Create a bootable diskette to boot your IBM Aptiva to DOS.
The IBM Aptiva is an older, 1990s-model computer. The machine includes a floppy disk drive that can be used to boot the computer to an Microsoft DOS prompt. A bootable diskette contains the files necessary to boot directly to the prompt. This is beneficial when you want to format the hard drive or copy files directly from DOS to a device. You can create a bootable diskette from the Windows command prompt, reboot the machine and access DOS.
Instructions
1. Insert your blank floppy diskette into the Aptiva's drive. Click the Windows "Start" button, select "Run" and enter "cmd" into the text box. If you are running an older operating system, such as Windows 98 or 95, enter "command" to open the command prompt.
2. Type "format a:/s" into the command prompt. This formats the floppy diskette. The "/s" switch copies essential system files, which makes the disk bootable.
3. Leave the floppy diskette in the drive and reboot the machine. The computer detects that a floppy disk is inserted and reads the boot files from the disk. After a few seconds, you'll see the DOS prompt.
Tags: bootable diskette, command prompt, floppy diskette, floppy disk, prompt This