How to Create a Windows 98 Startup Disk

In Microsoft Windows 98, creating a bootable rescue floppy disk—officially known as an Emergency Startup Disk (ESD)—was a vital maintenance task for system troubleshooting, partitioning, and reinstalling the operating system. This guide explains the official method used to generate a Windows 98 startup disk through the graphical interface, outlines the necessary hardware requirements, and details what files and utilities the process installed onto the disk.

Requirements

Before beginning the creation process, users needed the following items:

  • A computer running Microsoft Windows 98 or Windows 98 Second Edition (SE).
  • A standard 3.5-inch, 1.44 MB high-density floppy diskette.
  • The original Windows 98 installation CD-ROM (frequently required if installation source files were not cached on the hard drive).

Step-by-Step Creation Process

  1. Insert the Floppy Disk: Insert a blank or reusable 1.44 MB floppy disk into drive A:. Any existing data on this diskette would be overwritten during the process.
  2. Open the Control Panel: Click the Start button, navigate to Settings, and select Control Panel.
  3. Access Add/Remove Programs: In the Control Panel window, double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
  4. Select the Startup Disk Tab: In the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, click on the Startup Disk tab located at the top.
  5. Initiate Disk Creation: Click the Create Disk... button.
  6. Provide Source Files (If Prompted): If Windows 98 could not locate the required system files on the local drive, a prompt appeared asking for the Windows 98 CD-ROM. Insert the CD into the drive, specify the path (typically D:\win98), and click OK.
  7. Confirm Floppy Insertion: A dialog box prompted the user to insert a formatted diskette into drive A:. Click OK to proceed.
  8. Wait for File Transfer: Windows 98 formatted the disk (if needed) and copied the system files, diagnostic tools, and generic CD-ROM drivers. A progress bar tracked the transfer.
  9. Finalize: Once the progress bar reached 100%, remove the floppy disk from the drive, write-protect it using the plastic sliding tab, and label it "Windows 98 Startup Disk."

Tools Included on the Disk

The Windows 98 Startup Disk differed from older DOS boot disks by including generic real-mode ATAPI and SCSI CD-ROM drivers. Upon booting, the disk configured a temporary RAM drive (typically drive D: or E:) and unpacked EBD.CAB, providing immediate access to critical recovery tools:

  • FDISK.EXE: Hard drive partitioning utility.
  • FORMAT.COM: Drive formatting tool.
  • SCANDISK.EXE: Disk analysis and repair utility.
  • SYS.COM: Utility to transfer core DOS system files back to a hard drive.
  • EXTRACT.EXE: Tool to manually extract compressed files from Windows Cabinet (.CAB) archives.