ms-dos start up

  • Thread starter Thread starter Eric
  • Start date Start date
E

Eric

how do you start up in ms-dos from windows xp. i created a msdos startup
disk but i dont know what to do with it; i start up with it in the a: drive
and pc starts as per usual.
 
You will have to enter BIOS (usually you have to press a key like [DEL] or
[F1] when your computer starts -- consult your motherboard manual or the
on-screen instructions to access BIOS). Once there, look for a menu item
named 'boot' or 'startup options' and move the floppy drive up until it
becomes a device that boots before your hard drive. Exit saving changes and
try the floppy again.

Alternatively, I think you can start the command prompt by pressing [F8] or
holding [CTRL] before Windows loads.

Why do you need an MS-DOS startup disk?
 
Eric said:
how do you start up in ms-dos from windows xp. i created a msdos startup
disk but i dont know what to do with it; i start up with it in the a: drive
and pc starts as per usual.
Click to expand...

XP does not include any 'real mode' DOS in the way Win98 does, so there
is no way to 'restart in DOS mode'. The MSDOS startup disk is only a
very basic one - useful for things like flashing BIOS, but if you need
to run any serious DOS work you will need something like a Win98 startup
floppy, and then a separate one with the program. Note that if the XP
is on an NTFS drive the DOS will not 'see' it at all - for hard disk use
you need a FAT 32 partition there
 
Back
Top