Aaron <aaron.axvig@sendit.nodak.edu> wrote:
> From reading online, as described above, it seems that I should be able
> to have a floppy containing Lilo prepared to boot Linux or Windows (ME
> in my case).

You can but why would you want to?

> My reasoning behind wanting this is I will be able to have
> Windows load automatically

You could have that simply by naming it as the default in lilo or grub -
there is no need to use a floppy.

> and I won't have to mess with boot
> partitions,

You don't have to mess with boot partitions. But even if you wanted to
mess with a boot partition, what's the difficulty with that? You make a
boot partition and put your kernel image and boot map onto it. But why
not put your kernel image and boot map on the root partition instead,
and nt make a boot partition at all?

> MBRs,

You always have to mess with the MBR, since that's where the boot
code is SO what? You can always chaneg it back, or forward, or
sideways.

> and all other crap.

There is no "other crap".

> I almost lost all my stuff once,

No you didn't. Messing with the boot sector does not affect your data.
Messing with the partition table does not affect your data. You can
always put things back the way they were and boot the way you used to
and read the partitions you used to read.

> don't want to come close again.

Then start wanting to.

> Linux is already installed on other slave harddrive, Windows on master.
> Just please let me have a disk that I can pop in whenever I want Linux.

Then go ahead. But why?

> The problem I've been having is that all directions for creating this
> magical disk are done in Linux,

That's correct. There is no magic.

> which I currently do not understand or

Then understand it.

> have bootable.


Then boot it.

> I would like to be able to make the disk in Windows.


You can't. Windows doesn't have the utilities. The best you could do
is copy a preprepared boot disk image to the floppy in windows, using
some raw copy utility for windows.

But why use a floppy at all? You can boot linux from windows boot
manager just fine. You can either use loadlinux.exe to boot a kernel
image on the msdos partition directly, or you can add a linux boot
sector to the list of boot sectors booted by the win.ini file,
after creating the linux boot sector on a partition boot record and
copying it to windows as a file.

But all those solutions require you to have the tools. And the tools
are in linux. So you will have to boot linux.

> Maybe a disk image could be sent to me, or something?

No, maybe you could pick one up from your distro cd. Why don't you just
oot from the cd? It can boot a disk installation just fine, as can
windows.

You are going about this barse-ackwards, thanks to your superstitions.
Lose them.

Peter