If your computer is running Windows NT or one of its descendants (such as Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, and so on), fdimage.exe will not work. OpenBSD includes a program for this, ntrw.exe, in the tools directory of the release directory. Like fdimage.exe, ntrw.exe is designed to copy a disk image to a disk. Windows NT-based systems do not rewrite filenames, so you should be able to open a command prompt and just type:

C:> ntrw floppy33C.fs a:

If it doesn’t work, you probably have a bad floppy disk.

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If you’re running a Microsoft Windows 9x-based operating system, such as Windows Me, Windows 98, or Windows 95, you’ll need a program to copy the disk images. Microsoft doesn’t provide one, but OpenBSD does, which you’ll find in the “tools” directory of the release directory. The program fdimage.exe is specifically designed for these older Microsoft operating systems and does not work on Windows NT-based operating systems.

Fdimage.exe is a free program that can copy disk images and is quite easy to use. For example, to copy the floppy image floppy33.fs to the floppy in your a: drive, enter the following at a DOS prompt:

C:> fdimage floppy33.fs a:

The floppy will churn for a while, and finally spit out an OpenBSD boot floppy.

Windows 9x has restrictions on filenames; each filename is restricted to eight characters, with a three-character extension after a period. While the GUI desk-top displays long filenames, these are actually aliases for the names available in DOS mode. The names of floppyXXB.fs and floppyXXC.fs are nine characters long, with a two-character extension. This means that Windows will rename these files to something its innards can accept, retaining these names as aliases visible in the GUI. At a DOS prompt, however, you’ll need to find out what DOS calls your floppy image before you can boot it. The file floppy33B.fs may well be called something like floppy~1.fs.

Again, if you have trouble, your floppy is probably bad.