Drives

CD-ROM, DVD, floppy, hard disk drives, SCSI, ATA, IDE and other related questions.

Q: How can I access my SCSI CD-ROM drive in DOS?

A: Follow these instructions:

1. Create a bootable diskette. In DOS use the "format a: /s" command. In Windows 95/98 right click on the drive letter displayed under My Computer and choose "Format". Verify that the "Copy System Files" checkbox is selected.

2. Download DOSDRVR.EXE and save it in the floppy disk just formatted.

3. After downloading, execute the DOSDRVR.EXE file. As a result, several files will be decompressed.

4. Copy the file named MSCDEX.EXE to the diskette.  This file is part of the Operating System. In Windows 95/98 it can be found in the \windows\command directory. Under MS-DOS it can be found in the \dos directory.

5. Create a blank text file using Notepad or Edit and paste the lines listed below in it. Save the file as A:\CONFIG.SYS

6. Create a blank text file using Notepad and paste the lines listed below in it. Save the file as A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT

7. Leave the diskette inserted in the floppy drive and restart the computer. The CD-ROM drive will get assigned the next drive letter available. If the computer does not boot from the diskette, check your CMOS Setup to verify that the computer is set to boot from the diskette first before booting from the hard drive. For additional information please refer the README.TXT file that is part of DOSDRVR.EXE. Regarding MSCDEX.EXE type MSCDEX /? at the command line.