I badly need DOS 6.2 (full set).Hard drive is completely blank.On startup it just asks for BOOT disk,yet when I insert various BOOT disks (DOS6.2,WIN95a&b,ect.) it says invalid syatem disk press "A" when ready. Please help !!

PS If it helps AMIBIOS SYSTEM CONFIGUATION menu screen(the only one I can see) says the main processor is 80486sx
AMIBIOS DATE is 06\06\92

If the boot disk is any good, it should work no matter what's on (or not on) your hard disk.
If you can access the setup screen, usually by holding delete key at start (ok, I forget if it's the same for AMI) - there should be instructions at startup anyways - and make sure that the computer is set to boot from a: drive.
You'd have to do this anyways - you can't readily set up an OS without a boot device.

OK, here's the deal. I used an old win95 bootdisk to get past the "invalid system disk" screen,but now it will not identify C drive.The whole hard drive has been formatted so there's no real help there. Anyway,now I need to know how to assign C and then get a copy of dos 3.1 or higher on floppy.Then load up windows. I have 3.1 update 6set flop. but,it needs dos3.0 or better to boot. Also have 98 on disk but can't get cd drive to work. Basically I'm computer illiterate,but trying to learn. So the easier the fix the better.

Well, the first thing to do is get the computer to "recognize" drive c:
It's worth your while to get into the setup screen, 'coz that might be where the problem is. Any idea how many Mbytes drive c: holds? - larger (2 Gb +) disks use a different format method. As for DOS, I think you're getting a little mixed up between DOS and Windows. You need DOS 5.0 or higher to run Win 3.1 (preferrably DOS 6.22). Still, none of this matters until we get the c: drive "back"
Here's some AMI BIOS info:
"To allow the user to alter the CMOS settings, the BIOS
provides a little program, SETUP. Mostly setup can be entered by
pressing a special key combination (DEL, ESC, CTRL-ESC, or CRTL-ALT-ESC)
at boot time (Some BIOSes allow you to enter setup at any time by
pressing CTRL-ALT-ESC). The AMI BIOS is mostly entered by pressing the
DEL key after resetting (CTRL-ALT-DEL) or powering up the computer.
You can bypass the extended CMOS settings by holding the [INS] key down
during boot-up. This is really helpful, especially if you bend the CMOS
settings right out of shape and the computer won't boot properly
anymore. This is also a handy tip for people who play with the older AMI BIOSes with the XCMOS setup."
See if any of that helps.

OK now it recoginzes "C" but says it's full (even though I format it. C holds 125MB and now can be accessed. If possible, I probably need step by step instructions starting with the DOS partitions all the way up to "Welcome to windows" Had it up and running before the delete/format screwup,so I know it can take it.
Anyway, as it stands now I have :access to "A" ; access to cmos startup:; access to"C",but can't fit anything in cause it says it's full(possibly mis-partitioned); No access to cd drive yet (to be expected):: what I need is:"C" dos partition info.;a way to clear"C".; A boot disk and/or program that will allow me to install from cd (I have 98 on disc);easy to follow directions (remember I'm a dummy otherwse I wouldn't be in the shape I'm in now.): Last but not least lots and lots of HELP.Thank you for your time and effort.I'm making progress.(slow,but progress none the less)

PS If you need specific info ask and I'll try to find it on my unit.Don't know how much I could find that would help, but I'm here you're there maybe I can paint a better picture of what we're up against. Thanks again.

Well, this is at least encouraging. *g*
What OS were you using on it before all of this happened?
You're using a Win95 bootdisk, is that right?
Try changing to c: and entering the command:
dir/w /ad or
dir/w
to get some idea of what's filling up the disk.
Enter
dir c:\command.com
and take note of the date and timestamp of the file - this may pin down what's been set up on the HDD.
125 Mb is pretty small to consider putting Win9x on - even with drvspace (which has it's own problems)
Also, from a: try typing fdisk and choose "show partition information" to see if the drive is partitioned or if you are using 100% etc
This is just a starting point - if the drive is"full" something was installed on it or else it's chock full of "bad clusters"
Win95 Would use up most of your HD, all by itself.
Let me know how it goes, I've got to log off soon, but I'll check back when I can. (or someone else might have some suggestions)

Tried the 'c/dir" commands,but to no avail. Just kept saying "invalid media reading drive c" Checked the dos partitioning (which has been changed to even get the computer to see "c" it now is not partitioned but can be changed. I got the unit at Good Will and it had win3.1 but it was almost as screwed up. I put win95 on it (and shoud have left it)but there was no room for anything.So then I tried to format everything and start from scratch.Apperently there were compressed files or command lines were deleted,changed,moved corrupt,or whatever.Actually I thought you just format(erase) the hard drive and start all over again. Didn't think about compressed files or dos partitioning or OS. Basically I didn't think! 1) how do I change the media for c or format it to take info?
2)what should the dos partitions be set at and how many? 3)once c is able to read the media input will win95 bootdisk be enough to get it running again.or do I need to get an OS on floppy? I have win95 on disc which is what i plan to try to run eventually.
One last thing unit only accepts the win95 botdisk as a system disk. without it the startup ends with "Missing operating system"
And thats were it stands now. Thanks

OK, I'm guessing that you should set your machine up for DOS 6.22
This seems to be a good site for the actual disk:

http://www.bootdisk.com/

Get the 622 file and run it to create the boot disk. I believe you just run it, with a blank, formatted disk in a: - - it makes a boot disk
The rest of the DOS files can be found at:

http://www.thepcnick.com/

under "free software"
but you'll have to unzip them.

The reason I'm saying this is because your original OS was DOS with Win 3.1, and you may not have a good enough machine for Win95:
Disk Space
Win95 requires 60 - 100 Mb Just For the OS, this isn't even counting applications. (My 1.6 Gb drive is Always about 98% full) and you only have 125 Mb. You can "increase" your disk's capacity with drvspace, but it decreases performance and sucks up resources as well.

RAM
Although Win95 will run with 4 Mb of ram, unless you have 16+ Mb, you are going to be unhappy with the performance.

CPU
Again, Win95 will run on a 386, but even a 486 DX 66 is pretty slow for some apps.

If you decide on DOS, here's what to do.
So, download the program from bootdisk.com, make a 6.22 floppy boot disk and use it to start your computer. Actually, you might want to try your other DOS boot disk and see if that works at all, just as a test (after that, set it aside for now). Even if it doesn't work, it could actually be bad, so create and use the 6.22 boot disk.
Boot from the 6.22 disk you created
If there are no partitions
1) From a: type fdisk
Create one using 100% of the drive, making it the Active partition.
Reboot (I think you have to anyways)
2) Type format c:
If all goes well, when that is done, type (from a:) sys c:
Remove the floppy and reboot.
The computer should boot up on its own and you should be rewarded with the "friendly" c:> prompt

If there is a partition, try step 2) first.
If there is a problem, try fdisk - remove partition and then go back to step 1)
If you get any error messages, quote them exactly if possible. I'll try the bootdisk program myself to see if there are any probs with that. I know this may seem like a lot of information, but if it's done right you can pretty much forget about it after that. Any problems or questions, post or feel free to email me.

OK used 95's boodisk to get FDISK and set up the partition to active. Reboot with the disk lets the disk in A run which says it is starting windows 95.(gives copyright date then runs the floppy and ends with the prompt for A (always did that's how I got past "invalid system disk replace and hit enter when ready." This disk is the only one the unit will recognize. Not even coppies.
Without the disk it ends right after counting up.Missing operating system.Step 2) is confusing: Do I type "format c:" press enter? ctrl-alt-delete? power off/on(reboot) A" is the only promp that comes up automatic. Type "format c:" at the A prompt or call up the C prompt?Tried various combinations ,but none worked. At the A prompt:response was "Bad command or file name" At the C prompt: response was"invalid media reading drive C" So to put all in a nutshell, it didn't work. Please keep trying.

short answer: you need the file FORMAT.COM to be on the disk in A:
Check and see that it's there.
"Bad command or filename" means that the file can't be found (or has been misspelled *g*)
Drive C: WON'T be recognized until it is formatted.
Are you sure you want to go with Win95 ?
I tried the bootdisk program - -works great.
Will your machine read other floppies? After booting Win95, remove disk, replace with another floppy and type dir/w then enter (just wondering).

Using your Win95 boot disk, boot your computer until it gets to the "A:\" prompt. Then type: FORMAT (ONE SPACE) C:(ONE SPACE) /S. So it will look like this:
FORMAT C: /S. This will format the disk, and copy the system files to the hard drive. If I was experiencing all the problems that you are having with the drive saying that it is full, and I was certain that there are no files on it, I would run scandisk first to see if it is full of bad clusters. Boot with the Win95 disk, and at the A:\ prompt, type SCANDISK. If all goes well, THEN do a format, install your Windows OS, and have fun. Hope this helps!