🚀 go-pugleaf

["Followup-To:" header set to 24hoursupport.helpdesk.]
On 2010-10-26, ~BD~ <~BD~@nomail.afraid.org> wrote:
> Peter Foldes wrote:
>> Tell me which application is being used for what purpose
>>
>> Boot 

No application involved, and no probably OS either; most 'personal
computers' will have a 'BIOS' in firmware or hardware to take care of
hardware start-up and starting of operating system(s) (if any).

>> to the A:\ drive

Mention of "A:\ drive" means you're expecting some sort of Microsoft 
operating system (other OSs don't use 'drive letters').  Conventionally, 
A:\ is some sort of 'floppy disc drive', but doesn't have to be.

If A:\ is a 'bootable' or 'system' disc (or equivalent) then for MS DOS it 
will have to have the 'system files' and an executable called 'config.sys' 
as a minimum; possibly also an executable called 'autoexec.bat'.  If the OS
is one of the more recent manifestations of 'Windows' or 'NT' then the 
essential files and executables will be different.

>> Delete Partition

[*] There are/were several utilities for doing that for Microsoft OSs, some 
included in the original installation or boxed set, some 'external' or 
'third party'.  
<http://www.teoma.com/web?qsrc=0&o=102541&l=dir&fhp=1&q=dos+partition+manager>

>> A:\Format

I do hope no-one confuses a format command with deleting a partition!  I 
think all Microsoft OSs have included a tool to 'format' partitions, so 
you'd probably use the one provided (with suitable parameters, of course).

>> Create Partition if needed

See [*] above.

>> A:\ c:
>> Then when switched to C:\ the computers Hard Drive.
>> What comes next ? 

Presumably whatever it is you want to do with the OS you've booted into on 
A:\, which is still the OS that's running.  

As far as we know, C:\ is blank empty and unformatted at this point.

This is a slightly unusual scenario, as any computer with a hard disc 
would normally have its usual OS[s] installed on the hard disc and 
the BIOS would boot [one of them] automatically without a floppy disc 
being used at all.

>> And what did I just do with which DOS based
>> application on any given computer today or in the past.

"Application" usually means some sort of 'high level program' such as a 
web browser or spreadsheet or usenet client; in that sense no application 
has been used yet - although a partition management tool could be complex 
enough to be called an application, I suppose.  The other commands or 
executables invoked are just 'tools', not applications.

Strictly speaking, no DOS is involved at all in Windows XP or any later
Microsoft OS - but the command-line tools provided do have a close family 
resemblence to their DOS precursors.

"DOS based applications" generally only run on DOS or possibly Windows 
OSs, although other OSs may get somewhere using an 'emulator' or 'virtual 
machine' of some sort.  But the questionner seems to be unaware of 
non-Microsoft software.

> I'd appreciate one of the clever guys from 24hsh helping with this!
>
> Might FDISK play a part?

Insofar as most versions of fdisk seem to be capable of formatting 
partitions into something Microsoft OSs can use, and some can (I think) 
even carry out some partition management tasks, then yes, fdisk might play
a part - but other tools could be used instead.  Arguably, better tools if 
you lift the restriction to using MS OSs only  ;))

-- 
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
--  Whiskers 
-- ~~~~~~~~~~