HOW TO MAKE WINDOWS ME
BOOT AND STARTUP FLOPPY DISKS
last updated: 9/25/00

How to Make a Startup Floppy My Way.

1.  Format a floppy disk.

3.  Go to the c:\windows\command\ebd folder and double-click the EBD.CAB.

4.  Hold the Ctrl key and click the following files to select them:

ATTRIB.EXE
EDIT.COM
EXT.EXE
FORMAT.COM
MSCDEX.EXE
SCANDISK.EXE
SYS.COM

5.  Right click any one of them while all of them are highlighted and extract to A: when prompted.

6.  Likewise, select the following files from C:\windows\command\ebd and copy them to A:

AUTOEXEC.BAT
COMMAND.COM
CONFIG.SYS
EXTRACT.EXE
FDISK.EXE
IO.SYS
HIMEM.SYS
OAKCDROM.SYS

You may need the SCSI CD-ROM drivers (those starting with ASP and BT and ending with.SYS) if you have a SCSI CD-ROM drive; however, the OAK CDROM.SYS driver will work with most ATAPI, IDE CD-ROMs and will be sufficient for the vast majority of PC's in use today.  You may also need to install a specific CD-ROM driver for your computer (see below).

7.  Go to C:\windows\command and copy the following files to A:

MEM.EXE
DELTREE.EXE
DISKCOPY.EXE
SCANREG.EXE
XCOPY.EXE
XCOPY32.EXE
XCOPY.MOD

One can determine what these tools do by opening a DOS Window in Win Me and typing the command followed by /?.  For example:

C:\windows> mem /?

8.  Use the Windows Notepad to edit the config.sys file (on floppy A:) so it looks like this:

[menu]
menuitem=CD, Start computer with CD-ROM support.
menuitem=NOCD, Start computer without CD-ROM support.
menucolor=7,0

[CD]
device=oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001

[NOCD]

[COMMON]
files=10
buffers=10
dos=high,umb
stacks=9,256
lastdrive=z

The easy way to do this is to highlight all of the text, above, you want in the new config.sys file, right-click the mouse on the highlighted portion, select copy, open the config.sys on the floppy with the Notepad, highlight all of the text, right-click on the highlighted text, and select paste).

9.  Edit the Autoexec.bat file on floppy A: so it looks like this:

@ECHO OFF
path=a:\;c:\windows;c:\windows\command
IF "%config%"=="NOCD" GOTO NOCD
LH a:\MSCDEX.EXE /D:mscd001
GOTO EXIT

:NOCD
echo CD-ROM driver not installed as selected in the menu. Reboot to reselect.

:EXIT

10.  Test the floppy and make sure the CD-ROM driver works.  After testing the floppy and installing another CD-ROM driver, if needed, run a virus scan on it and write-protect it so it can't catch a virus.

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