How to Make a Windows Xp Boot Disk

By: Otis Cooper

When you press the power button on your computer and it just sit





there with none of those clicking and beeping sounds along with





the monitor still having that blank screen,you know that you're





going to have a bad day.





A computer that fails to boot can be one of the most pain





staking things that can happen to a pc user.And in most cases,





the user don't have a clue as to what procedures they can take





to get the PC up and running again.





When you do experience pc bootup failure, always start your





troubleshooting by checking the obvious.It the cord plugged into





the wall outlet and is the other end securely plugged in the





rear of the system unit.





In many cases the cause is a corrupted startup file which





prevent the computer from going through the bootup from start to





finish.In this case, an easy way to start your PC is to have an





emergency boot disk handy.





A Boot Disk contain copies of critical files needed for startup





that you should have made earlier.To use the floppy disk, all





you need do is to place it in the floppy drive and reboot the





computer.





As the computer start the boot process, Windows will use the





good files to get itself going.The Windows XP boot disk will





enable you to resolve a corrupt Ntbootdd.sys driver, missing or





corrupt Ntdr or Ntdetect.com files.





These files are used by Windows XP and are crucial to its





startup and configuration.The boot disk have also repair a





damaged MBR or Master Boot Record.





The MBR is a small program executed when the PC boots and





resides on the first sector of the hard driveIt looks up the





partition on the hard drive.You can create a MBR with the FDISK





/MBR coomand





A damaged boot sector can also be corrected with the boot





disk.Your Windows XP boot disk will be a life saver when you





have pc bootup failure and you need that file for your next





interview.





A sector is the smallest unit that can be accessed on a





disk.When a disk is low level formatted, it will be divided





tracks and sectors





When making a boot disk make a mental note of the files being





copied.This will give you added knowledge when you will need to





help in making their boot disk.To make a boot disk, perform the





following.





Place a blank formatted floppy disk in your floppy drive and go





to My Computer in Windows XP.Click the hard drive icon and on





the toolbar, click Tools, Folder Options, and then click the





View Tab.





And scroll down and check "Show hidden files and folders" and





just below uncheck "Hide protected operating system files





(recommended). Now we're getting a little slower.





Take note of this process and as you become more familiar with





this task, you'll be able to make a boot disk for others in no





time and help them save on down time.





After unchecking "Hide protected operating system files, click





OK.Some grayed out files will now be visible in the drive





window.These files are protected system files.





Now you're ready to select the boot, the NTDETECT, and the ntldr





files.Now right-click, click Send To, and select Floppy ( A:





).When you have copied all files to the floppy, you now have a





Windows XP boot disk.





You should make two or more boot disks and place them in a safe





place away from any type of magnetic or static charges.Before





putting them away don't forget to label your life saving floppy





disks.





Should you be unfortunate enough to have to put one of your boot





floppies to use, remember to replace the startup files on the





hard drive with the ones on the floppy.





If you overlook this critical step, you'll have the same boot





up problem every time.Take your time as you copy the files and





be sure not to reverse the copy procedure.





This is why its important to make two or more boot disks. This





way should you have an accident with one disk, so what, you paid





attention here and made several copies.





You've done it.You're now armed with a repair tool should your





XP computer fail to boot.All Windows 98, 2000, and Me users also





have the resources to create a book disk.

About the Author

Otis F. Cooper is solely dedicated to boosting the

knowledge and confidence of every computer user.

Sign up to receive his informative articles every

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(ArticlesBase SC #87173)

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