Smart BootManager

This Omnibook 2000 is old enough that the BIOS does not support booting off of a CD directly. Many Linux installers have an option to boot from a floppy disk. However, many other software these days comes on a bootable CD but without a floppy option. And those that have a floppy option are often still easier to use with a single CD.

Therefore I decided I needed to be able to boot from CD. After searching around with Google, I found Smart BootManager. It is a small, free program that can boot a PC from a variety of devices, including an IDE/ATAPI CD-Rom drive. It can also be installed onto a floppy or the Master Boot Record of a hard drive.

I put it on a floppy, booted from that floppy, and then I was able to select the CD and boot it. It also installed nicely onto the hard disk MBR, allowing me to boot easily from either the hard drive or the CD, without needing the floppy.