Laptop hard drive needs OS but can't get DOS to boot!

z-tec · 06-18-2009, 08:13 AM

I have a Dell Latitude pp01s with no internal cd/floppy. Only USB and I can't get the machine to boot from it for the life of me. I have a IDE2USB adapter for the hard drive so I tried placing DOS on the hard drive and partition another drive for Win98SE but I can't get the machine to boot. I have tried using my flash drive to boot from but the machine can't find USB. It has "Removable Devices" in the BIOS for boot option but no luck. Any ideas on how I can get 98SE on this machine or at least boot in DOS? Thanks in advance!

**blah789** · 06-19-2009, 06:48 AM

I have a desktop from 2004, and among boot options in the BIOS I have CD, hard drive, removable drive, floppy, USB CD, USB hard drive, USB floppy, and maybe others. Apparently it treats the USB ones differently. So I suspect if you don't have an entry for USB in your BIOS (expected for an older machine), you won't be able to boot from it.

z-tec · 06-19-2009, 09:00 AM

Any way to copy DOS to the hard drive manually (also edit boot sector) so I can just insert the hard drive back into the laptop and boot to DOS?

**TheOutcaste** · 06-19-2009, 12:08 PM

Connect the hard drive (not via USB) to another system that has a floppy drive. The Win98 boot floppy doesn't have USB drivers, so it won't be able to see the drive if it's connected via USB.
Boot with the Win98 startup floppy.
fdisk, create partition and reboot if needed, set the partition Active, format the drive if needed -- make sure you pick the correct drive, and not the main drive on the other system.

type sys X: where X is the drive letter of the laptop hard drive as seen on the other system. This will transfer the files to the drive to allow it to boot.
If you must connect the drive via USB, connect it to another Win98 system, then open an MS-DOS prompt to do the SYS command. I'm not sure if Fdisk will work with a USB drive, but if the drive previously has Win98 on it, the partition should already be set active.

boot to the main OS on the other system.
copy the Win98 folder from the Win98 CD to a folder on the hard drive.
If you have to copy the files while booted from the floppy, start smartdrv first (it's in the Win98 folder on the CD), it will greatly speed things up.

Put the drive back into the laptop, it should boot to a C: prompt
Type:
CD Win98
setup

HTH

Jerry

z-tec · 06-19-2009, 01:12 PM

You think this will work if I load Win98SE on virtual PC or VMware and get it to dos type commands for fdisk to work on hard drive for laptop

**TheOutcaste** · 06-19-2009, 01:23 PM

Virtual PC doesn't give you direct access to the real hard drives, and doesn't support USB drives directly.
Might work with VMWare, if it gives you direct access to USB. Don't use it so I really don't know.

z-tec · 06-19-2009, 01:43 PM

Yes vmware supports direct USB access. I will try it Monday when I get back to work, it's one of my side projects here :-). Thanks for the write up tho! I'll keep everyone posted if it works

06-18-2009, 08:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
z-tec Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 44 OS: WinXP Pro	Laptop hard drive needs OS but can't get DOS to boot! I have a Dell Latitude pp01s with no internal cd/floppy. Only USB and I can't get the machine to boot from it for the life of me. I have a IDE2USB adapter for the hard drive so I tried placing DOS on the hard drive and partition another drive for Win98SE but I can't get the machine to boot. I have tried using my flash drive to boot from but the machine can't find USB. It has "Removable Devices" in the BIOS for boot option but no luck. Any ideas on how I can get 98SE on this machine or at least boot in DOS? Thanks in advance!

06-19-2009, 06:48 AM	#2 (permalink)
blah789 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 2,329 OS: Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP3	Re: Laptop hard drive needs OS but can't get DOS to boot! I have a desktop from 2004, and among boot options in the BIOS I have CD, hard drive, removable drive, floppy, USB CD, USB hard drive, USB floppy, and maybe others. Apparently it treats the USB ones differently. So I suspect if you don't have an entry for USB in your BIOS (expected for an older machine), you won't be able to boot from it.

06-19-2009, 09:00 AM	#3 (permalink)
z-tec Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 44 OS: WinXP Pro	Re: Laptop hard drive needs OS but can't get DOS to boot! Any way to copy DOS to the hard drive manually (also edit boot sector) so I can just insert the hard drive back into the laptop and boot to DOS?

06-19-2009, 12:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
TheOutcaste TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 826 OS: MS-Dos 6.22 - Win7	Re: Laptop hard drive needs OS but can't get DOS to boot! Connect the hard drive (not via USB) to another system that has a floppy drive. The Win98 boot floppy doesn't have USB drivers, so it won't be able to see the drive if it's connected via USB. Boot with the Win98 startup floppy. fdisk, create partition and reboot if needed, set the partition Active, format the drive if needed -- make sure you pick the correct drive, and not the main drive on the other system. type sys X: where X is the drive letter of the laptop hard drive as seen on the other system. This will transfer the files to the drive to allow it to boot. If you must connect the drive via USB, connect it to another Win98 system, then open an MS-DOS prompt to do the SYS command. I'm not sure if Fdisk will work with a USB drive, but if the drive previously has Win98 on it, the partition should already be set active. boot to the main OS on the other system. copy the Win98 folder from the Win98 CD to a folder on the hard drive. If you have to copy the files while booted from the floppy, start smartdrv first (it's in the Win98 folder on the CD), it will greatly speed things up. Put the drive back into the laptop, it should boot to a C: prompt Type: CD Win98 setup HTH Jerry __________________ Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience Of course I know all the answers; I just don't always match the answers to the right questions. Rated R for Violence -- When your PC flies through a window, that's violent, right?

06-19-2009, 01:12 PM	#5 (permalink)
z-tec Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 44 OS: WinXP Pro	Re: Laptop hard drive needs OS but can't get DOS to boot! You think this will work if I load Win98SE on virtual PC or VMware and get it to dos type commands for fdisk to work on hard drive for laptop

06-19-2009, 01:23 PM	#6 (permalink)
TheOutcaste TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 826 OS: MS-Dos 6.22 - Win7	Re: Laptop hard drive needs OS but can't get DOS to boot! Virtual PC doesn't give you direct access to the real hard drives, and doesn't support USB drives directly. Might work with VMWare, if it gives you direct access to USB. Don't use it so I really don't know. __________________ Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience Of course I know all the answers; I just don't always match the answers to the right questions. Rated R for Violence -- When your PC flies through a window, that's violent, right?

06-19-2009, 01:43 PM	#7 (permalink)
z-tec Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 44 OS: WinXP Pro	Re: Laptop hard drive needs OS but can't get DOS to boot! Yes vmware supports direct USB access. I will try it Monday when I get back to work, it's one of my side projects here :-). Thanks for the write up tho! I'll keep everyone posted if it works