• using WinImage
• some decent info
• general strategy:
  • we can have one general-purpose two-stage DOS CD, built off of Hiren's, but no config.sys/autoexec.bat: all drivers will get loaded manually, via loadsys.exe.
  • however, that'll still be complicated, so we can also build a single-purpose CD (that's simpler and maybe doesn't involve a ramdrive or .cab files), once we know exactly what drivers we need

full command-line Hiren's

1. use WinImage to extract the stage1 boot floppy (Image > Boot Sector properties, Export)
2. use WinImage to open that floppy .ima, and extract all the files into a new directory
3. blank all of config.sys except for [EMM], [NOEMM], [COMMON], and this at the very top:

   [menu]
   menuitem=EMM, Load EMM (expanded memory manager)
   menuitem=NOEMM, Don't load EMM
   

4. modify the top section of autoexec.bat to read:

   @echo off
   set path=
   set ramd=R
   set keyboard=US 
   startup all
   goto ramd
   

   or, for even less:

   @echo off
   set path=
   set ramd=R
   set keyboard=US 
   goto end
   

5. in WinImage, do File>New, create a 1.44MB image
   • add all the files to it
   • Image > Boot Sector properties > MS-DOS 6.22 (actually, this DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK — instead, start with the original hiren boot floppy, remove all of its files (thus keeping its boot record), and copy your files into it)
   • save it as a .ima
6. extract all the files from the .iso (all ~700mb) into another folder
7. now, use your bruning program (Nero, Roxio, whatever) to burn all the 700mb files, and using your new .ima file as the boot floppy
   • in Roxio Classic, it's File > New Project > Bootable disc

To use (these are valid for Hiren's 9.5)

• a:\startup all, plus any of these arguments: (see autoexec.Dat for details)
  • nocd if you don't want to load CD drivers, otherwise leave it off
• r:\temp\loadcd.bat if you want to load the CD drive

Hiren's, driver-loading kept intact, but everything else is customized

• see here

Hiren's, drivers for one specific computer

• as above, but 1) extract the specific drivers needed from the .cab files, 2) get rid of ALL the ramdrive stuff, and all the .cab files, and everything we don't need, and just load the very specific files we want
• delete these files from the floppy: autoexec.Dat, jo.sys, startup.bat, ...
• if you're trying to do a Ghost CD, see its command line here

See other

• Building a DOS Boot CDROM