I reformat comps in mass quantity and every once in a while get one of two error messages. The comps I get in have either been wiped "No OS found" or just file wiped with OS still on. I reformat either way. Sometimes the wiped ones with no OS come with a Non System Disk Error message upon attempt to boot. I try switching disks and sometimes it works but others it does not. I also check wires...is there a way to fix that or a way around it if the error persists and will not let me boot? Plus sometimes after complete fdisking and fomatting I check the directory of the E: drive using "dir e:" prompt with a Win 95 CD just for read purposes. And I get "Invalid Drive Specification"...how do I fix that? Thanx guys/girls.

Well, a Non Sytem disk error would be an indicator that the system files are not loaded on the disk. You'd have to boot from a floppy and put the system files on the hd. The invalid drive letter thing may be because the boot disk you are using does not have the basic cd-rom files on it. Or it could be that every once in a while you run into an unusual cd that required a specific driver. Some older cd-=roms were particular that way. This could happen if you're cleaning up a lot of older computers. And if the computers are older, it could be that on some, the cmos battery is dying. Larry

Seawatch..thanx for the Speedy reply. Problem with loading the fils on the HD is that I cant get past that error. The comps I get the invalid system disk errors on come wiped with no OS installed. And as far as the CD ROMS...you are right about hem being old...these are old uniform systems i get in from Corps...hundreds at a time...all the same. And not all the CDs have this error. should i try a diff boot disk?

When I'm ditching machines, I usually do the following: 1. Completely wipe the hard disk by writing binary zero's on the surface I use the old DOS utility from Norton, Wipedisk to do this. 2. Use FDISK to trash the partition tables on the disk and then make a bogus one with 2 mb or somesuch. Don't make it active, just make the partition. That way, attempting to recreate the partition table and attempting to retrieve data is pretty much losing proposition.

Fdisk has problems with some non-Dos partitions. Wipe disk should help. But you could also use DelPart to remove all partitions on the drive. Then fdisk should be able to repartition it. DelPart download

All of the above are true. But as I'm sure you realize, that once you fdisk and/or format, all the system files, in fact everything is gone. You have a blank disk. As for the cd-rom drivers with a different boot disk, unless you can't around the drive not working because of a bad cable or an internal problem, and the cd-rom must be on the computer, you might have try searching for a particular cd driver, which I imagine is going to be a royal pain in the butt. You could try here Drivers and you MIGHT have some success. Otherwise, if it's not too expensive, buy new cd-roms for the machines that must have them. Larry

You can only get the 'invalid system disk' message if the bios accesses a drive with no system files. If you're booting from a good bootdisk in a good floppy drive you won't get that message. All you need to do is make sure a: is the first boot device in cmos, that it's properly configured and the floppy controller enabled and then boot from a floppy disk. The 'invalid drive specification' means, of course, you're trying to access a drive the OS doesn't recognize. As seawatch explained, it could be due to cdrom drivers not loading. It could also be due to the OS not recognizing a valid dos partition on the HD--either because there's no partition or because it's a non-dos partition. In that case the ramdrive will set up as drive c: and the cdrom will be drive d: