But its Directories with DOS & Win3x - Folders with Win95 onwards! (Thats why DOS has a DIR Command - Its short for Directory!)

Note - There was an OEM Install CD with MS-DOS 6.22 & Windows 3.11 (Not Workgroups)by Dell I think? but it came with a 6.22 Boot Floppy as many PC's did not have Boot from CD option back then!