Anyone know how to access the bios on an IBM PS/1? I am working on this system for someone and it won't do anything except come up with incorrect dos version. Also, how do you make the PS/1 boot from the floppy drive? TIA

sys the hd then install 6.22 byby probs!

Hmmm...try the F1 - Key. It should work if you have an late version of IBM PS/1

Kkvax could you explain a little more please?

This is the exact message it gives me:

HIMEM is testing extended memory...done.

Unrecognized command in CONFIG.SYS
Error in CONFIG.SYS line 3
Incorrect DOS version
Incorrect DOS version

Bad or missing Command Interpreter

and then it will go no further....suggestions?

It's possible your boot disk is no good. Have you tested it on another machine? or maybe the floppy drive is shot or needs cleaning? Once you get a good boot disk you can put a fresh copy of command.com on the hard drive and sort out the problems in the config.sys and autoexec.bat files.

Just try "sys c:" the drive using a MS dos 6.2 boot disk from bootdisk.com.

sys c: returns incorrect dos version...nothing more...

I take it your boot disk is working now? Will it let you atleast switch to the C drive? Also, try running dir c: and fdisk from the floppy and see what happens.

Boot disk still not working. yes i can switch to the c: drive but every command gives me "incorrect dos version"...

Hmmm....Have you tried the boot disk on another computer to see if it will boot on that? Also, try a different floppy drive on the PS/1 if you have one. Have you made sure the floppy cables (ribbon and power) are all connected right? Does the floppy drive light come on at all when you try to boot from it? Does the PS/1 probe the floppy during startup? If all else fails, you might try direct cable connection from another computer. I've never done it but from reading other posts on this forum it's possible to transfer the necessary from the good computer to the one without a working floppy. Might want to start a new post on that one.

Ok, I've determined that I either 1) need a copy of IBM DOS version 4 on 3.5" (if anyone has it I would be very greatful). 2) or possibly could get by with a copy of the file called "customiz.exe" from ibm dos 4. please let me know if you can help. thanks.

IBM PS/1 bios access by either pressing F1 or CTRL+ESC @ POST. Incorrect DOS version means that whatever device drivers you are trying to load (ex: HIMEM.SYS) are not compatible with the DOS version you are using to boot (ex: if you have DOS 6.0 installed and you copied HIMEM.SYS over from a Windows 95 machine, you will get incorrect dos version error when HIMEM loads. Get original MS DOS 5 or 6 installation floppies and your problems will be over. Nothing more to say about this.

Oh btw, if you don't have original MS DOS disks, download DRDOS/OPENDOS from the Internet http://www.drdos.net/download.htm (works to).

Have fun

Don't forget that the system files io.sys, command.com are loaded from an integrated ROM at startup on the PS/1! So you can't mix your DOS 6.22 drivers with the dos 4 kernel!
if you still have the original IBM-DOS 4 on the hard drive, then you will find the utils customize.exe or/and configur.exe that allows you to choose if you want to boot from floppy, HD or floppy, ROM, or just ROM alone. Change that then format your HD with /S, or transfer system files with "sys a: c:". You should be able to boot with DOS 6.22 without any problems. It worked for me!

None of the suggestions above is correct.
You have a computer with a built in rom. In this rom there is ibm dos 4.1. You need to set the bios to start from the hd to avoid the message. I hope you haven't formatted the harddrive yet because you setup the bootoption with a file on the harddrive called customiz.exe

I have a PS/1 as well, it's the one before the last on this page: http://www.digidome.nl/ibmps.htm.

I suspect that the hard drive has died in it. I get prompted to press F1 on post, and the light on the hard drive keeps flashing away. To make things difficult, the interface for the hard drive appears to be some sort of proprietary IBM one - although the drive itself was made by Maxtor.
Could anyone who happens to still have the setup utilities (customiz.exe and configur.exe?) please email them to me? I'm also open to any suggestions on how to perhaps get a standard IDE hard drive working with it or something - ideally I'd like to get Minix and ELKS (Linux for x86 and up) working on the machine. It's a bit too big and clumsy to use as a door jamb and it's in otherwise excellent condition so I'd rather fix it than throw it out...

As far as installing Dos 6.22 - I have the install disks and the system boots with them automatically. I may have changed the boot settings before, I really can't remember. Since the hard drive isn't detected, the MS-Dos installer just asks me if I want to install Dos 6.22 onto a floppy. I haven't actually tried it but I assume it's possible.