🚀 go-pugleaf

On Thu, 11 Dec 1997 00:47:22 GMT, minister@sirius.com (Bill R. Adams)
wrote:

>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. 
>
>Error messages I have received are:
>* Non system disk on disk error
>* Invalid drive in search path
>* Invalid drive specifications
>

    How did you remove the double space files?   ATTRIB everything in
the root to see it, and del *.*?  If so, does your boot disk have
'SYS.COM' on it?  Or do you have the DOS distribution disks to get it?

   If you can find SYS.COM, put it on your boot disk and use it to
boot.  Then type sys c:    You  may then find you have got your
harddrive back.

  If you ATTRIB files in the root directory there are two files you
*mustn't* touch - IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS.  They are required for the
machine to boot.  They are, in effect, MS-DOS!

>(Errors after using boot disk read)
>- HMA not available: Loading DOS low
>- Several Files not found
>- Bad or missing:
> * HIMEM.SYS  Error in Config.sys Line 1
> * EMM386. EXE ...........................Line 2
> * DBLSPACE.SYS.........................Line 10
> * Winwave\DSP16.SYS................Line 11
>
   What happens with the boot floppy is a different matter.  Basicaly
I suspect that you have copied config.sys and autoexec.bat from the
harddrive without thinking what would happen if you no longer had a
harddrive.
   You need to edit these files, and put more files on the floppy, to
give you minimum capability if you just boot the floppy.
   You will need HIMEM.SYS, EMM386.EXE, FORMAT, SYS, FDISK at the very
least.  Also the driver for your CDrom if you have one, along with
MSCDEX.  To make the keyboard livable you will need KEYB and its
datafiles.
   Don't bother with soundcard drives and the like.  In these
conditions their state isn't important!

   Regards,
         Harry.