Thank You everybody for the responses.... Now... Let me see here.... M2- I have a floppy disk with that on it, I can re-copy it back to the c:/. Everything worked on the computer (before) I started deleting files. The first time I turned the computer on the screens were Windows 3.11 and then Program Manager. jboy- I am hoping to install Windows 95. I have (1)diskette that I copied from Bootleg.com. 640k base 3200k extended 256k shadow Ram Area. I don't know how to open BIOS. example: When I first turn the computer on I hold down the key. steady beeping that is all. I tried the "esc" key, The "delete" key "f1", "f2","f5","f8","f10" no luck...sorry. obviously I am not doing it right, but, then again, I don't know how either.(humor) Dan Penny- Yes, I boot the machine with this floppy. Then I did "sys c: sys.com" That gave me C:/. I don't have a sub-Directory named CDROM...sorry. Yes, I did copy config/autoexec/cd1 I used "copy a:/ to c:/" DAVEINCAPS- MODEL: PB441A FCCid:FODP3421P DESCRIPTION:LG2051 MM SRV-CD 12-06402

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Ok - I've never heard of Bootleg.com but I don't think I like the gist of it. You cannot install Win95 solely with the boot floppy, you require the CD or the equivalent set of floppy disks - at any rate, even 95 requires at least 4Mb of free RAM in order to run at all - 20Mb or more is preferred. You have the absolute minimum, which may or may not be sufficient As mentioned, I doubt if your BIOS allows for the setup of the CD drive. If you can access the hard drive (as you say) then it's settings are likely fine. "Wiped out the whole windows 3.11 part" Sounds as if you did much more than that Why did you 'sys' the drive?? Why copy a boot disk to the hard drive?? Originally, your machine was running an earlier DOS version - eliminating Win31 should not have impaired its ability to boot - Win3xx is not an OS, DOS is. Some folks like to have Win3xx start immediately after the DOS boot in order to maintain the illusion that they're "booting to windows" Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

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I think you've just posted info on the computer case label and/or the motherboard. I need you to post back the model number of the cdrom and, if it's connected to a sound card, info on the sound card as well. You'll need to open the case and physically examine those items to get that information.

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For sure, the model number indicates a motherboard - seems like a stock 486 w 4Mb, more suitable for Win3xx. Can't help but wonder - once (if) the CD drive is setup - then what? Kind of a mess, and no indication of any installation disks. If it's a 'typical' PB with a Phoenix BIOS, CTRL-ALT-S should access the CMOS setup, but that'll have no bearing on the CD drive, and likely should be left 'as is' Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

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I don't think that this: "copy a:/ to c:/" will copy anything The path separator in DOS is: \ As to getting into BIOS, whatever key it is, holding it down will just beep the speaker and overflow the keyboard buffer. M2

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Good Day jboy/DAVEINCAPS/M2 jboy: Bear with me, its hard scrolling up and down answering the questions. If I miss something, I apologize it is not intentional. I found ebay. I see the DOS/WIN 3.11. When I can get ahold of a friend of mine I will have him bid for me on one. (He is a registered user and he likes to play on ebay) I just want to get it back to normal. I do Karaoke and I want this computer for my Karaoke books/information. No CDG burning. KJ Pro is a cd-rom. I can make my books and edit songs etc. Create special lists for cdg's. etc. I had kj pro installed on this computer, I crashed this one once and lost all information, now I have to start over again. This is the perfect computer for this I don't intend to do anything other then a filing cabinet. If I don't need windows for that GREAT! but I do need the cd-rom to work. :( I would like to add memory to it. I don't know if I can upgrade anything else. example bigger hard drive i.e 40GB, faster cd-rom. Can I just install it like plug and play? I don't know. I have never had a "extra" computer until now. When the system would first come up I would get a message that said "Type the name of the Command Interpreter." I didn't know what that meant so I did a web-search and found "easy desk software.com" and followed the instructions. Week of 5/12/03 Type the name of the Command Interpreter (e.g. C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM)C:> NOTE: (I didn't have C:\Windows\command.com only A:) If you ever get the message "Type the name of the Command Interpreter" while booting to Windows you know your in trouble. Well, actually it may not be so bad, if you know what to do. The BIOS is looking for the files needed that start to load Windows, in this case it is the file Command.com. It requires the file Command.com, IO.sys, and Msdos.sys to get Windows started. The file Command.com is really the language Interpreter at a DOS level. This is the program that creates the MSDOS windows. It performs the functions you request when you type in a command in the MSDOS window. If you type in "Copy A:\Command.com C:\Command.com", Command.com will copy the file for you. However, if you are using the C:\Command.com file to do this you will get an error because the file is in use and cannot be overwritten. Command.com allows you to boot to DOS or a drive and have a prompt from which to work in, such as the A:> Now that you are armed with this basic information, lets see if we can fix the problem. We know that the computer found a bootable drive, and if we are booting to Windows and not a floppy then it found a bootable hard drive. Bootable means that the drive has been marked as active and it has a boot sector marked. Since a bootable drive was found we know that the drive is working and connected to the motherboard. If this was not the case you would get a message something like "Insert bootable media" Since the BIOS has requested the file Command.com and not NTDLR we now know that the boot sector is probably intact. The computer (BIOS) knows from the boot sector that the operating system is a DOS based operating system such as the Windows 95 platform, or earlier version of DOS, and not a Windows NT Platform ( NT, 2000, XP). So your doing ok so far. Since we have a bootable hard drive, and we believe that the boot sector is intact, we now have basically only two other possibilities for getting the message "Type the name of the Command Interpreter" : a damaged FAT (File Allocation Table) or a deleted or corrupt file. So let's insert a Windows startup diskette into the A drive. If you do not have an A drive you will need to have a bootable CD with the required files. If you made a startup diskette from the same operating system (version of Windows) and you have Sys.com on the diskette or can copy it from the Windows\Command folder to the diskette; at the A:> prompty type Sys C: and sys.com will transfer the required bootup files. If you do not have the Sys.com or not the correct startup diskette then type the path to Command.com: A:\Command.com and press Enter. You now have MSDOS running, and hopefully you have Scandisk.exe on your startup diskette. Next, type the word Scandisk.exe and press Enter again. Have Scandisk check and repair your C drive for errors. If Scandisk is not on your floppy, you can find it in the Windows\Command folder The next thing we are going to do is to copy Command.com from our startup floppy to the C drive. Type: Copy A:\Command.com C:\Command.com and then press Enter. You probably should also copy the IO.sys file on your floppy to C drive, just to ensure that it's there. DO NOT copy the MSDOS.sys file. By the way, the file IO.sys is probably going to be a hidden file so you will need to remove the Attributes. They should be Hidden, System, and Read Only. So you will need to type at the A prompt "Attrib -H -S -R IO.sys" and then press Enter before copying the file. Now reboot, hopefully you will not get the error message again. If you do get the message again, you may need to have Fdisk fix the Master Boot Record: from your Windows\Command prompt, type : Fdisk /mbr and then press Enter. This only takes less than a second and no message will be displayed. Note: I did not do Fdisk/mbr. I have done everything that sheet said. After I deleted files computer said "Operating System Missing". DOS was still in there. I had no diskettes of any kind to put back what I had broken (erased) I could not find 3.1 diskettes to reinstall, In my web searches I read that 3.1 could be updated to Windows 95. I found bootdisk.com and here we are. The DOS that I have is Phoenix 486 ver 1.00 1985,1992 SYSTEM INFORMATION Screen Processor Type: 80486 CoProcessor Not installed Reserved Memory: 384K BIOS Version # 1.01 Video Mode: 03h Serial Ports: 03F8h 02F8h Printer Ports: 0378h Option ROMs Found: Segment C000 Size 32K The message I get now is the "Subject" here cd-roms. When I could not find any searches on cd-roms, I came to this forum and asked my 'subject' question. The computer worked fine until I deleted files. I did what DAVEINCAPS told me to do. Now Drives A: / B: don't work. I had some trouble pulling out the CD-ROM and unplugged all 4 connectors, I didn't even think to look at what was what until after I put it back together and got these messages. What did I do? Do I have a connector plugged into the wrong spot? I can't find a diagram to tell me. Help? DAVEINCAPS: CDRom: Matsus---a Kotobuki Electronics Model CR563-B March 1994 FCCid: IVO9TB008CRB Didn't find a sound card. all the boards say Panasonic. Sorry, Question for you, I physically opened the computer and took out cd-rom to get information, that was ok and kinda easy. After plugging in all the connectors, and putting everything back together, the computer now says: "Diskette Drive A failure" "Diskette Drive B failure" Invalid Configuration information-Please run SETUP program Press F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility. I push F2 and Phoenix SETUP Utility (Version 1.00) 01 appears. The Screen in Red and the message is as follows: SETUP corrected the following errors: *System configuration was invalid. Review all configuration settings. (hit any key) [hit hey] next page is: **Standard System Parameters** Page 1 of 2 system time 21:44:05 Numlock on at boot:YES system date Jan 06, 2005 Diskette A: 3.5", 1.44MB Diskette B: 5.25", 1.2MB Cyl Hd Pre LZ Sec Size Hard Disk1:Auto-type1 826 16 0 826 63 406 Hard Disk2:Not Installed Base Memory 640K Monitor Type: Extended Memory: 3200K Mono Non-Interlaced Video Type: VGA/EGA Language: English Keyboard: Installed Cache: Enabled ***********Advanced CMOS setup************** Page 2 of 2 Serial Port 2/Modem Port: [COM 2][IRQ 3] Serial Port 1: [COM 1][IRQ 4] COM3/COM4 Base: [3E8/2E8] Parallel Port: [LPT1][Output Only] Hard Disk 1: [Standard P10] Hard Disk 2: [Standard P10] Floppy Controller: [Enabled] IDE Controller: [Enabled] Password: Not Installed Power Management IDE Power Down [Disabled] Video Power Down[Disabled] What do I have to do to make "Drive failure" go away and make drive(s) work again? Connectors: Large 4 pin PA = B Drive Large 4 pin PC = Hard Drive Large 4 pin PB = CD-Rom Small 4 pin PD = A Drive Do I have the plugs mixed up? I don't know where to find the information that I need. M2: Your right My fault I'll pay closer attention as to how I type symbols. Thank you for pointing that out to me. Thank All of You for taking the time and being patient with me to help me undo my screw up. Gratefully Yours Jeff Wilson Mapleton, Iowa

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Ok - likely not necessary to have a detailed explanation of what the command.com error means - we have actually seen that before. In the interest of readability, maybe try & confine your response to under a page. Seems like a case of 'a little knowledge is dangerous' - putting command.com from a different DOS/Windows version on your computer almost always causes problems. It should have been clear that you were following instructions for a machine running Windows 95/98, not DOS/Win3xx. I'm still not sure what you deleted If your hardware worked before you started unplugging things, then yes, you've probably misconnected things. The red or coloured edge of the ribbon cable goes on the first pin (pin 1) both on the various drives and the motherboard or controller cards. Ensure that the cables are snugly connected. You may be able to upgrade that machine somewhat - certainly more RAM, although a 40Gb HDD may be pushing it. As well, DOS6 and earlier could only use 2Gb partitions max. You *cannot* upgrade Win31 to Win95 with a boot disk(!) I'm not sure, but at a guess you may need to reinstall your original DOS & Windows versions, assuming you can overcome your hard drive issues. To configure your CD drive for DOS (& Win31) you will need to identify it & setup its DOS drivers, as has been stated. Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

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That cdrom will need proprietary drivers. But first, I presume the 40-wire cable from the cdrom is not connected directly to the motherboard. If it's not the sound card, describe the card it's connected to. You must have connected the floppy drives wrong when you put things back together. The red striped edge of the ribbon cable needs to be connected to the #1 pin side of both the drives and motherboard connectors. Usually, but not always especially with floppy drives, the #1 pin side is the side closest to the power connector. Sometimes you'll see a '2' or '34' near the connection indicating which end is high and which is low. The red striped edge will go on the '2' side. If either drive uses a slide on connector (vs a pin connector) there's usually a slit toward one end of the drive connector. That's the low side so the red-striped edged goes there. Also if the floppy cable has the 7-wire twist then the a: drive goes at the end of the cable, after the twist. The b: drive is connected before the twist. If your floppy cable is one of the older ones without the twist then the drive letter is determined by jumpers on the drives and it shouldn't matter where they're connected. The error messages could also be because the drives are not identified correctly in cmos. If you connect a: as the 1.44 make sure it's identified that way in cmos. Post back info on the cdrom card and let me know when you get the floppies figured out. Then I'll see if I can put together a bootdisk with drivers for that cdrom.

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DAVEINCAPS: Back of CD_ROM has 3 wire connectors. 4 PIN is power supply Thin 3 wire (Red, White, Black) connects cd-rom to sound board? 40 Pin? connects back of cd-rom to sound board. I FCCid # from the card that is connected to the cd-rom. I hope this helps. FCCid #: 138-MMSN811. Must be soundcard because my speakers connect there and mic jac etc. jboy: OK, See this is why I asked the question to the forum. I didn't know it would make a difference on what floppy bootdisk to use. However, due to your insight and experience, now I know. Thank You. Now for the good news! I AM BACK TO WHERE I STARTED ORIGINALLY. ALL DRIVES WORK AND I HAVE NO ERROR MESSAGES. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! Ok- I feel good I actually accomplished something and it worked. Thank you I could not have done any of this without all your support. The only issue I have now is the original one. No drivers for cd-rom. DAVEINCAPS you were right, 40pin disconnected from Mother board, didn't see it until you said something. Thank You. Jeff Wilson Mapleton, Iowa

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It makes a great deal of difference if you use the boot disk to replace the system (boot) files - you are changing essential parts of the Operating System. As well, different versions have different features and quirks. One thing is common though - few (if indeed any) of the installed executables in your DOS folder will work now that you have command.com etc from a different DOS version. Win3xx may not readily work with the DOS from Win9x - assuming you somehow reinstall it. While it is encouraging that you've managed to reconnect the hardware properly, it sounds to me that you've made a mess of what was once a fully functional installation of DOS/Win3xx Yes, very often early machines would have the CD drive run from the sound card - this means that the 'generic' IDE CD drivers (as in a Win9x bootdisk) usually won't work. This would have been all setup in your original c:\config.sys, which would have referred to the correct driver file on your hard drive - which (theoretically) is still there. Seems to be an Aztech sound card. Me transmitte sursum, caledoni!

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I'm going to email a bootdisk with the drivers for that cdrom. Sometimes these older drivers have a hard time finding the card address. Hopefully that won't be the case this time.

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Sounds like a plan. Interesting times ahead. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?

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jboy, If you total up replies here and in the thread about the 58X Matsus---a, we'll have reached a milestone in naval history vis-a-vis time and effort spent on proprietary CDROMs. M2 If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

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Because they don't usually work with the generic IDE drivers on the typical 9x bootdisk, they tend to confound folks - particularly those not versed in DOS syntax. Some are especially difficult because they require additional parameters. Experience can be an asset when working with the old hardware - but things can be a lot simpler if there's an installer I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?

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"While it is encouraging that you've managed to reconnect the hardware properly, it sounds to me that you've made a mess of what was once a fully functional installation of DOS/Win3xx" TRUE "I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?" FUNNIEST THING I HAVE READ TODAY IF there is a bright side to all of this... at least I'll know WHAT not to do the next time. lol Jeff

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To be sure, quite an education can be gained by making mistakes. Most can be recovered from. Good luck with the new install, and it won't hurt to make backup copies of the installation disks, as well as keep an extra DOS bootdisk handy. Once you're back up and running you can probably use DAVE's driver disk to setup your CD drive I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?

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jboy, Help needed here: http://computing.net/windows2000/wwwboard/forum/60949.html M2 If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

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Ah, well - I seldom stray over there - Win2K is a bit outside my experience. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?

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