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Sir,
I want to add just another option to boot in DOS mode. I have two option appears as usual in boot screen (in file boot.ini): Windows XP and another is Server 2003. I want to add another option in it that: allow me to boot and let me enter into command prompt, e.g. DOS mode so i can operate by entering command in line. (CLI interface).
Summary is: to add another third option in boot.ini file to boot into DOS prompt.Thanks alot sir,
Syed Fahad Hussain
mmm... Am I reading your post correctly in that you wish to boot to XP as a command/dos prompt; not to add in dox6x and boot to that?
If not wanting to add in dos6x (and thus dual-boot)... then I don't think you can do as you may wish - boot to a command prompt (in XP) as an option in the boot.ini...
However pressing f8 during boot up as per norm does apparently allow a way? See more on this at:
http://www.vbforums.com/showthread....
(Just one of several sites that offer the same method.)
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You can boot into a command prompt in XP but is only in Safe Mode for trouble shooting purposes.
You can boot into a DOS prompt in the same manner as you could with Windows 98 because there is no DOS in Windows XP.
The only way you are going to get a genuine DOS prompt is to install MS-DOS as dual boot system.
Stuart
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You MIGHT get by with booting on a DOS floppy, doing SYS C: and rebooting the HD. With a little luck NT will say something like 'new OS found' and prompt you to add it to the boot menu.
This could also go horribly wrong, so I would be 100% backed up first.
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If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.M2
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I doubt that Mech2Go's suggestion would allow a dos prompt boot. This because likely XP is either ntfs or fat32. If fat32 you might get as far as a dos prompt (dos 7x) if uisng a '98/ME boot disk, but that's all - and the price would be no boot to XP in either case...
To get a true dos/XP boot (a dual-boot) one would need to create a proper dos(6x) boot environment; which means active Primary that is fat16 (MAX = 2Gig).... The dos boot will in turn require that XP boot.ini includes a reference to a bootsec.dos (via which dos-based OS boot from within an NT/W2K/XP environment); and that has to be created either manually or via a standard XP setup routine - or one uses an add-in boot util...
The active (fat16) Primary will hold both OS boot/start-up files and the bootsec.dos (when it exists).
But until the OP comes back and clarifies "wot he wants..." - who knows where it all goes (only "The Shadow...").
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>> You MIGHT get by with booting on a DOS floppy, doing SYS C: and rebooting the HD.<<
It will go horribly wrong. It will over write the Master Boot Record preventing XP from booting. You will have to boot to the repair console and do a FixMBR which will undo what Sys C: did.
Installing MS-DOS on a computer that already has Windows XP on it is fraught with problems. Best to read the article posted by Razor. What applies to Windows NT should also apply to Windows XP.
Stuart
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Stated Mr. Sfahad is always ready to ask, less to keep people informed about the usefulness of the answers posted, he should be aware that the system he is running is NT kernel based and so has no DOS at all.
In safe (command line) mode what is displayed is the NT console actually.
From Sfahad's other posts I suggest he need a strong review about Microsoft's operating systems fundamentals
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Unlike earlier versions of Windows, XP does not
function by way of DOS.
There is no DOS in XP.
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SYS C: will not overwrite the MBR , it will overwrite the VBR (volume boot record). FIXBOOT from the recovery console would need to be ran to rewrite XP's VBR's boot code.
Win 98 Fdisk /Mbr would overwrite the MBR's boot code but it would not be a problem.
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That's an interesting distinction - and I suspect not one generally known? Certainly not one I was really familiar with...
Nonetheless a little research "out there" doth bring up this snippet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volume...
which still leaves me a little less than clear as to the difference... This especially the fixmbr command clearly(?) seems to refer to and address the mbr - not the vbr? And in XP/W2K does not one run the fixmbr command to restore an XP/W2K boot-sequence (not fixboot) if it's been disabled by the installation of '98/ME after it... (presuming the active Primary allows '98/ME to go in - without an add-in boot-util)
http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/...
addresses the mbr aspect slightly differently.
Also the " fdisk /mbr " routine seems to concern itself with the mbr not the vbr...?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/69013
is the M$ discussion re' mbr (and it never mentions vbr...)
Overall when one runs the sys c: routine one changes the nature of the boot-option to that of a dos style boot only; the NT/W2K/XP style has to be restored accordingly...
But exactly what might happen with XP (in this current post/scenario) - and no suitable fat16 active Primary present if one runs a dos-6x version of sys c: - I'm not sure (which is what I hope I implied in my initial response here?). Similarly with a '98/ME version (dos7x) and possibly no fat32 (active Primary) available...? Will it just crash/refuse to boot - or what?
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">> You MIGHT get by with booting on a DOS floppy, doing SYS C: and rebooting the HD.<<
It will go horribly wrong."
"But exactly what might happen with XP (in this current post/scenario) - and no suitable fat16 active Primary present if one runs a dos-6x version of sys c:"
nothing will happen (horribly or otherwise) to a NTFS partition. all you get will be a 'drive not found' error.
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More reading on the MBR and VBR , links below.
I'm very poor at writing and getting the information across.
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file...
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file...The main function of the MBR is to check for any Active partition, and if it finds one it will read the first sector of partition and turn control to it(VBR). Any MBR code will do. If it finds none or more then 1 active partition an error "NO OS" (not exact word) will be sent to the display.
The MBR is where most third party boot managers will start from.
The VBR boot code is OS specific, basically for 98 it load IO.sys ,XP's load NTldr, linux loads the kernel. If the wrong VBR boot code is written the OS will not boot. (98=sys c: and XP= fixboot)
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Are you "sure" about fixboot being the equivalent to dos sys c: ? This in that if the (XP/W2K) mbr has been replaced by a dos version - thus resetting it to a dos-level boot only.... fixboot will restore the XP boot facility?
All my experience (researches too - with NT/W2K - and latterly XP) has been that the fixmbr routine is what is required?
Fixboot being the routine to restore damaged/missing boot/start-up files - including ntldr/ntdetect.com/boot.ini (especially wrg to XP/W2K).
Or am I missing something here?
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The MBR boot code does not matter if it is from 98 "fdisk /mbr",ME,w2k or XP "fixboot", any will work with each other. It can also be from a third party boot manager or Linux's grub.
Very seldom should the MBR ever need to be rewritten and running Fixboot or fdisk /mbr can cause the loose of primary partitions if there is more then one or if the signature code of AA55 is missing.
MBR boot code is non OS system specific.
Vista's can be totally different on large hdd includeing a different partitioning system. Do not know about early dos systems with fat16.
Sys C: and Fixboot are OS specific.
Sys C: rewrites the Volume Boot Code (first sector of partition) and its boot files- IO.Sys, Command.com and some others.
FixBoot rewites the Volume Boot Code and the XP,W2k boot files ntldr ext.
When one installs any MS OS it will rewrite the MBR's boot code, for me it is a pain. I use a third party boot manager code in the MBR.
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