Neither Win2K nor WinME has the ability to create a simple, basic, DOS- based boot
floppy (a "startup disk") unless you jump through hoops or do things in nonstandard
ways. Because XP is the fusion of Win2K and Win9x/ME, I assumed it would follow
the same "no boot floppy" tack. But instead, I was surprised to poke around in XP
and see that the format option there does indeed offer a "Create MS-DOS Startup Disk."
As an experiment, I created a startup disk, and all went smoothly. I was able to use
the disk to boot my PC without any problems. But when it started up, I got the
second surprise. The DOS boot message showed "Microsoft Windows Millennium." To
confirm this, I typed "Ver" to see what version of DOS was running, and the screen
showed: Windows Millennium [Version 4.90.300]
Although it's very strange to see the WinME startup message on an XP-created
floppy, all this means is that Microsoft cribbed a few essential DOS boot files from
WinME, and made it so XP can drop them onto a freshly- formatted floppy for you.
I'm glad they did: It's a very good thing that Microsoft restored the ability to make a
simple boot disk.
floppy (a "startup disk") unless you jump through hoops or do things in nonstandard
ways. Because XP is the fusion of Win2K and Win9x/ME, I assumed it would follow
the same "no boot floppy" tack. But instead, I was surprised to poke around in XP
and see that the format option there does indeed offer a "Create MS-DOS Startup Disk."
As an experiment, I created a startup disk, and all went smoothly. I was able to use
the disk to boot my PC without any problems. But when it started up, I got the
second surprise. The DOS boot message showed "Microsoft Windows Millennium." To
confirm this, I typed "Ver" to see what version of DOS was running, and the screen
showed: Windows Millennium [Version 4.90.300]
Although it's very strange to see the WinME startup message on an XP-created
floppy, all this means is that Microsoft cribbed a few essential DOS boot files from
WinME, and made it so XP can drop them onto a freshly- formatted floppy for you.
I'm glad they did: It's a very good thing that Microsoft restored the ability to make a
simple boot disk.
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