the "old" boot disk i refer to is one that was made from the computor i am trying to fix BEFORE i lost the operating system.. it is windowsME...it doesnt work to the point where it will install but it will boot me up to the A: prompt... as will another disc i made from my acer windowxp.. a MSDOS startup disk... these are the only boot disks that will get me anywhere at all and then i get stuck at the A: prompt...
And nobody knows just what is on them, regarding CD-ROM support.
the boot disks i have been told to download from bootdisk so far none have worked. i am downloading them to C drive first (on a working computor) and then sending them to a floppy..
Hold it. Stop right there.
Yesterday, in my last PM to you, after I'd asked you to start a thread instead, I said:
Quoting myself:
At http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm
it says, " DOCS:
1. Most of the files above are disk images. Download the file to your C: drive, put a fresh disk in your A: drive, then click on the file to create the bootdisk. "
Did you do this, or simply copy the file you downloaded to a floppy?
Farther down on that page are comments about OEM disks.
Be sure to read the whole page.
I hope this helps.
Yesterday, I went to the web address that I included, and that text above is a copy-and-paste from there.
That PM from me to you has been received by you, so it is fair to assume that it has been read and understood.
Now you need to explain your above, "...and then sending them to a floppy."
To me, and I bet to most reading here, that means copied to floppy.
That is
not what the instructions said to do.
If you would like to read them in context, just go to the address that is in the above quoted PM.
when i try to boot with these, i get "remove disk and press any key"...
Which sounds to me just like a non-bootable disk.... which is what you would have if you simply copied the file(s) from bootdisk.com to a floppy.
if i boot with the "old" startup disk i can then put in another floppy and A: dir /p and it will list the files on the floppy but dont know where to go from there... if at A:> i type E:setup, it tells me invalid path.
Which sounds to me just like a bootable floppy that does not load support for a CD-ROM.
That's why you need to put this floppy, and any other old floppies you might have aside. You need to boot with something that we all know what you have..... thus, bootdisk.com and follow their directions.
it seems hopeless. ....
Because you are wheel spinning.
thank you so much for trying to help, i dont want to give up, but nothing is working 
Because you are doing the same thing, over and over.
Now then.... if you still have the file you downloaded from bootdisk.com on a hard drive, on a working computer - follow the directions:
"put a fresh disk in your A: drive, then click on the file to create the bootdisk. "
Let us know what happens when you do that much. Just that.
