Reference number: CH000433

How do I get a boot diskette?

Question:

How do I get a boot diskette?

Answer:

1. There are a few possibilities; first, ensure that you do not have a manufacturer boot diskette. Generally, when computers are purchased from an OEM, the OEM will provide a bootable diskette.
2. If you have purchased an operating system from a retailer it might have come with a bootable diskette. Or if you have a copy of MS-DOS diskettes, the first diskette in the series of the disks is a bootable diskette. Note: Newer computer operating systems such as Windows 98 and Windows ME have bootable CDs.
3. If you legally have purchased your copy of an operating system, we recommend that you use a friend's or company's computer to create a boot diskette. Once created and your system is restored, we then recommend that you create your own boot diskette off of your own computer. Note: When creating a bootable diskette from another computer, ensure you are creating the bootable diskette from the same operating system as some of the files are different between operating systems.

• Additional information and help with creating a bootable diskette can be found on our boot disk page.

Computer Hope cannot and will not provide files to anyone regardless if they have legally purchased the operating system as Microsoft will not allow any computer company to freely give out these files legally. Other files that can be downloaded can be found on our download page.