After my computer sits for awhile it has an energy mode that shuts off the monitor. No problem except that this time it was not responding when I moved the mouse, so I restarted the computer. When the computer loaded I got the error... DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER No other symptoms before this......what the heck is wrong with my computer.

Go back to a good copy of the registry . Toggle F8 ( when , verifying DMI pool message comes on ) or Press Ctrl during bootup , depends on your computor . Select , Command prompt only . ( NOT Safe mode Command prompt ) After the C prompt , type , scanreg /restore Follow the prompts and select a registry dated prior to the problems . This article describes how to restore a backup copy of the Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition (Me) registry scanreg /restore http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q221/5/12.ASP?LN=EN-US&SD=gn&FR=0&qry=scanreg/%20restore&rnk=3&src=DHCS_MSPSS_gn_SRCH&SPR=W98 Start the System Restore Tool from a Command Prompt in Windows XP (Q304449) http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q304449 Restore Operation Failed (Q220878) The information in this article applies to: Microsoft Windows 98 Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q220878 --------------- To improve on the 5 days MS have on registry backups , use the Cabrest system below & get 14 days . http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/regback1.html For those that find the above site confusing , here is what to do . Alter MaxBackupCopies from 5 to 14 as per instructions at above site or it can be done this way . Start > Find > Files or Folders , type scanr in the top space ( Named ) , make sure the 3rd space ( Look in ) is set to where your operating system is ( usually C ) & press Enter . Right click on Scanreg ( C:Windows > configuration settings ) & click on open & change from 5 to 14 . Close & save . Download the zipped copy of the Batch file from , http://www.pcnineoneone.com/downloads/cabrest.zip Unzip , copy & paste cabrest onto the top of C: in Windows Explorer . Delete zip file , or save it on floppy , if you want it for others or the future . Print the instructions below & stick on your comp in front of you , so when you have to go back to a good copy of the registry , you don't need to search for them . ------- Toggle F8 ( when , verifying DMI pool message comes on ) or Press Ctrl during bootup , depends on your computor . Select , Command prompt only . Type in cabrest & press Enter , keep answering y & you will see a table , which will allow you to select which CAB file to restore from . So , for example , to restore from rb009 cab , you look at the table & see 09 corresponds to the letter j . You type j & Not the number . Follow instructions . To exit . Press , Ctrl / Alt / Delete together . If after following the instructions to Restore , things arn't working , go to an earlier date & try again . -------------- I personally do this as part of my shut down & power managemment , using W98seupg . During boot up , press Delete & in the Power Management page , make sure it is set to Disable . During install , no screensavers are selected . To remove , there are many ways . One is to Open up Control Panel , select Add/Remove Programs & click on Windows Setup . Go down to Accessories & click on details . Untick Screensavers . While Control Panel is open , click on System , then Device Manager . Click on the + next to System devices ( down the bottom ) & if Advanced Power Management support ( or a similar name ) is there , delete it . I then setup Power Management ( In Control Panel ) the way I like it , ( Power schemes , Always on . Then set the screen to shut 1st & the power later ) I never have any problems .

Wow, John that is a lot of information. Did that whole list pertain to my problem or just the first section. I must say, I am a little confused, but thanks so much for all of your help.

I solved a similar problem by typing fdisk/mbr at the command prompt. You can try it, unless you are dual booting.

Hi there, I have heard of similar problems to this - there are several possible solutions to the symptoms you are describing. 1: at startup, press F8 to enter the boot options menu. Select command prompt only. When the C:\> prompt appears, type 'fdisk /mbr' without the quotes. This will rewrite the master boot record and hopefully restore any booting issues. 2: at startup, press F8 to enter the boot options menu. Select command prompt only. When the C:\> prompt appears, type the following (pressing enter after each line: attrib -r -a -s -h system.dat attrib -r -a -s -h system.1st copy system.1st system.dat This will copy the registry file from the first ever boot of your machine when the OS was installed. It will not contain any user preferences and/or programs in the programs group but all the data will be intact. n.b. it may be that you require a boot diskette for your computer to boot into a dos mode. hope this help! Max

Wait! Before you do all that stuff, make sure the HD is configured right in cmos. The bootdisk failure error usually means a physical problem with the HD. Or depending on how the bios interprets it, it could mean it's not finding the system files. It's not a problem with the .ini files or the registry. Also check the boot sequence in cmos. If the floppy drive or cdrom is first, make sure there's no disk in them.

This is DEFINETLY NOT a Windows registry, or other system file problem as this message is displayed before any operating system files are to be read. The problem is with either the HDD recognition in the BIOS Setup or with IO.sys and Command.com missing or corrupt. If the HDD is setup correctly in the BIOS, use a boot disk to staartup and from the A:\> prompt, type: SYS c:[press enter] remove bootdisk and restart. If you follow the instructios from Max Manders No.2 you will be at a point where the Windows Install is finishing. ALL PROGRAMS WILL HAVE TO BE INSTALLED. DONT replace Windows Files..