Create a dos boot disk with network functions

Source: Skynet

This article shows you how to use a blank MB Floppy disk, an NT server4.0 disc, a ms-dos NIC driver, and a windows operating system to create a network boot disk with netbeui and TCP/IP functions. So you must prepare these tools. In addition, because the boot disk of nt4 does not support fat32, you must prepare a fat partition to store the files we need for dos access.

Step 1:

Prepare a blank floppy disk and place the ntserver4.0 disc in the optical drive (assuming the optical drive is e :). Execute e: supporthqtoolmakedisk. bat to create an nt4 boot disk. This disk is the foundation for creating a network boot disk in the future.

Step 2:

After executing makedisk. bat in the previous step, delete a: zipfile.exe, a: setramd. bat, a: dosindramd.exe, a: dosamdrive. sys in the floppy disk. No way. We need to save as much space as possible to store what we need ^_^.

Step 3:

Some files have been deleted in the previous step. We must modify them in autoexec. bat and config. sys. Otherwise, an error is reported during the startup of the floppy disk, and the file cannot be found. Modify the content of the: autoexec. bat file as follows:

@ Echo off
Prompt $ p $ g
Set path = A: DOS

Modify the config. sys content as follows:

DEVICE = A: DOSHIMEM. SYS
DEVICE = A: DOSEMM386.EXE FRAME = NONE
DOS = HIGH, UMB
FILES = 30
BUFFERS = 20
LASTDRIVE = Z
STACKS = 9,256
SHELL = A: COMMAND. com a:/E: 512/P

Step 4:

Now we have a ms-dos boot disk. Copy the entire e: clientsmsclientetsetup folder on the nt disc to the hard disk. Make sure that the hard disk is accessible under dos. Suppose we copy it to the c: etsetup directory.

In addition, we also need the NIC dos driver. For nic drivers, we need the windows for workgroup3.11 (wfw311) driver. Or the driver in the nids2dos directory. Suppose we copy the driver to the c: ic directory.

Step 5:

Now we use this boot disk to boot.

Enter c: etsetupsetup.exe in the command line to enter the microsoft network client 3.0 for ms-dos installation program. Press enter to enter the installation directory c: et. The installer will generate the c: et directory and put all required files in it. These files will be used in the future.

Step 6:

After the file is copied, a bunch of NICS will appear on the screen. If your network card is not in the list, select the selected one. Then press enter, and the program will let you enter the driver location.

After you enter the driver location, the screen displays the list of supported network adapters of your driver. After you press enter, a prompt will appear. Remember to select "setup for best performance "! This will increase the NIC buffer to improve performance.

Step 7:

After the NIC is installed, the installer will ask you to enter the name of the login user. Enter the user account you want to log on to the server in the future. Here we use administrator.

Step 8:

The screen shows the menu for modifying the installation options. We also need to make some modifications to the network.

The first is the computer name. We need to change the computer name to a name that is not used in the network. Here we changed it to pc888. The following describes how to modify the name of the logon workgroup and domain. The domain name must be the domain of the account. (Note: I only tried to log on to the domain and did not try to log on to the workgroup)

Select "change setup options" in the fourth texture ". If you have set a domain name, select "logon to domain"

After confirmation, go back to the menu in the fourth texture and set the most important one. Select "change network configuration". You can use the tab key to switch the options on the next screen. By default, the nwlink protocol is bound. We certainly don't want to. We can add TCP/IP or netbeui protocols. We recommend that you use netbeui if you have no special requirements. The cause will be discussed later ..
If you select TCP/IP, you also need to set the ip address. Select the preceding TCP/IP and switch to the following "change settings". You can set the ip address, subnet mask, and default gateway. Finally, you must remember to set "disable automatic configuration" to 1 to disable dhcp. However, this boot disk can only be used on one computer at a time. Therefore, it is better to use dynamic configuration if there is a dhcp server in the network and TCP/IP is used. (The TCP/IP protocol is troublesome. It is simple and practical to use netbeui without special circumstances. This is also the reason why netbeui is recommended)

Set the TCP/IP protocol here. You must set "disable automatic configuration" to 1 to disable dhcp.

Step 9:

Now we have succeeded 80%. Restart the computer and go to the c: et directory. To squeeze this Directory into a floppy disk, you must delete some files.

C: etsetup.exe
C: etsockets.exe
C: etwlink.exe
C: etexpand.exe
C: etping.exe (do not delete it if it is useful)
C: etipconfig.exe
C: etaddname.exe
C: etwin_sock.dll
C: etwinsock. dll
C: etwsockets. dll
C: etascopy. bat
C: etvbapi.386
C: eteadme.txt
C: et *. inf

Step 10:
Copy c: et to a floppy disk. Then, replace all c: et in the configuration files such as autoexec. bat, configsys, and system. ini on the boot disk with a: et.

Open a: etsystem. ini, find the network field, and change workgroup = WORKGROUP to "passwordcaching = no" (Note: If you set logon to the Working Group, do not delete it). In this way, the login password is not saved in the boot disk. There is still some space in the boot disk, and some useful information can be added in the East and West, such as smartdrv.exe.

Well, if you do not receive any error prompts and your parameter settings are correct, a network boot disk is complete.