BleepingComputer.com: What Does A Bootup Disk Do?

I just want to know what a bootup disk will exactly do. I am new to all this computer stuff and would like to learn as much as possible. If you have a sugggestion on how to learn more please inform me.

A bootup disk will allow you to start the computer when your Windows has become messed up in some way. By using a boot disk with the proper files on it, you may be able to repair your Windows installation.

Boot disks are sometimes used for other purposes such as diagnosing hardware problems (memory for example).

Meaning no disrespect at all, I would suggest starting with the Dummies book for whichever version of Windows you are using. I have several Dummies books on my desk right now and I have found them among the clearest introductions to their subjects. I would also suggest the latest Edition of Peter Norton's Inside the PC for a more comprehensive in-depth introduction to the world of personal computers.

DaveM59, on Jun 14 2006, 08:27 PM, said:

Thanks a ton for that information that was a lot of help.

Another interesting use for a boot disk is to help determine why your computer won't boot up. In the instance where your hard drive might have failed, it will help you determine that you can actually boot your computer, and that some other piece of hardware isn't responsible. If a virus were to delete the contents of your hard drive, for example, the computer would give you an error message that the operating system is not found. (This is a good example of why your boot floppy should be write protected! You don't want the virus to copy onto the boot disk!) You could boot the computer with the boot disk, and from the DOS prompt you could check the contents of the C: drive.

You can also test a computer to see how functional it is - it will boot the computer into DOS even if there is no hard drive attached to the system.

Well if you are using Windows 98 it will have a built in CD driver for most IDE drives. The 95 version does not have one so what you need to do is download oakcdrom.sys and mscdex.com and copy them to your boot disk then add it to your Autoexec.bat and config.sys files. It will start your computer up and you will have CD-Rom access to reinstall if must be.

A bootdisk boots the program when windows starts. For example, if you made Windows XP Pro boot disks, XP Pro would install through those floppies. What exactly are you thinking of doing with a boot-disk?