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Groups > comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage > #2397

Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector?

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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Yousuf Khan wrote
> Arno wrote

>> In theory, a bootable disk has a boot-signature in the
>> boot-sector, while a non-bootable disk does not have it and
>> should be skipped. As soon as the boot-secotr is loaded into
>> RAM and executed, it is actually too late as the BIOS has
>> relinquished control to it permenently at this time.

>> A PC bios expexts 0x55 0xAA in the last two bytes of the
>> first sector of a device in order to consider it bootable.
>> Maybe just overwriting these two bytes with 0x00 0x00 would
>> do the trick, but maybe it could confuse other software.
>> It should be easily reversible though in case of problems.

> Does this have anything to do with "active" and "non-active" partitions?

Nope, thats a different issue entirely.

> Because I have already tried removing the active property from any partitions that had active set in them. It didn't 
> do anything though.

Yeah, most bios just ignore that now when deciding what is bootable. 

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Thread

Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Yousuf Khan <bbbl67@spammenot.yahoo.com> - 2012-01-16 08:11 -0500
  Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Arno <me@privacy.net> - 2012-01-16 13:40 +0000
    Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Yousuf Khan <bbbl67@spammenot.yahoo.com> - 2012-01-16 09:56 -0500
      Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? "R. C. White" <rc@grandecom.net> - 2012-01-16 13:20 -0600
        Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-17 06:27 +1100
        Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Arno <me@privacy.net> - 2012-01-17 01:30 +0000
        Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Yousuf Khan <bbbl67@spammenot.yahoo.com> - 2012-01-17 03:44 -0500
          Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Paul <nospam@needed.com> - 2012-01-17 04:20 -0500
          Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? "R. C. White" <rc@grandecom.net> - 2012-01-17 11:53 -0600
            Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Paul <nospam@needed.com> - 2012-01-17 15:42 -0500
              Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Arno <me@privacy.net> - 2012-01-17 21:07 +0000
                Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Paul <nospam@needed.com> - 2012-01-17 19:23 -0500
              Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? "R. C. White" <rc@grandecom.net> - 2012-01-17 20:23 -0600
                Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Arno <me@privacy.net> - 2012-01-18 03:22 +0000
                Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Yousuf Khan <bbbl67@spammenot.yahoo.com> - 2012-01-18 16:05 -0500
            Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Yousuf Khan <bbbl67@spammenot.yahoo.com> - 2012-01-18 15:50 -0500
              Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Wolf K <wekirch@sympatico.ca> - 2012-01-18 16:55 -0500
                Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Yousuf Khan <bbbl67@spammenot.yahoo.com> - 2012-01-18 19:30 -0500
          Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-18 07:04 +1100
      Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-17 06:24 +1100
      Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Arno <me@privacy.net> - 2012-01-17 01:29 +0000
  Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Paul <nospam@needed.com> - 2012-01-16 12:58 -0500
    Re: Automatic Boot Disk redirector? Yousuf Khan <bbbl67@spammenot.yahoo.com> - 2012-01-17 03:48 -0500

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