Install MS-DOS 7.10 onto XP-Based Systems

[Plamdi]

I like helping out, so here is how I install MS-DOS onto my Windows XP based system. FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Now let's assume you installed Windows XP onto C:\ and that you formatted C:\ as FAT-32. Here is how to install Windows 7.10:

1. Copy all required MS-DOS files to your HDD. I've used C:\DOS\DOS7.1 as my folder containing all MS-DOS files, and C:\DOS\TOOLS containing 3rd party command-line tools. You can find all required files from a Windows 98 CD, but it's a lot easier to simply copy them from a Windows 98 installation directory \Windows\command. Here is a list of all the files I have in C:\DOS\DOS7.1. Keep in mind some files such as help.com are copied from other versions of DOS:

C:\DOS\DOS7.1\ANSI.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\ASPI2DOS.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\ASPI4DOS.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\ASPI8DOS.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\ASPI8U2.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\ASPICD.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\ATTRIB.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\BTCDROM.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\BTDOSM.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\CHKDSK.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\CHOICE.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\COMMAND.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\COUNTRY.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\CVT.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DBLBUFF
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DBLSPACE.BAT
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DBLSPACE.BIN
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DBLSPACE.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DEBUG.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DEFRAG.BAT
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DELTREE.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DISKCOPY.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DISPLAY.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DOSKEY.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DRVSPACE.BAT
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DRVSPACE.BIN
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DRVSPACE.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\EDIT.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\EDIT.HLP
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\EDIT.INI
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\EGA.CPI
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\EMM386.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\EXPAND.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\EXT.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\EXTRACT.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\FASTHELP.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\FC.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\FDISK.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\FIND.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\FINDRAMD.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\FLASHPT.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\FORMAT.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\HELP.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\HELP.HLP
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\HIMEM.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\IEXTRACT.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\IFSHLP.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\IO.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\KEYB.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\KEYBOARD.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\KEYBRD2.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\KEYBRD3.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\KEYBRD4.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\LABEL.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\MEM.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\MODE.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\MORE.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\MOVE.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\MSCDEX.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\NLSFUNC.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\OAKCDROM.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\QBASIC.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\QBASIC.HLP
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\RAMDRIVE.SYS
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\RESTART.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\SCANDISK.BAT
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\SCANDISK.EX~
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\SCANDISK.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\SCANDISK.INI
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\SCANREG.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\SMARTDRV.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\SORT.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\START.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\SUBST.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\SYS.COM
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\XCOPY.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\XCOPY32.EXE
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\XCOPY32.MOD
C:\DOS\DOS7.1\DBLBUFF\DBLBUFF.SYS

2. Make a boot disk. There's not a lot to this one, you can use the standard Windows 98 boot disk if you like. Just be sure to copy DEBUG.EXE onto your floppy disk. You also need the following 3 batch file for your boot-disk:

BSSAVE.BAT

@echo off
md c:\dos
echo LCS:100 2 0 1 > c:\boot.tmp
echo rcx >> c:\boot.tmp
echo 200 >> c:\boot.tmp
echo n c:\dos\bootsect.dat >> c:\boot.tmp
echo wcs:100 >> c:\boot.tmp
echo q >> c:\boot.tmp
echo. >> c:\boot.tmp
debug < c:\boot.tmp
del c:\boot.tmp
ECHO HARD DISK BOOTSECTOR STORED AS C:\DOS\BOOTSECT.DAT

NTBSSAVE.BAT

@echo off
md c:\dos
echo LCS:100 2 0 1 > c:\boot.tmp
echo rcx >> c:\boot.tmp
echo 200 >> c:\boot.tmp
echo n c:\bootsect >> c:\boot.tmp
echo wcs:100 >> c:\boot.tmp
echo q >> c:\boot.tmp
echo. >> c:\boot.tmp
debug < c:\boot.tmp
del c:\boot.tmp
copy c:\bootsect a:\bootsect
ECHO HARD DISK BOOTSECTOR STORED AS C:\BOOTSECT AND A:\BOOTSECT

BSWRITE.BAT

@echo off
ECHO THIS FILE WILL WRITE A:\BOOTSECT TO THE PRIMARY HARD DISK BOOTSECTOR!
ECHO EXPECT YOUR COMPUTER TO RESTART UPON COMPLEATION.
ECHO.
ECHO PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE, OR CTRL-C TO QUIT.
echo WCS:100 2 0 1 > a:\boot.tmp
echo q >> a:\boot.tmp
echo. >> a:\boot.tmp
debug a:\bootsect < a:\boot.tmp
del a:\boot.tmp
echo g=ffff:0|debug

3. Boot from your floppy. This is the fun part. From the MS-DOS prompt (A:\) type, after each line press enter (though if you needed to know this, maybe installing MS-DOS isn't for you!):

1. NTBSSAVE
   
2. SYS C:
   
3. BSSAVE
   
4. BSWRITE
   

Let me say this again: YOU MUST BE BOOTING FROM THE FLOPPY AND YOU MUST HAVE BSWRITE, THE SAVED NT BOOTSECTOR AND DEBUG.EXE ON THE FLOPPY - NOT ON YOUR HDD!

You may get away with using a RAM-drive instead of a floppy... but I haven't tested it, and you would still have to boot from a floppy or a CD and not from your HDD. This is what the process does:

• NTBSSAVE - this saves your bootsector to C:\BOOTSECT and A:\BOOTSECT. The NT Bootsector is what tells your HDD to load up NTLDR, NTLDR then initiates the Windows NT kernel which makes booting Windows XP possible.
  
• SYS C: - this transfers the MS-DOS system to C:. This copies the required files IO.SYS, COMMAND.COM - and generates empty config.sys, autoexec.bat and msdos.sys files. It also overwrites the bootsector on the HDD - meaning the HDD will now load up IO.SYS instead, it will no longer load up NTLDR!
  
• BSSAVE - this saves the MS-DOS ("Windows 98") bootsector to C:\DOS\BOOTSECT.DAT.
  
• BSWRITE - this overwrites the HDD BOOTSECTOR. This is a dangerous operation, and could result in your HDD becoming unusable, requiring reformatting. I strongly suggest you back-up all sensitive data on C: BEFORE attempting this. BSWRITE cannot use any files on the HDD to write to the bootsector. The system will "crash" upon completion. In other words, it will restart. The alternative to using BSWRITE is to boot into the Recovery Console from your Windows XP installation disc, and from there restoring the bootsector. This process of course takes between 5-10 minutes, considering the amount of time it takes to boot-up recovery console from the CD. It's a good idea to verify that the nt-bootsector stored on your floppy is in good order (compare it to the one on the HDD).
  

You're done. The only thing left is to edit your boot.ini file (and of course, make yourself some config.sys and autoexec.bat files). You must now add the following line to boot.ini:

C:\DOS\BOOTSECT.DAT="MS DOS 7.10"

You can also delete the file C:\BOOTSECT. This is the "back-up" copy of your Windows NT bootsector.

You must add it in the [Operating Systems] section. You can add it above or below Windows XP, where ever you prefer. At the end your boot.ini may look something like this:

[Boot Loader]
timeout=6
Default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINXP

[Operating Systems]
C:\DOS\BOOTSECT.DAT="MS DOS 7.10"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINXP="Microsoft Windows XP Pro" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

[os2fan2]

io.sys, msdos.sys, and command.com also need to be in the root directory.

You might look at a proggie called 'bootpart.exe' from http:\www.winimage.com , which allows you to add a boot-sector for MS-DOS or Windows 9x separately. For MS-DOS 7.x, use the Win9x boot-sector.

[Plamdi]

io.sys, msdos.sys, and command.com also need to be in the root directory.

You might look at a proggie called 'bootpart.exe' from http:\www.winimage.com , which allows you to add a boot-sector for MS-DOS or Windows 9x separately. For MS-DOS 7.x, use the Win9x boot-sector.

Yes, but the above steps use only internal Microsoft commands/files. IO.SYS MSDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM are transferred with the SYS command.

I have a question for you, however - do you know of a program which would be capable of formatting an NTFS partion under MS-DOS (assuming you have a suitible NTFS TSR like NTFS4DOS)?

[LLXX]

A WINXP.COM that loads Windows XP from the command prompt would be nice

I tried making one to load Win2000 a while ago but never finished it.

[MOONLIGHT SONATA]

Plamdi, excellent work!

However, i've a few questions regarding the thing you achieve.

1. Can the whole thing be done during unattended installation depending on correct detection of File System type? To clarify more, if a hard disk is multi-partitioned and if the deployment media is used to install XP into different partitions, then can we use previously-built BOOTSECT.DAT to avoid running from floppy?

2. If that's possible then how to avoid use of bswrite.bat from floppy? Can we use already saved A:\BOOTSECT into the procedure?

I know what i'm asking is mostly improbable, but my query is in line with how Microsoft makes and uses BOOTSECT.DAT when it does local installation of Recovery Console.

Your opinion will be highly valuable in this regard.

Thanks.

[jaclaz]

@MOONLIGHT SONATA

No, the bootsect.dat carries GEOMETRY information of the specific partition/disk, so it has to be generated "on the spot" of course if you have a number of systems partitioned EXACTLY in the same manner you can use a single bootsect.dat.

As os2fan3 pointed out the freeware bootpart utility is much more convenient, and by using it there is no need whatsoever to boot from floppy.

Besides, UNLIKE MS-DOS 6.22, in which IO.SYS needed to be FIRST file on partition, and thus the need for either SYS.COM or BOOTPART REWRITEROOT:C:, MS-DOS 7.x, i.e. WIn9x one, has NOT this limitation.

All you need to do is to copy the files to the root of the partition and create the bootsector with bootpart, which will also graciously update BOOT.INI.

Cannot say if it can be done during first part of unattended, but definitely it can be done thorugh a .cmd file once 2K/XP is installed, possibly with a Runonce or RunonceEx entry.

jaclaz

Edited May 1, 2007 by jaclaz

[MOONLIGHT SONATA]

@jaclaz,

Thanks. You may not believe, but when i asked i had you in my mind...i was expecting a response from you. Surely, your response settled all doubts. Now, i can really focus on successfull implementation of Plamdis' method and your knowledge.

Since i joined MSFN and started browsing forum topics, jaclaz you remain in my memory with a term which whenever comes to my mind, it reminds me of you. "minigoogle" - you're synonymous with this term to whoever visits this site. Everytime we people are short in knowledge and knowledge base articles, jaclaz a.k.a "minigoogle" saves our day by posting those links and URLs. Web doesn't grow without leaving its footprint in your memory. Thanks for great service to learning.

[jaclaz]

jaclaz

[yugiohadvance]

hello. why don't you create the program for ms-dos to copy the required files and tweaks together for those to make this simple.