Boot to xpe from dos ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
There is way to boot xpe from dos ?
(I have SDI image)
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Nothing is impossible, but I don't know of an existing solution.

You would have to write your own DOS app that acts as if it's a
partition boot sector (i.e. loads an XP boot sector to the correct
address in memory, and transfers control to it like the BIOS would do
at boot).


I've seen a very similar thing once, but that's long ago: a DOS app
that loaded a Linux (lilo) boot sector and booted linux that way.
Maybe google can still find it, and maybe you can change it so it uses
an XP boot sector.
 
You can use Symantec Ghost tools Gdisk32 and Gdisk (requires client
license) to control disk and partition that is active with optional
reboot.
I boot to a DOS partition from Windows, replace the Windows OS with
Ghost and reboot back to the refreshed OS. (I used this for an
unattended migration from Windows 2000 to Windows XPe for units out on
the network. I have also tested this technique for BIOS update --but
I'm not brave enough to release that to production ;-).

SAMPLE SYNTAX

To set first physical disk drive partition 3 as active and restart:
Gdisk32.exe 1 /act /p:3 /r

To set first physical disk drive partition 1 as active for next boot
(good as a failsafe - you can change active partition several times at
various stages of processing):
Gdisk.exe 1 /act /p:1

RE: BOOT SECTOR

If you are brave, you can have Ghost replace the entire disk including
boot sector. Or you can FDISK from DOS with your DOS partition set as
active to reboot after FDISK and continue. You can also replace the
boot sector from DOS -- via creative use of the low level write
capability of DOS Debug command -- see the instructions available to
create Bootsect.DOS for DOS / Windows /Win98 multi-boot drives.

HTH, Roy
 
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