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re: Question about 'Boot Directly into DOS'
Tuesday, December 10, 2002 at 7:09 pm
Windows Me Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by Jerry Sisler
(28 messages posted)
I am unable to locate the patch "real_dos.zip" as listed in your answer. Where can
I find It? It is not listed under Software. Thank you for the information.
On Thursday, December 5, 2002 at 5:50 pm, Reines wrote:
>
>We've been asked this same question many times recently as beta testers review pre-release
>versions of Windows ME and more and more information leaks out to the general public.
>Well, the answer is No, Real-mode DOS has not been removed from Windows. Well hidden
>maybe, and removed from the boot process, but it's still there.
>
>Windows ME is still DOS based like its predecessors, but in an effort to speed up
>the startup process Microsoft has restructured some of the files necessary to allow
>you to boot to DOS, use config.sys and autoexec.bat files and view and use a boot
>menu.
>
>We have a patch that will modify your "IO.SYS", "COMMAND.COM" and "REGENV32.EXE"
>files in order to unhide the real-mode DOS in Windows ME systems, thereby providing
>you with a boot process like that of previous versions of Windows. This will allow
>you, for example, to reach the DOS boot menu directly by pressing "Shift-F8" at
boot-up,
>and to use "CONFIG.SYS" and "AUTOEXEC.BAT" as part of the startup process before
>Windows loads. This patch was tested only with the final release of Win ME (build
>4.90.3000) and may not be compatible with other pre-release versions.
>
>Note:
>
>As stated above, this has only been tested on Windows ME version 4.90.3000 U.S.
If
>you are using a Non-US version of Windows ME this patch may not work and may even
>cause problems.
>
>Installation Procedure
>
>In order to install this patch correctly, please follow the instructions below explicitly!
>
>While these particular instructions refer to "C:\Windows", you should use the specific
>directory on your computer into which Windows ME was originally installed.
>
>Step One: (This can be done in Windows using Windows Explorer)
>
>Create two temporary directories on your hard drive such as C:\Temp and C:\Dos_Storage
>and make sure that both are empty.
>
>Download the patch (Real_dos.zip) and unzip the 5 included files into the C:\Temp
>directory. You should have these 5 files:
>
>autoexec.bat
>config.sys
>File_id.diz
>Mfd.nfo
>Winmedos.com
>
>Copy the following original Windows ME files into both the C:\Temp and C:\Dos_Storage
>directories. Their location is already noted for you.
>
>C:\Windows\COMMAND.COM
>C:\Windows\Command\EBD\IO.SYS (See the "Notes" below, #4)
>C:\Windows\System\REGENV32.EXE
>
>Now you will need to make sure that the "R", "H" and "S" attributes have been removed
>from the 3 files noted above in only the C:\Temp directory. You can do this from
>within Windows Explorer by right clicking on each file and choosing "Properties",
>then uncheck any of the attribute boxes, "Read-only", "Hidden" and "Archive", that
>may be checked and then click "Apply" and then close the box.
>
>Next, using Windows Explorer, locate the "WINMEDOS.COM" file from the (Real_dos.zip)
>you downloaded and unzipped earlier.
>
>Double click on "WINMEDOS.COM" to execute it. Do not move to step two unless you
>are certain that patch completed successfully.
>
>
>Step Two:
>
>Once the patch completes successfully, perform the following tasks in order to complete
>the installation:
>
>Copy the following 3 patched files back to their original locations as noted below,
>overwriting the originals.
>Copy "IO.SYS" from the C:\Temp directory to "C:\"
>
>Copy "COMMAND.COM" from C:\Temp to "C:\WINDOWS\"
>
>Copy "COMMAND.COM" from C:\Temp "C:\"
>
>Copy "REGENV32.EXE" from C:\Temp to "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM"
>Next, copy the Config.sys from C:\Temp to C:\
>and the Autoexec.bat from C:\Temp to C:\
>Notes:
>
>1. The Config.sys contained in the Real_dos.zip file contains only this line:
>
>"DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS".
>
>You may add any other lines to your Config.sys file as long as the above line remains.
>
>2. The Autoexec.bat contained in the Real_dos.zip file contains only this line:
>
>"C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM".
>
>You may add any other lines to your Autoexec.bat file as long as the above line
remains.
>
>3. In the event that you wish to create a startup menu that will permit you to
choose
>between Windows and MS-DOS at startup, it can be done by editing your "Config.sys"
>and "Autoexec.bat" files. The syntax of the startup menu is identical to the syntax
>on Win 9x systems.
>
>Keep in mind that the option configured to launch Win ME has to include the appropriate
>lines that load "IFSHLP.SYS" and run "WIN.COM" as noted above.
>
>4. At startup you will see "Starting Windows Emergency Boot". This can be ignored
>as the patch uses the IO.SYS provided with the Windows ME Emergency Boot Disk.
If
>you have a problem initially with the function of the DOS boot, replace the IO.SYS
>file as noted above with the one on your Windows ME Startup Boot Disk. During testing,
>we noted that on occasion the File Protect features built into Windows ME replaced
>this file during the boot process.
>
>5. Remember! You saved copies of your original files to the C:\Dos_Storage folder
>you made at the beginning of this feature. To return your system to its original
>state, copy the 3 changes files from this directory back to their original directories
>and remove the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files from the root of your C:\ drive.
>
>Disclaimer: We make no warranty of any type or kind with respect to this patch and
>its use by you or anyone else. Making this change will alter the way your operating
>system starts and, if done incorrectly, could render your operating system unusable!
>
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 |  |  | re: Question about 'Boot Directly into DOS' (Jerry Sisler: Tue, Dec 10, 2002, 7:09 pm) |
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