# Solved: boot problems



## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

trying to boot from cd, blank screen with blinking cursor in left side top,boot from floppy with cd support, it is saying no drivers found, aborting installtion.what to do? Am I in the right forum? By the way, this is 98se. thanks


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## OBP (Mar 8, 2005)

Has your bootable floppy got drivers on it?


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## klnaj (Dec 19, 2004)

Check the Bios to make sure the 1st boot is cd-rom. Restart your computer then keep pressing delete key and this will bring you to the Bios setup page.


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

hey, cd-rom ain't a option, i trying to use a ms 98 boot diskette, don't know if drivers are there.


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## SqDancerLynn (Nov 7, 2004)

Is it a lap top?? Go to www.bootdisk.com & download a boot disk floppie that has CD rom drivers Change the bios of the computer to boot from floppie. Restart with the floppie and select the option to start the comp with CD rom support. Then run your CD to reinstall windows


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

it is packard bell desktop i tried using the downloaded disk it says non system disk replace and hit any key so put back in the win98 boot floppy.when it ask to start up with or without cd support i put the other disk back in and selected cd support. then i got the following errors

following file is missing or corrupted btcdrom.sys
there is an error in your config.sys file line 13

same as above but aspi2dos.sys
same as above but config.sys file line 14

aspi8dos.sys
config.sys file line 15

aspi4dos
config.sys file line 16

aspi8u2
line 17

aspicd.sys
line 18

warning the high memory area (hma) is not available additional low memory (640k) will be used 
the following file is missing or corrupted= command.com
type the name of command interpreter


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

charles7514 said:


> it is packard bell desktop i tried using the downloaded disk it says non system disk replace and hit any key so put back in the win98 boot floppy.when it ask to start up with or without cd support i put the other disk back in and selected cd support. then i got the following errors
> 
> following file is missing or corrupted btcdrom.sys
> there is an error in your config.sys file line 13
> ...


The diskette is corrupted. Use a New Formated Diskette to create the boot diskette.


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

charles7514 said:


> trying to boot from cd, blank screen with blinking cursor in left side top,boot from floppy with cd support, it is saying no drivers found, aborting installtion.what to do? Am I in the right forum? By the way, this is 98se. thanks


Explan what are trying to do here.

Tapping on F8, Does it brings the Startup menu? Was the HD formatted?


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

sirs; tapping f8 does nothing, system wouldn't allow format to happen:
here is what on the screen:
ez-bios:initializing
ez-bios:hold ctrl. key down for status screen or to boot from floppy
ez-bios:continuing start-up
blinking cursor
will download a new diskette and try that.
thanks


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## pat3628 (Dec 12, 2004)

I have a Win98SE pc i'm trying to boot into windows with a Win98 boot disk floppy boot disk and have also tried a MadBoot disk but I keep getting a message saying " cd rom driver is not ready" . The keyboard & mouse drivers must not be ready either because neither one are functional so this is as far as I can go . Using the MadBoot disk , I could probably repair the problem if the keyboard & mouse were funtional . Any help would be great . PS One problem I have is the fact that my personal pc has no 3.5 floppy drive to use to make another bootdisk .


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

*charles7514*, seems that the EZ BIOS boot record is corrupted. As I have no experience with EZ BIOS, the following link may help to recover (Just for information. Do not need to buy the utility).

http://bootmaster.filerecovery.biz/appnote5.html

Please note that runnng commands with a regular Startup diskette may overwrite the EZ BIOS boot record and as a consequence you may need to reinstall.

Wish I can help you more!

*pat3628*, you will need to start a new thread. At TSG we deal with these issues individually. What could work for *charles7514*, may not work for you. Thanks!


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

sir; i have a bios update diskette, that came with unit, if that would help


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

You have to make the Floppy disk drive work first. If you still having problem having the computer boot with a startup diskette enter the BIOS Setup utility. Under Standard CMOS Setup, make sure the Floppy disk and the Primary Master is listed. If not, use the utility to detect the Hard drive and modify the Floppy Disk drive to read 1.44MB 3.5 disk drive.

http://www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk/BIOS

Check for lose cables inside the tower. Refresh the Floppy disk contacts by removing and reistalling the ribbon cable as well as the power cable. If that does not resolve the floppy disk drive issue, you may need to relace it. You will need to resolve the Floppy disk drive issue first and be able to boot with a startup diskette before you may be able to resolve the Operating System problem.

Note: The Operating System has nothing to do with the ability of the computer to read from the floppy. Any computer must be able to read from the floppy whether an Oprerating System is installed or not. If the floppy diskdrive is unable to read and boot the computer with a startup diskette, then there is an issue in the BIOS or the device is malfunctioning.

As soon as you are able to boot the computer with a startup diskette, we may be able to overwrite the EZ BIOS and get the computer going with the regular BIOS. Let me know the outcome


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

sirs; CD working - wait while setup initilizes, scanning system registry, cannot create a temp. dir. if you have HPFS or NTFS installed on HD. You will need to create a MSDOS boot part. to set up windows.


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

The issue is the EZ BIOS boot record. You will need to boot the computer with a Windows 98 startup diskette. At the menu select Command prompt. At the Prompt type the following and press Enter:

Fdisk /mbr

This will overwrite the EZ BIOS boot record and the CD should work.


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## silverfisho3 (Nov 29, 2004)

i did what you said and now i get parameter format not correct -/mrb


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

silverfisho3 said:


> i did what you said and now i get parameter format not correct -/mrb


Not /mrb, /mbr (Master Boot Record)


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## silverfisho3 (Nov 29, 2004)

sorry type o i tried fdisk /mbr it says parameter format not correct - /mbr


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

It can't be possible. Check the sintax:

Fdisk[Space]/mbr


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

here where i am at now: this darn thing telling me now i have no O.S., how do you replace that????????


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

You may need to reinstall. Try the following command at the A:\ prompt:

Sys C:

Press Enter. Once the Sytem files are transfered, remove the startup diskette and restart the computer. Let me know of any error messages.

If that does not work, do you have the Windows 98 installation CD? How about the Product Key?


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

sirs; reading invalid media type reading drive c: 
yes,have a cd and the key. try to install, comes up on screen, requires 7340032 bytes available on drive C: 



not in kansas anymore toto


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

This can be caused by one of three following reasons:

1. The hard disk drive does not have a valid format. 
2. The hard disk drive has been fdisk but not formatted. 
3. The hard disk drive is bad.

If you receive the same Invalid Media Type reading type reading drive C: it is likely that the format on the hard disk drive is invalid and it is recommended that you re-format the hard disk drive by typing the following after booting from a bootable floppy diskette:

Format c: <press enter>

This will erase all of your information on the hard disk drive, however, it will recreate the format and should allow your hard disk drive to be read again. If during the format you receive messages about bad or missing sectors or allocation units, then I would say the hard drive is bad.


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

reformatted; 
setup can't create files on your start-up drive and can't set-up windows.
if you have hpts or ntfs, you must create a ms-dos boot partition. if you have lantastic server or superstar compression, disable before running set-up. see setup.txt. on setup disk 1 or win 98 cd. ran fdisk to check partition info. 
partition--status--type--volume label--mbytes--system--usage
1------a-------non-dos------------1740------6------100
%c:--2-------pri do-----s----------204----7fat16---12



this is what it said. hope it makes sense.


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

The message indicates that there are no Active (Boot) DOS partitions. As you an see in the Fdisk report, the Primary DOS partition, under Status, is not the Active partition. The Active (Boot) partition in a Non DOS partition, which is the NTFS partition that Windows XP occupies.

You must run Fdisk and delete all partitions from the hard drive. Start the computer with a Windows 98 SE. At the Menu select Command prompt without CD Support. At the Prompt type Fidisk and Press Enter.

The first screen you will see will ask you - Do you wish to enable large disk support?

Press Y and then press Enter. This will enable the FAT32 file system

After you press Enter, the following fdisk Options menu is displayed:

1. Create DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive 
2, Set active partition 
3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive 
4. Display partition information 
5, Change current fixed disk drive

Select 3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive and press Enter.

After you press Enter, the following fdisk Options menu is displayed:

1, Delete Primary DOS Partition 
2. Delete Extended DOS Partition 
3. Delete Logical DOS Drive(s) in the Extended DOS Partition 
4. Delete Non-DOS Partition 

Here is where the instructions gets a little confusing, as partitions are removed in reverse. For example, if the NON DOS partition was created first and then the Primary DOS, you must remove the Primary DOS partition first, as it was the last one created.

So attempt first to remove the Primary Dos partition. If successful, then delete the NON DOS partition. Fdisk will let you know if you have performed the right move.

Once the partitions are removed, insert the QuickRestore CD #1. Remove
the startup diskette and restart the computer.

The last time I use a Quick Restore CD in a Compaq I did not have to re-create the partitions or format the hard drive, as the Quick Restore CD did it itself. I hope it still the same nowdays.

At the Compaq Splash logo during startup, press Caps Lock. Then just follow instructions on Screen.

Make sure you use the Quick Restore CD and not the Recovery CD.


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## silverfisho3 (Nov 29, 2004)

ok got it to read cd started install no problem the when it restarted computer it can't find my cd-rom.we are working on a packard bell we have the pb windows 95 boot floopy that has my cd-rom driver on it that i start off with but when it restarts if i use that it won't finish 98. is there something else i can do? thanks


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

Now I am the one confused. There are three (3) threads within one here:

silverfisho3
charles7514
pat3628

Please Post back after the threads has been separated. Didn't realize that.


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## silverfisho3 (Nov 29, 2004)

i am sorry i am working with charles7514 wasn't thinking about my name coming up 
when i posted instead of him.


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

ok got the par. changed got cd-rom to work but now when win98 restarts computer to finish installing if i take the cd out i'm right back where i started with ez-bios continuing startup...but nothing happens. if i leave the cd in it goes back to installing.now what?


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

silverfisho3 said:


> ok got it to read cd started install no problem the when it restarted computer it can't find my cd-rom.we are working on a packard bell we have the pb windows 95 boot floopy that has my cd-rom driver on it that i start off with but when it restarts if i use that it won't finish 98. is there something else i can do? thanks


Clarify something for me. If you boot with the Windows 95 startup diskette, you are able to read the CD, but when Windows restart during installation, the CD is not accessible? Is that the issue?


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

what i did was change out the cd-rom now it is there all the time i don't think the driver on the 98 floppy worked with the other one but is still saying i don't have an os


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

Seems that the problem is the EZ BIOS. You may have to flash you BIOS prior to installation.

I have no experience in EZ BIOS. What brand is the hard drive?

There are utilities available for Maxtor and Western Digital, although I don't know if it will help.

http://www.softwaretipsandtricks.com/windowsxp/articles/371/1/EZ-BIOS


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## charles7514 (Mar 9, 2005)

JSntgRvr and the others who help me out. As of last my problems have gone away. Swap out hd, and fixed bios. again thanks


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## JSntgRvr (Jul 1, 2003)

Way to go, Charles7514! Use the thread's Tools and mark this threadas "Solved".

Best wishes!


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