Author Topic: Is anyone interested in a guide for creating an OS/2 2.1 Installation CD-ROM?  (Read 7925 times)

RTAN

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I recently picked up a boxed edition of OS/2 2.11 on 3.5" disks. This is the fairly rare OS/2 2.11 which is essentially OS/2 2.1 with Fixpaks, I don't believe it's the other OS/2 2.11 (i.e. the SMP version).

I also have OS/2 2.1 on CD-ROM and since the CD-ROM really just contains the contents of each floppy disk in appropriately named folders I was convinced that I should be able to find a way to turn my OS/2 2.11 floppy disk version into one that I could install from CD instead.

Moreover I naturally wanted to use a regular ATAPI/IDE CD-ROM drive, and of course I wanted large hard drive support as well.

So by slipstreaming the official IBM updated IDE and ATAPI drivers and by making lots of mistakes along the way, I actually managed to get it to work!

That is:
  • I created a CD-ROM containing the contents of each floppy disk, the printer drivers, the display drivers and MMPM.
  • I created a modified Diskette 1 which supports large hard drives and ATAPI/IDE CD-ROM drives.
  • I modified the config.sys on my modified Diskette 1 to actually use the CD-ROM rather than floppy disks for Diskette 2 onwards.
It was one of those things that probably took me an awful lot longer to accomplish than any time that I actually saved by being able to install from CD instead of from floppy disk! Nevertheless I was pleased to get it working, and it's given me a much better understanding of OS/2's installation and boot process.

I took plenty of notes along the way but they're only in Notepad and they could probably do with a little tidying-up before being posted for anyone else to follow. And whilst I did all this with OS/2 2.11 I expect the same steps would work to convert a regular OS/2 2.1 floppy disk edition into a CD-ROM installable version.

Would anyone be interested in a write-up of this process, or would this be useful for the Wiki at all?

Richard.

Martin Iturbide

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Hi Richard

I think that the documentation will be very interesting for OS/2 retro and vintage hardware users.  I will be happy to include your article on the wiki.

I have some questions here, did you installed this Slipstreamed OS/2 2.11 on real hardware or VM ? Did you included all fixpacks and drivers for OS/2 2.x ?

Regards
Martin Iturbide
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Dave Yeo

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Somewhere I have a CD of OS/2 2.11, actually it came with a floppy that installed some WinOS2 fix IIRC that made it 2.11. IBM was giving these out around 1994 when Warp was released. At the time I never did get it installed due to not knowing how to add IDE cdrom support, so directions for those who don't know would be a good idea.

RTAN

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Thanks both for your replies, I'll go ahead and write-up the process properly and then send it to you directly Martin.

To answer your questions Martin:

I haven't slipstreamed anything other than the updated large hard drive support and ATAPI/IDE CD-ROM support (in fact I wouldn't know how to do so!).

"ver /r" reports:
The Operating System/2 Version is 2.11
Revision 6.617

As I understand it that's the same as the result of installing regular OS/2 2.1 followed by XR06200a, but I'm happy to be corrected by anyone more knowledgeable.

I used my regular Windows 10 workstation to create the modified Diskette 1 and the installation CD-ROM. I then used that modified diskette and the new CD to install it on my IBM PC 300GL - i.e. real hardware, not just a VM.

Martin Iturbide

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Hello Richard

Sorry for reviving this old thread.
By any chance did you produce some instructions on how to update the installation diskettes for OS/2 2.11 ? I'm trying to get IDE CD-ROM support on Virtualbox.

In fact Im fighting to create diskettes to support-
- IDE CD-ROM
- Big IDE HDD Drive.  (4GB ? or should be less?)

I'm having a little experiment to install OS/2 2.11 on VirtualBox and try to document the latest fixpack you can get on it.

Regards
« Last Edit: July 31, 2025, 05:04:23 pm by Martin Iturbide »
Martin Iturbide
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RTAN

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By any chance did you produce some instructions on how to update the installation diskettes for OS/2 2.11 ? I'm trying to get IDE CD-ROM support on Virtualbox.

Yes! But it's horrendously complicated. Nevertheless the steps definitely work, it just takes quite a bit of effort to work through them.

I've tidied up my notes in Notepad (i.e. TXT format only) and attached them here, along with the recommended updated IBM IDE/ATAPI drivers as a zip-file (I think that will need to be in another forum post as it looks like it only allows one attachment per message).

If you get tired of trying to work through the instructions then let me know and I can send you private links to a WinImage of the modified Diskette 1, and an ISO of the resultant OS/2 2.11 CD-ROM.

Best,
Richard.

RTAN

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...along with the recommended updated IBM IDE/ATAPI drivers as a zip-file

And here are those updated IBM IDE/ATAPI drivers.

These actually came from Bogdan in another post here:
https://www.os2world.com/forum/index.php?topic=1992.0

Best,
Richard.

Mike Kölling

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Somewhere I have a CD of OS/2 2.11, actually it came with a floppy that installed some WinOS2 fix IIRC that made it 2.11. IBM was giving these out around 1994 when Warp was released. At the time I never did get it installed due to not knowing how to add IDE cdrom support, so directions for those who don't know would be a good idea.

There has been a German OS/2 2.11 CD-ROM which needed if I rember right two floppy disks (1,44) for starting an installing. I think it has been part of a computer magazin. I guess I could find these CD-ROM in my cellar if digging through the huge pile of old software CDs.

Mike

RTAN

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There has been a German OS/2 2.11 CD-ROM which needed if I rember right two floppy disks (1,44) for starting an installing. I think it has been part of a computer magazin. I guess I could find these CD-ROM in my cellar if digging through the huge pile of old software CDs.

Do you know if that one supports IDE CD-ROM drives? There's a copy of the English language CD-ROM edition of OS/2 2.11 on Archive.org but I think it just supports a very limited set of (non-IDE) CD-ROM drives:

https://archive.org/details/ibm-os2-version-2.11/

Best,
Richard.

Mike Kölling

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Don't know. At this time I had only 2x-Speed CD-ROM, which comes with a dedicated 16Bit-ISA-Bus card.
Mike

Dave Yeo

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Somewhere I have a CD of OS/2 2.11, actually it came with a floppy that installed some WinOS2 fix IIRC that made it 2.11. IBM was giving these out around 1994 when Warp was released. At the time I never did get it installed due to not knowing how to add IDE cdrom support, so directions for those who don't know would be a good idea.

There has been a German OS/2 2.11 CD-ROM which needed if I rember right two floppy disks (1,44) for starting an installing. I think it has been part of a computer magazin. I guess I could find these CD-ROM in my cellar if digging through the huge pile of old software CDs.

Mike

Yes this one, you were supposed to create the boot floppies from the CD. I assume it was the latest 2.11 as IBM was giving it away in 1994. Filled out a coupon in a magazine and they mailed it to me, card board folder containing the CD and a floppy with the floppy labeled something about a WinOS2 fix.
I tried installing it but with no IDE CD driver and a lack of knowledge... I think I lost the floppy but still have the CD somewhere.
Even Warp V3, when I installed it, probably the 1st release, didn't install the IDE CD support, when I acquired a CDROM, I had to use selective install to install the drivers. That release also didn't have PPP, just SLIP where you needed to script the login to the ISP. At least at the time IBM had a good BB to dial in to and download fixes etc. Still remember the number, 604-664-6464 which is easy to remember.

RTAN

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I think the WinOS2 fix is so that you can run either Windows 3.11 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11 on OS/2 2.11 without needing to upgrade to OS/2 Warp (which supports Win311 and WfW311 natively). I have the same fix downloaded as a zip file but I've never gone to the effort of actually installing it on any of my OS/2 2.11 systems.

I'm very happy to be corrected but my understanding of the fix is that, despite what it says in the README, it doesn't actually patch OS/2 2.11 to work with Win3.11. It actually applies some corrective code to WinOS2-3.11 to essentially downgrade it back to WinOS2-3.1.

And speaking of OS/2 2.11 on CD-ROM - I have a couple of boxed copies of OS/2 2.11 on floppy disk but have been trying to track down a CD-ROM variation for some time now. Even though I made my own version by way of the massively over-complicated text file I uploaded, I would still like a genuine one for posterity's sake. So if anyone is interested in parting ways with OS/2 2.11 on CD-ROM, even if it's just that CD-in-a-cardboard-sleeve version, I'd be keen to hear from you. I'll make a similar post in the Marketplace section as well.

Best,
Richard.

Dave Yeo

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You may be right about patching Win3.11 as I do have a vague memory that it was for Win3.11, which was a minor update to 3.1. Of course Windows for Workgroups was a much larger upgrade with various 32 bit drivers and would have needed more work to use under OS/2.
If I find my copy of OS/2 2.11, you can have it. Big if to finding it and I'm pretty sure the floppy is lost. It came in a card board case.
I also had an OEM release of OS/2 2.1 at one time that I did install and for the hell of it, for a while had it on my Warp V4 system. I'll zip it up. Goes in \OS2\INSTALL and my config.sys had this close to the top,
Code: [Select]
DEVICE=E:\OS2\INSTALL\PRELOAD\PREL_IMG.SYS E:\OS2\INSTALL\PRELOAD\WELCOME.RGB 5
Adjust drive letter as needed. Can't remember much else, might have been a tutorial.


RTAN

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I also had an OEM release of OS/2 2.1 at one time that I did install and for the hell of it, for a while had it on my Warp V4 system. I'll zip it up. Goes in \OS2\INSTALL and my config.sys had this close to the top,
Code: [Select]
DEVICE=E:\OS2\INSTALL\PRELOAD\PREL_IMG.SYS E:\OS2\INSTALL\PRELOAD\WELCOME.RGB 5
Adjust drive letter as needed. Can't remember much else, might have been a tutorial.

Thanks very much Dave, I'll install that and see what it is!