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How to Make a Bootable Floppy Disk for Windows NT

by Lysis

  • Overview

    Windows NT is an older operating system still used by some corporate and home networks. The operating system introduced a new file system called NTFS, which uses different boot files from the desktop operating systems of its era. For this reason, creating a Windows NT boot disk takes different steps than creating older boot disks for operating systems like Windows 95 or 98. The process requires the Windows NT installation CD, or you can copy files from an existing computer that runs Windows NT.
 

  • Step 1

    Insert the floppy disk. Insert the installation CD-ROM. If you are copying files from an existing computer, insert the floppy disk into the computer that is running Windows NT.

  • Step 2

    Click the Start button and select "Run." Type "command" into the text box for computers running Windows 98, 95, or NT. Type "cmd" into the text box for computers running any newer Windows operating system, including XP, 2000, Vista or Windows 7. This opens the DOS window.

  • Step 3

    Type "format a:" into the DOS command line. This formats the floppy disk with the initial boot files.

  • Step 4

    Copy "Ntldr._" from the Windows NT installation disk onto the floppy disk. If you are copying files from a machine running Windows NT, copy the "Ntldr" file from the root of the C: drive to the floppy disk. If you copy from the CD-ROM, type "expand ntldr._ ntldr" into the DOS command prompt. This expands the compressed file, which is the way the ntldr file is saved to the installation CD.

  • Step 5

    Copy "Ntdetect.com" from the installation CD or the root of the computer running NT to the floppy disk.

  • Step 6

    Copy or create the Boot.ini file. If you use a machine running Windows NT, you can just copy the Boot.ini from the boot drive to the floppy disk. If you are using an installation machine, you need to create the boot.ini file. The boot.ini file is just a text file, so open Notepad or another text editor and type the information below into the file: [boot loader] timeout=45 Default= scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt [operating systems] scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Microsoft Windows NT" After this information is typed into the file, copy it to the floppy disk.

  • Step 7

    Test the floppy disk by placing it in a computer that runs Windows NT. Reboot the machine with the floppy in the drive; if you boot into Windows NT, the process worked.
  • 3
  • Blank floppy disk Windows NT installation CD or computer running Windows NT
  • Blank floppy disk
  • Windows NT installation CD or computer running Windows NT

References & Resources

     
     
 
 

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