How to Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition

This article describes how to create a Windows boot disk to access a drive with a
faulty boot sequence on an Intel x86-processor-based computer.

This Windows boot disk can access a drive that has the Windows NT file system (NTFS) or File allocation table (FAT) file system installed. The procedures in this article can be useful to work around the following boot problems:

• Corrupted boot sector.
• Corrupted master boot record (MBR).
• Virus infections.
• Missing or corrupt NTLDR or Ntdetect.com.
• Incorrect Ntbootdd.sys driver.

This boot disk can also be used to boot from the shadow of a broken mirror, although you may need to change the Boot.ini file to do that. This Windows boot disk cannot be used for the following problems:

• Incorrect or corrupt device drivers that have been installed into the Windows System directory.
• Boot problems that occur after the OSLOADER screen. To work around or fix these problems, run the Emergency Repair disk, load the last known good control set, or reinstall Windows, if necessary. The Windows floppy disk must include the files NTLDR, Ntdetect.com, Boot.ini, and the correct device driver for your hard drive.

Note: The NTLDR, Ntdetect.com, and Boot.ini files usually have their file attributes set to System, Hidden, and Read-Only. You do not need to reset these attributes for this disk to work properly.
Method 1: You Do Not Have Access to a Computer Running Windows.

• Create a copy of the first Windows Setup disk using the diskcopy command, and then delete all files on the new disk.
• Copy the Ntdetect.com and NTLDR files from the i386 folder on the CD-ROM to the new disk.
• Rename the NTLDR file to "Setupldr.bin".
• Create a Boot.ini file. The following example works for a single partition SCSI drive with Windows installed under \WINNT; however, the exact value in the [operating systems] section depends upon the configuration of the Windows System you want to boot:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt

[operating systems]
scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows NT"

• If your computer boots from an IDE, EIDE, or ESDI hard drive or a SCSI adapter that does not have a built in BIOS, replace the scsi(0) with multi(0).

If you are using scsi(x) in the Boot.ini file, copy the correct device driver for the
SCSI controller in use on the computer, and then rename it to Ntbootdd.sys. If you are using multi(x) in the Boot.ini, you do not need to do this.

• Start your computer using the floppy disk, and then log on to Windows.
  Method 2: You Have Access to a Computer Running Windows
• Format a floppy disk using the Windows format utility.
• Copy NTLDR from the Windows Setup CD-ROM, Windows Setup floppy disk, or from a computer running the same version of Windows as the computer you want to access with the boot floppy. You may need to expand this file from NTLDR._ to NTLDR by using the following command line:

expand ntldr._ ntldr

• Copy the Ntdetect.com file to the disk.
• Create a Boot.ini file or copy one from a running Windows computer, and then modify it to match the computer you are trying to access. The following example works for a single partition SCSI drive with Windows installed under \WINNT; however, the exact value in the [operating systems] section depends upon the configuration of the Windows computer you are trying to access:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt

[operating systems]
scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows NT"

• If your computer starts from an IDE, EIDE, or ESDI hard drive, replace the scsi(0) with multi(0).
• If you are using scsi(x) in the Boot.ini, copy the correct device driver for the
  SCSI controller in use on the computer, and then rename it to Ntbootdd.sys. If you are using multi(x) in the Boot.ini, you do not need to do this.
• Start using the floppy disk, and then log on to Windows.

Troubleshooting
You may encounter one or more of the following problems when you attempt to start your computer using your Windows boot floppy disk:
If the path pointing to the system files is incorrect or includes the drive letter,
you may receive the following error message:
Windows could not start because of the following ARC firmware boot configuration problem: Did not properly generate ARC name for HAL and system paths. Please check the Windows (TM) documentation about ARC configuration options and your hardware reference manuals for additional information. Boot Failed.
If an incorrect SCSI driver has been selected or the Ntbootdd.sys file does not exist, you may receive the following message:
Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. Could not read from selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware. Please check the Windows (TM) documentation about hardware disk configuration and your hardware disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for additional information. Boot Failed.