autoexec and config file errors on recovery cd

Yeah, I know, I need a life transplant , some of you will know that I'm trying to recover my favorite laptop with keyboard problems and a broken ps2 port and floopy drive. With usb floppy and keyboard, it works great. Due to a cat sleeping and dancing on the keyboard, I've got file corrution so a recovery cd is essential. I've gone through 16 blank cd's and have 4 left, so you can see I have been trying.

I can build the disk, no problem, but following The Perfect Rescue Tool http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=10700681 the cd drive isn't activated.

Following this one, the cd works great, but the the ramdrive isn't created so that the ramdrive is D:\ and the cd is e:\ . Seems windows 1st ed. works best in this setting. Although setup can be started, it hangs up and scandisk is ran and you hit enter to continue->then the copy files dialog appears and nothing happens.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rossstew/drs/sec3.html#bk31

Used the exact rescue disk files and the installation cd creates, looks promising, the cd drive works, but there are errors..here's the final screen:


Preparring to start your computor.....Please wait...
The windows 98 startup disk could not create a temporary drive for the diagnostic tools. This may be because this computer has less than the minimum required extended memory.

Path not found - :\command.com
Path not found - :\extract.exe
Path not found - :\readme.txt
Bad command or file name
The diagnostic tools were successfully loaded to drive.

File not found.

To get help, type HELP and press enter.
a:\>

I have ran dos memory tests and shows the 128mgs of ram are there but there is no extended memory and I think this is the troble and no ram drive is created. I can paste the auto and config files text later if this would help, thank you, Cyn

 

Check your config.sys file. The second line should read " Dos = High,Umb" without the quotes. This will create the ram drive in upper memory.

I built mine following the post at information week but my cd drive wouldn't activate until I went into the bios and reset the load order from A,C,SCSI to Cdrom, C,A. Once I made this change my recovery cd worked perfect.

I didn't use Nero or Easy CD creater, I used the software that came with my cdrom. Had to figure it out by ear but finally got it to work. The important thing was to have the software create an image of the floppy and copy the image to cd, not the files although the files were included in the image.

As to the errors you get I don't know unless you don't have command.com, extract.exe and readme.txt on your floppy, or cd.
I don't understand the readme.txt because I don't have that one but I don't get the error message.

EDIT: My autoexec file contains these two lines:

LH SMARTDRV
LH MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD001

My config.sys file contains these three lines:

DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
DOS=HIGH,UMB
DEVICEHIGH=OAKCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD001


Hope this helps,

 

Wait for someone else but the more I think about it the more I believe that you may need a SPECIAL, built for that machine only RECOVERY CD. And if this should be the case then one made from the other machine may not work.

And without a working keyboard you may well be wasting time anyway. If any of the none working keys are stuck ?????

And also more than the keyboard may have been damaged.

Is the floppy that you copyed one made by you or did it come with the machine ? If the latter I think you can forget it.

The flopppy drive does not work either. That may not be helping things.

BB

 

Well, the command.com, extract.exe, and the readme.txt is on the recovery cd. But obviously it's looking for the files elsewhere. The load dos high, UMB statment might help the memory.

If it's the case of looking for the files on a:\ drive, but I made on set with the propper refference such as:
copy c:\windows\command.com. So I've done it with and without the reference. The files are right there with the boot files. Thanks, Cyn

btw, only the keys in the upper right quad are affected, o, p, [, ], \, and l; but with a usb keyboard, it works great, or did

 

Dopey

Check out the errors in red in the post by cynindesign

Especially the Path not found ones.

All errors there are from thee Autoexec.bat.

All of those files are right in the root foel of the startup disk. ( or should be. )

And if EXTRACT is not found then the contents of the EBD.cab do not get extracted to the RamDrive.

I just checked that out on my 98 SUD to be sure. And

Even though the message says they were.

The diagnostic tools were successfully loaded to drive.

Unless it was a miss type there should be an E: at the end of
that line.

BB

 

Yes. BillyBob, that's got to be it. None of the samples create a ramdrive on D:\ which is what windows installation cd looks for. It's not enough just to have the cd show up. When startup is fired up, it scans the hard drive then the setup screen appears. It's not happening because it's looking for the installation cd on e:\, Cyn

 

CORRECTION

Unless it was a miss type there should be an E: at the end of
that line.

That should be D: at the end of that line.

The CROM should be E:

Sorry for the mistake.

BB

 

The RAM Drive has NOTHING to do with Windows setup. It does not even need it.

It is just there for for the DOS utilities.

You can boot to a floppy with just Command.com, MsDos.sys and IO.sys and still install Windows.

Everthing that is done after SETUP is typed is done form the CD.

BillyBob

 

YEA!!!! I'VE GOT IT!!!!! Yes ramdrive IS important with a startup in dos to run windows installation. It loads the tools in this area, and the setup cd is in e:\


So why wasn't it working before? The articles said NOT to have any other files on the root but the image(bin) files and put everything else in a folder. This final time I created the rescue disk from the installation disk, then ran easy cd creator.

Chose ISO 9660 and checked bootable, the format was
CDROM XA then copied all the same files from the floppy to join the bin files, booted up the troubled laptop and WALLA!!! Startup is running as I type, Cyn

 

Well FINALLY SOME GOOD NEWS.

Apparently the first CD was not right.

But anyhow Windows setup DOES NOT need the RamDrive. THe SUD could just setup the CDROM as D: and all would be set to go for setup of Windows.

It only holds the DOS utilities. Nothing to do with installing.

BillyBob

 

Well all I can say is the win98 1ed. installation disk thinks it apparently does. cyn

 

If you are meaning that when you make a Startup disk using the install disk, that does create the setup for the RamDrive on the SUD.

But if the actuall install of Windows was to use it for anything it would only be for temp stuff which it uses a temp folder ON THE HD for.

When you are installing Windows at the FIRST RESTART the RAMDRIVE IS GONE

An old Win95 boot disk which did not have all of the stuff on it could be used to install Windows as long as the user added the CDROM driver in the Config.sys and MSCDEX. in the Autoexec.bat.

But in this case one of us is thinking incorrectly

Somebody should be jumping in here to get us to straighten up our act.

BillyBob

 

No, when you create the boot cd and run the startup disk the ramdrive is created on d:\ and everything else is bumped forward a letter, so in this case the cd drive becomes e:\.

And this ramdrive is only there during setup and provides the tools and memory.

Without the ramdrive, startup would only hang up, and yes of course it's gone after the restart, just there AFTER THE BOOT RECOVERY DISK IS RUN to provide dos recovery tools(not much) and is never seen again unless the boot cd is run again at boot up and probably isn't required for anything except the windows installation disk(1s ed). Cyn

 

Regardless of our differences regrading the Ramdrive you do deserve a well earned Gongratulations for hanging in there and getting as far as you have.

That is true. But once you you get the install started and restart once the CDROM goes back to being D: And don't take it out until the install is done either. Unless you are installing from the HD.

OOPS !! There is another thought. If you copy the setup files to the Hard Drive ANY OLD boot disk ( ran drive or not ) will work to boot the machine and setup Windows.

I have booted to a Win95 SUD because it is faster and then run setup from the HD. And in that case both the RamDrive and the CD are out of the picture completely.

Windows XP Pro is the 1st Windows ( since Win3.1 ) that I have installed from the CD.

Another thought about the RamDirve. It being only 2meg it is NO WHERE NEAR big enough to use for Windows setup.

And the more I think about the real setup and install of Windows comes AFTER the first restart anyway.

Without the ramdrive, startup would only hang up,

I do not follow you there at all. What startup ?

Are we both learning something from this problem ?

BillyBob

 

Simply, the 1st ed installation cd runs setup, scans the hard drive, then for me it would sit there saying copying files and not doing didley. Never saw the windows setup screen, but that might just be on these laptops. And again, after setup starts you never see the ramdrive-but it's not like you would interrup the install to see what drives are still there.

With the ramdrive, the installation cd seems to be looking something besides d:\ drive, so I' have no clue if you had 2 hard drives which my desktop down in the basement has. Cyn

 

With the ramdrive, the installation cd seems to be looking something besides d:\ drive, so I' have no clue if you had 2 hard drives which my desktop down in the basement has.

If you have two CDROMS and boot form the 98 SUD one would be E: and the other would be F: ( if you only have a C: partition ) Otherwise they would strat at the next letter after the last HD partition. ( or Ramdrive if one exists ) And setup will run from whichever one you but the CD in. But after installation you would need to but the CD back into the same one that you installed from.

But I do have to do some thinking here as ALL my 98 machines do not need the CD at all anyway. The setup files are on the HD In a partition other then C: And the install was done from there.

ALSO. Since the first day of installing 98 my startup disk has always asigned S: to the CDROM. I got a 98 SUD from someone else and modified it to to that. And all three machines are the same.

The idea of modifying the SUD is to get the CDROMS up out of the way so that any future change in HD partitions will have no effect on them. As they will not get moved up in the HD lettering change.

BillyBob

 

Well, Pete, I was sure getting sick of myself, so I know I was getting on other people's nerves.

In regards to the rescue disk, there were 2 things defeating me by either misinformation or it could have been my understanding (surely not! ).

1) was to have only the image files on the root, other files into a folder. That last attempt, I just copied all the files I had imaged from the rescue floppy into the layout without putting them into a directory


and 2) using re-writeable cds for the ISO (not from here anyway); once reg. cds were used, they were readable and working. Thanks for your help, the good news is now everybody and their monkey's uncle knows how now, Cyn