Boot Discs XP Pro .vs. Home Edition

[Guest]

I need to create a boot CD or disk for my XP Home PC so that I can update its
BIOS. If I create the boot disc on my XP Pro computer - will this be a
problem? Do I need to create the boot disk on another XP Home computer?

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

If you have downloaded a BIOS flash image, then just put a diskette in A:
and run the program. It will write a boot disk which will boot the computer
with a special DOS and perform the BIOS upgrade. XP won't even be loaded
during this process. Be sure to allow the BIOS update program to create an
emergency floppy when it asks if you want one. This will copy your present
BIOS so that you can reinstall if something goes wrong. Be sure to write
down your BIOS settings because a BIOS flash is going to reset the settings
to a default configuration. If you are using SATA or SCSI drives you may
have to adjust the defaults before your hard drive will boot into Windows.

Unless you are experiencing a problem that the BIOS update addresses, do NOT
update the BIOS.

 

[Harry Ohrn]

The boot disk you create on one version of XP will work on any system. It is
just a very a simple DOS disk. Ensure that the BIOS is set to boot from the
floppy drive before the hard drive and it should wok fine for your purpose.
You are aware that updating or flashing a BIOS can have dire consequences if
not done correctly right? Only update the BIOS if you really need to.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Bentwood.

With a blank (or expendable) diskette in your floppy drive, in My Computer,
right-click Drive A:, then choose Format... On the Format screen, check the
bottom box, "Create an MS-DOS startup disk".

This will format the diskette (FAT12) and put the MS-DOS system files on it.
With your BIOS set to boot from the floppy, restart your computer. It
should boot from the floppy into the barebones version of the Millennium
version of MS-DOS. From there, take the steps required by your specific
hardware and BIOS.

RC