Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc:9702 comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware:8837 Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!noose.ecn.purdue.edu!stable.ecn.purdue.edu!gurganus From: gurganus@stable.ecn.purdue.edu (James P Gurganus) Subject: Re: Floppy disk questions Message-ID: Sender: root@noose.ecn.purdue.edu (ECN System Management) Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network References: <1991May18.163148.1048@husc3.harvard.edu> <1991May20.175056.24786@unx.sas.com> Date: 20 May 91 20:08:22 GMT sasgig@unx.sas.com (Greg Grimes) writes: >In an article, chandoni@husc9.harvard.edu (A Potential Security Problem) writes: >> >>Question 2: >> Is there a way to boot from drive B: (on my system, a >>3.5" drive) without switching the hardware? I'd like to >>keep my 5.25" drive as A:, but still boot the occasional >>3.5" disk... there must be some obvious way to do this, >>but I have no idea. >PC/Computing magazine threw this question out to readers last July >and there were at least two answers: (1) pull the skin off and swap >floppy cables (making A: B: and vice versa), or (2) there is actually >some software that does this you can buy. Didn't say how. My guess >is that it scrambles BIOS' ideas as to which floppy is which during >the boot process. >Personally I think (1) is the simplest, but if you want to know more >details about (2), I could go look it up if somebody else doesn't >answer first :-). I have a short program called BOOTB and all it (I think) does is put some information on the boot sector of a floppy that you stick in your normal boot drive. The code tells the computer to get the rest of its boot code from drive B. Supposedly, its as simple as that, although I've never used it (and I'm not even sure I've still got it.) I found it on a local BBS where I used to live, so I'm pretty sure its not commercial. If I remember correctly, the documentation for it said it would work for most software that followed normal DOS stuff (and I really have no idea what that means.) =) James Gurganus (gurganus@ecn.purdue.edu)