Accessing CD_ROM frm DOS

[baloney_mahoney]

OK, I want to be able to acess my CD-ROM Drive from within DOS.

Several books that I have read all tell me to do the following:

In the CONFIG.SYS file add the following line......

DEVICE=C:\DOSDRVRS\CDROM\CDROM.SYS

..... where CDROM.SYS is the CD-ROM driver

In the Autoexec.bat file add the following line.....

C:\DOSDRVRS\CDROM\MSCDEX.EXE /D:CDROM

Note that you do not use the extension '.sys' in the above line.

Now, I save the two files, and then do a reboot from the A drive using a bootable floppy disk with DOS on the floppy disk.

When DOS starts to boot from the A Drive it just sits there and never does
anything. It never boots up. Also, when I take out the disk from the floppy drive and try to boot up Windows from the C Drive it starts to boot then it too just sits there and never really boots up.

So, I have to go into 'Safe Mode', bring up Windows, remove the two line that I added to the two files. Now, I can boot up either DOS or Windows.

I am very sure that 'CDROM.SYS' is the correct CD_ROM driver because it is the only driver that was installed in that directory when I installed the Windows OS.

Does anyone know what is going on and why it doesn't allow the PC to boot up?

Also, can anyone tell me how to use the CD-ROM within DOS.

When I speak of DOS I am refering to the real DOS and not the phoney DOS that you get with Windows.

[nscopex]

I suggest getting the Windows ME Dos boot floopy. It will recognise your cdrom then you can do a fresh install. or what ever your gonna do

[Realged13]

You must go into your BIOS to switch where your info is coming from, do this:

1. Press delete when loading the computer to go to your BIOS.
2. Then go to Advanced BIOS features then go to Boot Sequence.
3. Then make it read the A: drive to look for the Bootsequence, then set it up to C: drive then whatever else you like.
4. Then save your settings and restart the computer.

[Idbeholda]

When you start up the comp from the floppy (assuming you're using a startup disk), and you have the config.sys file with the following line(s) in it


LOAD=[drivername].sys
or
DEVICE=[drivername].sys

it loads, and typically, you'll see on the screen (as with most drivers), the driver currently loaded into the memory will often have the drivername being something similar to mscd0001 (notice the 8 letter limitation for the dos file system)

When you run mscdex.exe, you need to type in the following

mscdex /s /d:[driver] /l:[drive letter]

which given the information above, should be something like so...

mscdex /s /d:mscd0001 /l:d

or, if you're starting up the comp with the optional windows virtual ramdisk (typically makes it the next availible drive letter... which happens to be D)

mscdex /s /d:mscd0001 /l:e

after that, you can instantly access the cdrom from dos. For a more permanent solution, so you don't have to type the same commands in every time, just put in the command(s) listed above into the autoexec.bat file on the root directory of the active drive.

[baloney_mahoney]

You must go into your BIOS to switch where your info is coming from, do this:

1. Press delete when loading the computer to go to your BIOS.
2. Then go to Advanced BIOS features then go to Boot Sequence.
3. Then make it read the A: drive to look for the Bootsequence, then set it up to C: drive then whatever else you like.
4. Then save your settings and restart the computer.

A,C is the order in which it looks for the boot sequence. My problem isn't this; it is that it wont boot either A or C after I modified the two files. So, my problem is exactly what I said.....I'm not looking for an answer to how to set up a boot sequence I'm looking for an answer to how to set up a method to access the CD-ROM within DOS and why did those statements cause the boots to fail.

[KANE_6969]

doyou have afloppy containing the driver for the cd drive? try using that my old old puter i had to do that

[baloney_mahoney]

When you start up the comp from the floppy (assuming you're using a startup disk), and you have the config.sys file with the following line(s) in it


LOAD=[drivername].sys
or
DEVICE=[drivername].sys

it loads, and typically, you'll see on the screen (as with most drivers), the driver currently loaded into the memory will often have the drivername being something similar to mscd0001 (notice the 8 letter limitation for the dos file system)

When you run mscdex.exe, you need to type in the following

mscdex /s /d:[driver] /l:[drive letter]

which given the information above, should be something like so...

mscdex /s /d:mscd0001 /l:d

or, if you're starting up the comp with the optional windows virtual ramdisk (typically makes it the next availible drive letter... which happens to be D)

mscdex /s /d:mscd0001 /l:e

after that, you can instantly access the cdrom from dos. For a more permanent solution, so you don't have to type the same commands in every time, just put in the command(s) listed above into the autoexec.bat file on the root directory of the active drive.

Using
LOAD=cdrom.sys

causes the following error message: "Unrecognized command in your
CONFIG.SYS file."


Using
DEVICE=cdrom.sys
mscdex /s /d:cdrom /l:d

has same problem as I first stated - DOS won't boot

I'm sure you guys are telling me valid info so I think the problem lies with my version of DOS (6.2) or I have some other problem because it just seems to me that if two books tell me how and you tell me the same thing then the statements are correct it's just something else wromg at my end.

[Realged13]

A lot of that talk is just making everything sound so confusing.

[baloney_mahoney]

I must have been using the wrong driver.

Config.sys =
DEVICE=C:\DOSDRVRS\CDROM\ATAPICD.SYS /D:CDROM01

Autoexec.bat =
C:\DOSDRVRS\CDROM\MSCDEX.EXE /D:CDROM01

The above statements work