MATTsoft Boot Manager - http://www.penguin.cz/~mhi/mbtmgr/ - documentation

6. Frequently asked questions

6.1 ATAPI CD-ROM BOOT problems

 This chapter is about problems with booting from CD-ROM.

6.1.1 Can't add "Boot from CD-ROM" item to my menu

You probably don't have installed FAT Multiloader, which is necessary to enable booting from CD-ROM. ATAPI Boot code is a part of FAT Multiloader, so you must install it first.

6.1.2 MBTMGR doesn't detect my CD-ROM

MBTMGR supports ONLY ATAPI CD-ROMs. Proprietary CD-ROMs such as Philips' CDU31a are not supported. If you have ATAPI CD-ROM and MBTMGR doesn't detect it correctly, it may be because:

6.1.3 MBTMGR says that CD-ROM is not bootable

Isn't it true?

6.1.4 Which bootable CD formats does MBTMGR recognize?

There is one standard for x86 bootable CD-ROMs, called "EL TORITO". Some vendors like Sun Microsystems use on their CD-ROMs other bootable mechanisms, which are not standardized.

These bootable CD formats are supported:

  • El torito 5.25" image 1.2MB
  • El torito 3.5" image 1.4MB (most CDs)
  • El torito 3.5" image 2.8MB (e.g. FreeBSD)
  • El torito hard disk image (e.g. Novell NetWare 5)
  • RAW bootable CD-ROM

    And these are not supported:

  • El torito "noemul" image (e.g. WinNT 4.0 CD-ROM)
  • Sun's bootable CDs, Sun Solaris 2.5/7 for x86

    6.1.5 Will you write also support for booting from ZIP/JAZ/TAPE?

    No, because I don't have a ZIP, JAZ or TAPE drive to play with. If you will buy me one, I can think about it ;-)