How do I create a bootable Windows 2000/NT installation CD-ROM?

A. Its possible to create a bootable CD-ROM from the basic I386structure. This is useful since Microsoft are release many builds of Windows2000 and creating a bootable CD may be useful. This will also work with thefinished version of 2000 (but the CDROM_IS.5B3 name will change).

You will require version 3.7D of CDRWIN from http://www.goldenhawk.comand will need to load the necessary ASPI drivers. The free download version isfully functional but will only write at 1 speed.

Before starting the CD creation create a directory and copy into it the I386structure of 2000 and the CDROM_IS.5 file from the Beta 3 CD-ROM. As ofRelease Candidate 2 the name is CDROM_IS.5. You cancheck which CSROM_IS file its expecting by looking at file i386layout.inf, forexample:

[Version]
signature="$Windows NT$"
ClassGUID={00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}

[SourceDisksNames]


_x = %srvcd%,cdrom_is.5,,""
_1 = %srvcd%,cdrom_is.5,,""
_2 = %srvcd%,cdrom_is.5,,""
_3 = %srvcd%,cdrom_is.5,,""
_4 = %srvcd%,cdrom_is.5,,""
etc...

Now you have a directory on disk with the I386 structure and the CDROM_IS.5file. I've created a copy of this file and the boot sector of the CD-ROM in fileBOOTCD.ZIP which will allow you to skip steps1 to 5 below.

Once CD completion is complete you will have a file where you specified theISO9660 Image File of around 400MB which may be deleted (its just the ISO imagethat was copied to the CD).

You will now be able to boot with the CD (providing the motherboard and biossupport CD-ROM booting). I tested the above on build 2072 of Windows 2000.

Thanks to Joseph R. Worrall who come up with most of the above originally forBeta 2 and I've just updated it for build 2114 and the final version.

You can also use the above to make a Windows NT4 bootable CD in the same way.It's the same instructions as Windows 2000, except that instead of CDROM_IS.5 (for server) you need the CDROM_S.40 (orequivalent _W.40 for workstation). You also need the bootfix.bin file from a Windows 2000 i386 directory (this is the cool bit that says "Press any key to boot from CD-ROM" - another bonus!).Thanks to Steve Randall for pointing this out.