So far so good :) Ok the Bios setting then if its been set to A:\ then C:\ is what you want to have, the setting of D:\ is for a CDRom and if you dont have that dont worry about it, A:\ then C:\ is what you want. Your finding the Himem.sys file still on the drive is good news, well get to it in a moment. Now to the SYS C: BootUp using your Recovery Disk if it Boots you to C:\ once there type A:\ at the C:\ prompt Example: C:\A:\ this will change you to A:\ directory(where the BootDisk is) then at the A:\ prompt do a SYS C: Example: A:\SYS C: and the files should be transfered over from A:\ to C:\ Once this is done you be able to Boot right into HardDisk C:\ with no Recovery Disk, after this process reboot your machine. Ok now the Himem.sys If all goes well you be at the C:\ prompt after reboot, type Edit Config.sys Example: C:\Edit Config.sys In this file at the top there should be a line that reads DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS If its not there, put it there :) save the edited Config.sys file and reboot your machine. That should take care of the missing Himem.sys error. Good Luck:) let me kno how it goes... -- Zyo

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ok, i got it to copy the files from the recovery disk onto c drive. but when i type 'edit config.sys' at the c prompt, it says 'bad command or file name' i dont know why it is doing that. when the computer first boots up (it had been listing these files even before i copied the recovery disk files onto the harddrive) it lists a few other files that are missing, but the files are only mentioned when the computer first boots up. (they arent mentioned later when i try to go into windows.) i dont know if that would have anything to do with why it wont let 'edit config.sys' work what it says is: 'Bad or missing c:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS Error in CONFIG.SYS line 2' 'Bad or missing C:\DOS\EMM386.exe Error in CONFIG.SYS line 4' then it goes on to say: 'HMA Not available: Loading DOS low File not found Bad Command or file Name Missing HIMEM.SYS; Make sure that the file is in your Windows directory and that its loacation is correctly specified in your CONFIG.SYS file.' but like i said, i dont know if that has anything to do with why it wont accept the 'edit config.sys' :( is it really possible that the 'himem.sys' file is bad like the computer said it could be? i dont understand how it could be bad, if its the same file that it always used for windows before. i did try, i dont know if i succeded, but i tried to put a 'himem.sys' file on the computer. i dont know if the one i tried to put on it was bad, or if i didnt succede in putting another one on it at all. thanks again for your help

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Whats on your C:\ directory, file wise? List whats shown when you do a DIR C:\ You have C:\Windows C:\DOS directories.. But what files are shown when your do a DIR C:\ ?? Zyo

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ok, when i type c:\dir it gives me: aol40 diskimag dos msa pblib pbnav30 pbtools platform plugins plugplay prodpack psdwin scdemo sound16a temp windows windrvs and there are more files too, but theyre all programs that are run in windows, or programs that the computers owner put there, wav files and such. let me know if you need me to list those other files too. :)

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Ok those are all directorys, we're looking for files. type dir /p and gimme a list of files displayed such as Autoexec.bat Command.com Config.sys Etc, these files "must be" in C:\ anything that comes up with a 'dir' after it dont worry about. Example: DOS 'dir' Windows 'dir' you have to be my eyes, since i cant see your machine :) Zyo

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Ok wait, scratch that above post, im not taking into account the human factor here. I wouldnt want you to have to list 30 files of wav and other things that were thrown into C:\ If i did a dir c:\ on my machines id get about 7 files since i keep eveything in a set order, but i kno some folks out there dump alot of things all over c:\ So with that said.... Specifically type dir c:\ /p and look for these files, page by page. Autoexec.bat Config.sys Command.com <--should already be there. If you see Config.sys and Autoexec.bat there CD to C:\DOS and type EDIT then in the editor use ALT F and arrow keys to navigate the menus and directorys. Use the editor to, goto, open and view config.sys in your c:\ directory and post here what it says in there. If you have the Autoexec.bat file, also do the same open it with the editor the same way and post here what is says in that file. Zyo

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Ok here we go.... (From your post) -------------- what it says is: 'Bad or missing c:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS Error in CONFIG.SYS line 2' 'Bad or missing C:\DOS\EMM386.exe Error in CONFIG.SYS line 4' then it goes on to say: 'HMA Not available: Loading DOS low File not found Bad Command or file Name Missing HIMEM.SYS; Make sure that the file is in your Windows directory and that its loacation is correctly specified in your CONFIG.SYS file.' ------------------------- Normally you would have a Himem.sys and Emm386.exe in "Both" your C:\DOS and your C:\Windows Directory. That explains your missing errors, your system is looking for them in C:\DOS and not finding them. You are missing those files from your C:\DOS directory since your search turned up Himem.sys in C:\Windows with no problem so i want you to copy these files from your C:\Windows directory to C:\DOS. (Note: i dont mean move them there, i mean copy, you want to have the 2 sets again.) At C:\ prompt CD to C:\Windows At C:\Windows type Copy Himem.sys C:\DOS then once again At C:\Windows type Copy Emm386.exe C:\DOS Then reboot your machine and at the C:\ prompt type Win This should take care of those errors, let me know how it goes :) ------------------------ Zyo <--needs coffee right about now, be back laterz.

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i found: autoexec.bat command.com config.sys 'c:\dos>edit bad command or file name' so i typed: cd:\dos>msd and it takes me to dos diagnostics program it says to push alt for menu, so i go to 'file' and scroll down to 'config.sys' and it says this: DEVICE=C:\PLUGPLAY\DRIVERS\DOS\DWCFGMG.SYS DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DOS=HIGH, UMB DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.exe RAM MIN=0 D=64 FILES=30 BUFFERS=20 STACKS=9,256 FCBS=1,0 DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\MOUSE.SYS DEVICEHIGH=C:WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS DEVICEHIGH=C:\PBTOOLS\CR_ATAPI.SYS /D: MSCD0001 then i scrolled down to 'autoexec.bat' and it says: @ECHO OFF C:\PBTOOLS\AZCAL.exe PROMPT $P$G PATH C:\WINDOWS; C:\DOS; C:\ LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX.exe /D: MSCD0001 /M: 30 /E /X SET DIRCMD= /O SET TEMP=C:\PBTOOLS\WINTEMP SET WINPMT= [WINDOWS] $P$G SET BLASTER= A220 I5 D1 T4 SET GALAXY= A220 I5 D1 K10 P530 T6 SET SOUND= C:\SOUND16A WIN TYPE C:\PBNAV30\PBNEW\EXIT2.MSG ___________________________________________ i copied the 'himem.sys' and 'emm386.exe' to c:\windows :) now when i boot up the computer, it stops right before it is supposed to go to windows, which is also where it was reporting the errors before i copied the files. so the files copied right and everything. but it wont go to windows, or a command prompt. it stops right at: 'Plug and Play for MS-DOS(R) and Windows (TM) Configuration Manager - R1.41 Copyright 1993, 1994 Intel Corporation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MS-DOS is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.' and then under that is a little blinking cursor thing. but no command prompt or anything. no more errors though! :) but still no windows.

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Arrrrrrrgg! lol :) Ok use your recovery disk and boot to c:\ at c:\ type dir /s dwcfgmg.sys and see if it says 1 file found. (im betting itll say no, but we need to kno) Then at c:\ type copy config.sys a:\ Then reboot your machine with the floppy rescue disk in it. When it boots to c:\ type Win /s /b let me kno if you make it into windows. Zyo

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when i typed 'c:\dir /s dwcfgmg.sys' it found the file in the 'Directory of C:\PLUGPLAY\DRIVERS\DOS' is it good or bad that it found the file? :) it wouldnt let me 'c:\copy config.sys a:\' but it would let me 'a:\copy config.sys c:\' and i over wrote the file. i tried to do it the other way but it said it was copy protected. then i rebooted it, and it said that it 'couldnt access drive c' (ahh!). so i rebooted it again, and reset the bios defaults (that always seems to work for some reason), and booted from the recovery disk. and it took me to the recovery program, and then back finally to c:\ then, after i got back to c:\ i typed in 'win /s /b' and it said its favorite phrase, which is 'bad command or file name', so i tried 'c:\windows>win /s /b' and it said 'Windows for Workgroups 3.11 does not run in real or standard modes.' its not making any sense, i think its being difficult on purpose. :(

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Ok config.sys is already on your recuse disk, lets skip that copying it over part. Boot from that rescue disk and at C:\ type win if it fails to load windows.......... The good news is your configuration files now seem to be ok, the bad news is (remember you said they deleted files and such) you may have missing files in your windows directory too. If your no longer getting any error messages on its boot cycle then your configuration files are in order, but hanging at loading windows is one of two things, (missing or corrupt windows files) :( That last message your seeing is the last process completed, Plug and Play for MS-DOS(R) and Windows (TM) Configuration Manager - R1.41 Copyright 1993, 1994 Intel Corporation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MS-DOS is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. its done loading your sound card driver. But stopping with a blinking cursor or stopping as the splash screen for windows right as its starting is (missing or corrupt) windows files. Ive seen this happen with missing system files and have seen it happen with a corrupted files caused by the missing files. At this point i think its best to make the back-up disks and reinstall Dos and Windows, since they both seemed to have had files deleted. Your not going to delete anything, instead your going to make the back-up disks and reinstall Dos and Windows "Over" the exsisting installation so itll reinstall any missing files and overwrite any corrupted files, then once done boot with your rescue disk that should set your autoexec.bat and config.sys files to your systems default (be sure your rescue disk has autoexec.bat and config.sys on it, if it doesnt, copy them from c:\ to a floppy on a:\ for now before you start any of this). Zyo

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This post is a perfect example of why DOS and Windows 3.1, etc need to be kept available on the internet. - Dont shoot the messenger, Just maim him a little. Zyo

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ok, when i type 'win' at c:\ it says "Bad command or file name'. then when i type 'win' at c:\windows> it says that the himem.sys file is missing :( so, im gonna do what you said. get the dos and windows3.1 backup disks. i already downloaded one of the dos backup disks and i typed 'copy c:\dos' at the a:\ it copied: c:\dos\dblspace.bin c:\dos\command.com c:\dos\attrib.exe c:\dos\chkdsk.exe c:\dos\debug.exe c:\dos\fdisk.exe c:\dos\format.com c:\dos\msd.exe Insufficient disk space 7 file(s) copied. ahh! so that means it doesnt have space to copy all of the files? or am i doing it wrong? maybe im not overwriting them. i did a:\dir, and it said it has 8 files total. so one didnt copy, maybe it wasnt supposed to be copied. (?) and when i tried to copy the second file onto a blank disk, it is too big to fit on the disk. i tried to compress a:\ and its not working. it just freezes my computer, and then i have to restart it, i would burn it on to a cd, but since the computer doesnt have the option of using a d:\ without windows, it wouldnt work. and you're right, it is good that dos and win3.1 are online. i dont know how i would get backup disks if they weren't. :)

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Use your recovery disk to boot to c:\ Take that disk out put in a blank floppy disk, cd to c:\dos in c:\dos type sys a: then cd to c:\ in c:\ type copy config.sys a:\ then reboot with that disk in your drive. When it comes to c:\ again type cd c:\windows then type win, if it gives you an error try win /b if it gives you an error also, from c:\windows type copy bootlog.txt a:\ take that disk out and bring it to another machine (like the one you use to post here) go and open up that bootlog.txt file you copied over in a text editor (like notepad). In your editor look for a line saying fail (use the editors search function) and if you find one post that line here so i can read it. Do the above first........... The files you downloaded, what form are they in when you unzipped them? are they "1" image file in each zip? or are they the Dos files themselves just zipped up? To copy files over directly you need to be in a:\ so from c:\ type a:\ then at a:\ type copy a:\ c:\dos What version of Dos did you get as the back up? ------ Dont forget to post any "fails" found in the bootlog.txt file. ----- Gonna be in and out of this forum less starting next week i start a new job, eek! :( Zyo

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ok, the 'copy config.sys a:\' worked fine. then i rebooted, and it came up asking for the date and time. the date was right, but the time was wrong. i also did 'copy bootlog.txt a:\' and it worked fine also. i brought it to my computer, and opened it in notebook. i found one line with fail in it: LoadFail = NETAPI.DLL Failure code is 02 i didnt use a search function to find it, but there wasnt a whole lot to look at, so i just looked at it carefully and i found the one line. -- now for the dos and windows backup files, i downloaded it from the link you had posted earlier. its version 6.22 i noticed when i rebooted the computer after i copied the downloaded files, it said 'drive c cannot be accessed' so i reset the bios defaults (again lol) and then it let me boot from the recovery disk and then to c:\ , thats not really important or anything, i just thought i should mention it since thats what it was doing. i guess its because i didnt copy it right or something. and the downloaded dos file that would fit on a floppy disk is a 'WinImage Self Extractor file' according to the Properties. when i copied them onto the harddrive the first time, they listed out each file as it was copied. so i guess theyre the dos files themselves, just zipped? im not sure. ok, i did the 'copy a:/ c:/dos', at a prompt. and it worked. i got: a:\copy a:\ c:\dos a:\dosdisk1.exe Overwrite c:\dos\dblspace.bin (Yes/No/All)? a a:\command.com a:\attrib.exe a:\chkdsk.exe a:\debug.exe a:\fdisk.exe a:\format.com 8 file(s) copied ok, the first disk copied right! :) when i rebooted: it gets to c:\ without the recovery disk. when i type 'win' it still says himem.sys is missing. but it doesnt say 'bad command or file name' anymore at least. :) and now when i type 'c:\windows>win /b' it says the himem.sys file is missing. so at least it isnt saying 'bad command or file name' there anymore either. but i still have the problem of copying the other two sets of dos files, because they wont fit on my floppy disks. one is 1.40mb and the other is 1.47 mb. the disks are supposed to be able to hold 1.44. so i dont know why the 1.40mb set of files wont fit on the disk. :( good luck with your new job :) what kind of job is it, if you dont mind my asking?

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Ok the date/time you mentioned isnt a problem (thats just incorrect settings not a failure/defect or anything). LoadFail = NETAPI.DLL Failure code is 02 The ^above^ failure wouldnt cause your windows to not load. Im definately leaning to the belief you have missing or corrupted windows files, possible win.com (what runs when you type win) is corrupt. (If it were, it would hang at a blinking cursor or at the graphical splash screen just before loading windows) If the back-ups are images, they should just copy over (automatically) and create an installation disk on a blank floppy. You should make all the back-ups for DOS then find the one with setup.exe on it and Run it, itll prompt you as it needs the others installed (you shouldnt have to copy the files contents over manualy). (Then do the same for the WFWG back-ups and Run setup.exe for it aswell). Id contact the folks from where you downloaded the back-up files from, and tell them some files are giving you a not enough room on disk error. (they may have to remake the images), but im sure they'd wanna know if anyones having a problem with their disks. --- (Quote): good luck with your new job :) what kind of job is it, if you dont mind my asking? ------ Thanx :) Its in engineering in Nvidia Corp. :) Im sure theyll have me busy working extra hours on current projects. Just repost on this forum for continued help on reinstallation of DOS and Windows. Zyo

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it works!! :) i downloaded the backup dos files. i got help from the website, and i installed them on the computer. now windows works again. :) the only problem i have, is it doesnt know about its cd-rom drive. unless, i boot it up with the multi-media master cd, and a floppy disk, then i can get out of that program, go into windows, and d:\ works. otherwise it doesnt work at all. it starts up and then it says: 'CD-ROM Device Driver Version 4.10 COpyright Matsus---a- Kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd. 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994. All rights reserved. Device Driver Name = MSCD0001 Supporting the following units : Interface board or CD-ROM drive is not ready. Insure that drive power is on and drive cables correctly attached. bort or etry ? _' but i know nothings wrong with it, i can get it to work. if i boot up with the multimedia cd in d:\ and floppy in a:\ and its an internal cd rom, so i know its on. and it is capable of working, so i know the cables arent disconnected or anything. i think its the driver, because when i boot up with the multimedia master cd, and multimedia floppy, it says that the driver is installed. so apparently it doesnt have the driver on the hard drive. the other multimedia cd, has drivers on it. i tried adding the CD driver and it says its added, but then when i reboot, it says that its not on or the cables are messed up. i dont know what its problem is now. i did also try to restore windows original settings and programs, using the master multimedia cd. but it gets to a program called 'megarace' and it says it has to abort, because there might not be enough space on the hard drive. i dont know what its talking about. i guess i should try to download the zipped windows backup files and reinstall it that way, i need to email the people and ask them how to do that. because its different from the backup dos disks. so then when i reboot, i go into windows. so windows does work. :) ive just got to work out the cd rom issue, because aol needs to be reinstalled. and the modem driver too, because its an external modem. anyway, i cant thank you enough for your help!! :) :) i could not have figured any of it out without your help. --------- the website for your company is really nice. :) it looks like a great job. im sure you'll do great. :) again, thankyou soo much for all of your help! :)

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Good to hear :) Ok from a post above....... C:\DOS\MSCDEX.exe /D: MSCD0001 /M: 30 /E /X you need the MSCDEX.exe file and it should be in C:\DOS if its not, (and not anywhere on your drive) check your CD the one that you booted with for that file and copy it over to C:\DOS if you dont have that file handy you can get it Here. The download contains the MSCDEX.exe file, extract it to a temporay directory and copy the file over to C:\DOS then reboot your machine. That should take care of your CD problem. Good Luck... Zyo

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the mscdex.exe file didnt fix the problem. but thats ok, she can still use the cd rom, if she boots up using the media disk, while im thinking of what else to do. it wont run aol anymore, it had stopped doing that before it was damaged. so i called aol, and they said they dont support win3.1 and told me to call microsoft, who told me to get win95 or get a new computer! lol! so, i told the owner, and im going to help her track down win95, but i did suggest getting a new computer. that one has seen better days for sure. :) thanks again for all of your help, and the best of luck with your new job! :)

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