Where can I get help for DOS and WIN3.1x.

Couldn't find anywhere else to post this. I got and old Crutchfield computer from a cuz of mine. He bought it new in 1994. Has DOS 6.0 Enhanced, Win 3.1, a 5 1/4 floppy drive a 3 1/2 floppy drive and a 1x SCSI CD rom and all of the software. Been having fun remembering how this all was back then. The main reason I am having a problem is that I have an old HP Apollo printer and I had to go to a bigger HDD. Well all of the software that came with this computer is not doing what it is suppose to. When I load DOS 6.0 that is okay. But when I load Win 3.1 it completely installs but I get the blue screen of death. I have tried to install win over win but I get the same end result, BUT when I first start the re-install it says "could not load the file lmouse.drv ". I tried 3 other non Logitech mice with no improvement.

Also, when loading the software for the SCSI drive it all loads but on re-boot it says my DOS is too old. Of course this computer came with everything installed and I doubt Crutchfield could help me with these problems.

Any ideas??

Pepse.

 

Try not to load the mouse first, to check if it is run. Regarding the SCSI driver, there was an OLD software by Corel, and was called CorelSCSI. It worked for almost all SCSI in win 3.1 era and support more DOS versions.

 

I'm assuming that you have successfully installed and tested the new drive, that you can read and write to it using DOS and that CHKDSK shows the new size correctly.

The answers you need will be on the old drive, and you will have better luck copying the operating system files over from the old drive to the new instead of installing from scratch.

Look carefully at the files autoexec.bat, config.sys, system.ini and win.ini on the old HD to see what is being loaded. There are probably required files supplied by the manufacturer that are not on the DOS and Windows disks.

LMOUSE.COM is a Microsoft file that replaces all Logitech drivers with Win 3.1 and LMOUSE.COM has to load with DOS before Win 3.1 is started. It sounds like the line is there but LMOUSE.COM is not in the expected location. That's why it can't load.

There should be a line in autoexec.bat like C:\WINDOWS\LMOUSE.COM

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/85440 for more information.

The solution to the SCSI drive probably lies in CONFIG.SYS.

There should be a line in the config.sys on the old drive something like the one below, except specific to your machine. Make sure the .sys file is where the computer expects to find it.

DEVICEHIGH=C:\NEC_CD\NEC_IDE.SYS /D:MSCD0001

You may be able to copy over just the environment files from the old drive to your new setup, along with any files or directories directly referenced. If not, you will have to clone the drive using a direct copy from master to slave, or restore a DOS backup made from the old drive to the new drive.

 

Arie, hopefully I can. S R Jones, You don't have to install DOS first??? BSOD? I Googled the error of the lmouse.drv and came up rather empty, except that is how I discovered that it was a Logitech mouse and went to Drivers Guide to get the file and discovered there that being a .drv I couldn't install it.

binyo66, I will Google and see if that Corel SCSI is still out there.

antik, yep DOS works fine. And it is showing the correct size of the drive. Now here is where my memory faded; I cannot recall how to get to autoexec.bat and config.sys . I know I would be able to make changes and check the general running of things if I can get into these. I am sure I could add the lmouse.drv command if it isn't there or for some reason not being seen on startup.

I am enjoying this project and hopefully with a little help from my accomplices ..er friends I can continue having fun with this. Ahhh, the good old days of computers.

Later. Pepse.

 

Win 3.1 supports very few video cards. What you see as a BSOD is likely caused by failure to load the correct video driver. The setup program is rudimentary. It doesn't really detect anything. You are the one making the choices.

autoexec.bat and config.sys are located in the root directory = C:\

system.ini and win.ini are located in the windows directory = C:\Windows

You can view and edit them with Notepad or with the Sysedit utility that is part of Windows, but if you don't really know what you are doing you can do more harm than good. Be careful to do any editing on copies, not the originals. If you lose or alter what is on the old drive, the battle is lost.

You can clone the old drive using the XCOPY program that is part of DOS. Jumper the old drive as Master and the new drive as slave. The syntax is:

xcopy c:\*.* d:\/s/e/h/k/c/l/r

Yes you do need all the modifying switches.

/s = copy all directories and subdirectories
/e = copy directories even if they are empty
/h = copy hidden files
/k - copy file attributes
/c = continue copying even if there is an error
/l = copy the files into the appropriate location or directory
/r = overwrite read-only files with the same name in the new directory

When the copying is done, jumper the new drive as master, remove the old drive from the cable and put the new drive on the connector at the end of the cable.

If you can't transfer the correct settings and files from the old drive, you have very little chance of success.

I don't have a running machine with W3x and Dos 6.0 It's too hard to think through this old stuff with nothing to dry run. You asked for ideas. A tutorial is something else. Here is a good site to browse or search for specifics:

http://www.computing.net/forum/windows31/1.html

http://www.computing.net/forum/dos/1.html

 

Okay, I understand. As for making changes in autoexec.bat and config.sys it is something I used to do back then. That's just it, what say, 10 years ago I knew DOS and Win3.1x like the back of my hand. Used to do all kinds of changes and tweaks and whatever it took to make it tick my way. So, with this old Crutchfield I am trying to have fun again. True I gotta ask people for help but that is the great thing about the 'net. And, yea, it is a bit tougher getting help for an old OS but there are people that still remember. Just gotta shake the old cobwebs around.

Anyway I don't want to mess with the original hard drive. So, I will set up my system and use your commands to get the bigger hard drive set with the stuff from the original.

On that note do you think I will have any problems of doing this with the SCSI CDrom connected? Or should I disconnect it to be safe? I never had SCSI anything before so that is why I am asking.

I will check your links after this post. I am sure it will be a great help, also.

Later. Pepse.

 

OK to leave the SCSI drive connected.

The new drive has to be empty.

Depending on how your computer is set up, you may have to be in the directory that holds XCOPY.EXE when you type the command.

Good luck.

 

Uh-h, I can't remember the whole command to format; All I can remember is " format C:\V\U\?? ". This is for when I format the bigger hard drive to copy from the smaller drive.

One more thing. Anybody reading this got a good Dallas Real Time Clock?? TH12887 or TH1287 or any equivalent? It's a bit annoying at times to have to re-set the BIOS every time I boot or re-boot. The Symphony motherboard manual shows I should have a 4 prong spot to put in an external battery pack, but they apparently forgot to put it in.

Later. Pepse.

 

All you need is format d: /s

That will make the disk bootable.

command.com will be overwritten. Don't worry about it.

/V will prompt you for a volume label which you don't need at this point.

/U is for diskettes.

 

Pepse, you worry me.

You wrote: " format C:\V\U\?? "

You will be running off C (old drive, master) and formatting D (new drive, slave). You don't want to format C.

Running off C and using the format switch /S makes sure the system version you put on D will match the files copied.

 

I wrote " format C:\v\u\?? ". Yea, that is all I could remember for formatting a hard drive. But my brain is working a little better on this as I recall the command is/was format C:\s\v\u ; S=system, U=unformat?, V=volume. I thought I would format the bigger hard drive with the failed windows on it. But with your commands I see that won't be necessary.

BUT, I have an error in trying to copy. The error is: invalid switch - /h .

Pepse.

 

Which is not and never was a valid command.

And neither is this. Pepse, I'd suggest waiting Antiks next reply but in the meantime don't mess about or you could end up with both HD's being erased.

 

No problem waiting for antik. I just put up what I thought were the right commands. Well anyway just to let you know I will wait.

Pepse.

 

At this point, I'd say remove just the /h switch
and see if the xcopy then runs OK.

Let me know what happens.

Fingers crossed

 

No luck. When I dropped the H and ran the command it said "invalid switch -k . So I dropped the H & K next time and it said invalid switch -C. I figure it would "invalid switch" me to death so I just decided to post what has happened so far. ONE thing though in your command is there a space between the second X and the D? I've been putting a space there instead of running the command as one whole string.

Pepse.

 

Pepse, are you pulling my leg?

Those are not X's. They are asterisks, the little star shaped symbol on the key for the number eight. You are correct. There is a space after the second asterisk.
It is c/colon/backslash/asterisk/period/asterisk/space/d/colon/backslash/forwardslash/s...and so on.

xcopy c:\*.* d:\/s/e/h/k/c/l/r

Try the command again exactly as written above, with asterisks instead of X's.

I should have asked you at the beginning to tell me something about your Crutchfield computer. Desktop or laptop? What processor? How much RAM?

Are you still having fun? Do you want to keep going?

 

I'm sorry, I meant asterisk. Yes, I'm still having fun and I want to keep going. The Crutchfield is a tower with a Symphony G486SLC motherboard with a 486 DX33 CPU a math co processor 4 megs of ram (but I found 4 30 pin 4 meg strips to add for a whopping 20 megs) a Video 7 1 meg video card a 5 1/4 floppy drive a 3 1/2 floppy drive a Texel 1X CDrom a sound card (unsure of brand) matching black 13 "? monitor and keyboard; mouse is a serial port type. And like I said from the start I got this from a cousin of mine that ordered it new in 1994. It has all the books and paper work except for the bill of sale which IIRC was $1800. The DOS, Windows 3.1 and Video 7 software are on 5 1/4 floppies and the Texel sound card and CDrom drivers are on 3 1/2 floppies.

Okay, continue.

Pepse.

 

Ok, Pepse, more questions before we continue:

Size of the old hard drive?
Size of the new hard drive?

Number of ISA slots?
Number of PCI slots?

Did you rerun the XCOPY command? What happened?

Are you booting from the old drive, and does Win 3.1 load and run successfully from there?

If yes, do the video, mouse, CD-ROM and sound all work OK?

Does the new drive show up OK as a second, or slave drive? Can you browse, copy, change, add and delete files with Program Manager?

When you installed Windows 3.1 on the new hard drive, did you choose Express Setup or Custom Setup?

What was your choice for video driver?

Have you considered running the computer with two drives? Boot from C and install your apps on D?

Have you considered deleting enough files to make room for your HP Apollo printer software on the old drive?

The reason I ask these questions is that it may help to work with DOS and 3.1 on a running computer for a while until your former familiarity with all the commands is reestablished. You can review the files which Microsoft provides (and which Crutchfield may have enhanced) to explain the setup process, and, when you are ready, copy the environment files over to the new drive and put them in the right locations.

README.WRI, PRINTERS.WRI, NETWORKS.WRI, SYSINI.WRI, WININI.WRI

Last, do you have a DOS 6.0 book or manual? How about a book or manual for Windows 3.1?

The answers to the questions will help me to understand the situation and come up with better ideas for how to get you where you want to go. Wasn't that was Bill Gates theme for Windows 95? Where do you want to go today?