How to Make a Win98 Startup Disk

Though now obsolete, Windows 98 (also called "Win98") was a popular operating system released by Microsoft to improve on Windows 95. If you have this operating system installed on your computer, it's a smart idea to create a Win98 startup disk to use in case you have trouble booting your system. When inserted, the computer gives you the option to boot Windows 98 from your hard drive or this separate startup disk.

• 1

  Reboot your system and hold down the "Ctrl" button on your keyboard to load the "Startup" menu. Select "Command Prompt Only" from the list of options. You'll see a blinking cursor that indicates the computer is waiting for an instruction from you.

• 2

  Push your floppy disk into drive A of your computer and wait for the system to recognize the disk.

• 3

  Enter "cd windows\command" (no quotation marks) on the first line of the command prompt and then press "Enter."

• 4

  Enter "smrtdrv.exe" (no quotes) on the next command prompt and press "Enter" again.

• 5

  Type in "bootdisk a:" (no quotes) on the final line and then press "Enter" to start the process of saving the necessary files to your floppy disk. The system informs you when the startup disk is ready and you can withdraw the disk from your computer.

• 6

  Store this Win98 startup disk in a safe place where you can access it quickly if you have any issues booting your system in the future.