Can't get past C:\

[Chris Tallon]

I have tried to back up some files over the past weekend. Don't really know what I did wrong, but when I rebooted I got a 'non system disk error' message and since then I cannot get past the c:\ when I reboot. Any suggestions please

[dopefeedback]

sorry I can't help you...unless you provide more accurate information about exactly what you did and used to make the backups, but this really should be in tech-help....

[Fingers]

The most obvious thing to check is that you don't have a disk in the floppy drive during bootup/reboot.

It sort of sounds like you may have been copying in dos and accidentally changed something on your hard drive. Please post back with a little more info ... as a minimum, include your operating system and what process you were using to "back up" your files.

[Chris Tallon]

Originally posted by Fingers
The most obvious thing to check is that you don't have a disk in the floppy drive during bootup/reboot.

It sort of sounds like you may have been copying in dos and accidentally changed something on your hard drive. Please post back with a little more info ... as a minimum, include your operating system and what process you were using to "back up" your files.

I am using win98 first edition. I was backing up to a CD using zip. I think i may have inadvertantly moved a system file while doing that. The original message when I rebooted was 'Non system disk', but there was no floppy or other disk insterted. Thanks for reply

[ArtShapiro]

Is it possible that you played around with the BIOS settings for some reason, and accidentally diddled the "order of boot devices" settings? Many modern BIOSes are quite flexible in this respect, and you can go so far as to eliminate the hard drive from consideration for booting in favor of floppy and/or CD.

Art

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

In your backup look for MSDOS.sys, try replacing that from your backup, it seems it has changed to

BootGUI = 0

if you are uncomforitable with this, unzip msdos.sys to a temp dir, then type fc C:\msdos.sys c:\(tempdir)\msdos.sys

or check for msdos.bak in your c:\ and replace msdos.sys with msdos.bak

ren msdos.sys msdos.ld
if you get an error with this command, try
Attrib -s -h -r msdos.sys
then try it again

then
ren msdos.bak msdos.sys

then reboot.

i run 2k so I can't remember how often it backs up your msdos.sys.

EDIT: after trying to interpret what you are saying, when you got the non-system disk error you are now at c:\ ??

If so follow above.

if you are at non-system disk... say so.

[Chris Tallon]

Many thanks for you time and you advice, everyone. I have solved the problem by reloading win98. Everthing is back to normal again. Once again thanks for your support

[Michael Chiew]

Chris Tallon

A NON-SYSTEM DISK error message generally is indicative of system files, either gone astray (missing), corrupted or damaged.

The message refers to system file MSDOS.SYS where, as WIZARD~OF~OZZ puts it, the BOOTGUI entry has been altered to 0. 0 gets you into MS-DOS mode. BOOTGUI=1 runs Windows. Incidentally, Chris Tallon, BootGUI simply means Boot Graphical User Interface.

WIZARD~OF~OZZ seems to have a little difficulty with his recollection of MSDOS.SYS, saying I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW OFTEN IT BACKS UP YOUR MSDOS.SYS. MSDOS.SYS isn't subject to any back-up routine like the Registry, Wizard. It's a one-off thing, not like the Registry where back-ups are made every day.

You're right about MSDOS.BAK. There is a copy of MSDOS.BAK in the system. This one's created when you install your OS.

Like MSDOS.SYS, MSDOS.BAK is a hidden file. You have to remove its attributes (-r -h -s) before you can view, copy or do anything with it.

Chris Tallon, Wizard's suggestion should get you back to WINDOWS. You can actually skip the "fc C:\msdos.sys c:\(tempdir)\msdos.sys" part since it's an alternative Wizard offers. Go direct to his second part - rename MSDOS.SYS to MSDOS.OLD. Seek out MSDOS.BAK and rename it MSDOS.SYS. Do the three-finger salute (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and you should be back at Windows.

I'd like to make this suggestion. Check your system for virus before you do any restoration work. The error message does signify different flavors of a problem that's generally hard drive related. Apart from being a file issue, boot sector virus and a corrupted MBR, for example, do merit consideration.

If you're virus-free, do a directory search to see whether MSDOS.BAK is, indeed, there. You never can tell for sure. Checking will ensure two things: first, that MSDOS.BAK is resident; two, that it's a file of at least 1,024 bytes in size. Although file size isn't all that critical, it's needed because certain dinosaur DOS programs can't recognize it unless it's at least 1,024 bytes long. The size ensures that it's read when you boot up.

Here's the entire syntax to check and restore a good copy of MSDOS.SYS. At the C:\ prompt, proceed as follows:-

Dir /ah /p (enter)

(This command line opens up all the hidden files, including MSDOS.BAK. Check the file for its size. The one in my system is 1,702 bytes long).

If MSDOS.SYS has disappeared, go straight to the restoration with MSDOS.BAK.

If MSDOS.SYS is there, type -

Attrib -r -h -s Msdos.sys (enter)

Ren Msdos.sys Msdos.old (enter)

Attrib -r -h -s Msdos.bak (enter)

Ren Msdos.bak Msdos.sys (enter)

Attrib +r +h +s Msdos.sys (enter)

Ctrl+Alt+Del (enter)

You should now be able to boot to Windows.

Michael Chiew