My computer has a little problem.It dosn't work at all...When i open it, it shows the following message: " Non-System disk or disk error Replace and press any key when ready "
What should i do???

TIP: My computer is a Tochiba T4500C

Is the hard drive recognised in BIOS ?

Have you left a floppy in the drive ??

... if the answers are yes, and no, respectively, then you would want to restore the DOS boot files with the correct DOS version bootdisk, using

sys c:

TIP - - "don't remember" & "don't know" aren't exactly informative - it's your machine, you really should have some sort of an inkling..

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Well, my toshiba t4500c idendifies hard disk but i can't write any command at all as it shows the same message : non system disk or disk error......
can i rewrite dos somehow???

Just boot from DOS Disk 1 and then cancel (F3 ?) the Install, this will leave you at the A:\_ prompt:

Type fdisk and press enter which will inform you if you have valid partition and it is Active.

If you have an Active C: partition then ESC back to the A:\_ prompt and type:

SYS C: and press enter, remove floppy and reboot........

??? O/S ??? CPU/RAM

The error you are getting means that either the bios is not properly setup for the hard drive--probably due to a dead bios battery, or that the hard drive is not bootable.

Did it EVER WORK?

What have you done to get it to NOT work?

Did it give you any other warnings/ errors?

the reason you can't "write any commands" is that the thing is not finding any system to boot to. Sorta like trying to read a magazine that someone has torn all the pages out of.

============================================
""Just boot from DOS Disk 1 and then cancel (F3 ?) the Install, this will leave you at the A:\_ prompt:
Type fdisk and press enter which will inform you if you have valid partition and it is Active.

If you have an Active C: partition then ESC back to the A:\_ prompt and type:

SYS C: and press enter, remove floppy and reboot........

??? O/S ??? CPU/RAM""
=============================================

Plainandsimple's "answer" assumes a lot of facts not in evidence, namely, that you have the DOS installation disks, that you know something about fdisk, and that the particular flavor of a bootdisk that you may or may not have actually has the "sys" command on board--something that is taking a lot for granted.

I will agree, though, that trying to boot with a floppy wil go a long way on diagnosing the problem.

Try to get/ download/ make a bootable floppy, even one for Windoz98 will probably work.

boot to the floppy as suggested above.

Type "C:" and the ENTER key

You should now get a "C:" prompt.

Type "dir" and hit the ENTER key

If the drive is working, is detected properly in bios, and so on, you should see a list of files on the drive.

If the poster is posting in the W3 forum one would assume that he has MS-DOS and W3 disks. If he has not then stop - as without a License and Media it is illegal.

I did not state boot with a boot disk, I stated boot with DISK1 of the MS-DOS Diskette Set which would have the tools required..............

Jboy makes a good point that we all need to know what our computers contain. Download one of several "system identification utilities". The one I use is Snooper on a booting dos diskette. You can get v330 from http://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/sysinfo.html. If you can get to an A prompt as described by others above, insert a diskette with the Snooper files, run Snooper, and it will tell you all about your system. Hope this helps.

I can't imagine running (let alone attempting to repair) a machine without having at least an idea of the hardware and software on it.

Funny thing is, most of that info should be presented onscreen as the machine starts (if one were to actually look)

Of course, when the machine is non operational, not the best time I suppose (ignorance is its own reward in that case)

"non system disk or disk error......
can i rewrite dos somehow???"

The error message is pretty straightforward (unlike the rest of the quote)

Your hard drive isn't booting - if it's recognized in the BIOS then either it or the bootfiles are damaged You can attempt to replace the *correct* boot files, as described and/or attempt disc repair with scandisk or similar.

You can't do anything until you're able to boot to DOS, period - the non system disk error is telling you that uh uh, nope, no boot yet - the idea of running commands in that situation is a hopeless one - no commands can be accepted when there is no running OS

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"Funny thing is, most of that info should be presented onscreen as the machine starts (if one were to actually look)"

YEPPER

RTFM read the first msg. That's why the BIOS puts that stuff on screen.

If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

M2Go

Another lost post never to be responded too...

well i made my pc not boot from hard disk but now the message is ""insert system disk in drive press any key to continue ""
which system disk??
i tried to run many programs-window installations but don't work

Before you run any 'programs' you need to install DOS.

Do you have a DOS boot disk?

If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

M2Go

"made my pc not boot from hard disk"

Say what now? Typo or progress in reverse?

I am convinced that you just have no idea what you're doing - either put more effort into your posts, or else take it out for repairs - the "don't work" 'description' leaves much to be desired

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Yeah "don't work" casts a pretty wide net.

At this rate it may take until Easter to get it booted on anything.

If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

M2

Well, that's the thing - after a dozen posts and/or a few days with no actual progress, it's really hard to maintain any level of interest.

This one is going at an uphill pace - for a fact, not everyone can (readily) fix their own machines - certainly not without a grasp of the basics

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JohnO, do you have a friend nearby who can make you a windows 98 startup disk? If so, get one, put it in your computer's floppy drive and turn it on. Let us know if you get to a DOS prompt.

Also, ask your friend to download Navratil Software's System Information program, expand the archive file and place a file called NSSI.exe on a diskette. If you can get to the DOS prompt above, put this disk in your floppy, and type NSSI. This will give you a lot of info about your system that could help others in this forum diagnose your problem.

I have a Gateway 7422GX, 2005 model, I have formated a partition of only 500MB and I still can't get 3.1 to run. I am not very good at this, I also have DOS 6.0 insalled.