Hack 53 Restore DOS Bootability

Make your drive bootable to get a DOS or Windows 9x-Me drive back up and running quickly.

Just as the FDISK /MBR command [Hack #47] can rebuild the lost boot information from the beginning of a hard drive, a little command-prompt program named SYS.COM can help you take that bootability to where it needs to be—containing the operating system files to get the system started. If you've got a nonbootable drive for DOS or Windows 9x-Me that is missing either the IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, or COMMAND.COM DOS files, start your fix with FDISK /MBR. Boot from a startup diskette for the operating system you need to repair and then execute:

SYS C:

SYS copies the basic operating system files—IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and COMMAND.COM—from the diskette to the drive letter designated: in this case, drive C:. Remove the diskette from the drive and restart the system from the hard drive.