How to Make a Boot Disk
Level of difficulty: Easy
Knowing how to make a boot disk is very important for anyone who always uses the computer. Whenever a computer’s hard drive crashes or the Operating System is damaged, a boot disk is used to repair, reinstall, or troubleshoot the system. Floppy disks were used as boot disks for older Operating Systems, the MS-DOS, or Windows 98 systems. Presently, data burned CDs and DVDs can be used as boot disks.
Materials Needed:- Computer
- Windows OS
- Floppy Drive
- Floppy Discs
- Compact Disc (CD) or Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) Drive and CD-Rs or DVD-R
- Optical Disc Authoring Software
Step 1
Make a boot disk using a floppy drive. Insert blank disk. Navigate the Desktop. Select 'My Computer'.
Step 2
Right click on the drive’s icon. Select the 'Format' option on the scroll-down menu.
Step 3
Select either 'Create a system disk' or 'Create a MS Dos system disk' depending on the Operating System.
Step 4
Begin formatting the disk by clicking on the 'Start' button. Once completed, a floppy disc boot disk will be ready for use.
Step 5
Create a boot disk by using CDs or DVDs. Open the Optical Disc Authoring Software.
Step 6
Select the 'Make a Data CD or DVD' button or icon. Insert the desired recordable disk into the drive.
Step 7
Search for the option to 'Make this disk bootable'. The location of this option will depend on the disk writing application used. Search the available icons to find this option. Select this option. Burn the recordable disk.
Step 8
This disk can be used to boot a computer.
Step 9
It is also possible to create a Windows XP boot disk using floppy disks (4pcs). Determine the correct Microsoft Windows XP being used by the computer. Find this by right-clicking the 'My Computer' icon on the Desktop and selecting 'Properties'. Another way is to click on the 'Start' button at the lower left corner of the Desktop. Choose 'Control Panel' and double-click on the 'System' icon.
Step 10
Go to www.microsoft.com and look for the boot disk file.
Step 11
Select the appropriate boot disk resource version for the OS. Click on the link to download the file to be used. Execute the file.
Step 12
The boot maker will issue a prompt regarding the insertion of the floppy discs. Follow the instructions. Label the disks if desired.
Step 13
Test the bootable floppies by restarting the computer and inserting the first floppy disk in the floppy drive. Be sure to set the BIOS to check the floppy drive prior to reading other drives.