In Windows, how do I create setup boot disks?

To create setup boot disks for Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, or XP, follow the appropriate directions below:

Windows XP Home and Professional

To create a setup boot disk for Windows XP, you must download the setup boot disk utility available in article 310994 in Microsoft's knowledge base. This article also includes instructions on how to use the utility.

You can search Microsoft's knowledge base at:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx

Windows 2000

To create setup boot disks for Windows 2000, you will need four 3.5" floppy disks and the Windows 2000 CD. You should note two things:

• You do not need to use a computer running Windows 2000 to create the Windows 2000 boot disks.
  
  
• You must follow different instructions depending on the version of Windows installed on the computer that you will use to make the boot disks.

To create Windows 2000 setup disks on a computer running Windows NT 4.0, 2000, or XP

1. Insert the Windows 2000 CD into the CD-ROM drive.
   
   
2. From the DOS window, move to the CD-ROM drive by entering the drive letter followed by a colon (usually d: or e:).
   
   
3. Change to the bootdisk directory by entering: cd \bootdisk
4. Enter the following command: makebt32.exe

The program should run and prompt you to insert your floppy disks to create the set.

To create Windows 2000 setup disks on a computer running Windows 3.1, 95, or 98, or MS-DOS

1. Insert the Windows 2000 CD into the CD-ROM drive.
   
   
2. From the MS-DOS or DOS window, move to the CD-ROM drive by entering the drive letter followed by a colon (usually d: or e:).
   
   
3. Change to the bootdisk directory by entering: cd \bootdisk
4. Enter the following command: makeboot.exe

The program should run and prompt you to insert your floppy disks to create the set.

Windows NT 4.0

To create a set of setup boot disks for Windows NT 4.0, you will need three 3.5" floppy disks and the Windows NT 4.0 CD.

Note: You do not need to use a computer running Windows NT 4.0 to create the NT 4.0 boot disks. These instructions will work with almost any Microsoft operating system as long as the computer can read and execute the command listed below.

1. Insert the Windows NT CD into the CD-ROM drive.
   
   
2. From the MS-DOS or DOS window, move to the CD-ROM drive by entering the drive letter followed by a colon (usually d: or e:).
   
   
3. Change to the bootdisk directory by entering: cd \i386
4. Enter the following command: winnt32 /ox

The program should run and prompt you to insert your floppy disks to create the set.

Windows 95, 98, 98SE, and Me

To create a setup boot disk in Windows 95, 98, 98SE, and Me, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and select Settings, then Control Panel.
   
   
2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
   
   
3. Click the "Startup Disk" tab and click Create Disk. You will then be prompted to insert a blank floppy disk into your floppy drive. You may also be prompted to insert your Windows Installation CD into the CD-ROM drive.
   
   
4. Windows will now transfer files to the floppy disk and create a setup boot disk.

Note: Windows 95 does not copy over the needed files to allow your CD-ROM to be used in DOS mode. Windows versions 98 and above automatically do this. However, you can use a Windows 98 boot disk to boot a Windows 95 system with CD-ROM support.