Solve : Recognize CD ROM from MSDOS - My driver works ok in Windows?

1.	Solve : Recognize CD ROM from MSDOS - My driver works ok in Windows?
Answer» Hi I have read a bunch of previously-written POSTS on this subject but I am still confused. My computer is running Windows 2000 NT. I want to downgrade to Windows 98SE. If I go to >start, >cmd, >d:, >setup, the CD Rom fires up and the Windows 98 CD starts. Then I get a window that says "Setup cannot run from within Windows NT. Shut down WIndows NT and start MS DOS. RUn setup from the MSDOS command prompt." If I restart the computer and get to MS DOS, the computer does not recognize my CD ROM as being there. Normally it is "E:" drive. I know my CD ROM driver works in Windows, but exactly how do I get it to work from this MS-DOS screen ? Any help you can give me would be very much appreciated, Thank you, Dave If it is USEFUL, the computer is an old Fujitsu Lifebook B Series and the CD ROM is an external device connected through a USB port. The Fujitsu never came with an internal CD ROM. The CD ROM is a Lite-On DVDRW SOHW-1693S Additionally, I would like to wipe the hard drive clean with a Drivewasher program such as a StompSoft Drivewasher. Can I wipe the hard drive and still be able to install the Windows 98 software ? Thanks again Quote Setup cannot run from within Windows NT That's it. In order to install 98, you have to boot to Win 98 CD. Check boot order in BIOS. It should read: - floppy - CD ROM - hard driveBoot order in BIOS is FLOPPY HARD DRIVE There is no CD ROM listed. The CD ROM works fine when running Windows but the computer doesn't recognize it in MS DOS. Does the computer not recognize it because it is an external drive connected via a USB port ? If so, how do I get the computer to recognize the CD ROM from Ms Dos?The problem you will have first of all is your 2000 being NTFS, Windows 98SE will not be able to be installed to a NTFS partition. If your Windows 2000 is installed to a Fat32 partition then Windows 98 installed to the drive can be done but, you will have an issue with your Boot loader. Your Boot.ini file will have to be edited to reflect a choice of Windows 98 or 2000, as well as your config.sys and autoexec.bat will also have to be edited likely. If you want to tombstone 2000 and run only in 98 then you should be fine as long as FAT32 is your partition type. Its harder to install a backwards OS then a forwards OS for Windows. You could potentially install Windows 98 without need of the CD Rom by creating a folder such as Win98CD on your C: drive with Windows 2000 and 2000's CD Rom support ( will only work if your C drive is FAT32 ). You will have to copy all contents including hidden files from the CD to your hard drive to this folder. Then use a bootable floppy to have access to C: and trick Windows install into believing that the install will be from a prior OS like DOS 6.22 or Win 95. Windows 98 will not know what winnt folder is and will skip over it. You can then navigate to the C:\win98CD folder and execute the setup.exe from there and install Windows 98 from a local hard drive install onto itself. It gives the HD a work out since it is reading and writing all the data, mostly decompressing cab files etc and INSTALLING. In the end your SYSTEM will likely boot up in Windows 98 mode only and you will then have to manually edit the boot.ini file to see a choice of Windows 2000. If you are no expert working with Boot.ini editing you could run into problems. You also could potentially crash your system if soemthing goes wrong, so I would back everything up. It can be done if you are Fat32, but cant be done if you are NTFS without resizing the NTFS partition and creating a Fat32 partition or installing a second HD, which is not an option since this is a laptop. Wow! Thank you for the indepth explanation, I really appreciate it. This computer originally came with Windows 98 and someone upgraded to 2000NT somewhere along the way. If, when the computer is booting up, and I am fast enough, I can press the down arrow and enter, I go to the original operating system instead of booting up into 2000NT. I get a message that says,"The following file is missing or corrupted: RAMDRIVE.SYS there is an error in your CONFIG.SYS file on line 6" And then I am in MSDOS and at C: drive. Do you think I can just re-install the RAMDRIVE.SYS folder and get win98 to come up ? I was just in the process of transferring the Win98 files from the CD ROM to the c: drive when I read your posting. Because I was thinking that I should be able to access the Win98 files from MSDos if they are on the hard drive. I am quite willing to wipe the drive clean with my Stompsoft Drivewasher program and reinstall Win98 from the CD ROM except, like I said, the computer doesn't recognize a CD Rom from the Bios. I don't know what NTFS is but I will research it and learn. I know that my file systemis FAT32 and I can see the WinNT folder under the program files. I have no problem not running 2000 anymore and will be happy to run only 98. How can I access the Win98 folder on C drive when I am in MSDOS ? If I type "Win98" I get an error Thank you again for your help.Since I'm so confused, maybe I should approach this from a different angle. I would like to wipe the drive clean with my drive washer program. Since the computer doesn't recognize the CDROM drive now when I'm in MSDOS, how will I be able to install Windows 98 from the CD ? It probably won't recognize the CDROM then either. Is there another way to transfer the Win98 files to a freshly-wiped hard drive ? Quote from: surfnut Boot order in BIOS is FLOPPY HARD DRIVE Does the notebook have a physical floppy drive? No. There is no floppy drive in the computer. I do have an old 3.5" external floppy drive somewhere in the basement but it connects via a USB port just like the CDROM so I don't know if the computer will read it when in MSDOS. No wait. I think the external 3.5" drive I have connects via a COM port. I will have to dig it out to make sure. Regardless, there are no drives at all in the computer.First let's lay the GHOST of what you are calling MS-DOS. When you use Start>Run>Cmd you are NOT starting MS-Dos, you are starting the Dos emulator program (commonly called Command Prompt) which is part of the Windows NT system . No NT version of Windows contains MS-Dos. The screen you see when using the Dos emulator is just another Window although you can enter MS-Dos style commands (and a lot more), you are still running in Win.2k. Thats why you get the message: Quote "Setup cannot run from within Windows NT. Shut down WIndows NT and start MS DOS. RUn setup from the MSDOS command prompt." Now to the floppy drive. If you can get the the floppy drive to work in Win.2k it just might be possible to get it and the cdrom to perform by using a Win.98 floppy boot disk which will load a cdrom driver - it's a big might but a remote possibility that your bios can be set to boot from a usb floppy drive! If your floppy drive will perform can you use the notebook to download a Win.98 boot disk image and write it to a floppy drive or do you have access to another pc which will do this? Sorry about being so verbose...Verbose is good. I need all the help I can get. Assuming I can get the floppy drive to work, When you say "Win.98 boot disk image" do you mean the Win98 files from the Win98 CD? IF so, does a floppy disk have enough memory to hold all the files ? If not, which files do I put on the first floppy disk, and then which files do I put on the second disk, etc.. If the floppy disk will perform, I'm sure I can use the computer to transfer files from the Win98 CD to the 3.5" floppy. Assuming that, how do I get the computer to use the Win98 floppy boot disk to load the CDROM driver as you wrote ? Quote from: Surfnut When you say "Win.98 boot disk image" do you mean the Win98 files from the Win98 CD? No, the boot disk image will be downloaded from bootdisk.com and the boot disk will be created from the image. This will require just one blank formatted floppy disk. If it is possible you will boot MS-Dos from the bootdisk which will be in the usb floppy drive. Native MS-Dos does not have usb support so it will be necessary for you to download usb drivers for Dos from bootdisk.com as well, see here.. But first you need to find out if the floppy drive will work. Note there are lots of mights and ifs. Please post the model number of your notebook.It is a Fujitsu Lifebook B-2130. Cancel all bets... I downloaded the B-2130 Users Guide from here and suggest you do the same if you no longer have the printed version which came with the notebook. This confirmed that the floppy drive is NOT to connect to a usb port but via the com port on the connector box which makes a b-i-g difference. (Manual Sect.4 p.50) Before proceeding I now need details of your hard drive, how many partitions there are and what the file system is. So boot to Win.2k, open My Computer, R.click each partition (drive C etc) choose Properties and you'll find the file system there. Also still need to know if the floppy drive is working and if you have the original Win.98 cd which came with the notebook. I think I'm out of luck. The floppy disk drive I have is not for this computer and will not physically connect to the Fujitsu's COM port. It goes into a port that is kind of like a USB-sized port only a bit wider. There is an A; drive and a C: drive listed under My Computer. I don't know why A: drive is listed there because there is no A: drive there. C: drive is FAT32 The Win98 Cd I have is not the original cd. I bought it off EBAY. It came with the manual and the Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity and product key.

Answer»

Hi
I have read a bunch of previously-written POSTS on this subject but I am still confused.
My computer is running Windows 2000 NT.
I want to downgrade to Windows 98SE.

If I go to >start, >cmd, >d:, >setup,
the CD Rom fires up and the Windows 98 CD starts.
Then I get a window that says "Setup cannot run from within Windows NT. Shut down WIndows NT and start MS DOS. RUn setup from the MSDOS command prompt."

If I restart the computer and get to MS DOS, the computer does not recognize my CD ROM as being there. Normally it is "E:" drive.

I know my CD ROM driver works in Windows, but exactly how do I get it to work from this MS-DOS screen ?
Any help you can give me would be very much appreciated,

Thank you,
Dave

If it is USEFUL, the computer is an old Fujitsu Lifebook B Series and the CD ROM is an external device connected through a USB port. The Fujitsu never came with an internal CD ROM. The CD ROM is a Lite-On DVDRW SOHW-1693S
Additionally, I would like to wipe the hard drive clean with a Drivewasher program such as a StompSoft Drivewasher. Can I wipe the hard drive and still be able to install the Windows 98 software ?

Thanks again Quote

Setup cannot run from within Windows NT

That's it.
In order to install 98, you have to boot to Win 98 CD.
Check boot order in BIOS.
It should read:
- floppy
- CD ROM
- hard driveBoot order in BIOS is

FLOPPY
HARD DRIVE

There is no CD ROM listed. The CD ROM works fine when running Windows but the computer doesn't recognize it in MS DOS.

Does the computer not recognize it because it is an external drive connected via a USB port ?
If so, how do I get the computer to recognize the CD ROM from Ms Dos?The problem you will have first of all is your 2000 being NTFS, Windows 98SE will not be able to be installed to a NTFS partition. If your Windows 2000 is installed to a Fat32 partition then Windows 98 installed to the drive can be done but, you will have an issue with your Boot loader. Your Boot.ini file will have to be edited to reflect a choice of Windows 98 or 2000, as well as your config.sys and autoexec.bat will also have to be edited likely. If you want to tombstone 2000 and run only in 98 then you should be fine as long as FAT32 is your partition type.

Its harder to install a backwards OS then a forwards OS for Windows.

You could potentially install Windows 98 without need of the CD Rom by creating a folder such as Win98CD on your C: drive with Windows 2000 and 2000's CD Rom support ( will only work if your C drive is FAT32 ). You will have to copy all contents including hidden files from the CD to your hard drive to this folder.

Then use a bootable floppy to have access to C: and trick Windows install into believing that the install will be from a prior OS like DOS 6.22 or Win 95. Windows 98 will not know what winnt folder is and will skip over it. You can then navigate to the C:\win98CD folder and execute the setup.exe from there and install Windows 98 from a local hard drive install onto itself. It gives the HD a work out since it is reading and writing all the data, mostly decompressing cab files etc and INSTALLING.

In the end your SYSTEM will likely boot up in Windows 98 mode only and you will then have to manually edit the boot.ini file to see a choice of Windows 2000.

If you are no expert working with Boot.ini editing you could run into problems. You also could potentially crash your system if soemthing goes wrong, so I would back everything up.

It can be done if you are Fat32, but cant be done if you are NTFS without resizing the NTFS partition and creating a Fat32 partition or installing a second HD, which is not an option since this is a laptop.

Wow! Thank you for the indepth explanation, I really appreciate it.

This computer originally came with Windows 98 and someone upgraded to 2000NT somewhere along the way.

If, when the computer is booting up, and I am fast enough, I can press the down arrow and enter, I go to the original operating system instead of booting up into 2000NT.
I get a message that says,"The following file is missing or corrupted: RAMDRIVE.SYS there is an error in your CONFIG.SYS file on line 6"
And then I am in MSDOS and at C: drive.
Do you think I can just re-install the RAMDRIVE.SYS folder and get win98 to come up ?

I was just in the process of transferring the Win98 files from the CD ROM to the c: drive when I read your posting. Because I was thinking that I should be able to access the Win98 files from MSDos if they are on the hard drive.

I am quite willing to wipe the drive clean with my Stompsoft Drivewasher program and reinstall Win98 from the CD ROM except, like I said, the computer doesn't recognize a CD Rom from the Bios.

I don't know what NTFS is but I will research it and learn. I know that my file systemis FAT32 and I can see the WinNT folder under the program files. I have no problem not running 2000 anymore and will be happy to run only 98.

How can I access the Win98 folder on C drive when I am in MSDOS ? If I type "Win98" I get an error

Thank you again for your help.Since I'm so confused, maybe I should approach this from a different angle.

I would like to wipe the drive clean with my drive washer program.

Since the computer doesn't recognize the CDROM drive now when I'm in MSDOS, how will I be able to install Windows 98 from the CD ? It probably won't recognize the CDROM then either.

Is there another way to transfer the Win98 files to a freshly-wiped hard drive ?

Quote from: surfnut

Boot order in BIOS is
FLOPPY
HARD DRIVE

Does the notebook have a physical floppy drive?
No. There is no floppy drive in the computer.

I do have an old 3.5" external floppy drive somewhere in the basement but it connects via a USB port just like the CDROM so I don't know if the computer will read it when in MSDOS.

No wait. I think the external 3.5" drive I have connects via a COM port. I will have to dig it out to make sure.

Regardless, there are no drives at all in the computer.First let's lay the GHOST of what you are calling MS-DOS. When you use Start>Run>Cmd you are NOT starting MS-Dos, you are starting the Dos emulator program (commonly called Command Prompt) which is part of the Windows NT system . No NT version of Windows contains MS-Dos. The screen you see when using the Dos emulator is just another Window although you can enter MS-Dos style commands (and a lot more), you are still running in Win.2k. Thats why you get the message: Quote

"Setup cannot run from within Windows NT. Shut down WIndows NT and start MS DOS. RUn setup from the MSDOS command prompt."

Now to the floppy drive. If you can get the the floppy drive to work in Win.2k it just might be possible to get it and the cdrom to perform by using a Win.98 floppy boot disk which will load a cdrom driver - it's a big might but a remote possibility that your bios can be set to boot from a usb floppy drive!

If your floppy drive will perform can you use the notebook to download a Win.98 boot disk image and write it to a floppy drive or do you have access to another pc which will do this?

Sorry about being so verbose...Verbose is good. I need all the help I can get.
Assuming I can get the floppy drive to work,
When you say "Win.98 boot disk image" do you mean the Win98 files from the Win98 CD?
IF so, does a floppy disk have enough memory to hold all the files ? If not, which files do I put on the first floppy disk, and then which files do I put on the second disk, etc..
If the floppy disk will perform, I'm sure I can use the computer to transfer files from the Win98 CD to the 3.5" floppy. Assuming that,
how do I get the computer to use the Win98 floppy boot disk to load the CDROM driver as you wrote ?

Quote from: Surfnut

When you say "Win.98 boot disk image" do you mean the Win98 files from the Win98 CD?

No, the boot disk image will be downloaded from bootdisk.com and the boot disk will be created from the image. This will require just one blank formatted floppy disk. If it is possible you will boot MS-Dos from the bootdisk which will be in the usb floppy drive. Native MS-Dos does not have usb support so it will be necessary for you to download usb drivers for Dos from bootdisk.com as well, see here..

But first you need to find out if the floppy drive will work.

Note there are lots of mights and ifs.

Please post the model number of your notebook.It is a Fujitsu Lifebook B-2130. Cancel all bets... I downloaded the B-2130 Users Guide from here and suggest you do the same if you no longer have the printed version which came with the notebook. This confirmed that the floppy drive is NOT to connect to a usb port but via the com port on the connector box which makes a b-i-g difference. (Manual Sect.4 p.50)

Before proceeding I now need details of your hard drive, how many partitions there are and what the file system is. So boot to Win.2k, open My Computer, R.click each partition (drive C etc) choose Properties and you'll find the file system there. Also still need to know if the floppy drive is working and if you have the original Win.98 cd which came with the notebook.

I think I'm out of luck.
The floppy disk drive I have is not for this computer and will not physically connect to the Fujitsu's COM port. It goes into a port that is kind of like a USB-sized port only a bit wider.

There is an A; drive and a C: drive listed under My Computer. I don't know why A: drive is listed there because there is no A: drive there.
C: drive is FAT32

The Win98 Cd I have is not the original cd. I bought it off EBAY. It came with the manual and the Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity and product key.

Solve : Recognize CD ROM from MSDOS - My driver works ok in Windows?

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