MKBT, Make Bootable

Create any boot- floppy/image from any win32 platform with any media
size...
Version 2.0
Last updated on Jan 7, 2003
- What is MKBT? [#what]
- Download [#download]
- On what platforms can MKBT be run? [#platforms]
- What is the command line syntax? [#syntax]
- What is so unique about MKBT? [#aboutmkbt]
- Are there any other bootsector installers? [#others]
- Where can I find the latest version? [#latestversion]
- How to build a bootable floppy [#build]
- How to build a bootable 2.88MB floppy image file (without the
drive) [#build288]
- How does MKBT work? (technical) [#howitworks]
- Bootsector installation [#install]
- Bootsector copy (-c) [#copy]
- Change log [#changes]
> What is MKBT?
[#what]
MKBT is used for installing bootsectors. It supports FAT, NTFS
[/fixnt4/] and RAW bootsectors.
> Download
[#download]
To download MKBT use this link: MKBT v2.0
> On what platforms can MKBT be run?
[#platforms]
MKBT is compiled as a win32 executable and runs on:
* Windows 95/98/ME (FAT)
* Windows NT4/2000/XP (FAT and NTFS)
> What is the command line syntax?
[#syntax]
MKBT usage
Usage:
mkbt [switches] <source> <target>
<source> The source file/drive which contains the bootsector to install
<target> The target file/drive to install the bootsector on
Switches: -v
-c

Verbose mode
Copy mode (no install) used for copying the
bootsector(s)
-x
Expert mode (do not check drive A or B only)
USE WITH CAUTION!
-l=<xxx> Set Volume Label to <xxx>

Returns errorlevel 0 when OK, 1 when some error occurred.

Examples:
To install bootsector from file "bootsect.bin" onto drive A:
-> mkbt c:\os\dos622\bootsect.bin a:
To install bootsector from file "bootsect.bin" onto floppy image "288.img"
-> mkbt c:\os\dos622\bootsect.bin c:\tmp\288.img
To copy bootsector from a bootable floppy in drive A: to a file called
"bootsect.bin"
-> mkbt -c a: c:\os\dos622\bootsect.bin
> What is so unique about MKBT?
[#aboutmkbt]
Unique things about MKBT are:
* It supports transferring a bootsector to floppy images. This
allows you to create a bootable 2.88MB floppy image without
needing a 2.88MB floppy drive. See How to build a bootable floppy
image file [#buildimage]
* It is a win32 executable (not Dos)
> Are there any other bootsector installers?
[#others]
Yes, I've found one other bootsector installer, "bootable.exe"
[http://alexfru.chat.ru/programming/bootprog.zip]written by Alexei A.
Frounze [http://alexfru.chat.ru/eindex.html]. It is a Dos executable
and only supports transferring a bootsector from file to floppy drive
(A: or B:).
> Where can I find the latest version?
[#latestversion]
The latest version can be found on http://www.nu2.nu/mkbt/
> How to build a bootable floppy
[#build]
You can use any Dos version, any Dos supported floppy disk size to
build your bootable floppy. For each Dos version you must have the
following 4 boot files:
* The bootsector in a file called "bootsect.bin"
You can capture the bootsector to a file using: mkbt -c a:
bootsect.bin
* IO.SYS (or IBMBIO.COM for Novell Dos)
* MSDOS.SYS (or IBMDOS.COM for Novell Dos)
* COMMAND.COM
For this example we will use MS-Windows 98 (version 4.10.1998),
therefor we put the files in a folder called "4101998". They must have
"normal" attributes (not hidden/system/readonly!).
You can now use makeboot.bat (which is include with the MKBT download
zipfile).
makeboot.bat takes one parameter, that is the directory where the Dos
bootfiles can be found.
Example: makeboot c:\os\4101998
or when your in the "c:\os" folder, just makeboot 4101998
> How to build a bootable 2.88MB floppy image file (without the drive)

[#build288]
Use bfi - Build Floppy Image [/bfi/].
> How does MKBT work? (technical)
[#howitworks]
MKBT copies parts of the bootsector. The bootsector, the very first
sector of a floppy disk, is 512 bytes long and looks like this:
FAT Boot sector
Offset Length
Meaning
0x0
3 bytes Jump instruction
0x3
8 bytes OEM Name
0xB
25 bytes BIOS parameter block
0x24 26 bytes Extended BIOS parameter block
0x3E 448 bytes Bootstrap code
0x1FE 2 bytes End of sector marker
The BIOS parameter block and extended BIOS parameter block contains
the information:
BIOS parameter block for FAT volumes
Offset Length
Meaning
0xB
2 bytes Bytes per sector
0xD
1 byte Sectors per cluster
0x0E 2 bytes Reserved sectors
0x10 1 byte Number of FATs
0x11 2 bytes Root entries
0x13 2 bytes Small sectors
0x15 1 byte Media type
0x16 2 bytes Sectors per FAT
0x18 2 bytes Sectors per track
0x1A 2 bytes Number of heads
0x1C 4 bytes Hidden sectors
0x20 4 bytes Large sectors
Extended BIOS parameter block for FAT volumes
Offset Length
Meaning
0x24 1 byte Physical disk number
0x25 1 byte Dos: Current head
NT: Dirty flag
0x26 1 byte Signature
0x27 4 bytes Volume serial number
0x2B 11 bytes Volume label
0x36 8 bytes Filesystem ID
> Bootsector installation
[#install]
Below are the steps MKBT takes to install a bootsector:
Steps for bootsector installation
Step Source sector Buffer 1 Buffer 2 Target sector
1. Read source sector in buffer 1
2. Read target sector in buffer 2
3. Transfer bootsector parts from buffer 1 to buffer 2
4. Write buffer 2 to target sector
> Bootsector copy (-c)
[#copy]
MKBT v1.3 (and higher) copy bootsector option copies the complete
bootsector!
(previous versions only copied those sections that where needed to

install it)
> Change log
[#changes]
Change log for MKBT [changes.txt]
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Copyright (c) 2000-2003 by Bart Lagerweij. All rights reserved.