How to Modify the Windows Startup Disk with Other Device Drivers

ID: Q188127

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 98

SUMMARY

This article describes how to create a modified Windows 98 Startup disk to gain access to hardware devices using third-party drivers not provided on the Windows 98 CD-ROM.

MORE INFORMATION

The Windows 98 Startup disk provides support for most types of CD-ROM drives, including integrated device electronics (IDE) and small computer system interface (SCSI) CD-ROM drives, but it may not support your particular CD-ROM drive or other hardware device (such as a tape drive or removable media drive). To gain access to these hardware devices when you start your computer, you may need to modify the Windows 98 Startup disk. To do so, use either of the following methods:

Modify the Windows 98 Startup Disk

Refer to the documentation included with your computer or hardware device to determine the file required for access to the device.

Copy the file to the Windows 98 Startup disk.

Using a text editor (such as Notepad), add a line to load the driver in the [COMMON] section of the Config.sys file on the Windows 98 Startup disk.

Check for modifications you may need to make to the Autoexec.bat file on the Windows 98 Startup disk.

NOTE: If you upgraded your computer to Windows 98 from a previous operating system, the necessary modifications may appear in the existing versions of the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files on your hard disk.

The Windows 98 Startup disk has approximately 248,832 bytes available for the additional files required to gain access to your hardware devices. If more space is required you can delete the unused device drivers copied to the disk.

For additional information about the files included on the Windows 98 Startup disk, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q185645
TITLE : Contents of the Windows 98 Startup Disk

Modify or Add files to the Ebd Folder

You can create a modified Windows 98 Startup disk every time you run the Bootdisk.bat file by copying the required device drivers to the Windows\Command\Ebd folder, and then modifying the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files in the Ebd folder as appropriate. All files in the Ebd folder are copied to the Windows 98 Startup disk, so make sure the folder does not contain more files than the disk can hold (approximately 1,234,432 bytes).

NOTE: Adding files to the Ebd folder does not affect the files copied to a Windows 98 Startup disk created using the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. These files are copied from the Windows 98 CD-ROM.

For information about how to create a Windows 98 Startup disk using the Add/Remove Programs tool, click Start, click Help, click the Index tab, type startup, and then double-click the "Startup Disk" topic.

For information about how to create a Windows 98 Startup disk using the Bootdisk.bat file, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q186300
TITLE : How to Create a Windows 98 Startup Disk from MS-DOS

For information about specific CD-ROM drives that require real-mode drivers to work in Windows, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q131499
TITLE : CD-ROM Drives Requiring Real-Mode Drivers

Additional query words: ebd esd

Keywords : kbenv kbhw win98
Version : WINDOWS:98
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto