
                    
                    Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
                    

    Questions:
    

Q1:  After installing Win95, the boot menu disappears. Why?
Q2:  The shareware MasterBooter doesn't recognize my Win95/OSR2/Win98
     partition. Why?
Q3:  After installing OSR2/Win98, the shareware MasterBooter doesn't recognize
     my old DOS/Win95 primary partitions. Why?
Q4:  DOS, Win95, WinNT doesn't boot properly from the slave/secondary
     harddisk. Why?
Q5:  Can I have the source code of the executables?
Q6:  What about future upgrades?
Q7:  Where can I find newer versions of MasterBooter?
Q8:  How do I uninstall MasterBooter?
Q9:  I have uninstalled MasterBooter / I have disabled FAT hiding
     and some FAT systems cannot boot. Why?
Q10: I'd like to install a new system, but all harddisk space is in use
     by one big partition, and I don't want to re-partition. Now what?
Q11: I've changed a parameter of an already existing partition with EFDISK,
     and now I cannot see it. Why?


    Answers:
    

Q1: After installing Win95, the boot menu disappears. Why?
A1: Win95 re-writes the Master Boot Record, erasing MasterBooter from it.
    Simply re-install MasterBooter and everything should work fine.  


Q2: The shareware MasterBooter doesn't recognize my Win95/OSR2/Win98
    partition. Why?
A2: The shareware versions before v2.2 didn't support Win95. From
    v2.2 the shareware versions recognize Win95(a) partitions, from
    v2.6 they recognize OSR2/Win98 too. These operating systems overwrite
    all FAT partitions' boot sector, and MasterBooter thinks they are
    all Win95/OSR2/Win98 systems.

  
Q3: After installing OSR2 or Win98, the shareware MasterBooter doesn't
    recognize my old DOS/Win95 primary partitions. Why?
A3: Both OSR2 and Win98 replace the boot sectors of every existing primary FAT
    systems during installation (Why? Now that's a good question!), that's
    why MasterBooter before v2.6 doesn't recognize them then.  

  
Q4: DOS, Win95/98 doesn't boot properly from the slave/secondary
    harddisk. Why?
A4: These operating systems can boot from the slave harddisk only
    if you enable FAT hiding during MasterBooter installation. Be sure
    you use v2.2 or newer version of MasterBooter and enable FAT hiding
    if you'd like to run these OSes from a slave harddisk.
    If you enabled FAT hiding and the system still doesn't boot,
    then you have to run the BOOTFIX utility, which corrects the
    'Physical Drive Number' value in all boot sectors.
    Please note, that if you set such corrected slave harddisk system
    as master later, then you have to re-run the BOOTFIX utility from
    a system floppy after you re-connected the harddisk as master.
    In other words, if you get the message 'Invalid system disk', then
    run the BOOTFIX utility and check the FAT hiding option :)
  

Q5: Can I have the source code of the executables?
A5: Sorry, no.  
  

Q6: What about future upgrades?
A6: They are free for registered users. If you need it via e-mail
    I'll send you for free. If you need it on floppy disk, send me a
    floppy or 5USD to cover the postal fees and the price of the floppy
    disk.  
  

Q7: Where can I find newer versions of MasterBooter?
A7: The official URL is:

    http://www.cyberjunkie.com/masterbooter

    Each time I release a new version, I upload it to SimtelNet, ZDnet
    and Albert's Ambry. Search there, if the link on the MasterBooter
    official page is too slow.
    Their URL are:
    ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/bootutil
    http://www.alberts.com (search for the string 'mrboot')
  

Q8: How do I uninstall MasterBooter?
A8: Run 'efdisk /mbr'.


Q9: I have uninstalled MasterBooter / I have disabled FAT hiding
    and some FAT systems cannot boot. Why?
A9: Before v2.2 you had to unhide all hidden FAT partitions before
    disabling FAT hiding. From v2.2 MasterBooter can unhide hidden FAT
    partitions on-the-fly. However, if you uninstall MasterBooter be sure
    to unhide all hidden FAT partitions first. If you use v2.7 or
    newer then the 'efdisk /mbr' command will automatically unhide all
    hidden FAT and NTFS partitions and will remove the boot menu.


Q10: I'd like to install a new system, but all harddisk space is in use
     by one big partition, and I don't want to re-partition. Now what?
A10: You have to use special software, which can resize or split your
     existing partition(s) without data loss. I know three programs:

    FIPS              - this is a freeware program, which can split large FAT
                        partitions
    Partition resizer - this is also a freeware program. It can resize and
                        move FAT16/32 partitions
    Partition Magic   - this is a commercial product by PowerQuest Inc.
                        This program can resize, split, move and convert many
                        types of partitions


Q11: I've changed a parameter of an already existing partition with EFDISK,
     and now I cannot access it. Why?
A11: First, DO NOT DO SUCH THINGS WITH EFDISK! If you change a parameter of
     an already existing partition, then EFDISK must erase that partition's
     boot sector in order to allow the formatting programs to work
     correctly. Do not resize, move or change the type of an already
     existing partition! If you did so, contact me, I can restore the
     old boot sector.


If you have more questions or problems, please run the mrescue.com
utility, create a rescue floppy and send me the MBRINFO file from it
with your harddisk's exact characteristics to:

mailto:masterbooter@cyberjunkie.com
