How to create a bootable PC card

[cipher17]

Hi,
My laptop (IBM TP 760XL) BIOS gives the option to boot from PCMCIA card (PC card). I have a 32 MB ATA flash card (PCMCIA card). Problem is how to make it bootable, to boot the laptop, so that fresh installation of an OS (say W2K) can be made.
Does anyone know of a software or utility to make the PC card bootable?

cheers,
Cipher17

 

[reverendm]

i'm unfamiliar with flash cards. but.

are you able to mount it as a drive? what dose your laptop catigorise your card as? what OS's do you use?

my stabb at it would be to place upon the card necesary boot files. i.e. what you would find on a boot floppy.

since the bios is giving you an option then your already ahead of the prosses by many steps.

what i have done.

i have a camera that uses usb. it has a flash card <-- not important. i mounted it as a drive and placed all the goodies needed to boot on it. i then restarted and after configing bios to boot via usb was able load a stripped down version of linux into ramdisk.

tell me how it did and ask more questions too.

 

[reverendm]

forgot a question.

what have you tryed so far?

 

[MikeHalloran]

Boot from the hard drive as usual. Go to a DOS prompt.

If the PCMCIA card is addressed as B: in DOS,
then from the C:>
prompt, type:

SYS B:

The card should now be bootable. I think.





Mike Halloran
NOT speaking for
DeAngelo Marine Exhaust Inc.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

 

[reverendm]

under what kernel will that work mike?

you also asume that the persons os/cmos permits that.

fill in the details

 

[johnwm]

As the machine is specified as a PC type (first post) then the on board BIOS (which is hardware specific) will go first to the specified boot device to get the kernel loader. This specification I believe is determined by the firmware inherently defined by the PC compatible type.

That method is what enables you to run other operating systems.

Cold boot -> Firmware bios -> boot device -> kernel

Good Luck
johnwm
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[reverendm]

i just thought of something. a network card can be placed in the pcmcia slot. i'll bet you that thats what that option is for. to boot via network.

 

[HotSteam]

FORMAT is generally the utility that installs a boot strap on a drive. Both in wondows and DOS. If your flash card is recognized as a drive, format maybe what you need. On the other hand format doesn't work on CD or DVD drives. How and were a boot strap is written is dependent on the file system, OS and hardware.

I have a flash card interface that makes it look like a small hard drive. Format works on it.

Andy