Answer Line: Combine Your Rescue Disks on a Single CD

Many programs today recommend that users create a separate rescue disk--a bootable floppy to use in case of emergencies. Is there any way to put all of these onto one bootable CD?

Bill Snell, via the Internet

What a great idea! Yes, it's possible--at least most of the time. The instructions below may not work with every kind of rescue disk, however. And if your PC can't boot from a CD, just skip this tip.

To find out if it can, enter your CMOS setup program and look around. The method for entering the setup program varies from one computer to another, so I can't provide exact instructions. In most computers, pressing Delete or F2 soon after you turn on the computer--before it starts loading Windows--will bring up the setup menu. (When you first turn on your computer, there's usually a 5-second notice listing your machine's particular setup key.) Search the setup's various submenus until you find the boot-order option. Then see if booting from CD is one of the available selections.

To combine your rescue disks, you need a CD-R or CD-RW drive, and software for writing to it. I'll assume you have Roxio/Adaptec's Easy CD Creator program; it comes bundled with many CD-RW drives.

First, create the various rescue disks, if you haven't already done so. Once you've created these floppies, transfer each disk's contents to a separate folder on your hard drive. A number of programs, including Symantec's Norton AntiVirus, will let you create an emergency "disk" on your hard drive. If you find that option, use it.

You will definitely need a Windows start-up disk. Here's how to create one: Select Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. Click the Startup Disk tab, select Create Disk, and then follow the prompts. This procedure is an exception--copy the files to a floppy disk, not to your hard drive.

Once the programs are on your hard drive, test them. Put the Windows start-up disk in the floppy drive and select Start, Shut down, Restart. At the DOS prompt, use the Change Directory (cd) command to go to the folder for a program (for instance, to go to the c:\nav folder, type cd c:\nav and press Enter). Once inside the folder, type autoexec and press Enter to load that particular rescue program.

When you're satisfied that the disk works, create your CD. Back in Windows, put a blank CD-R or CD-RW disc into the drive. If this action doesn't launch Easy CD Creator, launch the program yourself; use the option to create a Data CD, not the option to use DirectCD.

When Easy CD Creator opens, select File, New CD Project, Bootable CD (see Figure 1). When prompted for a bootable floppy, insert the Windows start-up disk. Then drag the folders that contain your other rescue-disk files from the top pane of the CD Creator window (Explorer) to the bottom pane (CD Layout). Finally, click the Create CD icon.

When you boot from this CD, you'll find yourself at the DOS prompt in drive A:, a virtual floppy that functions the same as a regular Windows start-up disk. The other files from the CD-ROM are stored on the CD, which is probably one drive letter later than it would otherwise be (if your CD drive is usually D:, for instance, this time it will be E:). To get to it, type the drive letter followed by a colon and press Enter. Use the Directory (dir) command to see what folders are available; type dir /p to see just a screen at a time; and enter the cd command again to get to a particular folder. Once you reach a folder, type autoexec and press Enter.