[RESOLVED] re:computer newbie,dazed and confused!

I have a 200 MHz Pentium MMX Packard Bell computer with a Lite-On LTN 202 CD-ROM drive. The computer was bought at the end of 1997. I was reading up on making a start-up disk,(I had made one when I first got the computer). Now, I read that I must put the CD-ROM driver onto the disk. When I tried to look up a driver for this, the Universal CD-ROM driver says it is only for Windows 3.1 and DOS. It says to go to the Windows 95 IDE CD-ROM section. That section says that "IDE CD-ROM drives do not have specific drivers written for Windows 95. The drivers are standard and generic and built into Windows 95." Does that mean I do not need them? Also, if I go into Device Manager>properties>drivers, it says "no driver files are required or have been loaded for this device." In addition, I have a floppy (restore diskette they labeled it), and a CD that came with the computer that is supposed to restore all factory software and Windows 95, so do I even need a startup disk? A computer guy at the store was saying I did not need a startup disk if I had both that floppy and the CD. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Meralx

I am not familiar with the unit, but I suspect the "store guy" was correct...that's why they have the disk. I would check your user's manual...it will likely explain what the diskette and CD-ROM are for.

If you still think you need a Windows 95 startup diskette, make the startup from Start | Settings | Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs, following the directions that Windows gives. After you are done, you will need to copy MSCDEX.EXE to the diskette - it is usually in the C:\windows\command\ folder. Then, you will need to copy the DOS driver you mentioned (yes, DOS, really...) to the diskette. You will need to add a line to CONFIG.SYS and a line to AUTOEXEC.BAT on the diskette, as follows:

[1] in CONFIG.SYS -
DEVICE=<your DOS CD-ROM driver> /D:CDROMDRV

[2] in AUTOEXEC.BAT
MSCDEX.EXE /D:CDROMDRV

Then, test this by inserting it into the floppy drive and turning on the computer. Make sure you can read the CD-ROM drive.

If this is a bit complicated, find a techie friend that can help you out. Hope this helps...