How to Create a Windows 98 Startup Disk that Supports FAT32

This article describes how to create a Windows 98 Startup disk that supports the file allocation table 32 (FAT32) file system.

The Windows 98 CD-ROM contains a program that you can use to create a Startup disk that can create and read FAT32 partitions. To use the Startup disk, place it in the floppy disk drive, and then restart your computer. Note that the floppy disk does not contain all of the programs that are included on the Windows 98 Startup disk.

How to Create a Windows 98 Startup Disk

To create a Windows 98 Startup disk that supports the FAT32 file system, use either of the following methods.

Method 1

1. Place the Windows 98 CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive, and have a floppy disk available.
2. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Windows Explorer.
3. Open the following folder on the Windows 98 CD-ROM:
   Tools\Mtsutil\Fat32ebd
4. Double-click the following file, and then follow the instructions to create the Startup disk:
   Fat32ebd.exe
5. Write protect the floppy disk.

Method 2 (Standard Windows 98 Startup Disk)

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
3. On the Startup Disk tab, click Create Disk.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen.

How to Create a Startup Disk in Microsoft Windows 3.1

To create a Startup disk in Windows 3.1, quit Windows 3.1, and then create the disk from MS-DOS:

1. Place the Windows 98 CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive and have a floppy disk available.
2. Type each of the following commands, and press ENTER after each line, where drive is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive:
   windows\smartdrv.exe
   drive:
   cd\tools\mtsutil\fat32ebd
   fat32ebd.exe
   Note that the Smartdrv.exe program is not required to create a Windows 98 Startup disk. Smartdrv.exe is used only to speed the creation of the startup disk.
3. Follow the instructions to create the Startup disk.
4. Write protect the floppy disk to prevent the disk from being erased or infected with a virus.

For additional information about the Fat32ebd.exe program, read the Fat32ebd.txt file which is located in the following folder on the Windows 98 CD-ROM: