Creates a startup disk by copying hidden operating system files (IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS), the operating system command interpreter (COMMAND.COM), and the part of the operating system that provides access to compressed drives (DRVSPACE.BIN) to the disk. (SYS copies DRVSPACE.BIN only if the DRVSPACE.BIN file exists in the root directory of the source drive or directory.)
IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and DRVSPACE.BIN are hidden files and do not typically appear when you type the DIR command. To see these files, type:
DIR /A
none.
For information about copying files, see the COPY and XCOPY commands.
The SYS command copies the files in the order: IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, COMMAND.COM and DRVSPACE.BIN.
The operating system no longer requires the two system files to be contiguous. This means that when you want to copy a new version of the operating system to a disk containing system files for v3.30 or earlier, you need not reformat the disk.
The SYS command does not work on compressed drives. If drive C is compressed and you need to make your hard disk bootable, use the SYS command on drive C's host drive. (If you are using DriveSpace, to find out which is drive C's host drive, type DRVSPACE /INFO C: at the command prompt.)
The SYS command does not work on drives that have been redirected by using the ASSIGN, JOIN, or SUBST command. SYS also does not work on network drives or drives redirected using INTERLNK.
To copy the operating system files and command interpreter from the disk in the current drive to a disk in drive A, type:
SYS A:
To copy the operating system files and command interpreter from a disk in drive B to a disk in drive A, type:
SYS B: A:
none.