# MS-DOS bootdisk with access to hard disk



## douglas23 (May 18, 2005)

I am looking for what thread title says. I guess the problem is that Linux uses a different file system, that's why my usb memory boot disk can't find the hard disk... Please help!


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## batty_professor (Jul 29, 2004)

You've lost me on the thread title request. I have posted an answer to your other thread regarding this.


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## douglas23 (May 18, 2005)

Nope, I've asked on the old thread how to install XP on a drive with this linux distro, www.linex.org. And I said that I can't install a CD drive on it even temporarily. There's some problem with the cable that connects the drive to the motherboard, but the others are fine, and I know that XP can run without a CD drive. So okay, I can run FDISK.EXE from the USB windows 98 bootdisk (only command line, of course) to make a partition. But the computer seems that doesn't recognize the hard disk (C: is the usb memory). Or is that the hard disk is in another letter? If so, how can I know it?


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## batty_professor (Jul 29, 2004)

fdisk will default to drive C: which is your USB drive. In the fdisk menu there should be a line that says "change current drive" . That should find the hard disk. It should show having a non-dos partition.


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## douglas23 (May 18, 2005)

As I've told you, fdisk can't find the hard drive. I've tried this bootdisk with more PCs and I get the same problem. That's why I'm asking for another bootdisk, another problem is that most of the ones floating around the net are only for diskettes, and I don't know how to write them on my usb memory...


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## batty_professor (Jul 29, 2004)

How is your hard drive connected? IDE? ATA? or SATA? Other? Or what drive controller(s) are shown in the system bios? The bootdisks may just not include the drivers to communicate with the drive. The fact that fdisk isn't seeing your hard disk is not a Linux issue. Under the circumstances, I don't think fdisk would find the drive even with any flavor of windows or dos on it. I do believe if you can get the windows installation cd onto the USB drive, that should have the driver software and partitioning capable of finding the drive.


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## douglas23 (May 18, 2005)

Windows disk is bigger than my 256MB memory. Sorry for my n00bisness, fdisk found the hard disk and says EXT2 DOS partition, but that's Linux one right?. After making the partition it gives me an error while accesing the hard disk D:
How can I access the linux partition from DOS? There are tools on the net to view them, but they are for windows...

By the way this is the bootdisk I'm using boot98se


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## batty_professor (Jul 29, 2004)

EXT2 would be a Linux partition. DOS of course is not. Partition sizes, you should find the 256 MB USB drive, I expect to register as C: a 2 MB ramdrive the bootdisk made in the RAM as D: and the hard drive to be at least a couple of gigs that shows up as E: non dos partition. One thing really bothers me, If you succeed in removing the Linux partition, how do you expect to get XP installed? Since it's not going to fit the USB drive. Are you sure I can't assist in getting a CD rom to come to life on this machine? Knowing more about the computer would help me understand.


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## douglas23 (May 18, 2005)

I'm a bit lost too. What do you mean with expect to register as C: a 2 MB ramdrive? There's a 2 MB ramdrive on letter D. After making the partition D becomes the hard disk and E the ramdrive. C is still the usb memory. Anyway, when accessing the hard disk it says "Invalid media type reading D drive"



> If you succeed in removing the Linux partition


I didn't. I've just made another that doesn't work. 

In the end I've decided to install windows 95 or 98 because they can be installed from DOS, and because I don't want to use an NTFS partition.


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