Is there anyway that one can activate the CW-RW Drive(my Drive "G") without going into Windows.

I guess what I want is to be able to activate the CW-RW Drive in DOS Mode.

I have my Windows 98 2nd Edition O.S. on Backup
CW-RW Diskettes & would like to be able to use them when Window 98 is in trouble.

You won't be able to use the CD burning capabilities of the drive, but otherwise adding CD support to DOS is easy.

The simplest method is to boot from a Windows Startup floppy, with which you are probably familiar.

Another solution is to add the line

; device=C:\Windows\Command\EBD\Oakcdrom.sys /D:CD_Drive

to the Config.sys file, and

REM C:\Windows\Command\Mscdex.exe /E /D:CD_Drive

to the Autoexec.bat file.

When you need CD support in DOS, power up the computer and repeatedly tap F8 for the Boot Menu, then choose Command Prompt.

Type Edit \Config.sys, press Enter, remove the semicolon and space from the line, then press Alt, F, X, and Y to save the change.

Type Edit \Autoexec.bat, press Enter, remove "REM " from the line, then press Alt, F, X, and Y to save the change.

Press Ctl-Alt-Del to restart the computer, press F8 for the Boot Menu, and choose Command Prompt. You'll have CD-ROM support.

TomGL2:

Thanks for the reply to my question.

I assume the two methods of obtaining CD-ROM support are the same.

I already knew about the Windows Startup Floppy. I had tried this & it did NOT answer my question.

The information on the Startup Floppy was as follows:

A:\ The information on the Startup Floppy.

C:\ The same information that I get when I boot up to the C:\ Drive

D:\ The MS RAMDRIVE, which has the following files:

attrib.exe
chkdsk.exe
command.com
debug.exe
edit.com
ext
extract.exe
format.com
help.bat
mscdex.com
readme.txt
restart.com
scandisk.exe
scandisk.ini
sys.com

E:\ The same as C:\, i.e., all of the folders, but has none of the files.

G:\ Is not available.

G:\ is the CD-RW Drive that I want to access to allow me to copy into the computer the Win 98 Folders/Files from my OEM CD-R Diskette that I received with the computer, the upgrade Win 98 2nd Edition CD-R Diskette that I received from Microsoft & all of the files from Windows that I obtained by downloading them from the Network.

All of these Folders/Files are on a set of
CD-RW Diskettes that I made, (there are six of them) that I want to copy into the computer into their respective folders when Windows bellies-up & I cannot boot-up to Windows.

My reason for this need is because it takes me about two days to restart my computer using the original OEM O.S. diskette & the upgrade Windows 98 2nd Edition CD-R Diskette. The downloads from Windows are also time consuming, roughly about 45 to 75-Mb.

In addition, you see, when I start my original OEM O.S diskette it automatically reformats my Hard Drive. After I reinstall Windows I still have to reload all the other programs I have on my computer that I have also backed up on the CD-RW Diskettes.

If I can somehow use the CR-RW Drive (G:}
I can cut this time down to about two to three hours.

Don, I'm puzzled. If the RAMDisk is drive D:, then the CD drive should be E: when booting from the startup floppy. If you have a single hard disk with only one partition, the CD drive should be D: in Windows.

Some details about the number of drives and how they're partitioned may give some insight into the confusion.

***************************
Try this experiment to see if the CD-RW can be addressed as G: (I assume you have no other CD, CD-RW, DVD, Zip, or other ATAPI drives).

On the startup floppy, right-click the Autoexec.bat file and click Edit, then change the line

LH %ramd%:\MSCDEX.EXE /D:mscd001 /L:%CDROM%

to read

LH %ramd%:\MSCDEX.EXE /D:mscd001 /L:G

Click File, Exit, and Yes to save the change. Boot from the floppy and see if you have CD drive access. Be sure to test with one or two pressed (i.e., commercial) CDs.

TomGL2:

Thanks for the second reply.

I do have a 250-Mb Zip Drive. It is normally my Drive D.

I did not find a line like the line you mentioned in your second reply so I added it in the Autoexec.bat on my Windows Startup Diskette.

I don't know why it was not there, however I did change the Drive letter to /L:E

I am now able to access the CD-RW Drive; it is coming up as Drive E.