Section 1 - General Information
1.1 - Assumptions regarding this FAQ
In writing this FAQ, I am assuming you have working knowledge of a standard PC. This includes how to create regular boot disks, use CD-R mastering software etc and are familiar with the terms such as CD-R, CD-RW, SCSI, BIOS and others.
With that in mind, I have tried to present information relating to bootable CDs in the simplest manner possible. If you are reading this without knowing the previous terms or are unfamiliar with CD recording, I suggest you check my links section for more information, then come back here.
1.2 - What is a bootable CD?
As the name suggests, a bootable CD can be used to boot a PC, just like a floppy. Indeed, you use a bootable floppy disk in creating the CD. Yes, that's right, you can create a special CD that can accomplish this job, albeit with special hardware and software. Why not use a floppy? Here are a few reasons:
1. Floppy disks, a magnetic medium deteriorate much faster than more reliable CDs, an optical medium.
2. Floppy disks can only hold 1.44 megabytes (standard) where as a 74 minute CD can hold 650 megabytes. This is the principle reason why people create bootable CDs.
3. CD-ROM drives are faster than floppy drives. Hence boot times are less.
Bootable CDs conform to the "El Torito" specification which was developed by Phoenix Technologies. This specification dictates how information should be stored on the CD-ROM when created so it can be booted. This specification has rapidly become standard and most modern hardware such as mother boards and SCSI adapters support booting from such CD-ROMs.
1.3 - What are bootable CDs good for?
The best reason to create a bootable CD is for backup purposes, due to the great capacity a CD-ROM offers. It also has the benefit of being quite a speedy medium and super reliable. Another reason you may wish to create a bootable CD is to aid in software installation.
You create a "master" machine with all the software you want installed, then create an "image" that you put on a CD-R. This can then be used to build an entirely new machine relatively quickly, foregoing the need to install the same software all over again. Or the CD can be used to restore a system back to its initial state after some failure. How do you do this? Such procedures are covered later in this FAQ. (Note: Information on this aspect will be added in the future.)
