# Win98, invalid system disk



## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

When I start my computer it starts the to boot up by running all the checks and then it stops with Invalid System Disk, replace disk/press key. So I put in the reboot cd and the MS Windows98 Startup Menu popped up. From there it asks me to choose from 3 options. format hdd, dont format hdd, start up in dos. I booted to dos prompt from cdrom and hit enter. Then this comes up under the choice list: This driver is provided by Oak Tech oti-91x Atapi cd-rom device driver 
device name gemcd001_ and the cursor just sits there and blinks. It does not respond to any keys being hit. 
Help

Okay, It won't do the windows setup like I said before. But I can now get it to go to the c: and a:. It will not go to d: or f:.
Help


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Hi mjcjjd, welcome to TSG.

Do you know how to access the bios and re-recognize your drives?

Most computers you press the DEL key when starting, Compaqs F 10, others F 1 or F 2...if neither work, post the make/model of your computer and someone can assist you.

I'm assuming this just started happening? Everything was happy before?

Can you type dir at the c: prompt?


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

Okay, I got the AMIBIOS screen to come up. What next???\
Thanks


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Look around for hard drive information, cdrom drives, whatever you have on your computer....some bioses have the option to re-recognize the drives by pressing a key, sometimes F 3, look at the bottom of each screen.....

In any event, you should be able to see information regarding the size of your hard drive, maybe even the manufacturer, the same with the cdrom drive.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

Is the information you need?
emachine etower 400i3
400 mhz Intel Celeron
32mb syncdram
4.3 gb hard drive
40x cd rom ATAPI
Win98.

Sorry, I didn't answer all of your questions before.
This started this morning when I turned the computer on.
It had been working fine


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Ok, save changes and come out of the bios......see if windows will start......it appears your drive info is there, make sure you don't have a floppy disk or cdom in either drive....I've got to run, but I'll check back on you later.


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2002)

simply boot off the bootdisk, select no cdrom support and at the a:sys c: that will rewrite the master boot record and you should be able to boot into windows. dont forget to take the bootdisk out before rebooting.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

I did what you said and it acted like it was going to start windows and it even flashed a color screen like it was going into windows and it goes back to a c: like it is waiting for me to type something in.
Any ideas??


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2002)

just going by the info you supplied it sounds like you've somehow
wiped the hdd, that's why it was comeing up with invalid system disk. when you did as i said it made the hdd bootable but the operating system is still missing. you are gonna have to re-install windows.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

And to do that I have the power off and start the system and put in the reboot cd that has the windows on it.
Is this correct?
I'm sure you can tell I am a novice when it comes to computers
Thanks


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2002)

put the bootdisk in and the cd and boot into the a: drive. at the menu choose cdrom support. as it's booting take note of what the
cdrom drive letter is and at the a: type the letter of the cdrom, for
example a:/e: that should get you to the cd. then type setup and 
follow the prompts. dont rush it, think about each step you take and it's quite easy. tell it to load windows onto c:\windows when it prompts you. good luck.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

It won' t let me type in a: it says abort, retry, fail. I have tried d:, e:, f: and I know the cdrom was d:
Any suggestions.


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2002)

not being able to see whats happening means i'm flying blind.
try getting into the bios and change the settings to default, save and exit. boot with the floppy again with cdrom support and try again. the bootdisk creates a virtual drive as d: so your cdrom will be e: what sort of computer is it? is it a clone or does it have a brand on it?


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

emachine etower 400i3 
400 mhz Intel Celeron 
32mb syncdram 
4.3 gb hard drive 
40x cd rom ATAPI 
Win98. 

The only disk I have is a cd-rom for rebooting
Everytime I put a: in at the dos prompt it tells me error.
I went into bios and did what you said. When I restart the computer it flashes the win98 color screen that should come up and then goes to dos and asks for cd.

I know I am not much help
Sorry


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2002)

ok, we don't have emachines here in australia. put the cd in leave the bootdisk out and reboot and see what happens. the cd sounds like a restore disk and may reload windows by itself.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

When I start my computer it starts the to boot up by running all the checks and then it stops with Invalid System Disk, replace disk/press key. So I put in the reboot cd and the MS Windows98 Startup Menu popped up. From there it asks me to choose from 3 options. format hdd, dont format hdd, start up in dos. I booted to dos prompt from cdrom and hit enter. Then this comes up under the choice list: This driver is provided by Oak Tech oti-91x Atapi cd-rom device driver 
device name gemcd001_ and the cursor just sits there and blinks. It does not respond to any keys being hit. 

I do not have a floppy disk for the computer to put in.

When I restart my computer and it is running its tests with the dos screen it flashes the windows 98 colored screen for just a second and then it stops with the Invalid System Disk that I described in the first part of this reply.

Is there anyway to force it to recognize the cd-rom??
When i have the cd-rom in and type d: it says invalid...


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2002)

do it all again, boot with the cd in and no floppy. that menu is the
cd asking what do you want to do. choose the option " dont format harddisk" and see what happens. i can't stay with you much longer because it's nearly time to go offline, a half hour more is all i've got.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

I will try it again. 
Thanks for all your help.
I also have to go offline and go to work.
Once again thanks for all your help.
I will let you know if it worked.


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2002)

glad to help. if i was there in the flesh i could probably have it going in no time, but it's a bit hard to do by remote control.
good luck with it.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Can you download a windows 98 bootable floppy disk from here:

http://freepctech.com/pc/002/files010.shtml

Save it to your desktop, double click on it, you'll be prompted to insert a clean floppy disk.....do that and the files will be transferred. Now place this in the problem computer's floppy drive, remove the cdrom that you are trying to boot to, and see if you can get to an a: prompt....

Once at the a: prompt, can you type:

c:
and press enter

then type
dir
and press enter

does anything scroll by?


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

I got the file transferred to a floppy disk.
I can type at the a:
in the dir it says

Volume in drive D has no label
Volume serial number is 3651-14F4
Directory of C:/
windows 02-02-12 13:35
progra~1 02-02-12 13:35
command com 116,836 98-06-26 20:01
1 files 116.836 butes
2 dir 4101.88mb free

Hope this is what you needed

I really appreciate all of your help


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Did you try reinstalling windows yesterday, by chance?

What happens at the c: prompt, if you type

cd windows
and press enter

then type
dir
and press enter

Do you get a listing of items?


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

Yes, I did try and reboot windows yesterday and that is when it comes up saying it is doing it and then just sits there at the device name that I explained in a earlier email.


When I put in C:/ cd windows it comes up C:/WINDOWS like it is waiting for me to type something
and when I put dir in front of it I get the following.


Directory of C:/ 
windows 

02-02-12 13:35 
progra~1 
02-02-12 13:35 
command com 116,836 98-06-26 20:01 
1 files 116.836 butes 
2 dir 4101.88mb free 

I am about to give up. What do you think??


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Well, it would appear that your windows operating system got wiped out.....either by a format C: or someone deleting things from a C: prompt. There should be way more stuff than just command.com in the windows directory.....

You've got to get cdrom support to be able to reinstall windows, but you say when you boot with a bootable disk, you can't access the cdrom?


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

Yes, I took the cd rom to another computer and it is okay and all the drivers and files are there.
Do you think it is my cd rom that is keeping me from installing?
I also have WindowsME reboot cd rom from my other computer and I put it in and it recognized it but won't install???


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Remove the cd from the cdrom drive.

Can you try booting again with the bootable floppy disk in the a: drive.....you get a menu to choose cdrom support, correct?

Then when you choose that, watch the information scroll by for any error messages regarding the cdrom drive.......


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

I rebooted with the floppy disk in and it scrolls through some information that I can not read (too fast)
Then stops and at the bottom of the screen it says

Searching for boot record from Floppy disk ok

Non System disk or disk error
Replace and strike any key when ready

It never gives me cd rom support or any other errors


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## dogbonz (Mar 19, 2001)

Hi mjc,

The real question is: 

1) Do you have a single C drive ?
(no partitions?)

2) Are you trying to save Programs and Files
on the HDD ?

E-machines are fine, but their "restore disk"
(like many others) is cumbersome.

If you are not attempting to save information,
then hit "Format HDD" at the start.

It will take to to a complete re-install, which
includes all that proprietary crap. (AOL,etc),
that E-Machine and Bill Gates contracted for.

You might be able to save it using "Boot using
CD-Rom Support"

Then you will get an A: drive prompt. THAT's
the CD-Rom, in most cases. Type Dir at that prompt
and you Should See the contents of the CD-Rom.

and IF SO, type "setup" and let the whole puppy
re-install. Some important files may survive,
but with the E-Machine restore, that's not a
guarantee.

-


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

I was so excited that I was seeing everything that you said I would. But when I type setup it says bad command or filename. I tried in c: and a: prompt with cd rom and floppy.
Any suggestions?


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## dogbonz (Mar 19, 2001)

Hi again Mjc,

It appears to me that it's complete re-install
time.

If you have a bootable floppy, use it to
format the hard drive....(sorry).

Then simply use the "Restore CD-Rom" to
completely re-install. Sorry chief, it's
the best I can offer.

It's good practice, though. I've done it
a few times. Then take out most of those
stoopid Gates Additions...Then scandisk
then defrag.

Unless someone else has another idea ?
(P.S. no answer on the Files You Need to Save
or the Partitions)


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

At this time I don't care if I can't save any files. And about the partitions I don't think I have any. We bought the system new and we never partitioned anything.

Could you please tell me step by step how to do what you just explained.
Starting with the computer off.

Thanks so much!!!


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Hi again, I think you've received some bad instructions....the a: prompt is never going to be the cdrom drive......if you truly have a good bootable floppy disk, you should not be receiving the error message you are getting.....did you follow the directions on how to make a bootable floppy disk? You cannot just copy it to a floppy disk.....it MUST be expanded......also, when you boot with this disk, it will push the cdrom one drive letter ahead....so if you usually have the cdrom drive as "D" it will now be "E" and you will need to change to that directory by following the same instructions as before, at the a: prompt, type

e:
and press enter.....

this is assuming your cdrom drive used to be d......move it ahead appropriately if it used to be 'e.'

Now type setup from that prompt.


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## dogbonz (Mar 19, 2001)

Hate to say it -

But if you have many partitions that
DON'T show up - then the ONLY drive that
will show your CD-ROM, is A: .

Since (in this case) mjc has no partitions,
(recent information) then it will show up
as the D: drive.

I have an e-machine, but I also have a regular
Win98 CD-Rom.

I'm running Win98, Windows 2000 Advanced Server
and XP Enterprise on an E-machine.

I've had crashes, and when putting the Win98
CD-rom in to "save it", it shows me the "A"
drive. When I hit "dir", the A drive shows me
what's on the CD.

Even when I can go to the other partitions.

So, I dunno. In any case, he should be able
to re-install all the stuff from the CD-ROM.
Of course he will re-install all the proprietary
stuff, too.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

I put in the reboot cd and the MS Windows98 Startup Menu popped up. From there it asks me to choose from 3 options. format hdd, dont format hdd, start up in dos. No matter which choice I make and hit enter. 

Then this comes up under the choice list:

This driver is provided by Oak Tech oti-91x Atapi cd-rom device driver 
device name gemcd001_ 

and the cursor just sits there and blinks. It does not respond to any keys being hit. 
I tried this with the cd rom and the floppy disk.
I downloaded the information for the floppy to my desktop and then put it on the floppy.

Do you think this is a lost cause??


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

So, booting with the floppy disk hangs at the cd drive too?

If so, you've got to open the computer up and check the cdrom connections.......both power and the gray cable that connects it to the motherboard.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

All the cords coming out of the cd rom drive are tight. I even unplugged them and replugged them in.

I am beginning to think this is a lost cause.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

It could be that the cdrom drive has gone bad.

What brand is it? The only other thing would be is that the bootable disk doesn't have the correct driver.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

The cd rom is a ATAPI
When it searches the drives in start up it say
cd rom ok
floppy od
c:/ ok
If that means anything.

What I can't understand is when I am booting up it flashes the Windows 98 colored screen and then goes to non system disk
and asks for the disk to be put in.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Atapi isn't the brand of the cdrom....what's on the front of the drive? Any name?

The reason you receive that error message is that the files to load windows can't be found on the hard drive......but once you place a bootable floppy in the a: drive, you should be able to get to an a: prompt....then change to the cd drive by typing the drive letter......

From an A: prompt, did you try typing
sys c:
and hitting enter


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

> _Originally posted by mjcjjd _
> *I was so excited that I was seeing everything that you said I would. But when I type setup it says bad command or filename. I tried in c: and a: prompt with cd rom and floppy.
> Any suggestions? *


Also, I just noticed this, did you try typing 
d:
and pressing enter?

did you try typing
e: 
and pressing enter?

then type setup from there?

You will get bad command or file name from the a: or the c: prompt......setup isn't there.....it's on the cd.....


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## ETS (Oct 13, 1999)

Based on what he's said so far, I don't think he's ever successfully created a bootable floppy. You might try borrowing one from another machine running Win98.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

There isn't any brand on the front of the cd rom. It is built in and I can't see the name.
I can't go to d:, e:. f:
it says bad command or file name

I tried typing in sys c: from the a: prompt and nothing happens.

I think it is time to retire the old machine.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

How do I check the floppy and see if it is okay??

I can open the file on the floppy on another computer and it shows all the drivers and files.

By the way, not that it matters I am not a he....

Now you all are worried right..hahaha


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Can you by any chance pull the cd drive out of the other computer and put it in this one for the time being?

Can you boot the other computer with that boot floppy?


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

Okay,

I made a new floppy and it worked on my system. 
I got the windows98 screen and chose without cd rom support and it worked for a while and came back and said successful.
It also said RAMdrive disc D
diagnostic tools were successfully loaded to drive D:, but now it is setting at the a:\ waiting for me to type something??

I hope this means I am getting somewhere.
You all are being so helpful. I am definitely going to tell my friends about this site.
I am in internet tech support so maybe we can help a few people out also.


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## ETS (Oct 13, 1999)

Try it again, but this time select "cdrom support".


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

I tried that one first. And get the same thing that I get when I am trying to run from the cd rom. I also do not have the cd rom disk in. 
I am scared to put the cd rom in my good computer, because if something happens to it then I can't talk with you.

1. with cd rom support
2. without cd rom support
3. help
I also tried the help and really didn't understand a whole lot of it was explaining.

Then this comes up under the choice list: 

This driver is provided by Oak Tech oti-91x Atapi cd-rom device driver 
device name gemcd001_ 
And the cursor just sits there and blinks, I have left it for a half or hour or so hoping it was thinking but nothing happens.

Any ideas.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Do you have any floppy disks laying around that refer to cdrom drivers?


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

None both of my machines came with the cd rom installed. They both only came with the reboot cd's.
One is for Win98 the other WinME.

Can a person go online somewhere and put a driver on a cd. I have a cd burner on this computer??


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## ETS (Oct 13, 1999)

You're getting ahead of me.
Once you boot to the floppy with cdrom support, you then need to insert the cd into the cdrom drive and make the cdrom drive letter your current active drive.
If you get that far then you need to run setup from there. If setup gives you an error message, let us know what it is and we'll take it from there.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

I can boot withour cd support. and it goes to an a:
and acts like it is waiting for me to type in something. It will let me type in d: which it has never done before. If I choose with cd rom support it just stops with the device name. I also tried e: and it is a bad file name.

The cd rom is a samsung 40E model SC140.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

ETS, you must have missed it, it's hanging trying to load the oak cd driver.....

I'm wondering if the cdrom is connecteed to a sound card? Is there any way we can get a make/model off the top or bottom of the drive?


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

This is what it says on the cd rom drive when i pull it out.

Samsung CD-Master 40E Model SC-140

On the bar code it says SC-140/TG5 63BK887900 F/W=140FT02

the serial # is QFT99C-0007822


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## ETS (Oct 13, 1999)

Not familiar with E-MACHINES, but cdrom drives haven't been connected to sound cards in years that I know of. That doesn't mean a proprietary driver isn't required though.
I didn't miss the driver hang though. I was just trying to establish whether or not she could access the drive with Win98 generic driver.

mjcjjd: So you are saying you weren't able to boot all the way to the A: prompt when selecting CDROM support?


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

That is correct. It stops on the device name as I described before.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Ah, emachines, right ETS, missed that part earlier, duh.....thanks


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## ETS (Oct 13, 1999)

I checked the Samsung website and they do not seem to offer any drivers for that model. And it uses a standard IDE interface, so generic drivers should work with it unless something is wrong with the drive. Any thoughts, AcaCandy.

One other thing you may try if you haven't already is try booting with cdrom support (with the Win98 boot floppy) on your good machine and see if you can reach the A: prompt from their. If you can, then that makes it more likely that the drive is bad.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

This won't cause any problems with my good computer???


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## ETS (Oct 13, 1999)

Nope. Just don't do anything else other than boot to the a: prompt with cdrom support.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

My concern is that the drive may be bad too.....or the gray cable needs replaced.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

Oh yeah,
On my HP it acted like it was going to stop on the device name and then it took off and lots of info came up and then the a:\

So what does this mean?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

That means that the cd drive on that computer is good 

Have a look here at Emachines site.......

http://www.e4me.com/support/updates.html#cd_driver

Download that dos driver, expand it to a floppy disk and let's see if we can force your machine to use that driver.


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## ETS (Oct 13, 1999)

mjcjjd: It also means the CD drive on problem computer is likely bad or has bad cable as AcaCandy suggested.

AcaCandy: That msdos driver is for earlier models. This drive is 40x. Samsung also provides drivers for the earlier models, but not this one.

I would suggest to her to try swapping drives with the good machine if possible. Or try one from some other machine.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

I don't think I am prepared to take the one out of the machine that works. You know the old saying, (if it aint broke, don't fix it)
What do you think of me just buying a new cd rom for that machine? If that is a good idea would it hurt if I got one that is cd-rw or am I asking for trouble at this point???


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## ETS (Oct 13, 1999)

I don't think you're asking for trouble, but I would still perfer you try another known working drive first before shelling out any money. We still have not confirmed that the drive is bad.


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2002)

sometimes, when booting from a floppy it does hang for a period after finding the cdrom and can take up to 30 seconds to finish the bootup depending on the speed of the machine. maybe you are not waiting long enough.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

Okay, I removed the cd rom drive from my HP and put it in the eMachine and it reacted the same way.
So we have eliminated the cd rom itself being bad
Any more suggestions....

This is scary stuff..


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Does the cdrom go straight to the motherboard? or is it attached on the same gray cable with the hard drive? Also, pop back into the bios setup to be sure it's recognized there.


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

I checked in BIOS and all is fine.

There are 3 cables attached to the cd rom
1. Has multiple colored wires going into a small white plastic kind of rectangular shaped plug that goes into the back of the computer.
2. A white strap that says slave on it going into the back of the cd rom with quite a few little pins that have to line up.
3. A little black plastic kind of rectangular very slim (1/2"x3mm) if that makes any sense and it has a few colored wires coming into it.

That is all I have...


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

How's the bios showing it? Or does it say the same thing as the other cdrom said?

Can you by chance try the strap from your other computer?


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## mjcjjd (Feb 12, 2002)

In BIOS, what I remember it said the same thing as the other cd rom 

I don't think i am brave enought to pull the strap.

I think I am going to count my losses while I am behind and look for another system.

I appreciate all the help I have received. I definitely learned alot about my system

Once again, Thanks to all of you who have tried to help me....


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## Rick1953 (Feb 16, 2002)

Looks to me that you were almost there at the a prompt when you said "it was waiting for me to type something". As Guru 2 told you earlier at the a prompt type sys c: Ater you get a message that the files were successfully transferred or something similar to that remove the startup disk and restart the computer with Control-Alt.-Delete. I've done this several times when I get the same error message. I'ts usually caused if you leave a floppy disk in your machine and turn it off and then turn it back on later. What also works is to reload your default or factory settings in the BIOS. Try again and see what happens.


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