# [Resolved! :)] Will not complete boot up



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

This computer belongs to a friend of mine. She or I know little about it. It belonged to her son who died a few days ago of a long term illness and she wants to get it working so she can give it back to his son her grandson.

Anyhow this is was the screen says on boot up :

Packard Bell
PhoenixBio Version 4.04
Copyright 1987 - 1995 Phoenix Technologies Ltd., All Rights Reserved
AGOURA release 1.17
CPU = Pentium 100MHz
0008192 K RamPassed
System BIOS shadowed
Video BIOS shadowed
Fixed Disk 0 : WDC AC34000L
CD-ROM Found

Then it takes awhile and :

Mouse initialized

pops up

Then just a _ comes up and continues to flash.

Down the bottom of the screen it says :

Press <F2> to enter SETUP

If I press <F2> once nothing happens

If I continue pushing it will beep.

I have tried a different keyboard and floppy disk drive with nothing changing.

I have tried hitting the <F2>, ESC., and Control buttons with now difference.

No matter what I cant seem to get to a prompt anything so I can reinstall anything or just get it up with whats on it.

I am not that computer literate myself but really want to help my friend do this for her son.

Thanks for any and all help,

surmay

[email protected]


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## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

Sounds like the cmos battery is dead, you'll have to open the case and replace the small watch battery on the motherboard. Then it may allow you to enter setup.

But, I'd say the PC isn't worth the effort. You may be able to buy a PC this old for the cost of the battery! Plus, replacing the battery will probably get it started, but your likely to run into lots of other problems with it. I'd advise her to think about purchaseing a newer PC it'd most likely have a lower cost of ownership in the long run.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Thanks so much for your advise.

But she does'nt have any money, everything she had, plus has went into her son's funeral. They had no insurance he was only 22 years old.

So I'm gonna have to try and get this one up and running for her somehow.

Debby

[email protected]


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## walkeriam (Feb 19, 2002)

Can you re-start and get back to the A:\ prompt?


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Nope,

Everytime I shut it down it boots up to the same as previously documented.

Debby


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I can see the lights to the floopy disk drive light up and go off.

I can also hear it during the time it's trying to boot up.

I can see the CD-ROM light up and then turn off.

All of this is at regular boot up speed, but after CD-ROM it slows with a pause but green light still flickering showing it's doing something annd then mouse pops up and that's where it ends with the flickering _ .

I have left it turned off for about 30 minutes and tried again with the same results, as immideate re-booting.

Debby


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

ok I'l try the new battery idea !

Do I just un-do the solder then re-solder or what ?

Debby


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## Dan O (Feb 13, 1999)

Normally if a PC has a bad battery BIOS displays an error. Yes, on some PCs you have to de-solder and re-solder the battery.

Does the PC beep? If some what pattern does it beep.

I suspect the memory, CPU, or power supply is bad from what you are telling us. Try borrowing some memory from a working PC, take some out, or re-arrange what memory there is.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Thanks for responding Dan O, I really appreciate your help here.

Before I read your post I took the old battery out, and just for the heck of it I re-installed it.

In doing so for whatever reason I could get into setup.

I reset everything to default, shut down and re-booted.

Nothing changed, still the same place I started except now I can get into setup.

Saw your post then went back and went to rearrange the memory. There was no extra chips or boards, or whatever you'd call them.

So I took one out of one of my kids older computers and installed it.

It loaded or whatever and the Rams went to 0012288K, but still no diference anywhere else.

Debby


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

What about the beeps,,are there any? Can you describe them,, could mean something.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

No beeps.

The only time it beeped was when I hit the F2 button to many times in a row trying to get it to go into setup before.

Debby


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

Did I miss where you have tried to boot with a boot disk?? I did'nt see where you said that.
Which version of windows is it?


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

No you did'nt miss it, I just forgot to post it.

I have tried re-booting with a Win98 SE bootdisk in floppy disk drive, and the cd-rom install disk, Separately and togeather.

I believe that's the version on this computer but not possative, she does'nt know either.

Thanks,

Debby


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

Make another one,,click the link at the bottom of this post and download the 98SE OEM to your desktop,,insert a clean floppy and click the icon. It will automatically make one for you. Use the 98SE because its a good disk to start up with.

Then enter the setup in the bios,,scan through all the options and be sure to boot with the A or Floppy drive first. I don't think Pheonix is difficult,,If you get stuck write me a good picture of what you see,,I don't think you will though. See if you can get to the 
A:\>

http://www.mirrors.org/archived_software/www.bootdisk.com/original.htm


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Thanks I'll do it right now and give it a try, I'll be back with you !

Debby


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

I'm here 45 minutes more and then I have to sleep,,OK? Work tomorrow.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I did as you said.

The computer did not read the floppy, it recognized the drive while it was booting up because the light was flashing and you could hear it.

I reset everything to default in the setup again, but could not get to A: prompt or anything more than before.

Like I said it recognized both floppy and CD-ROM drives but won't go past the mouse recognized part.

Is there something in the setup I should change maybe ? Change config or something ?

Debby


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

I have to tell you ,,I'm doing this from memory only so your gonna have to be brave and just try,,OK? You can set the defaults like you have been and it should return the setup to the default setting.

I believe if you enter the setup and scan through all the menu choice you will see somthing like this,

first boot device
second boot device
third boot device

something like that 

highlight each and push enter one by one and write the sequence as it appears before you change it. Then highlight the the first boot device and use the arrow keys to change it to the floppy,

then do the same for the device that was there,,,,,give it a place to boot 2nd or 3rd (for example) save changes and exit.

Is that how it looks in the Setup?


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

Be sure all your devices have a place to boot thats important. But you have to have the floppy first,,thats important as well,,otherwise it will not try to boot form the floppy.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Like this :

Across the top it is :

Main, Advanced, Security, Power, Exit

Then in Main it is :

System time
System Date
Diskette A
Diskette B
IDE Adapter 0 Master C: 400mb
IDE Adapter 0 Slave None
IDE Adapter 1 Master CD-ROM
IDE Adapter 1 Slave None
Video EGA /VGA
Memory Cache
Memory Shadow
Boot Sequence : A: then C:
Numlock Auto
System Mem 640 KM
Extended Memory 11 MB


That's it

Debby


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

Try the tab button or arrow key and get across to Advanced.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I understand the need for a place to boot, and the floopy but I can't get it there.

If I could get to the A: prompt I could format the whole thing and re-install with my disk.

Thanks for hanging in there and I realize the need for sleep and your having to go to work.

Thanks so much for your help !

Debby


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Once there what do I need to do ?

Debby


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

It has of course Warning about re-setting and malfuntioning.

Then :

Integrated Peripherals

Plug and Play O/S No
Reset Configuation Data No
Large Disk Access Mode DOS


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

Thas not it,, Continue. slowly though those are submenus. Your close


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Ok next is the Security :

Supervisor Password
User Password
Set Super
Set User

Then Power :

Power Management Mode
Idle timeout
Stand-by timeout
Suspend timeout
Fixed Disk timeout
Modem Ring

All disabled


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

> Boot Sequence : A: then C:


I'm sorry Debby you already posted it,,,I missed it. Save and exit changes,,, its right.

If it will not boot from the floppy now the bios may have to be flashed. Do you have a manual?


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Thats quite alright !

No I do not have a manuel.

I know I'm really taxing you and it's work in the morning, if you have to go I'll understand.

I'll be around tomorrow, I don't think I'm going anywhere soon with this.


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

Ok,,get any numbers you can find,,Motherboard numbers and chip numbers would be very researchable, we can get lots of info with those. Names also,, Model Make and serial,,, all is very useful information. The more you can get the better are our chances of finding a manual and more ways to help. Have a good night.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

You Too !

And thanks again !

Debby


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

Here is an example of what you may see but it is extremmely critical that you get the numbers and names correct

QUOTE
Packard Bell Motherboards 
PB450 
This board has an ISA or a PCI riser card which plugs into 2 brown VL-bus slots in the middle of the board. Uses OPTi 82C802 chipset and Cirrus Logic CL-GD5428 video chip.
QUOTE

The chipset will be a small chip,,sometimes about an inch square and it will be on the motherboard

A riser is a smaller board that sticks up out of the motherboard into a plug type slot and also has plug (slots) on it too.

ISA is usually a longer And usually black plug (slot)

PCI is a smaller usually white plug (slot)

EDITTED:
Try removing all the cards and see if it will boot,,remove the memory try then. Keep a hand on the frame while doing it. Check all the cables and wires.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Hi,

Sorry I have'nt been able to get back any sooner, but I've been busy helping the same woman out with some legal problems associated with son's death.

Anyhow I won't be able to stay long to day, but will be back.

This is what I did and results :

Removed a card don't really know what it is, looks like a USB or something like that. Two jacks for plugging in scanners or printers.
No name that I recognized - following info. on it :

On one side :

ACON
Part No: BG-3800-00
UH-275
For Home or Office Use


Backside :

151-00101-201
594V-0
PB051003-18715
SO-020024-l-B26
Made In Taiwan

Then I re-booted the computer.
Completed boot showing Windows 98 installed

Got a C:\

So I tried to bring up windows by:

Win98
Windows
Window

Would not come up !

So I tried :

C:\dir/p and got :

Volume in Drive C is DISK1PART01
Volume Serial Number is 1F3F-5C81
Directory of C:\
Command Com 93,890 04-23-99 10:22p
1 file 93,890 bytes
0 dir 2109,112,320 bytes free


What now ?

Debby


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

OK, now I tried to boot from my win98SE disk it read the disk, but to me to a: prompt when it was finished.

I shut down, installed my startup dik and the cd and re-booted with CD-ROM support.

This time Win98 logo poped up for a second disappeared and back to A: prompt again.

The board I mentioned before is still removed.

Debby


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Ran scandisk off of my Win98 disk on c: drive.

It found no errors.

Debby


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Hello Debby,

Looking at the Directory of C: , there is no operating system on the hard drive. You are going to have to reformat and do a clean install of Win98. Are you familar with doing this? Post back and let us know and we'll walk you through it if we need to. I have to leave for a bit, but someone will help you.

I also noticed that in the BIOS setup, under Integrated Peripherals that the Plug and Play OS is set to NO. This should be enabled (yes)

Take care.

Kilowatt


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

The only other boards in there is the :

motherboard :

*PSMX54006355*


soundboard :

SRS Technology
3-D Stereo

FCC REG 4J2SNG-22647-PT-E
REN: 0.8B 
Jack Type RJ11c
FVV ID : 138-MMSN843
Made in Sinapore

That's it,

Debby


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Hi Kilowatt,

Thanks for posting to me to begin with.

I change the Bio's like you said, then I think I formatted .

I did format C:, erase all answering yes.

Then I tried to put Win98 SE first with a boot disk in the floppy and my CD in the CD-ROM drive.

It went through putting the info from the floppy, but it did'nt copy the CD, or do anything I remember installing it on mine.

I think there may be two drives somehow, C: and D: and also the CD-ROM drive of E:


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Boot up with the startup disk in the floppy drive choosing "start with CDRom support". At the A:\> prompt, type E: and press enter. Now at the E:\> prompt, type setup and press enter. Be sure to insert the Win98 CD in the CDRom before typing setup.

Let us know if you need help.

Kilowatt


Just so you'll know, I recieved a PM from bandit429 saying he had moved and was in the process of getting back online. Didn't want you to think he forgot about you.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

if what you posted is correct the hard drive 400mg it is only big enough for win 3.1


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Kilowatt,

From what I can tell there is two drives here, C: and E:.

Should'nt I make one drive first before installing ? 

Or keep the two.

I formatted both drives.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Dai,

Thanks for posting to me.

They had WIN98 on there before and working.

So I guess something here is'nt right.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Kilowatt,

I tried to do it as you said, but it did'nt work.

Heres what I got.

Starting Win98
1. Start computer with CD-ROM support
2. Start computer without CD-ROM support
3. View help file

I choose #1 of course, Ii then recieved :

Device name MSCD001
Manager DOSS
Driver for DOSS

and so forth.

Then :

Preparing to start your computer
This may take a few minutes
Diagnostic tools loaded succesfully to drive E.
Device driver not found 
No valid CD-ROM Device driver selected
To get help type help & press enter
A:\>

-------------------
I know the cd-rom loaded in boot-up I saw it and watched the yellow light flicker on it.

I don't know !

I guess one of the next questions will be about the cd-rom, heres the info off of it.

A sticker with :
MECD53706296
730044
Manufactured September 1995

Another with :
Model CR-581-J
FCC ID: IU097B036CRB
Matsu****a-Kotobuki Electronics Industries

What do you think ?


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I tried to install Win98 SE just like I was instructed.

In doing so on top of it not reading from the CD-ROM, I noticed it loaded the tools off of my floppy onto E: drive.

Is'nt it suppose to be C: ?

I also went in search of a driver for the CD--ROM on the internet, found a couple that might work.

But my question is what do I do with them in this particular case ?


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Kilowatt,

I forgot to thank you for passinng the info along to me about bandit429.

He seems like a really nice guy, he sent me an email also thelling me this and about you.

Anyway thanks again,

Debby


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

the cd driver should load from the boot up disk there may be some thing wrong with the floppy you could try downloading a new one from www.bootdisk.com


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I just downloaded that one the other day that bbandit told me to download.

Should I download again or any other ideas ?


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

What about the drives I'm seeing, should'nt there be just c: drive ?

Or am I missing something here, I remember seeing something before about creating another drive for fat or something like that.

How do I make them all one drive again ?

I'm seeing A: which is the floppy drive
then also :

C:
D:
and E: of which the boot disk is writting to.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

i was going to say no but on second thoughts it won't do any harm to double check so d/load it again and put it on a fresh disk.
when you formated did you use
FORMAT C: /s
the space /s is the important part


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Did as you said Dai.

I downloaded another bootdisk onto a different floppy and tried again.

With floppy bootdisk and cd in slots, restarted computer.

Start with CD support and got the same results :

No drives found
Aborting Installation


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Dai,

No on the command for format, I just did format c:


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

the /s loads vital system files reformat and pop in your boot disk and you should be away


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Hello Debby,

Please do as dai suggest and reformat again using the /s switch. This will put the system files on the hard drive which will make it easier, if the generic driver on the windows98 boot disk still doesn't work, to install the DOS drivers for the CDRom. I have located what I think is the correct drivers HERE . The file is named 58x dos.zip.

Try the reformat first and see if the CDRom is recognized. If not, we'll try the dos drivers. I am trying to remember the best way to install them without adding them to the startup disk.

Kilowatt


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Dai & Kilowatt,

Did as you both said and I thought for just a split second there we were getting somewhere.

In the boot-up it says CD-ROM found, but then when it goes to access the cd it states no driver loaded, install aborted, again.

The Windows screen popped up for a second then straight to c: prompt.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

when you say windows screen do you mean dos screen
at the promnt try typing E or E:/
if the E:/ comes up type setup and press enter and see if it will pick it up.
also try unzipping the drivers kilowatt suggested onto the floppy by unzipping to desktop then right clicking on folder and choosing send to floppy


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

By Windows, that's what I meant, you know the Windows logo !

But just for a second and then back off.

I will try everything you all suggest, just at this point it'll have to be tommorrow.

I have to go for now, but will be back with updates on how it goes.

I have tried setup on drives C: , D: , E: . and even X: , but there's no directory in any of them.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

if you get the c promnt again try win enter and windows enter win 98 enter windows 98 enter and i will rack my brains for other options


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## carltasha (Nov 7, 2001)

hello folks . I didnt hear for shure that the computer got a new battery . it is old enough to need one and if the one in there is half good it would explain this . On another note , in my town and all the towns near here the local dumps have a sepret place where all the computers are stored and it is possibile to get lots of spare parts for computers like that one . even working machines that someone didnt want. the nearest Good Will is 60 miles from here but they have a large trailer full of old computers , many like that one . they charge but like 10$ will replace that computer but you dont know for shure that it will work , most of them do but some dont. I know this is a hard place you are in and I would like to help . but remember that that computer is not going to be able to acces the internet very well and the kids are the first ones to know this . giving that computer to her grandson at this time might not be a good idia. I hope it works out . love Carl


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Dai,

Tried what you said again, no good !

All's I get is bad command or file name with any of my commands entered.

On the old computer idea, yes your correct on the cost idea. But again it's something she'd like to give him if no more than being able to say this belonged to your dad idea. She's having a rough time still.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

When I try to boot up without floppy disk and cd in cd-rom drive the yellow light is flashing so I'm assuming it reading the disk.

But I then basically get the following :

When booting in begining it does it's begining little thing then I hear 2 beeps.

Then Boot from hard drive or Cd-rom, I choose cd-rom

I then choose Start Windows 98 setup from CD-Rom.

It starts it's thing getting :

Driver provided by Oak Technologies

Device name : OEMCD001

No driver found aborting installation

Then it goes through the rest of the DOS manager stuff and then

No valid CD-ROM Device Drivers Selected

The Windows 98 Setup files were not found


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

i have been going over the posts to see every thing we have all come up with to no avail.go into the bios and load default and see if that makes any difference.did you format to fat32


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Hello again Debby,

You are going to have to install the DOS (realmode) drivers for your CDRom onto your hard drive. The problem you are having is due to the fact that the generic CDRom drivers on the startup disk will not work with that particular CDRom drive. Download the drivers then unzip or extract them onto a floppy disk. Once you have done so, remove the floppy then reinsert it again. Click on My Computer on your desktop then right click on the floppy drive and choose explore. Post back with the files that are listed. 

Thanks,

Kilowatt


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Dai,

Set everything to defaults and no change in anything.

As far as formating fat, I have no idea, I just did as I was instructed here.

Kilowatt,

Did as you say and got 58X_DOS


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

when you boot from the floppy and format with the /s command it should load the drivers which is the oak tech mscd001 (i might not have spelled it right )you say it came up with this but still says they are not there still thinking on this one
did you get hold of the drivers kilowatt sugested


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Maybe I did wrong Kilowatt, but I figured you were looking for more than what I posted, so I clicked on that Icon.

It did it's extracting thing onto the floppy.

I then got :

CR_ATAPI.SYS
INSTALL.DAT
INSTALL.EXE
WDCTRL.386
README.TXT


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

OK, try this.

Boot the problem machine as you normally would (without startup disk). If you formated using the /s switch, you should get to a C:\> prompt. At the C:\> prompt type A: then press enter. Insert the floppy disk with the CDRom drivers and at the A:\> prompt type INSTALL then press enter. Hopefully this will install the needed drivers to the hard drive. When this is finished, remove the floppy and reboot. When you get back to the C:\> prompt, type D: then press enter. Let me know what happens.

Kilowatt


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

KILOWATT,

There was a bunch of questions it asked along the way of install. I hope I answered correctly, like config and such, anyhow this is what happened after I re-booted after install.

CD-ROM device driver version 5.17p from ATAPI

Copy right (C) Matsu****a-Kotobulki Electronics Industries LTD
1990-1996 All rights reserved

Device Name = MSCD000

Supporting the following units :

ID 2 Mat****a CCD-ROM LK-MC68X 1.04

1 CD-ROM drive connected

CD-ROM Device driver installed

c:\>Path=c:\ATACR;

C:\>


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

At the C:\> prompt, type D: and press enter. If you get a D:\> prompt, insert the Win98 CD then type setup and press enter.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Tried it and got :

Bad command or file name.

I have the original CD and a copy, I tried both just to make sure.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

try
D:\WIN98\SETUP


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Same results Dai


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

E:\WIN98\SETUP


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

invalid drive specification


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Hello dai and surmay,

Just wanted to let you know I haven't bailed out on you, I just trying to figure out why it isn't working.

surmay, could you type dir /p at the C:\> prompt and post the results?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

sorry have to go for now it is 4.30am here


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Directory of C:

COMMAND COM

ATACR DIR

AUTOEXEC BAT

CONFIG SYS


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

See Ya Dai,

Sleep Well and thanks for your help


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Debby,

At the C:\> prompt, type edit config.sys and press enter. 

Write down what it says then CTRL/Alt/Delete to reboot. This time type in edit autoexec.bat and press enter. Write down what is there also. Ctrl/Alt Delete to reboot again.

Thanks.

Kilowatt


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

bad command or file name


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Did you leave a space between edit and config.sys?


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

yes


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Sorry Debby, sometimes my brain just doesn't work!

You will need to boot up with the boot disk (without CDRom support). At the A:\> prompt type C: and press enter. Then at the C:\> prompt type the commands I posted earlier.

Thanks

Kilowatt


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

That's quite alright, mine hardly ever seems to work anymore !

Config :

LASTDRIVE=Z
DEVICE=C:\ATACR\CR_ATAPI.SYS ID:MSCDOOO /Q


AUTOEXEC :

PATH=C:\ATACR;%PATH%


I've gotta take a break for awhile and feed my family, be back shortly.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I have to go pick my daughter up from work so I'll be gone for about 45 mins, unless she calls with a ride.

But I thought before I do I'd add this, don't know if it'll help or not, but if I reboot with floppy and cd I get the following on drive E: with dir/p command.

ATTRIB EXE
CHKDSK EXE
COMMAND COM
DEBUG EXE
EDIT COM
EXT EXE
FORMAT COM
HELP BAT
MSCDEX EXE
README TXT
RESTART COM
SCANDISK EXE
SCANDISK INI
SYS COM


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

That is the RAMDRIVE. Are you sure that is drive E:? If it is, then the CDRom letter will be higher, such as F or R. Boot with the floppy again and watch closely toward the end, just before the A:\> prompt to see what letter is assigned. It should say something like: Drive X: = Driver MSCD0001 unit 0. This will be the actual CDRom letter you need to change to from the A:\> prompt.

We're getting close. What we might have to do is make another boot disk and edit the config and autoexec.bat files to use the CDRom drivers you downloaded instead of the generic ones.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

That is what it said !

I re-booted several times trying to find a diver letter like you said, but found nothing.

I'd get the following message :

The diagnostic tools were successfully loaded to drive E:

Device driver not found : 'MSCD001'

No valid cd-rom device drivers selected to get hhelp, type help and press enter.


I tried every letter from f: to z: to try and get the cd-rom to come up but nothing.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

I have been trying some things on one of my test machines to mimic your problem. Here's something strange I want you to try because believe it or not it worked. Boot without the floppy and at the C:\> prompt type setup.exe and press enter. It might not work but it won't hurt to try. (Be sure the Windows CD is in the drive)

If this doesn't work, we'll "customize" a boot disk with the correct drivers.

I'll check back in a bit, after I have dinner.


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Hi Kilowatt,

Hope you enjoy your dinner !

In the mean time this is what I did and the results :

Booted without floppy but with cd in as you said.

Cd-rom's yellow ligh flashes during boot up, then hold for a short minute, then 2 beeps.

It goes to screen asking if you want to boot from :

1. Hard drive
2. Cd-rom.

I choose hard drive first. No good, bad command

Next I try cd-rom drive.

I get another Windows98 setup screen :

1. Windows98 setup from cd
2. Windows98 setup with cd support
3. Windows98 setup without cd support


Sorry but none would work with the setup command on the c: prompt.

Your eating I hope it's good, so I'll watch alittle tv with my husband. If I don't get back tonight it's because I more than likely fell asleep. If I don't I'll catch up tomorrow.

Thanks for all your help !

Debby
3.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

If you are getting those options, then it is at least trying to read the CD. Did you try option #1 or #2 then pressing enter to see what would happen?

I think I'm about to call it a night (Have to watch Dragnet  ), so I'll check back in the AM.

Good luck.

Kilowatt

Hang in there, we'll get eventually.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

if diognostic tools are loading to drive e then when c prompt comes up you need to enter E and press enter to get to the E promnt then enter win 98\setup
when you get the setup screen again as kilowatt said 1 or 2 should be the one


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I have tried both 1 & 2 with two different cd's, it keeps saying the driver is not loaded and aborts instalation.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

try changing to boot from cd first put the cd in turn off the computer and then start it again and see what it picks up,idon't suppose you have access to another cd drive you can install to see if it makes any difference


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Hi Dai,

Already did what you suggested earlier this morning.

And I guess it was somehow the cd-rom and the other board I took out all along, because it did pick it up but would not load because of not enough space.

I then tried to install windows 3.1, on top of what was there just to give her something.

It would'nt work either saying I had something wrong, I don't remember exactly but I told it to over ride and do it anyway, because I do not have a dos diskette any more. My original got damaged, but I still have the Win 3.1 and Works.

So I guess I'm back to square one with helping her.

I have re-formatted the harddrive from floppy with format c: \s

Thanks for your help !


----------



## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

when you posted a 400mg drive i thought it was to small when these computers were built there was only 3.1 around.there is a way to put 98 on by leaving certain parts of 98 off the installationi have never done it maybe kilowatt knows how it is done i would only be guessing good luck dai


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Thanks again Dai, I have to go take my husband some lunch so I'll be gone for awhile.

Maybe Kilowatt or someone else can come up with something for me.

If not thanks to you, Kilowatt and not to forget bandit429 and any other who offered their help.

I'm sure I'll be returning evenually !


----------



## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Hello Debby,

As my 'ol pappy used to say.........something in the milk ain't clean.
That hard drive, WDC AC34000L is a 3815MB hard drive and not a 400MB hard drive. Either it has more than one partition or it has overlay software installed on it. Do this:

Boot up with the Win98 startup disk (without CDRom support). At the A:\> prompt type fdisk then press enter. If by chance it asks about large disk support just press enter. Now choose option #4,
"Display partition info" and press enter. Write down what it says and post back with the info. You can press the Esc key to exit your way out of fdisk.

Kilowatt


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Hi Kilowatt,

Nice to see ya here, glad you didnt give up on me !

Did fdisk like you said here's the info you asked for :

Current fixed disk drive :

PartitonStatus Type Volume Label Mbytes System Usage

1 Non-Dos 18 %
2 Non-Dos 7863 100 %
3 CP/M 19 %

C:4 Pri Dos 30656 unknown 100 %

Total disk space is 3815 Mbytes (1 Mbyte = 1048576 bytes)


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

That's what I thought. Hang tight, I need to check something before we proceed.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I'm a hanging !

Until 5:00 anyway when I have to pick my boys up from football practice.

But I'll be back after that for an hour or two, then more than likely off till tomorrow again.

Thanks for all your help !


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Just so you'll know, I'm concerned about the CP /M partition as I am not very familiar with it. I think I know but I want "rollinrog" or someone more knowledgable than me to advise us on it.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Thanks Kilowatt,

I'll take all the advise I can get, you are all more knowlegeable than I am on this matter.

Do appreciate filling me in !


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

kilowatt i don't know if you have looked at this
www.gaby.de/edownl.htm

to me it seems like a hangover from the cassette days to make like a hard drive extension because they were so small run popped in a disk and cp ran the program from it eg 4 to 500mg was large with the larger h/d you would think you could format it off without any consequences
dai


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Thanks dai,

I believe you are right. The last time I ran across this was on an old Commodore Computer I inherited. I guess the question is how do we delete it? I have a feeling it's not going to let us. What do you think? I have done some research and I feel reasonably certain thatTHIS is the mother board we are dealing with. If it is there is no reason that the hard drive would not work without the CP/M partition.

Debby, please go to the link I posted and see if this looks like the mother board you have.

Thanks,

Kilowatt


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I have no idea what you two are talking about, maybe in time I will, but anyhow :

I printed out a copy of the motherboard you told me to check out to compare with what is in the one I have.

Yes, it is the identical one from what I see.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Who us?

I need you to go back to fdisk again. This time choose option #2
"Set active partition" and tell me what it says.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Same numbers as before plus :

Enter number of partitions you want


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

I hope it says enter number of partion you want to make active. At any rate, choose #4 ( This is assuming that it is the C: drive). Try that and let me know what happens.

Thanks


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

All numbers remained the same.

Then below that is :

Partion 4 made active.

Press esc to continue


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

OK. Hopefully you can now install Win98 to the C:\> drive. I assume that you now have the CDRom working?


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Wrong !

Now with the floppy and cd in I re-booted, 

Then going through it's process it beeped twice, worked alittle more and said :

ASP12DOS.SYS

Error in Config.sys line 14
AIC-78XX/AIC-75XXASPI MANAGER FOR DOS

WIN98 HAS DETECTED THAT DRIVE C DOES NOT CONTAIN A VALID FAT OR FAT32 PARTION. THE DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS LOADED TO D:= DRIVER MSCD001 UNIT 0


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Go back into fdisk again and choose #4. What does it say now?
It should be similar to this:


Partition Status Type Vol Label Mbytes System Usage

C: 4 A PRI DOS 30656 FAT32 100%


Total disk spac is 3815 Mbytes (1 Mbyte - 1048576 bytes)


The ASPI2DOS.SYS error is caused by a CDRom driver error. Is this a different CDRom drive?

It hasn't beat us yet.............it just thinks it has.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

have to go to work i'll do some more research when i get home
dai


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

It say just like you say with the exception of no Fat32

It's the same CD-Rom that I had switched to.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I tried to re-install Win98SE again with same results.

So I decided to try one more time with yet another floppy boot disk.

This time there was no error on the cd-rom part, it went through all the motions till it got to this part.

Please wait while setup initializes

Scanning system registry...

Cannot create a temporary directory. If you have HPFS or NTFS installed on your hard drive, you will need to create an MS-DOS boot partition to setup windows.

D:>


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

start computer without cd support and press enter
at the command promnt type fdisk and press enter
do you wish to enable large disk support y/n? y and enter
in the fdisk options that comes up type 1 and enter
next do you wish to use the maximum availabl size for the primary dos partition choose yes and enter
press esc twice to return to the command promnt.
after you create your partition you must format
restart your computer with the bootdisk without cd rom support when asked
when the command promt comes up type format c: /s
proceed with format y and enter


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Hello Debby,

I think the problem is that when you last reformatted, the C: drive was not active (enabled) through fdisk. Try reformatting again. Be sure to restart the computer after reformatting before you try installing Windows again. This will put the FAT 32 file system on the C: drive which has to be there in order to install windows.

Kilowatt

_OOPS! Didn't see your post dai._


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

it says no space to create a dos partion


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Your partitions should be fine. It will not let you add another one because it is already there. Just try the reformat and see what happens.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

killowatt 
ms says if you have a disk manager on disk don't use fdisk until you have checked with supplier of disk manager.bit late for that now


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

format not supported on drive c
format terminated


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

kilowatt
www.gaby.de/edown.htm
www.gaby.de/sysdisk.htm
www.gaby.de/ecconver.htm
i was wondering if there is anything in here to remove it if we could find a disk to use to get into cp/m there might be a way of removing it once inside
dai


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Well, I guess that answers for certain that the CP /M is indeed a disk manager. The question still remains as to why it is there in the first place as this board should be capable of running hard drives larger than 400MB and it is not an old 8bit board.

What is your opinion about wiping ALL the partitions on the hard drive and recreating just a primary dos partition to see if the board will handle it. To be honest, I am more concerned about the non-dos partitions having BIOS parameters in them than I am about the CP/M partition.

I suggest disconnecting the hard drive and trying to enter the BIOS setup to be sure everything is there and if it is then clear the hard drive even if we need to write zero's over it.

What do you think?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

yes i think this is a good course of action


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

OK Debby,

Here's what I want you to do. Unplug the ribbon cable from the hard drive (with the power off of course) then boot up the machine and try to get into the BIOS (CMOS) setup. Let us know what happens. 

 If what we're about to do ends up being wrong.............................. IT'S dai's FAULT!!! (Just kidding dai  )


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

There was 2 ribbons attached to the motherboard, 1 to the cpu I believe you call it, the other to the cd-rom.

I unplugged the one going to the cpu and then re-booted, hitting the F2 key and it went right into the screen I believe your wanting.

Did I do right ?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

yes the connection on the motherboard is the eide what is on the screen


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Across the top is :

Main, Advanced, Security, Power, Exit

Reading down on the main page :

System time :
System date :
Diskette A: 1.44 MB 3 1/2
Diskette B : Not installed
IDE Adapter 0 Master (C: 4000 MB)
IDE Adapter 0 Slave (none)
IDE Adapter 1 Master (none)
IDE Adapter 1 Slave (none)
Video system (EGA / VGA)
Memory Cache
Memory Shadow
Boot Sequence (A: then C
Numlock : (Auto)
System Memory : 640 KB
Extended Memory : 7 MB


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

have a look what is in advaced security and power but from the main i would think the bios is intact
looking at it again it is showing the h/d did you pull the eide cable out of the cd instead of the h/d


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

No how about I pull both cables out ?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

yes ok just remember which one goes back where


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

OK here's the rest of the info :

Security :
Supervisor Password is : Disabled
User Password is : Disabled
Set Security Password : Press enter
Set User Password : Press enter


Power :
Power Manager mode : Disabled
Idle time : Disabled
Standby time : Disabled
Suspended time : Disabled
Fixed Disk Time : Disabled
Modem ring : Disabled


Advanced :
Warning ! Setting items on this menu to incorrect values may cause your system to malfuntion.

Integrated Peripherals
Plug & Play OS : Yes
Reset Configuration Data : No
Large Disk Access Mode : DOS


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

need the first page again now the h/d is disconnected


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Now with both ribbons removed the IDE 0 Master changed to none also.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

that tells us you have disconnected the hard drive but is the restof the bios information there


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Yes everything is the same as first posted with the exception of the last post.

This is how it reads :

Main, Advanced, Security, Power, Exit

Reading down on the main page :

System time :
System date :
Diskette A: 1.44 MB 3 1/2
Diskette B : Not installed
IDE Adapter 0 Master (none)
IDE Adapter 0 Slave (none)
IDE Adapter 1 Master (none)
IDE Adapter 1 Slave (none)
Video system (EGA / VGA)
Memory Cache
Memory Shadow
Boot Sequence (A: then C
Numlock : (Auto)
System Memory : 640 KB
Extended Memory : 7 MB


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

everthing looks alright in the bios reconect the cables. go back to post 114


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

This thing is crazy !

Current cd-rom is now R:

I went back to post #114 and did what you said to do, this is what came up this time :

Create Primary DOS Partition

Current fixed disk drive : 1

Partition Status Type Volume Mbytes System Useage

C:1 A Pri Dos 2012 Fat 16 53%
2 Ext Dos 1799 47%


Primary DOS Partition already exist.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

it is fat 16 by following the post we will put in fat32 i don't understand how it has gone from d to r some computer that were manufactured by one company i know of had the cd drive around this area but if this was the case you would have expected it to be there before as long as we know where it is it should not be a problem


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I said this thing was acting crasy !

First no fat, now its 16

Cd-rom was D: now it's R:

I'm afraid to shut it down for fear things will all change again.

I'll be waiting intsructions on how to proceed.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

follow post 114 fat16 has alimit of 2g we want to be able to access the whole drive in one go so we need fat32


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I do not get this part on my computer :

Next do you wish to use the maximum availabl size for the primary dos partition choose yes and enter

--------------------------

This is what I get :

fdisk
large disk support : yes

FDISK Options :

1. Create DOS Partition or logical DOS drive
2. Set active partition
3. Delete partion or logical drive
4. Display partion information

Enter choice :

Then when I enter # 1, I get :

choose one :

1. Create Primary DOS Partition
2. Create Extended DOS partion
3. Create logical DOS drive(s) in extended DOS Partion


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

You will get that message after you choose #1 again and press enter. I have a feeling that you are going to get a message a that a primary partition already exists.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

You are right thats exactly what I got !

So now what ?


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Go back to fdisk, option #4 again. Is it still showing FAT16 and active (A under status) for the C: drive?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

type 1 and enter (create dos part. or log. dr.)
type 1 and enter (create prim dos part)
then comes do you wish the max size assig. to drive c press y and enter
aftyer you create the partition you must format it by restarting the computer with the boot disk without cd support when the command promp is displayed type format c: /s
when you run format com successfully the following message is displayed
warning all data on nonremovable disk drive c will be lost
proceed with format y and enter


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

hi killowatt the bios seems intact so trying to get into fat 32 to access whole drive i'll leave you with it time for bed


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Kilowatt,

yes it's still fat16, and active 

I'm gonna do what Dai says and I'll be right back at ya.

I had to take a break and pick my boys up from football practice.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Sorry no good, still comes up primary DOS parrtition already exist


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Good night dai,

I don't think she is going to be able to create another primary dos partition since she already has one in addition to an extended dos partition. The two combined = 100% of the available space on drive C:. I have been doing some research on that particular BIOS and I don't believe it will support 32 bit. I have a feeling that either the system had Win95 and was upgraded to Win98, leaving the FAT16 file table or possibly Win98 was loaded without large disk support which would have loaded FAT16 instead of FAT32. Either way, I don't think Win98 is going to run too well with only 8MB of RAM. I'm also wondering if the card Debby removed was a SCSI adapter card and the original CDRom drive was connected to it and that was actually what the CP/M and the other non-dos partitions were dealing with. If it was, then in a round about way when we had her disconnect the IDE cables, boot into BIOS setup then back out, we actually forced the "reset configuration" to initialize in the BIOS which removed the old settings for the attached hardware. I know it sounds crazy. I think I'll get Debby to try a normal boot to see what happens.

Sorry for rambling on.

Kilowatt


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Debby, I know you're going to think I"ve lost my mind, but I want you to try to boot up normally (no startup disk) and see what happens.

Let me know after you stop laughing.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Ok, done !

But it goes to bootup to the point of the mouse being loaded, and thats it.

Screen looks like this :

Phoenix Bios Verrsion 4.04 copyright 1987 - 1995
Phoenix Technologies LTD All rights reserved

AGOURA release 1.17
CPU = Pentium 100 MHz
0008192K Ram Passed
System Bios shadowed
Video Bios shadowed
Fixed Disk 0 : WDC AC34000L
Mouse installed
_

Then the above flashing curser.

The yellow and green light remains lit, it's been about 5 minutes now so I really don't think it's going to do anything more.


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

At this point in time I really don't care what I put on there to make it usable, Win98SE is the preferred.

I don't know if this will help any or not but these are the CD's I have :

Windows 95 Companion

Windows 95 Upgrade

Windows 98

Windows 98SE


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

OH well.

Start with the bootdisk without CDRom support. At the A:\> prompt, type C: and press enter. Type dir /p press enter.

Let's see if there are any files/directories.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Here goes :

Volume in C has no label
Volume Serial Number is 3E5A-13FE

Directory of C:\

Command com 93,890 04-23-99 10:22p
1 file(s) 93,8890 bytes
0 disk(s) 2,109,112,320 bytes free


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Something still isn't right. Do you remember in fdisk #4 if the two non-dos and/or CP/M partitions were still listed? It looks like it is trying to read the overlay (CP/M).

Check that for me and also try to format C: again. This time don't use the /s. Just use format C:


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

C: 1 A Pri DOS 2012 FAT16 53%
2 Ext DOS 1799 47%

Total - 3812 Mbytes

Extended DOS Partion contains DOS Driver

Display:

Logical DOS Drive Information :
Drv Volume Label Mbytes Sytem Usage
D: 1799 Fat16 100%

Figured I'd better show you this before moving on.

Do you still want me to format again


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

OK good. Try starting with the start up disk and choose with CDRom support. Note which driver letter is assigned to the CDRom. At the A:\> prompt type which ever letter is assigned. Now insert the Windows CD and type dir press enter. If the letter assigned doesn't work, try R to see if it will work.

This will tell us if the computer is reading the CD. Hopefully a list of files and directories will pop up.


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Volume in drive D is Windows

Directory of D:\

ADD_ONS 05-11-98 8:01p
AUTORUN INF 81 05-11-98 8:01p
CDSAMPLE 05-11-98 8:01p
DRIVERS 05-11-98 8:01p
README TXT 2.838 05-11-98 8:01p
SETUP EXE 3,824 05-11-98 8:01p
TOOLS 05-11-98 8:01p
WIN98 05-11-98 8:01p

3 FILE(S) 6,743 BYTES
5 DIR(S) 0 BYTES FREE


----------



## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

OK. Here comes the tricky part. I'm not sure that Win98 will install with only 8MB of RAM. Even if it does it will be painfully slow.You said earlier that you took some RAM from an older computer and it seems to be compatible with this machine. Apparently it was a 4MB chip which would bring you up to 12MB.Windows 98 needs a minimum of 32MB to function correctly.
Windows 95 needs 16MB but will probably be OK with 8MB. Given the size of the processor on that system and the limited RAM, I would install Windows 95. I would also use enough of the memory from your older system to at least get it up to 16MB. If you have the first (disk 1) floppy for Win 3.1 you can install Windows95 using the Win95 upgrade CD you have. It's a little more involved but I've done it several times.

I guess the bottom line is that the hard drive is ready for the operating system and we'll help you with the install when you are ready. 

It's really storming here right now, so I'm going to have to get offline but before I do, I'll post back with a thread with step by step instructions for installing with the Win95 upgrade CD.


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Dont rush the weather is bad here to, tornado warnings !

I might be off for the night.

I do have the disk for windows 3.1, just don't have the dos disk to go with it.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Debby,

HERE is the thread for installing using the Win95 upgrade CD.

Don't you just hate these damn tornadoe warnings!!

I'll check in with you tomorrow.

Kilowatt


----------



## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

One more thing.

If you do the win95 install following the directions in the thread,
just start the computer without CDRom support and skip to step #19 on page two of the thread.


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Yes, it's nasty !

Everything is clear and nice right now, but their calling for threats the rest of this week at nights. They say tonight will be the worst !

Anyhow, boy that's alot of reading I've gotta do, hope I can follow it all.

I'll be back to ya,

Debby


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Kilowatt,

Sorry it would'nt work, I guess I must have screwed something up.

To begin with when I was entering commands in the beginning after typing c:\ copy COM WIN386EXE, YOU DID'NT SAY PUSH ENTER. sO DUMMY ME DID THE NEXT STEP RIGHT AFTER WITH THE FLASHING CURSOR THEN OUSHED ENTER.

Don't know if I screwed anything up there or not.

But went on to re-boot several times to figure it out.

Then got it straight and it went to the setup window, but came back and said I did'nt have enough room. (remember I took the memory back out I had loaned) 

Anyway I put the memory back in and tried again.

Now it comes up with :

To quit setup press enter. To continue press esc.

Esc, is what I pushed

Then :

Please wait while setup initializes

Cannot create a temporary directory

If you have HPFS or NTFS installed on your hard drive, you will need to create an MS-DOS boot partion to setup Windows.

I went ahead and did fdisk again to check things on the display key and everything was the same as before nothing changed.

I'm sure your getting fed up with me by now, I'm starting to get that way with myself.

Sorry,

Debby


----------



## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

hi debby hav not forgotten you i have been scouring help sites for something we are missing.
what boot disk are we using?
and which ones do you have


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Hey Dai,

Thanks for not forgetting me, I really appreciate yours and Kilowatt's time you've spent trying to help me out here.

But I think I really screwed it up now !

I thought well I'll go back and repeat what he had told the other person to do from the very beginning, since it was'nt working.

Did so, and also ran scandisk figuring I'd clean up whatever.

Boy now I really have a mess, worse than to start with I think.

It won't boot from a floppy to begin with.

If you try to boot without it the screen breaks up, and has numbers, letters, and what reminds me of pocker cards symbols flashing all over the screen. 

The only thing I can seem to get is the F2 setup screen.

I'm so sorry I did'nt leave it alone !

Almost forgot I was using WIN98SE boot disk


----------



## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

is it still set in the bios to boot from a first


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

A: then C:


----------



## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

kilowatt
ihave been searching all over i came across a forum post that said using an ealy version of fdisk to format win95 would not recognise the partition as dos just wondering if the boot disk we are using needs to be a later one? or if it is time to try wiping the whole drive with your zero's dai


----------



## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

what boot disks do you have


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

DOS 5.00, 6.00, 6.21, 6.22

WIN 95A, 95B, 98, 98SE, ME


----------



## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

try booting from 98 98se me


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Tried 98 & 98SE, no good

WIN ME - Bingo !

Choose option to boot without cd rom support


----------



## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

try with cd support first and try setting up 98 if no good try the format again and don't forget to make the partition active. then try 98 again
computers would be boreing without all of this


----------



## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

sorry i forgot if you have to reformat when it asks do you want to recognise large drives and use fat 32 enter n and stick with fat 16


----------



## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

ok, but first should I go with the 95 cd since that is what kilowatt suggested because it uses less memory ?


----------



## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

no because there is too big a gap from 95 to me


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

OK this is what I got :

This version of MS Scandisk will work only with MS-DOS version 5.0 & later.

Setup found a compressed volume or disk-cache utility on your computer.

Quit setup & check your compressed volume with your disk compression software or remove the disk-cache utility.

Then run setup again.

If you have already done so, press ESC.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

i take it that you got this during setup,try the format and see if that will get rid of it.
i am just looking at another post that has just come on the board someone else d/loaded bootdisks for 95 from bootdisk com and they will not work that is what i was thinking there is something wrong with the them that is why i asked you to try the different ones you have


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

format not supported on drive C


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Dai,

Tell them to download again, different floppy also.

I downloaded Win 98SE from there, the first time it would'nt work it was missing a file.

Downloaded again it worked fine.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

www.cybertechhelp.com/html/downloads/download.php/id/1

d/load a fresh bootdisk from here and we will see if it does what it is suposed to


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Ok, new bootdisk downloaded and booted with.

This is what I got this time :

Won't let me do setup from either C: or D:, both a invalid drives. Will not let me format c:

Cd-rom is now F:

F:\dir/p 

Gives me the entries on the cd

I dont know about any other drive, what happened to c: ?.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

f:\win95\setup


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Bad command or file name.

After you directions, I did :

cd\win95

dir/p

and there is no setup or setup.exe there, I don't know if that helps or not.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

F:\setup
F:\setup\win95


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

same deal 

bad command or file name

I tried it with just the f:\ and also F:\Win95


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

go back to the link and on the bottom of the page click on downloads and d/load the ultimate boot disk


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

OK done. it does look impressive will creating the floppy.

Downloaded and made the new floppy.

What next ?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

back to trying again this time 98
boot from floppy whatever it says is your cd if it is f again then
F:\win98\setup


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Same deal as once before about not being able to create a temp dir. and running those H... and needing to create a DOS partion


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

try the format with this one 
format c: /s


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

format not supported


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

f/disk


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

ok, large disk cap. ?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

no fat 16


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Then what ?

Step by step, I don't want to make any mistakes this time.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Hello Debby and dai,

Sorry I'm just now getting online. In my real life, I own an electrical contracting firm and the storms last night caused all sorts of problems in this area, so I've been non-stop since about 3 A.M.

Anyway, can you get back to fdisk, option #4 to see the number and types of partitions we are dealing with? I would not be a bit surprised to see our old friend CP/M has showed back up. Check that while I read and catch up with what's been happening.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

page 6 no 114 print and follow instructions


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Hey Kilowatt,

Glad to see you made it through the night.

Reading up hope you don't get discussed at me for anything I might have done along the line.

Anuway I don't know what happened here but here's the info you wanted.

Minus the headings of course :

1. Non-Dos 18 %
2. Non-Dos 17863 100%
3. CP/M 19 %

Total disk : 3815

There's no number 4

I'll be here for a little while yet, but I have to go help a friend open their bar latter tonight for college night.

But be back tommorrow, as long as you guys are !


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

welcome back kilowatt
i got the feeling there was something wrong with the bootdisks we tried them all and had some success with me i browsed around and found some more boot disks and we are tryng them i think the only way to clear this h/d will be your zero


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

no space for a DOS partion


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

try setting the primary at 800mg and the logical partition at whatever is left


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I'm dumb remember, I have no idea how to do that.

I did also see where it says no partitions are set active, disk one is not startable unless a partition is set active.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

OK. Let's take the bull by the horns. Debby is there any other hardware attached to that computer besides the 3 1/2 inch floppy drive, one hard drive and one CDRom? The CP/M partition that is giving us so much trouble was used to read old 8bit 5 1/4 inch floppy drives.

I need you to go into the BIOS setup and tell me again what is listed under floppy drives. It will probably have two entries similar to this: Drive A 1.44MB, 3.5inch floppy
.............Drive B 720kb, 5.25 inch floppy or NONE

I think you posted taht already but please double check.


We just went under another tornado warning, so I'll stay on as long as I can.

Thanks


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

No other hardware other than what you have listed.

Diskette A: 1.44MB, 3 1/2"
Diskette B: not installed
IDE Adapter 0 Master c: 4000MB
IDE Adapter 0 Slave None
IDE Adapter 1 Master none
IDE Adapter 1 Slave none
Video EGA/VGA
Boot Sequence : A then C
Numlock Auto
System Memory 640 KB
Extended Memory 11 MB


It's getting dark here again too, will more than likely get the same warnings.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

dai,

I agree that we need to clear everything of the hard drive. I wonder if fdisk will remove the CP/M. If it won't I guess we need to find a simple downloadable program Debby can download to a floppy and "nuke" the bas...d once and for all.


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Work on it will if you will you guys, I've gotta go for now I promised a friend some help elsewhere.

Tell me what to do and II'll do it first chance tommorow.

Thanks so much for all your help !

Debby


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

i think the problem is when we have run fdisk we created one large partition to try and eradicate the cp/m and if that succeeded intended to go back and do a normal fdisk and create a normal primary and extened logical partition and with all the two and throwing with the first part not working forgot to do the second part and because there is no logical partition done windows won't setup.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

see you later


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Just got out of the shower, thought Id take one last look for the night.

Take care and talk with ya's tommorrow !

Debby


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

i've had time to look at that boot disk you do not have enough ram to run it .i have found another one
www.freepctech.com
down the bottom click on downloads,and on the lower right righthand side click on bootdisk and get the 98


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

kilowatt have a look at mskb 106419


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Dai,

Downloaded and booted with the new bootdisk.

No good !

Put cd-rom on d: drive but cannot install Win98, same messages as before.

Will not allow me to format c: drive either, from either D: or A: drives.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

we want to fdisk create a primary partion a logical partion and make it active


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

boot from the cd at the command promt type fdisk and p.enter then choose n stay with fat16 and enter
in the next options select 2 and press enter
in the following message enter the number of the partion you wish to make active type 1 and enter
then reboot without cd support and try format


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Again format not supported


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

did you do fdisk to make the partition active


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

yes I did


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

right now choose boot with cd support and whatever it tells you cd is thats the letter to use x:\win98\setup
x marks the spot


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

no go.

Still need to create a dos partition


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

go back into fdisk and go through and when the first list of options comes up choose no3 delete partition ect. and press enter. then .esc. out. and reboot without cd and we will reinstall


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

if this is not working send email address and i will send a special boot disk as an attachment dai


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

email on its way, it did'nt work !


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

you should have email by now tried to send through board but could not attach


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Got it !

Now I take it your wanting me to do everything that is on that paper then do the floppy disk, or what exactly ?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

yes use the guide to reinstall primary and logical partitions.make the primary 650mg in size and the logical the balance of the drive and don't forget to make them active. it would take me a week to type all the instrutions in it was easier to send you the guide.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

sorry did'nt read properley do the boot disks things first and clear the drive then follow the guide to reinstall


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

I don't know about this.
Kids running around with 50 million questions I hope I did it right.

This is what I got before I reboot

C1 A PIMDOS 602 UNKNOWN 16%
2 EXTDOS 3213 UNKNOWN 84%
D 2048 UNKNOWN 64%
E 1166 UNKNOWN 36%


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

right that looks like it has worked so reboot with the bootdisk and format everything and then esc back to the menu and select 2 and enter then 1 to make c the primary partion active


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Hey Dai,

You said format and that's what I'm in the process of doing.

Did you mean for me to do format or format plus the /s ?

Also while I'm asking here, you said to esc back and make c my primary.

Do I do that from the a: prompt or do I have to do fdisk again first ?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

yes do the /s but make the primary active first before you reboot and format


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

This is what I've got :

C: 1 A PRIDOS 602 MBYTES FAT16 16%
2 EXTDOS 3213 84%

i DID THE /S ON c: DRIVE BUT NOT ON THE OTHERS, SHOULD i REDO THEM ?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

no the /s loads the system files to the disk you only need them once if you have made c active you are ready to load windows


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

OK,

Since theres not enough room to load Win98, I guess I need to follow Kilowatt's instructions for loading Win95.

Or should I go for it one more time with Win98, since I did make it Fat 16 ?


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

i allowed 50 mgs more than should have been required to accomadate 98 oh well go with 95 the memory is a bit light on anyway


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Dai,

My mistake, like I said I don't have a clue as to whats required to make any of this work.

Before I was told that there was'nt enough to run 98, I guess you re-did things to make it work as you said.

So at the moment I am loading Win98SE on there so far it's working.

If everything goes right the only thing that will be left to be done is to see if I can get her cd-rom to work on here.

Also I'm wondering if I should chance putting the board I removed back in. I guess I should play it safe and leave well enough alone !

Be back at ya tomorrow more than likely, Im suppose to help her out again tonight.


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

98 will run but it will be slow without more ram 95 needs 16mgs to run properly well at least we are nearly there.i did 'nt realise you had changed the cd see you later


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Well everything went very well Win98SE is in and working great !

Thank You so much for all your help with this, it is so very much appreciated.

Now it's on to get the cd-rom working and I can give it back to her this evening, hopefully.

Debby


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Hello Debby,

Glad to see you got everything sorted out and working.

Take care.

Kilowatt


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Well the computer is in the back of my vehicle right now,soon to be on it's way back to it's rightful owner.

This was a difficult one I know, but everything is up and working except for the sound of which I told her I'd put a new card in for her later on.

Thanks everyone for your help and support through this difficult computer situation.

A special thanks goes out to Dai and Kilowatt who really seemed to go out of their way to help me out !

Thanks ever so much !

Oh yea, don't think your getting off with just this. I have 4 children of my own. They each have older 386 and 486 models of which I'm gonna up grade for them as much as I can. So I know I'll be back for some more needed help and advise, hope you'll all be here when I return.

Thanks Again,

Debby


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

your welcome


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## surmay (Apr 28, 2003)

Dia,

Remember me ?

You helped me out so much before I'd really appreciate it again if you could.

I've posted over on hard drive, should I post it here also.

[email protected]


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