Hi, would it be possible to copy a Windows 95 o s CD to 3.5 floppies to install on a Dell Latitude XPI laptop. The CD-ROM no longer work and I would like to reformat the computer. Thanks gypsy200
You could get a few of the *.cab files on floppies but most are too big to fit on a floppy. The floppy version of Win95 had the DMF formatting [Distribution Media Format] which allowed 1.68MB on all but the first disk. The first disk set up the computer to be able to read the rest. Office 4.x did the same. MS could fit more of the installation on fewer disks.
There's a couple of ways I do what you need: I put the Win95 folder [less that 90MB] from the CD on a Zip100 disk and use a parallel port Zip drive and copy the folder to the hard drive, run the install from there. I also use a parallel port CD drive and do the same. The problem of installing from an external drive is losing access to it following all the reboots during installation.
Why don't you get your cd-rom working and then just install win 95 using the cd-rom. If the cd-rom is broke, see if you can get a replacement. If its a dos driver problem, boot from your emergency boot disk and copy the cd-rom driver to the laptop and add these to autoexec.bat and config.sys:
config.sys:
device=a:\cdrom.sys /d:mscd000
change the cdrom.sys to the name of your own cd-rom driver
autoexec.bat
a:\mscdex.exe /d:mscd000 /l:d
/l:d = sets the cd-rom as the D: drive.
Reboot and see if it worked!. If this doesn't solve your problem, you might have to use his method above.
You won't be able to do it without some sort of spanning backup software which will require you to have the restore programs on the laptop before you can get it.
For laptop installs that don't have CDs I use an external ZIP drive attaching through the parallel port. Or one of several other options.
Or you could build a DOS machine from it and network to a machine with a CD, or use LAPLINK, or use the built in interlnk/intersvr.
Need is the mother of invention. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
You could you the tried and tested but slow method of transfering files from one machine to another using Laplink and a null modem cable for the 9pin RS232 port.
Make up a null modem cable using 2 9pin female D connectors and wire up as follows:
Pins 1-7,2-3,3-2,4-6+8,5-5,6+8-4,7-1
You can download the dos version of Laplink (Ver 3) from
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