Re: Risc PC Floppy Drive Problem

In message <cde23fc4f%ajw99uk@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Andrew Wickham <ajw99uk@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In message <fdce260c4f.druck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
druck <news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 2 Aug 2007 Andrew Wickham <ajw99uk@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 1 Aug, 22:53, druck <n...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 31 Jul 2007 Chris Dale <ch...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
This wasn't really a problem because I use an Iyonix most of the time
and I can transfer files across the network. However, I need to
re-install the x86 PC Pro software from hard disc and part of the
procedure seems to require a DOS disc to be inserted into the floppy
drive.

Does it?

It does if you don't already have a bootable DOSDisk partition!
The installation instructions will also refer to creating the boot/
drivers
floppy - again, not needed if the C: partition already has them
installed.

You should be able to get around that by getting hold of a bootable
DOS image, which can be produced by anyone with a working floppy drive
by putting the disc in, reading its entire contents using Zap's read
disc feature, then saving out as type DOSDisc. You can then mount this
file as one of the two drives in !PCPro, and use it to copy DOS across
and make it bootable with the sys command.

Which was the workaround I suggested in reply to Chris's opening post -
do keep up, Dave!-) Actually, thanks for the reminder that Zap can do
this - it's about time I made more/better use of Zap generally. I did
not have an image-reading util in mind on Tuesday.

Thanks. I've just tried this, but I'm probably doing something wrong.
What I have is five floppy discs for installing 'PC DOS 7 XDF Format'.
I just tried what you suggested with the first disc, but it doesn't
seem to work. I guess that these discs don't contain exactly "a
bootable DOS image". The DOSDisc image produced by Zap had the default
directory name 'C0H0S0'. I then re-created the Drive_C partition and
dragged this image into the root directory. Although it appeared as a
directory in RISC OS, it looks like a single file when copied into the
partition. When PC Pro tried to run I got the expected black screen
with the message 'Booting from hard disk' but then 'Non-System disk or
disk error Replace and press any key when ready'.

I should explain that I also have a Windows 95 CD ROM which is what I
want to install. I have an idea that later versions of Windows don't
need DOS to be installed first, but I don't know if that applies to
Win 95. The CD ROM drive on the RPC works, but I guess the PC card
can't recognise it or boot from it because the correct drivers haven't
yet been installed on the PC side.

If you have any ideas where I go from here I'd be grateful.

Incidentally. The reason for needing to re-install PC Pro/Windows etc.
started when the mouse pointed disappeared from Windows and the screen
changed to some low resolution mode when I tried to install some new
PC software. Then it all went down hill from there on when I tried to
fix it!

Update: Just had another look at the contents of the re-created
Drive_C partition: It is a directory and not a file as I first thought
(Icons very similar). I tried copying all the files out of it to the
root of the partition, but the same thing happens when I start PC Pro.
Also, I found a floppy I made in 1999 that I had called 'DOS Windows
95 Start up disc'. I put all those files into the Drive_C partition in
the same way using Zap, but again the same Non-System disk' error.

Thanks,
--
Chris
.

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