Okay, I need to reformat my drive and partition it into
two halves. I formatted a 3.5 floppy disk and told it to
create a MS-DOS startup disk. It did all that, but when
I boot up the PC with the startup disk I have no commands
in DOS. I can't even change the directory from A:\

Does anyone know how to get MS-DOS up and running on
startup?

Thanks,

Andrew

www.bootdisk.com


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.
Wes

In news:c31201c4388e$92d153c0$(E-Mail Removed),
Andrew <(E-Mail Removed)> hunted and pecked:
> Okay, I need to reformat my drive and partition it into
> two halves. I formatted a 3.5 floppy disk and told it to
> create a MS-DOS startup disk. It did all that, but when
> I boot up the PC with the startup disk I have no commands
> in DOS. I can't even change the directory from A:\
>
> Does anyone know how to get MS-DOS up and running on
> startup?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrew

I assume you made the "MS-DOS Startup Disk" in WinXP? If so, it is
next to worthless. There is nothing on it except the ability to boot
to "A" drive. But, you should be able to boot with your WinXP CD and
do what ever partitioning and formatting you need from there.

Regards, hawk

Andrew wrote:

> Okay, I need to reformat my drive and partition it into
> two halves. I formatted a 3.5 floppy disk and told it to
> create a MS-DOS startup disk. It did all that, but when
> I boot up the PC with the startup disk I have no commands
> in DOS. I can't even change the directory from A:\
>
> Does anyone know how to get MS-DOS up and running on
> startup?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrew

"Andrew" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:c31201c4388e$92d153c0$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Okay, I need to reformat my drive and partition it into
> two halves. I formatted a 3.5 floppy disk and told it to
> create a MS-DOS startup disk. It did all that, but when
> I boot up the PC with the startup disk I have no commands
> in DOS. I can't even change the directory from A:\
>
> Does anyone know how to get MS-DOS up and running on
> startup?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrew

Get a Win98 boot disk from www.bootdisk.com, then
use fdisk.exe to partition the disk.

Greetings --

Short answer: You can't.

There is no way to reboot a WinXP PC into Real Mode DOS unless
you've set up a dual-boot system. The WinNT family of 32-bit
graphical operating systems, of which WinXP is the latest generation,
has never used or included MS-DOS. The closest they have is the
Command Prompt window.

WinXP, like its predecessors WinNT & Win2K, is a pure 32-bit GUI
OS, and does not include or "ride upon" any version of DOS, as did
Win3.x & Win9x/Me. WinXP does include a command-line emulator for
those times when GUI applets are unnecessary/redundant, but it cannot
be started in "DOS mode."

Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot
devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...B;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html


You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH


"Andrew" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:c31201c4388e$92d153c0$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Okay, I need to reformat my drive and partition it into
> two halves. I formatted a 3.5 floppy disk and told it to
> create a MS-DOS startup disk. It did all that, but when
> I boot up the PC with the startup disk I have no commands
> in DOS. I can't even change the directory from A:\
>
> Does anyone know how to get MS-DOS up and running on
> startup?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrew

Greetings --

But why bother with a boot diskette at all, when the WinXP CD is
bootable, and has the capability of partitioning and formatting the
hard drive?

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html


You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH


"Pegasus (MVP)" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Andrew" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:c31201c4388e$92d153c0$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Okay, I need to reformat my drive and partition it into
>> two halves. I formatted a 3.5 floppy disk and told it to
>> create a MS-DOS startup disk. It did all that, but when
>> I boot up the PC with the startup disk I have no commands
>> in DOS. I can't even change the directory from A:\
>>
>> Does anyone know how to get MS-DOS up and running on
>> startup?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Andrew
>
> Get a Win98 boot disk from www.bootdisk.com, then
> use fdisk.exe to partition the disk.
>
>

Good point.


"Bruce Chambers" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%23$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Greetings --
>
> But why bother with a boot diskette at all, when the WinXP CD is
> bootable, and has the capability of partitioning and formatting the
> hard drive?
>
> Bruce Chambers
>
> --
> Help us help you:
> http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
> You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
> having both at once. -- RAH
>
>
> "Pegasus (MVP)" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> >
> > "Andrew" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:c31201c4388e$92d153c0$(E-Mail Removed)...
> >> Okay, I need to reformat my drive and partition it into
> >> two halves. I formatted a 3.5 floppy disk and told it to
> >> create a MS-DOS startup disk. It did all that, but when
> >> I boot up the PC with the startup disk I have no commands
> >> in DOS. I can't even change the directory from A:\
> >>
> >> Does anyone know how to get MS-DOS up and running on
> >> startup?
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >>
> >> Andrew
> >
> > Get a Win98 boot disk from www.bootdisk.com, then
> > use fdisk.exe to partition the disk.
> >
> >
>
>

Just use a software like Partition Magic it can do
evrything partition format even the system drive its got
its own boot diskettes and all wizard format.
>-----Original Message-----
>Good point.
>
>
>"Bruce Chambers" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
message
>news:%23$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Greetings --
>>
>> But why bother with a boot diskette at all, when
the WinXP CD is
>> bootable, and has the capability of partitioning and
formatting the
>> hard drive?
>>
>> Bruce Chambers
>>
>> --
>> Help us help you:
>> http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
>> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>>
>>
>> You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't
ever count on
>> having both at once. -- RAH
>>
>>
>> "Pegasus (MVP)" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >
>> > "Andrew" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote
in message
>> > news:c31201c4388e$92d153c0$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >> Okay, I need to reformat my drive and partition it
into
>> >> two halves. I formatted a 3.5 floppy disk and told
it to
>> >> create a MS-DOS startup disk. It did all that, but
when
>> >> I boot up the PC with the startup disk I have no
commands
>> >> in DOS. I can't even change the directory from A:\
>> >>
>> >> Does anyone know how to get MS-DOS up and running on
>> >> startup?
>> >>
>> >> Thanks,
>> >>
>> >> Andrew
>> >
>> > Get a Win98 boot disk from www.bootdisk.com, then
>> > use fdisk.exe to partition the disk.
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>
>.
>

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> Just use a software like Partition Magic it can do
> evrything partition format even the system drive its got
> its own boot diskettes and all wizard format.

It costs more money and is not necessary.

You boot from the CD and do a clean install.
Click on or copy and paste the link below into your web browser address bar.
How to clean install XP.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html
--

Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(E-Mail Removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outloo...snewreader.htm

WOW.

I really didn't expect that many people to answer.

Thank you everyone. Right after I posted that message I
remembered that XP had a Partioner in the install
process. But thank you again for all of your help.

Andrew
>-----Original Message-----
>Okay, I need to reformat my drive and partition it into
>two halves. I formatted a 3.5 floppy disk and told it to
>create a MS-DOS startup disk. It did all that, but when
>I boot up the PC with the startup disk I have no commands
>in DOS. I can't even change the directory from A:\
>
>Does anyone know how to get MS-DOS up and running on
>startup?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Andrew
>.
>