Win XP MS-DOS Startup disk, Win 98SE Startup Disk, Boot Priority, chkdsk

[Alan C. Brown]

This is related to a previous message that I posted on 5May04.

I have a Toshiba Satellite 5105-S702 Laptop with Win XP Pro pre-installed by
Toshiba.

1. Boot Priority

I created an MS-DOS Startup Disk in XP Pro (My Computer>Floppy Drive>File
Menu>Format>Create an MS-DOS startup disk), in order to boot directly into
an MS-DOS command (C:\) prompt), so that I could hopefully overcome a
problem that I'm having running "chdsk : /f" from the command prompt (C:\)
window within XP Pro (All programs>Accessories>command prompt).

I then turned off the laptop and restarted with the MS-DOS Startup disk in
the Floppy drive, but the laptop booted normally into Windows XP Pro.

I then noticed in the Toshiba utility, "Toshiba HW Setup", under the "Boot
priority" Tab, that the current boot priority is set at
HDD>FDD>CD-ROM(>LAN).

I assume that is the reason that the laptop is not booting into the MS-DOS
C:\ prompt from the Floppy drive, and therefore I need to change the Boot
priority to FDD>HDD>CD-ROM(>LAN). Is that correct ?

The FDD is an external USB drive, which I do not normally have connected to
the laptop. With the Boot Priority set at FDD>HDD>CD-ROM(>LAN), will I have
to keep the FDD (without Startup disk inserted) connected in order to boot
normally into Windows XP Pro, or will it boot into in Win XP Pro even
without the FDD connected to the laptop ?

2. Running Chkdsk from the MS-DOS Startup Disk

Booting from the MS-DOS Startup disk, I would like to run "chkdsk c: /f"
from the C:\ prompt, because it would not run from the command prompt in
Win XP Pro (eg start>run>chdsk e: /f). Get the error message : "Chkdsk
cannot run because this volume is in use by another process....etc,etc.

In Win XP Pro, Chkdsk.exe is located in the in the pathway
C:\WINDOWS\system32\chkdsk.exe .

What command do I have to use to run chkdsk after booting to the the MS-DOS
C: prompt ?

3. Running Chkdsk from a Windows 98SE Startup diskette

Can I run chkdsk from a Win 98SE Startup diskette ? How ?

Thank you

Alan C. Brown

 

[t.cruise]

If you boot with a DOS boot floppy, and your hard drive is formatted NTFS,
you will NOT be able to access anything on the hard drive. DOS cannot read
NTFS.

 

[Alan C. Brown]

Thanks for your reply.

My HDD is formatted NTFS.

Are you referring to the Win XP Pro Startup Disk, or to the Win 98SE Startup
Disk, or to both ?

Alan C. Brown
-----------------------------------

If you boot with a DOS boot floppy, and your hard drive is formatted NTFS,
you will NOT be able to access anything on the hard drive. DOS cannot read
NTFS.
--

T.C.
t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
Remove [NoSpam] to reply

This is related to a previous message that I posted on 5May04.

I have a Toshiba Satellite 5105-S702 Laptop with Win XP Pro

pre-installed

by
Toshiba.

1. Boot Priority

I created an MS-DOS Startup Disk in XP Pro (My Computer>Floppy Drive>File
Menu>Format>Create an MS-DOS startup disk), in order to boot directly into
an MS-DOS command (C:\) prompt), so that I could hopefully overcome a
problem that I'm having running "chdsk : /f" from the command prompt (C:\)
window within XP Pro (All programs>Accessories>command prompt).

I then turned off the laptop and restarted with the MS-DOS Startup disk in
the Floppy drive, but the laptop booted normally into Windows XP Pro.

I then noticed in the Toshiba utility, "Toshiba HW Setup", under the "Boot
priority" Tab, that the current boot priority is set at
HDD>FDD>CD-ROM(>LAN).

I assume that is the reason that the laptop is not booting into the MS-DOS
C:\ prompt from the Floppy drive, and therefore I need to change the Boot
priority to FDD>HDD>CD-ROM(>LAN). Is that correct ?

The FDD is an external USB drive, which I do not normally have connected to
the laptop. With the Boot Priority set at FDD>HDD>CD-ROM(>LAN), will I have
to keep the FDD (without Startup disk inserted) connected in order to boot
normally into Windows XP Pro, or will it boot into in Win XP Pro even
without the FDD connected to the laptop ?

2. Running Chkdsk from the MS-DOS Startup Disk

Booting from the MS-DOS Startup disk, I would like to run "chkdsk c: /f"
from the C:\ prompt, because it would not run from the command prompt in
Win XP Pro (eg start>run>chdsk e: /f). Get the error message : "Chkdsk
cannot run because this volume is in use by another process....etc,etc.

In Win XP Pro, Chkdsk.exe is located in the in the pathway
C:\WINDOWS\system32\chkdsk.exe .

What command do I have to use to run chkdsk after booting to the the MS-DOS
C: prompt ?

3. Running Chkdsk from a Windows 98SE Startup diskette

Can I run chkdsk from a Win 98SE Startup diskette ? How ?

Thank you

Alan C. Brown

 

[BC]

1. If you set the FDD as the first then it will boot from there only when
there is a floppy in the drive. If there's no floppy it will skip to the
next device.

2. If you go to My computer and right click on the drive you want to scan
then choose properties>tools>error checking and select both options WinXP
will schedule a check on your next boot automatically.

3. No idea, never tried it. Why would you want to?

 

[Alan C. Brown]

Thanks for your reply.

1. I'm not sure that you understood what I was asking.

My FDD is an external FDD, which I do not normally keep connected to the
laptop, because it takes up too much space.

With the Boot priority set to FDD>HDD>CD-ROM(>LAN), will have to keep the
FDD (without Startup disk inserted) connected to the laptop in order to boot
normally into Win XP Pro, or will the laptop boot into Win XP Pro even
without the FDD connected to it ?

2. I tried that, but I did not see any evidence that chdsk actualy ran on
booting.

3. I just thought that it might be an altrenative way of running chdsk.

Alan C. Brown


-----------------

 

[BC]

1. If the floppy drive doesn't exist (ie. not connected) the bios will skip
to the next boot device. Why not skip the entire thing and only set the FDD
as the primary boot when you need it? Also, when you say it takes up too
much space, what do you mean? All the drivers etc. won't take up more than
50 KB. Do you mean it's a pain in the as* to carry it around with you?

2. What does the dialog say when you try it?

 

[Alex Nichol]

My HDD is formatted NTFS.

Are you referring to the Win XP Pro Startup Disk, or to the Win 98SE Startup
Disk, or to both ?

If by the XP Pro one you mean the one made from a Format under XP, then
both. You can get a download of a set of six startup floppies, but that
is a mini-XP the same as the recovery console mode if you boot the XP
CD.

 

[Alan C. Brown]

Yes, I meant the one made from a Format under XP.

The only XP CDs I have, are the 3 Recovery CDs that came with my Toshiba
Satellite 5105-S702 Laptop. Is it safe to boot from them, without in the
process having my HDD repartitioned & reformatted, which would wipe out
everything ?

Otherwise, where can I download the the 6 startup floppies ?

Alan C. Brown

--------------

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

Thanks for your reply.

My HDD is formatted NTFS.

Are you referring to the Win XP Pro Startup Disk, or to the Win 98SE
Startup Disk, or to both ?

Booting from *any* diskette will make your NTFS drive
inaccessible. However there is third-party software that you can
use to access the NTFS drive. One such product is called ntfsdos.
It comes in a free version which will give you read-only access,
and a paid version which provides read-write access.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

-----------------------------------

If you boot with a DOS boot floppy, and your hard drive is formatted
NTFS, you will NOT be able to access anything on the hard drive.
DOS cannot read NTFS.
--

T.C.
t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
Remove [NoSpam] to reply

This is related to a previous message that I posted on 5May04.

I have a Toshiba Satellite 5105-S702 Laptop with Win XP Pro
pre-installed by Toshiba.

1. Boot Priority

I created an MS-DOS Startup Disk in XP Pro (My Computer>Floppy
Drive>File Menu>Format>Create an MS-DOS startup disk), in order to
boot directly into an MS-DOS command (C:\) prompt), so that I
could hopefully overcome a problem that I'm having running "chdsk
: /f" from the command prompt (C:\) window within XP Pro (All
programs>Accessories>command prompt).

I then turned off the laptop and restarted with the MS-DOS Startup
disk in the Floppy drive, but the laptop booted normally into
Windows XP Pro.

I then noticed in the Toshiba utility, "Toshiba HW Setup", under
the "Boot priority" Tab, that the current boot priority is set at
HDD>FDD>CD-ROM(>LAN).

I assume that is the reason that the laptop is not booting into
the MS-DOS C:\ prompt from the Floppy drive, and therefore I need
to change the Boot priority to FDD>HDD>CD-ROM(>LAN). Is that
correct ?

The FDD is an external USB drive, which I do not normally have
connected to the laptop. With the Boot Priority set at
FDD>HDD>CD-ROM(>LAN), will I have to keep the FDD (without Startup
disk inserted) connected in order to boot normally into Windows XP
Pro, or will it boot into in Win XP Pro even without the FDD
connected to the laptop ?

2. Running Chkdsk from the MS-DOS Startup Disk

Booting from the MS-DOS Startup disk, I would like to run "chkdsk
c: /f" from the C:\ prompt, because it would not run from the
command prompt in Win XP Pro (eg start>run>chdsk e: /f). Get the
error message : "Chkdsk cannot run because this volume is in use
by another process....etc,etc.

In Win XP Pro, Chkdsk.exe is located in the in the pathway
C:\WINDOWS\system32\chkdsk.exe .

What command do I have to use to run chkdsk after booting to the
the MS-DOS C: prompt ?

3. Running Chkdsk from a Windows 98SE Startup diskette

Can I run chkdsk from a Win 98SE Startup diskette ? How ?

Thank you

Alan C. Brown

5/6/2004

 

[t.cruise]

Be advised that even if the Recovery CDs came with that laptop, they might
not work if you've changed or added any hardware. A simple thing like
adding a USB mouse, wouldn't allow Dell Recovery CDs to run. On another
system, adding a CD-RW drive wouldn't allow HP Recovery CDs to work. When I
unplugged the cable for the added CD-RW, the Recovery CDs worked fine. Many
Recovery CDs look for the exact configuration as sold, or they won't work.
Also, many Recovery CDs, don't have a Repair option, and will ONLY format
the hard drive, and put it back to the way that it was when purchased, thus
losing your data files, settings, and other software that you might have
installed. If get the Recovery CDs to run, and there isn't an option to
Repair, then escape or cancel before your drive gets formatted and you do
lose everything. If the system STILL functions, and you can copy what you
wouldn't want to lose to removable media, or transfer the files by cable to
another system, then using Recovery CDs that don't offer "Repair" could be a
viable option.

For the 6 Startup floppies:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=E8FE
6868-6E4F-471C-B455-BD5AFEE126D8
--

T.C.
t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
Remove [NoSpam] to reply

Yes, I meant the one made from a Format under XP.

The only XP CDs I have, are the 3 Recovery CDs that came with my Toshiba
Satellite 5105-S702 Laptop. Is it safe to boot from them, without in the
process having my HDD repartitioned & reformatted, which would wipe out
everything ?

Otherwise, where can I download the the 6 startup floppies ?

Alan C. Brown

--------------

 

[Alan C. Brown]

1. I changed the Boot Priority to FDD>HDD>CD-ROM(>LAN), and it boots
to the External FDD with a Startup Disk inserted, and boots to the HDD when
startup is not inserted, or if the External FDD is not connected.

I meant that I have a small desktop (2.5 ft wide x 16 ins deep). Just enough
for a cup of coffee.

2. I retried chdsk (error-check) on C: from My computer > Drive >
properties>tools>error checking>select both options :

- for the error-check on C: I had to reboot, but the error-check was
aborted. The dialog that came up said something like :

"Checking file system on C: . Cannot open volume for direct
access. Windows has finished checking the disk"

- for the error-check on E : , the error-check ran from My Computer within
XP, without having to reboot. No results were presented.

- for the error-check on D : , I had to reboot, and the dialog that came ran
through the error-checking process. No results were presented.

Any idea why the error-check does not run on C: ?

Thanks for you help

Alan C. Brown
-----------------------

 

[Alan C. Brown]

I have rebooted the laptop twice since my last attempt at running an
error-check on C:, and both times it attempted to do the error-check, even
though I have not selected to do an error-check.

It seems as though it will try everytime I reboot until it succeeds, which
of course it probably will not.

Odd behaviour.

Alan C. Brown

------------------

 

[Alex Nichol]

The only XP CDs I have, are the 3 Recovery CDs that came with my Toshiba
Satellite 5105-S702 Laptop. Is it safe to boot from them, without in the
process having my HDD repartitioned & reformatted, which would wipe out
everything ?

Otherwise, where can I download the the 6 startup floppies ?

No - like most OEM makers all they provide is a means to restore to
ex-factory state, starting over clean.
The program that generates the floppies is downloadable at
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;310994
but they may not prove much use, beyond being able to run the "Recovery
Console Commands" (do a search on that including quotes in Help and
Support). In particular, the CDs will not be a source from which you
can copy back individual files. But in your specific case you *can* run
chkdsk