🚀 go-pugleaf

Your expertise dwarfs my knowledge of DOS and the actual damage I did.
I'll respond best I can to your comments below. Thanks - b


>On Thu, 11 Dec 97 16:45:40 GMT, you wrote:
>In article <66nd76$ari$1@news2.sirius.com>
>           minister@sirius.com "Bill R. Adams" writes:

>"While purging old files in windows programs, I deleted my DoubleSpace
>"files only to discover I made a mistake, apparently wiping out some
>"system files that I need to run DOS.  Even with a boot disk, the
>"machine can only read the A: drive and cannot find the C: drive at
>"all, much less get me to Windows. I've received several error messages
>"when rebooting or turning the machine on.  I need an interpretation
>"and, of course, some direction on correcting the problem.

>    Oh my goodness!  Much sympathy.  But we need more info.

>    First.  By "my DoubleSpace files"; do you mean DBLSPACE.* (where
> * includes BIN, EXE, SYS etc), or the actual disk-files DBLSPACE.00?,
> (where ? starts at 0 and goes on up)?
>  And where did you delete
> them from (ie C: or the host-drive, probably H: or I:)? 

I deleted files from the I: drive.  However, I'm not certain whether I
deleted DBLSPACE.00 or DBLSPACE.*

> And when you set up DBLSPACE, did you do a standard compression of the
> C:-drive, or something else?  

Standard  C: drive compression.

>Where was your DOS directory; and
> is it still there?  If C: is non-available, is any other drive?
> If none, can FDISK see the HDD?

DOS was at the C: drive, which displays this message when I search for
DIR: "Volume in Drive C has no Label. Volume Serial Number is
3465-13EA". When I attempt to access windows (typing Win at the C
prompt), I get this message: "bad command or file name".

I can only access the C: prompt with the reboot disk (which constains
msdos.sys, Io.sys, confi.sys, autoexec.bat, command.com, and
dblspace.bin).  Of course I have access to any number of other files
on my new system, if I knew what I needed and what to do.

>    If you deleted the D.00? files, you've lost everything on them,
> and a reinstall from scratch, or reload from backup, is indicated.
>    If it's just the D.EXE etc, then all you need is to recopy
> them from any DOS source.  Since you say DBLSPACE, not DRVSPACE,
> presumably DOS 6.0 (not recommended) or 6.20.

>"Error messages I have received are:
>"* Non system disk on disk error                    1
>"* Invalid drive in search path                     2
>"* Invalid drive specifications"                     3
>"(Errors after using boot disk read)
>"- HMA not available: Loading DOS low               4
>"- Several Files not found                          5
>"- Bad or missing:                                  6
>" * HIMEM.SYS  Error in Config.sys Line 1           7
>" * EMM386. EXE ...........................Line 2   8
>" * DBLSPACE.SYS.........................Line 10    9
>" * Winwave\DSP16.SYS................Line 11       10

>    These error-messages are not in the format I would expect, but
> perhaps you reformatted them.  I've numbered them on the right.

>    '1' means you've lost the boot records on the HDD, or deleted
> IO.SYS & MSDOS.SYS, or actually got a disk-error.
>    It should not be possible to get '2' & '3', because '1' should
> have brought everything to a grinding halt.  How did you get them?

Yes, I copied messages down and posted them here in no particular
order, since I didn't know it mattered. Some of the messages were
displayed immediately after deleting files and attempting to reboot to
the C: prompt.  Now when I boot up, I just get the message "nonsystem
disk or disk error."

>    '4' to '10' indicate that the boot-disk (floppy) you were using
> is quite inappropriate for an emergency boot.  Where did you get
> it from?  It would seem to have copies of the CONFIG.SYS and
> AUTOEXEC.BAT from the HDD, which don't work because they assume a
> HDD setup, not a FDD one.  An emergency boot-floppy needs to have
> a well-thought-out subset of DOS on it, with appropriate AUTOEXEC
> and CONFIG.

>    When you have booted (even with errors) from your floppy, what
> is the response to 'DIR C:' or etc?

Computer can find nothing on Drive C, including directory (see
comments above)..

>    If you post a snail-address (or mail me, unscrambling the
> spam-preventers), I'll snail you a decently tailored emergency boot
> disk (DOS 6.20 or 6.22).  Then you can investigate what's still on
> the HDD.  And we can take it from there.

>                                    Chris K.
>-- 
>Chris Kennington (newshound)                        01491 574065
>  You can mail me with suitable modifications to header-addresses,
>   or to "chris <at> inf-eden.demon.co.uk", replacing the <at>.


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When the dissemination of ideas is confused with conspiracy, it is the duty of every American to refuse to be an informer. ++ I.F. Stone