# booting in dos mode



## scanner (May 31, 2002)

starting win98se in dos mode 
When I reboot in dos mode, and dos is initiated ,there is a big banner on the top of the dos screen that shows my mouse logitech driver and it's initialization string etc, etc, and at the c:\ prompt it looks like this: c:\windows> , this do not seem normal dos, and when I type cd , I get bad command. the jest of my question is that I'm trying to start my ghost program in dos ( which is the 2002 version of norton ghost that I have installed) and so I type this string, exactly as it appears in dos:c:\windows>progra~1\symantec\norton~1\ghospe.exe and hit enter, in return I get a bad command retry thing , that's all. Can you comment on this issue. I'll appreciate, Thank you !


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

______________________________________________
Well, I have Windows 95, but I think they're similiar
regarding DOS...

This sounds like a strange situation. "CD" is a
function of COMMAND.COM, and if COMMAND.COM
wasn't available you'd be getting a totally different
error.

So, I'm guessing one (or more) of these:

1. COMMAND.COM is corrupt (virus/trojan/worm
perhaps...).

2. A problem in the file allocation table (FAT).

3. Hard drive may have bad sector(s).

2 and 3 aren't likely if Windows is functioning OK.
If it is, I'd do go here:

www.antivirus.com

and run the online virus scanner "Housecall" (even if
you have anti-virus software).

Then I'd go here:

http://www.lockdowncorp.com/bots/downloadswatit.html

and download the Trojan scanner "Swatit" and run it.

If these two find nothing, start your machine with a
boot disk and copy COMMAND.COM from the boot disk
to overwrite the one on your hard drive. It should be
either:
C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\COMMAND.COM
or
C:\COMMAND.COM
or possibly both places (if so, overwrite them both).

BTW, always keep your boot disk "write protected"
so a virus/trojan/worm can't transfer itself to it.

Cheers, Mac


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2002)

> _Originally posted by scanner:_
> *c:\windows>progra~1\symantec\norton~1\ghospe.exe*


If this is EXACTLY what you are typing in the > character is invalid - it should probably be the \ character.

Have you verified that ghospe.exe is actually in the folder you are trying to execute it from ?

You can change folders ("CD") one level at a time to make sure you are not making a mistake...
at the C:\> prompt type... cd c:\windows (and hit enter)
then... cd progra~1 (and hit enter)
then... cd symantec (and hit enter)
then... cd norton~1 (and hit enter)
then... ghospe.exe (and hit enter)


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hey ST, 

I think he's getting an error by just typing "CD" alone.... 

Even if he uses "CD" with a faulty location, he'd be getting an "Invalid Directory" error.

Cheers, Mac


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## brushmaster1 (Jun 15, 2002)

Typing CD without any modifier in DOS returns the current directory... redundant since the prompt already displays the current directory. If CD returns "bad command or filename", then COMMAND.COM is corrupt and I would suspect a virus.

Slithy is correct... ">" should be "\"


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

_____________________________________________
Hey guys, 

I think if ya'll read the original post again, you'll find
that scanner was showing how the command looked
*including the prompt* after he typed it, but *before*
he pressed ENTER.

This would have included *C:\WINDOWS>*

Hey scanner, 

On my Win95 system, "Program Files" (or progra~1)
is not located in the C:\WINDOWS dir, but is on the
root drive (C:\PROGRAM FILES, or C:\PROGRA~1).
So (if COMMAND.COM is OK) you may have to use:

*c:\progra~1\symantec\norton~1\ghospe.exe*

or use ST's recommendation of stepping up the path
using *CD* (and the next dir) from the *C:\>* prompt.

BTW, I don't think any of us told you how to get
to a *C:\>* prompt from C:\Windows>...
To do so, type:

*CD\*

and press ENTER. This will take you to the *C:\>*
prompt from any dir on the C drive...

Cheers, Mac


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## scanner (May 31, 2002)

thank you all a lot of good suggestions the problem is corrected by typing the \ character read you soon


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

________________________________________________
LOL, OK. Maybe I need glasses.... 

Glad ya got it fixed (even though I had nothing
to do with the solution)... 

Cheers, Mac


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## Guest (Aug 27, 2002)

[tsg=noproblem][/tsg]


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