:: Summary ::

This section of the site will sum up the basics of setting up NT and non-NT based operating systems for a multi-boot CD or DVD.

NT Based Operating Systems
Windows XP Pro, XP Home, 2000, NT 4.0, etc.

A normal NT based operating system has the i386 folder in the root of the cd. This directory also contains the files necessary to boot that certain OS. When a bootable CD or DVD is made, generally a file named xpboot.bin is used to create the proper boot sector.

This is what happens when the disc boots:

  1. The bootsector tells the computer to look in i386 for setupldr.bin.
  2. setupldr.bin instructs the computer to look for a file called txtsetup.sif in i386.
  3. txtsetup.sif contains the information needed to run the text-mode installation for the operating system.

When modifying an operating system install for a multi-boot dvd, we must do a few things.

  1. A new 4 letter boot folder must be created outside of the folder that the operating system cd was copied to. This folder will contain the files necessary to start the installation of a particular operating system..
  2. setupldr.bin must be edited so that all references to the i386 folder are changed to the new 4 letter boot folder.
  3. The "SetupSourcePath=" line in txtsetup.sif must be edited to reflect the location of where we copied the install cd.
  4. A new boot sector must be created. The reference to i386 in the boot sector must be changed to the name of our boot folder for our OS.
  5. The boot sector is renamed to xxxx.DAT, where xxxx is the name of the boot folder that the boot sector will access (eg. - PRO1.DAT, HOM2.DAT, etc)
  6. Put all .DAT files in the root folder, which for this guide is AIO-DVD.

Non-NT Based Operating Systems
Windows 95, 98 SE, ME, etc.

A non-NT based OS generally uses a boot disk inserted into a floppy drive to start the setup for that OS. While there are Windows 98 bootable cds, the boot disk method is the easiest for us to follow.

Basic steps for setting up a non-NT based OS:

  1. Download a boot disk image or create one from an actual boot disk with WinImage.
  2. In WinImage extract the autoexec.bat and config.sys files.
  3. Edit autoexec.bat to reflect the location of the setup.exe file.
  4. Edit config.sys to include only options for booting from cd.
  5. Save file as an .IMA file.
  6. Copy all .IMA or .IMG files to the root folder, which for this guide is AIO-DVD.