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my lil brother went in a removed all the wires inside my computer so i went and conected them back and now when i try to start up windows i get this message of type the name of the command interpreter (e.g.,C:\windows\command.com)
A> i'm running win 95 and i cant remember the speed of the computer but can anybody help me fix this. i dont have a o/s on a cd so i cant reload a o/s so i dont know what to do.
Found this by doing a search at Google 'type the name of the command interpreter'. Looks like a right load of hassle. I trust l'il bro is currently connected to the electricity supply and strapped in a full bath of water.
M
The BIOS is looking for the files needed that start to load Windows; in this case, it is the file Command.com. BIOS requires the files Command.com, Ios.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, let's see how 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. So you're 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.
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 WindowsCommand 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 Ios.sys file on your floppy to the C drive, just to ensure that it's there. DO NOT copy the MSDOS.sys file. By the way, the file Ios.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 Ios.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 WindowsCommand prompt, type : Fdisk /mbr and then press Enter. This only takes less than a second and no message will be displayed.
0 
Well, what happens when you type in the name of the command interpreter?
C:\windows\command.com
Are you certain you've reconnected everything properly? See if you can get to the CMOS (setup) screen as the computer starts (usually the 'del' key, but this varies) and see if the C: drive is correctly identified.You may have the CD installation files on your hard drive (C:\windows\options\cabs) but that's likely not the problem - computer won't function properly unless it can load command.com
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak
out and remove all doubt.
0
Ok, what do you see on your screen after this error message?
Is its C:\> ?
or C:\windows> ?my lil brother went in a removed all the wires inside my computer
not sure if thats got to do with your current problem, someone may have ideas on this.
anyway, post back,Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,
India.
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Hello M, jboy, corey,M:
I appretiate your efforts to help corey, but dont you think it wud have made the thread more compact if you had simply posted the link to that article?
Its just a personal feeling, no hard feelings there!jboy: I seem to be following you around in the forum :) (replying right after you) w/o even knowing... :)
corey:
post back !Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,
India.
0
"The BIOS is looking for the files needed"
..uh, no, it doesn't work like that - BIOS is OS independant - in this case it's IO.SYS that's generating the message.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak
out and remove all doubt.
0
Hey, Kailas - yeah, a bit of crossposting ; )
I agree though, M's post is a bit of overkill (no offense meant)
The drive seems to be recognized, at least, after a fashion or they wouldn't get the request for the command interpreter - but assuming nothing was done to the files on the HDD, for some reason command.com can't be found. This seems to indicate that the drive is not configured correctly in CMOS or possibly isn't physically connected properly.
Corey, well worth double checking the connections.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak
out and remove all doubt.
0
i've tryed everything you guys sayed but nothing seems to work the prompt is A> not C:i'm sure i connected everything up right there are a few ex wires but i cant see anywhere to plug them in
0
The prompt is
A:\> ??Ok, that mean you have started from the floppy disk. No wonder then!
Now Remove the floppy and boot the computer, what do you see ?
Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,
India.
0
You have an A: prompt without a floppy disk in the drive??
Have you tried entering the name of the command interpreter?
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak
out and remove all doubt.
0
Well I meant - remove the floppy disk from the drive. Anyways what you have done also serves the purpose.??? After disconnecting the floppy drive, you still see A:\> ?
type "dir" press enter.
what do you see
type "C:" press enter, what do you see ?
type "dir c:\command.com" what do you see?
type "dir c:\windows\command.com" what do you see?with info we should be able to help you (I guess)
btw, make sure there is no CD in the drive before u boot, just to make sure it is not booting from the CD...Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,
India.
0
i have tryed everything on this board so far and yes i have an A prompt with out a floppy disk in the drive. i mean my computer was working fine until my lil bro took the wires off of my hard drive floppy and cd drive
0
jboy, cross post again!
the A prompt stumps me, unless a CD with image of a boot floppy is booting the machine...Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,
India.
0
corey, check if there is a cd in the drive
Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,
India.
0
I'm beginning to believe the machine is fubar'ed.
Yeah it's almost impossible to have an a: prompt without a floppy disk in the drive.
Something is likely not hooked up properly and/or not configured correctly in the CMOS.
Check the CMOS.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak
out and remove all doubt.
0
phew!!
am tearing my hair apart!
A: w/o a floppy ? or CD ?
:((Someone will have ideas, this forum is rich in them...hang one...real puzzling..unless you are pulling a fast one on us all...hehe
(just joking)Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,
India.
0
i'm not to good with computers but i mean i know somewhat about them ok i'll go look at the connections and reconnect them and try some of the thing you told me to do again
0
following jboy's thought line, set the BIOS settings to "factory setting" or "safe seeting" or "optimal setting" or whatever it is called in your BIOS.jboy, am wondering, inspite of a wrong cable connection, just how can this happen? Floppy drives and Hard disk drives dont work on the same interface. Wrong cabling is impossible (I believe). or cud be he is using an expansion card and something is screwed up there...or his computer is haunted ? something from the grave...
(I believe in meta physics)
Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,
India.
0
i just what to let you guys know i want to thank you for all your help and info but i feel dumb i had two wires wrong i had the cd drive and hard drive wires mixed around but i would like to thank you for taking your time to help and i will come back again for anything eles i need
0
Ok - things to remember:
the red (or coloured) wire goes to 'pin1' on the drive & on the motherboard/controller
power (and other) cables should be snugly connected
check the CMOS and ensure that the floppy drive is correctly identified as 1.44Mb and the primary master (C:) is also id'd correctly - if in doubt, set to 'auto'
The CD drive can either be on its own cable (as 'master') or on the same cable as the HDD as a 'slave' - try to hook it up as it was originally.
Hopefully your brother didn't remove any jumpers from the board or from the drives.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak
out and remove all doubt.
0
- - oops - - missed the last couple of posts!
Does that mean it's working?
If so, good stuff! Bit of a learning experience eh?
; )
I believe in metaphysics too - but not in regard to computers ; )
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak
out and remove all doubt.
0
after all this, where is the OP?
jboy, any sites for meta physics?Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,
India.
0
Hi Kailas
I think he worked it out as a cabling problem.
I have to admit I wouldn't have thought it possible to get an a: prompt as described above.
Sites? Not so much, but I did enjoy reading The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown (fiction) recently.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak
out and remove all doubt.
0
Uh - guys...
He said in the first post that he was getting an A> prompt. Granted that he could have made the whole thing much clearer by using quotes or putting the prompt on a separate line. Here's part of the first post:
when i try to start up windows i get this
message of type the name of the command
interpreter (e.g.,C:\windows\command.com)
A> i'm running win 95 and i cant remember
the speed ofHere's a more readable version:
when i try to start up windows i get this
message ofType the name of the command interpreter
(e.g.,C:\windows\command.com)
A>I'm running win 95 and i cant remember the
speed of
Also, I don't get the not understanding how you get an A> prompt with no disk in the floppy drive. When the PC boots and doesn't find any boot sources, this is exactly what happens.You guys seem to have an idea of what you were talking about but need to work on your detective skills. You came dangerously close to making the problem worse.
Corey - I agree with the post about giving your brother swimming lessons in a wired bathtub
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" I don't get the not understanding how you get an A> prompt with no disk in the floppy drive. When the PC boots and doesn't find any boot sources, this is exactly what happens."
Uh, Don - that's utter nonsense - try it and you'll see.
If the hard drive is not available to boot from, a: is searched, and, if no diskette is found you'd get:
DRIVE NOT READY ERROR
Insert BOOT diskette in A:
Press any key when ready_
Good of you to come in after the fact and offer your armchair critique of the process."You guys seem to have an idea of what you were talking about"
Nice of you to say so - unfortunately, the reverse does not seem to be true.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak
out and remove all doubt.
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