Dual Boot? how to add DOS to XP install?

Hi,

Yesterday I (re)built and old office computer to use it to run a CNC machine.

The system is a 2.4 GHz P4 on an Intel D850MV with 1GB RamBus 800 memory. Ironically, the CNC people speak about DAW builders when they explain the need to optimize the Windows install, so I had a lot of fun installing WinXP SP1 and disabling or uninstalling almost everything.

Anyways, After installing XP I have leaned that I may wish to use this machine in DOS and not use the XP command window.

This morning I found my old floppy disk set of MS-DOS 6.22. It's on 3 floppies.

My computer isn't equipped wit a floppy drive... and i fact I disabled the floppy "device" in XP.

I'd like to set up a dual boot system... and I'd like to somehow use my 6.22 disks to make a CD that I can install the MS-DOS from.

The hard drive is formatted with FAT32. I have a 20GB C: partition and a 100GB D: partition.

I have several other computers that have floppys drives so I lan to make a CD on one of those CPUs.

I feel obliged to acknowledge that to date, Jose Catena has offered some advice in a related thread:

"If you want to install dos after XP, backup the boot sector, install dos, restore boot sector, and edit boot.ini to include your DOS boot as in the example that follows:
[operating systems]
C:\="DOS" "

I am clueless when it comes to any thing having to do with command prompts so I'm hoping to work thru this until I understand a step by step process.

Does anyone else have any info they can share? I'll be off googling all afternoon :-)

Thanks.

I'm willing to learn.

:-)

The app that I want to run in DOS has a friendly sort of GUI... it's just that the vendors are reluctant to move from DOS to Windows because they say the background services cause inconsistencies.

Apparently it's easy to burn out the controller boards on a CNC machine as well as the motors, mill blades etc. if stuttering occurs and they find they can control the machines fine in DOS.

I don't know much about it yet... but I did wait until a Windows controller program became fairly common... So I have that on order and and am working with an older Win version today.

I need to have the DOS available as a backup plan.

thanks,
mike

I'll put a little step by step guide here.
For now, you have MS-6.22 floppies, but you don't have where to read them. 6.22 is not good anyway (no fat32 support if I remember well). Best is 7.10 (from win98se) but incomplete, that you could extract from win98se media, but I suppose you don't know how to do it.
I have all versions you can imagine, and then a few more. But as stupid as it may look, it would be illegal if I upload MS-DOS, IBM-DOS, DR-DOS, etc, even if they are not for sale nowadays. I could upload FreeDos instead, which is totally legal and the most updated and complete.
While I recopile the bits you will need to install after XP, I recommend you to search and download Hiren's BootCD. It's a DOS bootable CD that can get you started easily, and includes a large collection of useful DOS utilities.
If you can, tell me if you can boot from it and access the CDROM from DOS. Perhaps you couldn't: newer controllers need a new CDROM driver that I think is not in Hiren's.
The link I provided earlier for FreeDos also contains a CD iso image for the bootable installer, but I think the same problem with the CDROM driver may arise.
I need to think about what would be the easiest route for you. For now I think it will be a FreeDos bootable usb stick, but there are some tricky steps. If I could write an usb stick for you it would be the easiest both for you and me, but it would involve mailing it to you and making some payment through Paypal or something... Let me think...

Hi Jose,

I went back to FreeDos link that you provided: http://sourceforge.net/projects/freedos/

and downloaded this file: kernel2038-fat32-binary.zip

So what do I do with it? I can't find any docs to explain. Do I unzip and then make a ISO disc of it?

edit to change: I found a USBformat app at one of the Hiren sites. The Hiren site seemed like something out of the Matrix. :-)

After reading your last post it seems you are advising that I at least attempt a bootable CD... so that is what I would like to do.

That's why I downloaded the FreeDOS... with the intention of burning a CD.

Can you explain the next step?

thanks,
mike

I've downloaded and burned the CD as an ISO.

What's next?

FWIW, I just now have found that FreeDOS.org IS on line... it was error 404 for me all day yesterday... so now I'm feeling a bit more optimistic about learning this.

best regards,
mike

OK, Thanks very much.

I'm a bit distracted today... I will return when I have completed the instructions above.

In the meantime... here's a preview of a 1" wrench. I made it last night following a tutorial for my benchtop CNC Mill.

You might imagine that engraved face plates for DIY electronic gear and perhaps DIY etched "pcb" boards will soon be something I can attempt.

:-)





thanks again,
mike

It was 2' x 1/8" flat aluminum stock. I cut it in 3 passes... it took about 20 minutes.

best,
mike

No not yet.

I'm like a mule... I felt a compulsion to learn G-code. I pulled 3 all nighters and have some G-code chops now :-)

Unfortunately I'm getting older and the three all nighters have left me feeling like I went to the Crossroads.

Unfortunately, I'm getting older and the only way I can learn stuff at a deep level is too cloister myself away in a cave so I'm not distracted. Doing it all in 72 hours is the only way to minimize phone and wife distractions. :-)

So, now I'm back.

And... I think my old hard drive s about to die (re my other Chkdsk thread) so I have an opportunity to actually install DOS properly.

Which brings me too..

I have the FreeDos disk and it's time to review how to install DOS first and then XP for a dual boot system.

I'm ramping up for that project right now.


thanks and best regards,
mike