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Windows Forum / Windows 95 / November 2003Does not recognize hard-disk C: from boot diskette
I need to create a boot floppy for Windows95 PC. Neither the original boot diskette nor any other newly created boot diskette (including from bootdisk.com) will recognize the system hard drive C:. The CDROM's are being recognized (and are identified by me as R: drive to prevent conflict with harddisk). This is ONLY a problem with boot diskettes. When booting normally everything works OK: harddisks are recognized and identified as C: and D:. Who can help ? Thanks !! Jan The computer may be using drive overlay software. Start the computer and watch the screen closely for any special instructions for booting from a floppy. Some overlay programs use the spacebar to stop the bootup while you insert the floppy. Ben > I need to create a boot floppy for Windows95 PC. > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Thanks !! > Jan What do you mean by 'booting normally'? The boot process does not recognise hard disks, but partitions. If the partitions aren't seen as valid DOS partitions then drive letters won't be assigned, regardless of whether the drives are working properly or not. If your normal boot procedure is loading a drive manager, such as EZ-BIOS, then you have non-standard partitioning that will not be recognised unless the drive manager software is loaded. This would usually apply where the drives (or, in some cases, their predecessors) were installed in a machine that could not handle large capacity hard drives, and therefore required the drive manager software. If this is the problem, then there should be a procedure for getting the drive manager software loaded. For instance, you might start the boot from the hard drive, interrupt it with a special key after the software is loaded, and continue booting from the startup floppy. Another possibility is that there is a procedure to create a startup floppy with the drive manager software on it. It depends of which variety of drive manager you are using. -- Jeff Richards MS MVP W95/W98 > I need to create a boot floppy for Windows95 PC. > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Thanks !! > Jan Dear Jef, Thanks for the assistance. Your first part re partitions I understand; your second part unfortunately not. My system hard disk C: has never been changed so (probably) factory-partitioned to be C:. Size is 2G (which should be okay for Win95 to handle). Still, normal boot my C: (and other) partition is recognized; using manufacturer boot-floppy or bootdisk.com created boot diskette does not recognize my C: (nor D:). In my config.sys I cannot find any line referring to a harddisk- or partition driver, except perhaps "fcbshigh=1"? Thanks, Jan >-----Original Message----- >What do you mean by 'booting normally'? [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > >. The software for the drive manager is not loaded in CONFIG.SYS, but is loaded as part of the boot process before the system starts looking at any files. If it wasn't loaded like this, then it would never find the files to load the driver from! If this is the problem (and it's likely, but not for sure) then there should be a message of some sort on screen immediately before the point where you see the system processing DOS boot files. It seems from your comment, and the fact that you are running W95, that the machine may be quite old - this is what makes it likely that it needed a drive manager to handle a large (and 2Gb was large in those days) hard disk. If you boot to DOS from the startup disk that doesn't work and do FDISK /STATUS then I believe that you will get a display indicating that the drive is fully used, but there are no DOS partitions. This would pretty much confirm that drive management software is the problem. Here is a description of the problem for XP - the issue is the same for any operating system. It includes a good list of names that you might recognise either at startup or somewhere in your system or amongst your CDs. http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315679 Problems with Drive Overlay Programs in Windows XP -- Jeff Richards MS MVP W95/W98 > Dear Jef, > Thanks for the assistance. Your first part re partitions [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Thanks, > Jan Hi Jef, I appreciate your explanations, I better understand now. However, I do not see why my system boots fine without floppy, and when using any bootdiskette it fails to recognize partitions. Normal boot: all work fine, diskpartitions are recognized. Checked in the BIOS: all settings and HDD identifications are OK. I am using Maxtor HDDs. When booting from diskette, the following happens: - memory loaded - harddisks (2) recognized - cd drives (2) recognized - boot floppy detected (and then the loading of device drivers etc). Only in this case the system then fails to recognize C:, so I cannot access my C; drive. Reading your "drive overlap" explanation, I would think if this is the cause it should also occur at normal boot (without floppy). So how can this be the cause ? I will run the Maxtor SCSI software to check my HDD out. Thanks again, Jan >-----Original Message----- >The software for the drive manager is not loaded in CONFIG.SYS, but is [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > >. >I will run the Maxtor SCSI software to check my HDD out. Why do you think this drive is SCSI? According to the Config.sys, no SCSI driver is being installed. All of the SCSI-based systems I have seen have to install a SCSI driver before they can boot from the harddisk. (I am wondering if there are SCSI systems that are not like this.) Bill Starbuck (MVP) The software for the drive manager is embedded in the boot sector of the hard drive. When you boot from the hard drive the software is loaded and the partitions can be recognised. When you boot from floppy the hard drive boot sector is not accessed, the software is not loaded, and the partitions are invisible. Now you have mentioned SCSI there is a set of entirely different possibilities. Is this a SCSI drive? The Maxtor drive manager software is called MaxBlast. -- Jeff Richards MS MVP W95/W98 > Hi Jef, > I appreciate your explanations, I better understand now. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > (without floppy). So how can this be the cause ? > I will run the Maxtor SCSI software to check my HDD out. Jeff, Your remark re: "The software for the drive manager is embedded in the boot sector of the hard drive", concerns me a little. The root reason for my bootdiskette problem was that I need to do a full cleanup of my harddisk (ie. format), and make a fresh installation. When formatting C:, then this drive manager software will also be erased ? Can I then still access my drive ? What happens if after formatting the process is stopped, can I then still boot from diskette and find this drive manager to access my C; partition ? Jan >-----Original Message----- >The software for the drive manager is embedded in the boot sector of the [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > >. The drive manager certainly does complicate things, and you need to be cautious. Formatting affects partitions, not drives. So if you booted from floppy and didn't see any partitions (which is what happens if the drive manager isn't loaded) then there's nothing to format, which is where your whole problem started. Once you are booted properly, whether from floppy or hard drive, the partitions are visible and can be formatted. The formatting process does not affect the boot sector and does not interfere with the drive manager software. In fact, since the drive manager software is loaded and running, it actually tries to protect itself from damage by trapping any attempt to update the boot record. Since it takes control so early in the boot process, it's actually quite difficult to remove. When you format C everything in the partition will be removed, but the boot records are not touched. You will still boot by allowing access to the hard disk first, but if you don't press the special key and continue booting from floppy, the boot process will fail because it doesn't find an operating system. If you have confirmed that your boot floppy is working (with access to the hard drive partitions), and that you have access to your CD for re-installing DOS/Windows, and you have your registration ID and drivers for your devices that need them, then you can reinstall Windows into the partition you just cleared with the format. -- Jeff Richards MS MVP W95/W98 > Jeff, > Your remark re: "The software for the drive manager is [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > drive manager to access my C; partition ? > Jan Jeff, A very clear description. It has been a great help to me and for me to understandthe process better. Once again, thanks a lot ! Jan >-----Original Message----- >The drive manager certainly does complicate things, and you need to be [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > >. >I need to create a boot floppy for Windows95 PC. > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >Thanks !! >Jan Hi Jan. Watch your screen carefully while you are booting the computer from the hard drive, especially during the first stages prior to the Windows 95 startup splash screen coming on. If you are using a Drive Overlay (and your symptoms are the classic ones for this situation) then you will see a message from the overlay software come on the screen briefly just before the first Windows 95 startup screen shows. It will mention the name of the overlay program, such as MaxBlast, Disk Manager, or EZDrive; and should include instructions for booting from a diskette such as: "press the spacebar to boot from a diskette". Good luck Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada  SignatureMicrosoft MVP On-Line Help Computer Service http://onlinehelp.bc.ca "The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much." YESS !! Dear Ron and Jeff, Apologies for being so boot-illitarite, but yes: this is the explanation. Found the EZ-BIOS statement, and as Jeff suggested, continued to boot from floppy, and then the system will find its C: partition. A great lot of thanks and keep on going !! Jan >-----Original Message----- > [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > >Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada Glad to hear that you got it sorted out. -- Jeff Richards MS MVP W95/W98 > YESS !! > Dear Ron and Jeff, [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > A great lot of thanks and keep on going !! > Jan >-----Original Message----- >I need to create a boot floppy for Windows95 PC. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >Jan >because there is one fuction of the boot disk to start the pc in an emergecy once its started youre suppose to correct the error >. |
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