Boot Disks

[dimava]

Hey Whats up everyone, I'm making this program, and I need to make a DOS BOOT disk, if anyone knows how to do that, please respond, or if you aren't regestered please e-mail it to me at [email protected]


Thanks



Minne Me

[jdavison]

I believe its format a: /s

its been a while since I have used DOS.

[dimava]

What do you exactly mean when you say
A: /S





I know that A: is the floppy drive, what is /S? is it a folder or file name, or a text file that says what program to open?

[Penar]

The /s stands for "system files". It tells the format command to copy the system files to the disk after formating it, to make it bootable.

Ruben

[dimava]

Can Some one please tell me what code to write to do that?

[Negative0]

Try this

Shell "C:\windows\command\format.com A: /s",vbNormalFocus

[dimava]

Ok, What you said works, but I need it to make a DISK that could load MY program from dos, not the windows boot disk, I need it to be like an CD's AUTORUN, except on a floppy disk, and starts from dos

[Negative0]

To do that you need to create your own Autoexec.bat file, and tell it to load your program after it finishes its work.

So use the format command and then copy your custom autoexec.bat file to the disk.

[dimava]

do you know how to make autoexec.bat
I think that you make it in notepad. if so, you know what to write in notepad

[Chris]

Just wanna to know can a Visual Basic program run under DOS mode?

[dimava]

Sure, That'll be great

[Libero]

This was the strangest thread i ever seen...

[Iain17]

to create a boot disk you can also use

sys a:

Format A: /s, doesn't work in Windows NT/2000 and the new ME(the successor of win98).

[Crazy D]

A VB program can't run in DOS.
At least, not when you use the latests VB versions. I believe up to VB2, there was a DOS version.

[Paul282]

Jesus People, Didn't you ever work in tech support?

Under win 95/98 you can use Sys.com.

C:\windows\command\sys.com

followed by the drive letter you wish to make bootable. If it's a HDD then the partition needs to be active (see Fdisk.exe) Otherwise Command.com is coppied and the boot sector updated (although not the Mater boot record, but that's not important unless the MBR was corrupt or was running linux)

NT and Win2k do not have a copy of sys.com for you to use because these these systems don't boot from command.com and have nothing to transfer. Further more if they are running NTFS and you do boot them from a boot disk you will not have access to the main file system files.

So, To answer your question. Use sys.com on dos/95/98 (using shell or the API) and forget it on win2k and NT as these systems are not designed to be accessed this way (although you may need to us a recovery disk to reload your SCSI RAID Partitions)

You can't distribute the sys.com as it will try to copy the local command.com of the same version. IE, Win95b (with Fat32 support) is not usable with the sys.com from win95a (first release) and of course NT doesn't have a command.com to distribute.

What are you actually trying to do? Just boot a system? There are programs built in to operating systems for generating recovery disks...

[dimava]

Ok, What I'm trying to do is make a password program (that loads before the explorer does), so I need to make an Emergancy Boot Disk that will start may other program that will change the context of a .DAT file. And Dependin on what that .DAT file is, My password program (that loads before the explorer) will do diffrent things.

[dndstef]

Hey guys come on it's basic tech stuff.
Didn't you ever look at technical informations.

-First of all you don't need DOS boot disk, just a simple windows boot disk
*(not a repair disk from windows). And no matter what people have
told you if you would have needed a DOS boot disk it's *Impossible* to do one with
windows. A windows boot disk boot in DOS mode but it's different than a DOS boot disk.
Using the sys command of windows will make a Windows (DOS mode) boot disk.

But if you want your VB application to create a boot disk.

x = Shell ("C:\windows\command\format.com A: /s", 1)

or

x = Shell ("C:\windows\command\sys A: ", 1)

-Second forget it you can not make a VB application that run in DOS mode, unless you
have a pre VB3 version. Otherwise you will have to do it in C/C++. Turbo C++ is relatively easy find.

So if you don't understant what i said! Well have your work cut out for you !!!

If you want more information send me a E-mail.

[Stick]

You Can't Run windows apps with out explorer

LOL

VB 1.0 Is in Windows (very shity)
VB IS NOT DOS COMPATABLE
BASIC IS DOS
"VISUAL BASIC" is WINDOWS

DUH>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



Later Ya'll

[Mih_Flyer]

this is a very very very nice thread, were you awake when you asked about VB apps in DOS??? i feel like in 1990 , autoexec.bat and config.sys and Borland c++ with the blue screen, yeek, and if you want to make a simple program just to show u a very simple menu you have to write 2 kilometers of code, yeeeeeeek, and if u simply forget the " ; " in the end of the line, you will have 2000001 errors, yeeeek, and the installation processes, PLEASE INSERT DISK #1 ,,,PLEASE INSERT DISK #2, #3, #4......#109 ,,that was very boring, and the versions of dos which has no DELTREE command, if you have a folder "i mean directory" with many subfolders, you will have to enter every single subfolder, and use DEL. and then RD subfoldername,,,,,blah blah blah, BORING, and use that NC program, with a very nice 2 tree lists, yeeeeeeek, and that game "Prince" 1 and 2, hehehehehe, but the best thing was NO CRASHES , that was the only nice thing, at least i think.
What do u guys think??????

[dimava]

actually you could, I already tried it and it worked

[dimava]

This thread is really going no where, could someone help me? If you need more details contact me at [email protected] (aol screen name: dimava)

[Edited by dimava on 06-17-2000 at 11:43 PM]

[Paul282]

I'm not sure what you want to hear??? There are many basic facts pointed out to you on this thread that you haven't explained...

1.) VB requires windows (you can use the API so make a command prompt program but you still need windows active (because you need the winAPI for that)

2.) What is the APP on the boot disk? a VB app????? with it's run time library???? or just some dos program you've written in C or basic?

No one on this thread is really clear what you're trying to achieve but they've given you the benefit of the doubt that you know what you're doing in a general sense and just tried to answer you're sys question.

If you're running from a boot disk, windows won't load, without windows there is no VB (even if you managed to get command.com, your app and the vbrun file onto a foppy.

We just assumed you weren't trying to do that, and maybe you're not!

We answered what little of the question you gave us about how to make a boot disk... we can't guess the rest of the questions because we're lost as to what you're doing.

Please explain.

[dndstef]

I agree with Paul282

If you need to run your app on a disk and boot with it
you can't do what you want to do.
You would need to have the entire windows graphic system
on the boot disk to make your app run or something
unthinkable like that.

It's a little bit impossible to do you project.
Not with VB. At least.

And many of our answers pointed to that.

[dimava]

Ok, what I need is the following:


what I want to happen is I put in a floppy disk (before the computer starts) then when the computer starts it reads the disk and deletes C:\test.dat

Now what I need is to know how to make the computer delete c:\test.dat when it starts

[Mih_Flyer]

to delete, you can simply add a line to autoexec.bat to delete it:
del c:\test.dat
That's it

[Chris]

I think what you need is just add this line in your Autoexec.bat of your Boot Disk will do

Del C:\test.dat

[dimava]

in what program can I make the file Autoexe.bat? I am assuming that I can make that in notpade but I'm no sure

[Chris]

All you need is just open the notepad and type the following parameter.

ECHO OFF
DEL C:\test.dat

[Paul282]

Originally posted by dimava
in what program can I make the file Autoexe.bat? I am assuming that I can make that in notpade but I'm no sure

Autoexec.bat is just a windows batch file that auto-executes at boot.

You just fill it up with normal dos commands and it runs them one at a time.

It's just a text file with a .bat extention

[dimava]

Ok, thanks I'll try that

[spidie-man]

well when you think about it, windows 95/98 have an option that let you "log into" the pc but you can click on cancel and there goes the only real reason for a passord.
now this "log into" option is just an app that loads up just after explorer, then just hide everything from the user.
this is just a theory of mine, and like most of my theorys(ie: the world IS flat, we are round) they tend to be wrong, so we'll wait for that med student to reply and see if i'm right...

[dimava]

yea I was thinking the same thing a while ago, but I doubt it.

[dimava]

|THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO TRIED TO HELP!!!||
||||||||||||IT WORKED PERFECTLY|||||||||||
|||||||AND ONCE AGAIN THANKS TO ALL!!!||||
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