error message

I had no problem booting a particular partition before but
now the error message "Error Loading OS" appears. I
checked the partition and found the necessary "SYS" files
in the root directory. What should I do now?

Provide more detail.

(1) How do you dual boot?
(2) Post the "'SYS' files in the root directory" of which you speak.
(3) Is one & only one partition marked as Active?


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"bill" wrote in message
...
| I had no problem booting a particular partition before but
| now the error message "Error Loading OS" appears. I
| checked the partition and found the necessary "SYS" files
| in the root directory. What should I do now?

1 To dual boot, I first boot to a utility on a floppy disk
that permits me to change the active partition.
2 I know that certain sys files(such as io.sys) are needed
to boot a partition. I found the necessary files to boot a
partition in the root directory of the partition where
they should be.
3 On a physical hard drive, there is only one active
partition. I'm very careful about that.

There are two partitions on a physical hard drive that I
could previously boot. I can still boot one of them but
when I try to boot the other, the error message appears.

----------------------------------------------------

-----Original Message-----
Provide more detail.

(1) How do you dual boot?
(2) Post the "'SYS' files in the root directory" of which
you speak.
(3) Is one & only one partition marked as Active?


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"bill" wrote in
message
...
| I had no problem booting a particular partition before
but
| now the error message "Error Loading OS" appears. I
| checked the partition and found the necessary "SYS"
files
| in the root directory. What should I do now?


.

What OS is on the partition that won't boot? Is that the exact error
message, "Error Loading OS"? I'm not finding it at...
http://search.support.microsoft.com/...SD=GN&LN=EN-US MSKB

Well, for Win98 anyway...

Eject any floppy or CD left in a drive. Does it still happen? Then...

I guess do go into BIOS first, to see settings weren't mussed that may
upset the "geometry" of it. I don't know what you might look for, but I
have two guesses...

(1) I guess "Reset to defaults & exit" is a viable choice.
(2) Have it auto-detect the drives.

Here is what I know of the MBR and partition boot sectors.

"Fdisk /mbr" will restore Microsoft "boot code" to the Master Boot
Record of the boot HDD, usually the Primary Master. (This perhaps should
not be done, if you have a drive overlay in the MBR or if you suspect a
boot sector virus. The drive overlay would have to be restored in the
first case.) Boot code in the MBR, as I understand, searches the
partition table, also in the MBR, for the one that is Active. The boot
sector of the Active partition is hard-coded with the name of the
OPERATING SYSTEM that the boot code must load. For Win98, that OS is
IO.sys (DOS), which eventually leads to Windows. The other portion of
the MBR, the partition table, normally is not disturbed by "Fdisk /MBR".
The partition table contains the dimensions of the partitions and is
updated only when the partitions are created or resized. However, /MBR
may combine multiple partitions into a single one. It will do so, if it
discovers a missing End-Of-Sector marker (55AA) in the MBR sector. This
may result in a "mess of goo", says Blanton, if you had multiple
partitions, per
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found

(1)
(a) Hold Ctrl as you boot for the Startup Menu, if it hasn't already
been activated at "START, Run, MSConfig, Advanced button". Select to
boot to the "Command Prompt Only" (DOS).

(b) Alternatively, get a Startup Diskette from
http://www.bootdisk.com/ , if you don't already have one from "Control
Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Startup Disk tab". Put the diskette in &
turn on the computer.

(2) Enter "DIR C:". Did you get a listing or an error message?

If a listing, then... things to consider....

(1) Perhaps enter "SYS C:".

This will copy certain system files (IO.sys, Command.com & perhaps
MSDOS.sys) from the Startup Diskette to C:\. (It also sets the BPB drive
number to HD0, so that it is now in the bootstrap. It does so, no matter
whether it is HD0. To boot it, one must still move it to be HD0,
however.) You may now be able to boot to Windows, if all folders are
intact. If not, some further adjustment need be done to "MSDOS.sys",
that was copied to C:\. The floppy has just a shell of it. Well, remove
the floppy & boot.

Oh gosh! Here are some warnings from Jeff Richards, MS MVP W95/W98,
about "SYS C:". DON'T DO IT, he says, if:

(a) "Major errors were reported in Scandisk."
(b) "A drive is moved from one machine to another", because of the next
two, maybe.
(c) "The BIOS setting for a drive is changed (eg, LBA to LARGE)."
(d) "A drive that uses overlay software is operated without the overlay
loaded."

(2) Enter "FDISK /MBR"
This will rewrite the code portion of the Master Boot Record,
leaving the Partition Table untouched, except it may muss the partition
table, if there is a missing End-Of-Sector marker (55AA), per
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found

Here are the warnings against it...

(a) If you have a boot sector virus, you may lose access to all
partitions. Then
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html MBRWork "might" help to
recover them.

(b) If you have "overlay" code in the MBR, e.g., EZ-BIOS, Maxblast, a
boot manager, then that will need to be reestablished afterwards.
http://www.aefdisk.com/ FDISK & Boot Manager
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../Q245/1/62.ASP Overlay
Utility & FDISK

(c) FDISK may be buggy. So? Use MBRWork to do it, or
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q263044
Latest FDISK, hoping this one doesn't have any bugs. (But it doesn't
solve the 55AA thing.)

(d) If for some reason the "geometry" setting in BIOS does not match the
hard drive, then any write to the drive may be destructive. So, go into
BIOS and have it "automatically detect" the proper setting. (If you can
DIR the drive in DOS, then you have proven the geometry is right.)

(3)
(a) Boot to DOS. (Hold CTRL as you boot for the Startup Menu, & select
"Command Prompt Only".)

(b) Scandisk /Checkonly
Might be wise to know beforehand what it intends to fix. Will
display on screen & get written to "C:\Scandisk.log".

(c) Scandisk
Let it fix, if it didn't sound horrible. Otherwise, post what it
said.

In Dos, you may see "C:\Scandisk.log" this way...

EDIT C:\Scandisk.log
Alt-F-X (pressed separately) to exit EDIT. (TAB to traverse buttons.)

........Start......of quote of Glee..........
Download the diagnostics for your brand hard drive.

If you do not know the brand, download Seagate SeaTools. After it is
downloaded, double-click it, and it will create a bootable floppy disk
with the diagnostic program on it. Then boot your problem computer
using the bootable floppy, and choose the Generic long test. It will
create a report that you can read from within the program when the tests
are complete, and it is also saved as a text file on the floppy disk.

Alternately, you can use the evaluation version of Ontrack Data Advisor,
which is the same program in its original version. They both are
created the same way.

Seagate SeaTools:
http://download.microshopper.com/har...e/seatoold.exe
or
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/B7a.html

Error codes:
http://www.seagate.com/support/npf/s...ror_index.html

Data Advisor:
http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/#dataadvisor
The download link has not been working recently...if it does not
connect, use Seagate SeaTools instead.

Installation instructions for both:
http://www.ontrack.com/dataadvisor/downloadinfo.asp

If you DO know the brand, find the diagnostics he

Fujitsu
http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com/download...es/#diagnostic

IBM and Hitachi
http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

Maxtor
http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/products/index.htm

Seagate
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/index.html

Western Digital
http://support.wdc.com/download/
or
www.westerndigital.com
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

....glen
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP
............End......of quote.........


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"BILL" wrote in message
...
| 1 To dual boot, I first boot to a utility on a floppy disk
| that permits me to change the active partition.
| 2 I know that certain sys files(such as io.sys) are needed
| to boot a partition. I found the necessary files to boot a
| partition in the root directory of the partition where
| they should be.
| 3 On a physical hard drive, there is only one active
| partition. I'm very careful about that.
|
| There are two partitions on a physical hard drive that I
| could previously boot. I can still boot one of them but
| when I try to boot the other, the error message appears.
|
| ----------------------------------------------------
|
| -----Original Message-----
| Provide more detail.
|
| (1) How do you dual boot?
| (2) Post the "'SYS' files in the root directory" of which
| you speak.
| (3) Is one & only one partition marked as Active?
|
|
| --
| Thanks or Good Luck,
| There may be humor in this post, and,
| Naturally, you will not sue,
| should things get worse after this,
| PCR
|
| "bill" wrote in
| message
| ...
| | I had no problem booting a particular partition before
| but
| | now the error message "Error Loading OS" appears. I
| | checked the partition and found the necessary "SYS"
| files
| | in the root directory. What should I do now?
|
|
| .
|

I think the MBR is OK but the boot code for the partition
is probably currupt. Where can I download a free utility
that will easily repair the partition boot code?

-----------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
What OS is on the partition that won't boot? Is that the
exact error
message, "Error Loading OS"? I'm not finding it at...
http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp?
fr=0&SD=GN&LN=EN-US MSKB

Well, for Win98 anyway...

Eject any floppy or CD left in a drive. Does it still
happen? Then...

I guess do go into BIOS first, to see settings weren't
mussed that may
upset the "geometry" of it. I don't know what you might
look for, but I
have two guesses...

(1) I guess "Reset to defaults & exit" is a viable choice.
(2) Have it auto-detect the drives.

Here is what I know of the MBR and partition boot sectors.

"Fdisk /mbr" will restore Microsoft "boot code" to the
Master Boot
Record of the boot HDD, usually the Primary Master. (This
perhaps should
not be done, if you have a drive overlay in the MBR or if
you suspect a
boot sector virus. The drive overlay would have to be
restored in the
first case.) Boot code in the MBR, as I understand,
searches the
partition table, also in the MBR, for the one that is
Active. The boot
sector of the Active partition is hard-coded with the
name of the
OPERATING SYSTEM that the boot code must load. For Win98,
that OS is
IO.sys (DOS), which eventually leads to Windows. The
other portion of
the MBR, the partition table, normally is not disturbed
by "Fdisk /MBR".
The partition table contains the dimensions of the
partitions and is
updated only when the partitions are created or resized.
However, /MBR
may combine multiple partitions into a single one. It
will do so, if it
discovers a missing End-Of-Sector marker (55AA) in the
MBR sector. This
may result in a "mess of goo", says Blanton, if you had
multiple
partitions, per
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found

(1)
(a) Hold Ctrl as you boot for the Startup Menu, if it
hasn't already
been activated at "START, Run, MSConfig, Advanced
button". Select to
boot to the "Command Prompt Only" (DOS).

(b) Alternatively, get a Startup Diskette from
http://www.bootdisk.com/ , if you don't already have one
from "Control
Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Startup Disk tab". Put the
diskette in &
turn on the computer.

(2) Enter "DIR C:". Did you get a listing or an error
message?

If a listing, then... things to consider....

(1) Perhaps enter "SYS C:".

This will copy certain system files (IO.sys, Command.com
& perhaps
MSDOS.sys) from the Startup Diskette to C:\. (It also
sets the BPB drive
number to HD0, so that it is now in the bootstrap. It
does so, no matter
whether it is HD0. To boot it, one must still move it to
be HD0,
however.) You may now be able to boot to Windows, if all
folders are
intact. If not, some further adjustment need be done
to "MSDOS.sys",
that was copied to C:\. The floppy has just a shell of
it. Well, remove
the floppy & boot.

Oh gosh! Here are some warnings from Jeff Richards, MS
MVP W95/W98,
about "SYS C:". DON'T DO IT, he says, if:

(a) "Major errors were reported in Scandisk."
(b) "A drive is moved from one machine to another",
because of the next
two, maybe.
(c) "The BIOS setting for a drive is changed (eg, LBA to
LARGE)."
(d) "A drive that uses overlay software is operated
without the overlay
loaded."

(2) Enter "FDISK /MBR"
This will rewrite the code portion of the Master
Boot Record,
leaving the Partition Table untouched, except it may muss
the partition
table, if there is a missing End-Of-Sector marker (55AA),
per
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found

Here are the warnings against it...

(a) If you have a boot sector virus, you may lose access
to all
partitions. Then
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html
MBRWork "might" help to
recover them.

(b) If you have "overlay" code in the MBR, e.g., EZ-BIOS,
Maxblast, a
boot manager, then that will need to be reestablished
afterwards.
http://www.aefdisk.com/ FDISK & Boot Manager
http://support.microsoft.com/support...cles/Q245/1/62
..ASP Overlay
Utility & FDISK

(c) FDISK may be buggy. So? Use MBRWork to do it, or
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;Q263044
Latest FDISK, hoping this one doesn't have any bugs. (But
it doesn't
solve the 55AA thing.)

(d) If for some reason the "geometry" setting in BIOS
does not match the
hard drive, then any write to the drive may be
destructive. So, go into
BIOS and have it "automatically detect" the proper
setting. (If you can
DIR the drive in DOS, then you have proven the geometry
is right.)

(3)
(a) Boot to DOS. (Hold CTRL as you boot for the Startup
Menu, & select
"Command Prompt Only".)

(b) Scandisk /Checkonly
Might be wise to know beforehand what it intends to
fix. Will
display on screen & get written to "C:\Scandisk.log".

(c) Scandisk
Let it fix, if it didn't sound horrible. Otherwise,
post what it
said.

In Dos, you may see "C:\Scandisk.log" this way...

EDIT C:\Scandisk.log
Alt-F-X (pressed separately) to exit EDIT. (TAB to
traverse buttons.)

........Start......of quote of Glee..........
Download the diagnostics for your brand hard drive.

If you do not know the brand, download Seagate SeaTools.
After it is
downloaded, double-click it, and it will create a
bootable floppy disk
with the diagnostic program on it. Then boot your
problem computer
using the bootable floppy, and choose the Generic long
test. It will
create a report that you can read from within the program
when the tests
are complete, and it is also saved as a text file on the
floppy disk.

Alternately, you can use the evaluation version of
Ontrack Data Advisor,
which is the same program in its original version. They
both are
created the same way.

Seagate SeaTools:
http://download.microshopper.com/har...sks/seagate/se
atoold.exe
or
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/B7a.html

Error codes:
http://www.seagate.com/support/npf/s...st_error_index
..html

Data Advisor:
http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/#dataadvisor
The download link has not been working recently...if it
does not
connect, use Seagate SeaTools instead.

Installation instructions for both:
http://www.ontrack.com/dataadvisor/downloadinfo.asp

If you DO know the brand, find the diagnostics he

Fujitsu
http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com/download/hard-
drives/#diagnostic

IBM and Hitachi
http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

Maxtor
http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/products/index.htm

Seagate
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/index.html

Western Digital
http://support.wdc.com/download/
or
www.westerndigital.com
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

....glen
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP
............End......of quote.........


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"BILL" wrote in
message
...
| 1 To dual boot, I first boot to a utility on a floppy
disk
| that permits me to change the active partition.
| 2 I know that certain sys files(such as io.sys) are
needed
| to boot a partition. I found the necessary files to
boot a
| partition in the root directory of the partition where
| they should be.
| 3 On a physical hard drive, there is only one active
| partition. I'm very careful about that.
|
| There are two partitions on a physical hard drive that I
| could previously boot. I can still boot one of them but
| when I try to boot the other, the error message appears.
|
| ----------------------------------------------------
|
| -----Original Message-----
| Provide more detail.
|
| (1) How do you dual boot?
| (2) Post the "'SYS' files in the root directory" of
which
| you speak.
| (3) Is one & only one partition marked as Active?
|
|
| --
| Thanks or Good Luck,
| There may be humor in this post, and,
| Naturally, you will not sue,
| should things get worse after this,
| PCR
|
| "bill" wrote in
| message
| ...
| | I had no problem booting a particular partition
before
| but
| | now the error message "Error Loading OS" appears. I
| | checked the partition and found the necessary "SYS"
| files
| | in the root directory. What should I do now?
|
|
| .
|


.

About all I know is in that previous post. However, you must discover
the letter of the faulty partition. Then, if called for & you get past
the dread warnings, SYS that letter, instead of C:. For instance, "SYS
D:".


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"bill" wrote in message
...
| I think the MBR is OK but the boot code for the partition
| is probably currupt. Where can I download a free utility
| that will easily repair the partition boot code?
|
| -----------------------------------------------------
| -----Original Message-----
| What OS is on the partition that won't boot? Is that the
| exact error
| message, "Error Loading OS"? I'm not finding it at...
| http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp?
| fr=0&SD=GN&LN=EN-US MSKB
|
| Well, for Win98 anyway...
|
| Eject any floppy or CD left in a drive. Does it still
| happen? Then...
|
| I guess do go into BIOS first, to see settings weren't
| mussed that may
| upset the "geometry" of it. I don't know what you might
| look for, but I
| have two guesses...
|
| (1) I guess "Reset to defaults & exit" is a viable choice.
| (2) Have it auto-detect the drives.
|
| Here is what I know of the MBR and partition boot sectors.
|
| "Fdisk /mbr" will restore Microsoft "boot code" to the
| Master Boot
| Record of the boot HDD, usually the Primary Master. (This
| perhaps should
| not be done, if you have a drive overlay in the MBR or if
| you suspect a
| boot sector virus. The drive overlay would have to be
| restored in the
| first case.) Boot code in the MBR, as I understand,
| searches the
| partition table, also in the MBR, for the one that is
| Active. The boot
| sector of the Active partition is hard-coded with the
| name of the
| OPERATING SYSTEM that the boot code must load. For Win98,
| that OS is
| IO.sys (DOS), which eventually leads to Windows. The
| other portion of
| the MBR, the partition table, normally is not disturbed
| by "Fdisk /MBR".
| The partition table contains the dimensions of the
| partitions and is
| updated only when the partitions are created or resized.
| However, /MBR
| may combine multiple partitions into a single one. It
| will do so, if it
| discovers a missing End-Of-Sector marker (55AA) in the
| MBR sector. This
| may result in a "mess of goo", says Blanton, if you had
| multiple
| partitions, per
| http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
| Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found
|
| (1)
| (a) Hold Ctrl as you boot for the Startup Menu, if it
| hasn't already
| been activated at "START, Run, MSConfig, Advanced
| button". Select to
| boot to the "Command Prompt Only" (DOS).
|
| (b) Alternatively, get a Startup Diskette from
| http://www.bootdisk.com/ , if you don't already have one
| from "Control
| Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Startup Disk tab". Put the
| diskette in &
| turn on the computer.
|
| (2) Enter "DIR C:". Did you get a listing or an error
| message?
|
| If a listing, then... things to consider....
|
| (1) Perhaps enter "SYS C:".
|
| This will copy certain system files (IO.sys, Command.com
| & perhaps
| MSDOS.sys) from the Startup Diskette to C:\. (It also
| sets the BPB drive
| number to HD0, so that it is now in the bootstrap. It
| does so, no matter
| whether it is HD0. To boot it, one must still move it to
| be HD0,
| however.) You may now be able to boot to Windows, if all
| folders are
| intact. If not, some further adjustment need be done
| to "MSDOS.sys",
| that was copied to C:\. The floppy has just a shell of
| it. Well, remove
| the floppy & boot.
|
| Oh gosh! Here are some warnings from Jeff Richards, MS
| MVP W95/W98,
| about "SYS C:". DON'T DO IT, he says, if:
|
| (a) "Major errors were reported in Scandisk."
| (b) "A drive is moved from one machine to another",
| because of the next
| two, maybe.
| (c) "The BIOS setting for a drive is changed (eg, LBA to
| LARGE)."
| (d) "A drive that uses overlay software is operated
| without the overlay
| loaded."
|
| (2) Enter "FDISK /MBR"
| This will rewrite the code portion of the Master
| Boot Record,
| leaving the Partition Table untouched, except it may muss
| the partition
| table, if there is a missing End-Of-Sector marker (55AA),
| per
| http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
| Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found
|
| Here are the warnings against it...
|
| (a) If you have a boot sector virus, you may lose access
| to all
| partitions. Then
| http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html
| MBRWork "might" help to
| recover them.
|
| (b) If you have "overlay" code in the MBR, e.g., EZ-BIOS,
| Maxblast, a
| boot manager, then that will need to be reestablished
| afterwards.
| http://www.aefdisk.com/ FDISK & Boot Manager
| http://support.microsoft.com/support...cles/Q245/1/62
| .ASP Overlay
| Utility & FDISK
|
| (c) FDISK may be buggy. So? Use MBRWork to do it, or
| http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
| us;Q263044
| Latest FDISK, hoping this one doesn't have any bugs. (But
| it doesn't
| solve the 55AA thing.)
|
| (d) If for some reason the "geometry" setting in BIOS
| does not match the
| hard drive, then any write to the drive may be
| destructive. So, go into
| BIOS and have it "automatically detect" the proper
| setting. (If you can
| DIR the drive in DOS, then you have proven the geometry
| is right.)
|
| (3)
| (a) Boot to DOS. (Hold CTRL as you boot for the Startup
| Menu, & select
| "Command Prompt Only".)
|
| (b) Scandisk /Checkonly
| Might be wise to know beforehand what it intends to
| fix. Will
| display on screen & get written to "C:\Scandisk.log".
|
| (c) Scandisk
| Let it fix, if it didn't sound horrible. Otherwise,
| post what it
| said.
|
| In Dos, you may see "C:\Scandisk.log" this way...
|
| EDIT C:\Scandisk.log
| Alt-F-X (pressed separately) to exit EDIT. (TAB to
| traverse buttons.)
|
| ........Start......of quote of Glee..........
| Download the diagnostics for your brand hard drive.
|
| If you do not know the brand, download Seagate SeaTools.
| After it is
| downloaded, double-click it, and it will create a
| bootable floppy disk
| with the diagnostic program on it. Then boot your
| problem computer
| using the bootable floppy, and choose the Generic long
| test. It will
| create a report that you can read from within the program
| when the tests
| are complete, and it is also saved as a text file on the
| floppy disk.
|
| Alternately, you can use the evaluation version of
| Ontrack Data Advisor,
| which is the same program in its original version. They
| both are
| created the same way.
|
| Seagate SeaTools:
| http://download.microshopper.com/har...sks/seagate/se
| atoold.exe
| or
| http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/B7a.html
|
| Error codes:
| http://www.seagate.com/support/npf/s...st_error_index
| .html
|
| Data Advisor:
| http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/#dataadvisor
| The download link has not been working recently...if it
| does not
| connect, use Seagate SeaTools instead.
|
| Installation instructions for both:
| http://www.ontrack.com/dataadvisor/downloadinfo.asp
|
| If you DO know the brand, find the diagnostics he
|
| Fujitsu
| http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com/download/hard-
| drives/#diagnostic
|
| IBM and Hitachi
| http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT
|
| Maxtor
| http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/products/index.htm
|
| Seagate
| http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/index.html
|
| Western Digital
| http://support.wdc.com/download/
| or
| www.westerndigital.com
| --
| Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
| http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
|
| ....glen
| --
| Glen Ventura, MS MVP
| ............End......of quote.........
|
|
| --
| Thanks or Good Luck,
| There may be humor in this post, and,
| Naturally, you will not sue,
| should things get worse after this,
| PCR
|
| "BILL" wrote in
| message
| ...
| | 1 To dual boot, I first boot to a utility on a floppy
| disk
| | that permits me to change the active partition.
| | 2 I know that certain sys files(such as io.sys) are
| needed
| | to boot a partition. I found the necessary files to
| boot a
| | partition in the root directory of the partition where
| | they should be.
| | 3 On a physical hard drive, there is only one active
| | partition. I'm very careful about that.
| |
| | There are two partitions on a physical hard drive that I
| | could previously boot. I can still boot one of them but
| | when I try to boot the other, the error message appears.
| |
| | ----------------------------------------------------
| |
| | -----Original Message-----
| | Provide more detail.
| |
| | (1) How do you dual boot?
| | (2) Post the "'SYS' files in the root directory" of
| which
| | you speak.
| | (3) Is one & only one partition marked as Active?
| |
| |
| | --
| | Thanks or Good Luck,
| | There may be humor in this post, and,
| | Naturally, you will not sue,
| | should things get worse after this,
| | PCR
| |
| | "bill" wrote in
| | message
| | ...
| | | I had no problem booting a particular partition
| before
| | but
| | | now the error message "Error Loading OS" appears. I
| | | checked the partition and found the necessary "SYS"
| | files
| | | in the root directory. What should I do now?
| |
| |
| | .
| |
|
|
| .
|

The SYS files are already in the Root Directory.

I need to repair the partition boot code/sector.

Where can I download a free utility that will repair it?

__________________________________________________ _____
-----Original Message-----
About all I know is in that previous post. However, you
must discover
the letter of the faulty partition. Then, if called for &
you get past
the dread warnings, SYS that letter, instead of C:. For
instance, "SYS
D:".


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"bill" wrote in
message
...
| I think the MBR is OK but the boot code for the
partition
| is probably currupt. Where can I download a free utility
| that will easily repair the partition boot code?
|
| -----------------------------------------------------
| -----Original Message-----
| What OS is on the partition that won't boot? Is that
the
| exact error
| message, "Error Loading OS"? I'm not finding it at...
| http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp?
| fr=0&SD=GN&LN=EN-US MSKB
|
| Well, for Win98 anyway...
|
| Eject any floppy or CD left in a drive. Does it still
| happen? Then...
|
| I guess do go into BIOS first, to see settings weren't
| mussed that may
| upset the "geometry" of it. I don't know what you might
| look for, but I
| have two guesses...
|
| (1) I guess "Reset to defaults & exit" is a viable
choice.
| (2) Have it auto-detect the drives.
|
| Here is what I know of the MBR and partition boot
sectors.
|
| "Fdisk /mbr" will restore Microsoft "boot code" to the
| Master Boot
| Record of the boot HDD, usually the Primary Master.
(This
| perhaps should
| not be done, if you have a drive overlay in the MBR or
if
| you suspect a
| boot sector virus. The drive overlay would have to be
| restored in the
| first case.) Boot code in the MBR, as I understand,
| searches the
| partition table, also in the MBR, for the one that is
| Active. The boot
| sector of the Active partition is hard-coded with the
| name of the
| OPERATING SYSTEM that the boot code must load. For
Win98,
| that OS is
| IO.sys (DOS), which eventually leads to Windows. The
| other portion of
| the MBR, the partition table, normally is not disturbed
| by "Fdisk /MBR".
| The partition table contains the dimensions of the
| partitions and is
| updated only when the partitions are created or
resized.
| However, /MBR
| may combine multiple partitions into a single one. It
| will do so, if it
| discovers a missing End-Of-Sector marker (55AA) in the
| MBR sector. This
| may result in a "mess of goo", says Blanton, if you had
| multiple
| partitions, per
| http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
| Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found
|
| (1)
| (a) Hold Ctrl as you boot for the Startup Menu, if it
| hasn't already
| been activated at "START, Run, MSConfig, Advanced
| button". Select to
| boot to the "Command Prompt Only" (DOS).
|
| (b) Alternatively, get a Startup Diskette from
| http://www.bootdisk.com/ , if you don't already have
one
| from "Control
| Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Startup Disk tab". Put the
| diskette in &
| turn on the computer.
|
| (2) Enter "DIR C:". Did you get a listing or an error
| message?
|
| If a listing, then... things to consider....
|
| (1) Perhaps enter "SYS C:".
|
| This will copy certain system files (IO.sys,
Command.com
| & perhaps
| MSDOS.sys) from the Startup Diskette to C:\. (It also
| sets the BPB drive
| number to HD0, so that it is now in the bootstrap. It
| does so, no matter
| whether it is HD0. To boot it, one must still move it
to
| be HD0,
| however.) You may now be able to boot to Windows, if
all
| folders are
| intact. If not, some further adjustment need be done
| to "MSDOS.sys",
| that was copied to C:\. The floppy has just a shell of
| it. Well, remove
| the floppy & boot.
|
| Oh gosh! Here are some warnings from Jeff Richards, MS
| MVP W95/W98,
| about "SYS C:". DON'T DO IT, he says, if:
|
| (a) "Major errors were reported in Scandisk."
| (b) "A drive is moved from one machine to another",
| because of the next
| two, maybe.
| (c) "The BIOS setting for a drive is changed (eg, LBA
to
| LARGE)."
| (d) "A drive that uses overlay software is operated
| without the overlay
| loaded."
|
| (2) Enter "FDISK /MBR"
| This will rewrite the code portion of the Master
| Boot Record,
| leaving the Partition Table untouched, except it may
muss
| the partition
| table, if there is a missing End-Of-Sector marker
(55AA),
| per
| http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
| Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found
|
| Here are the warnings against it...
|
| (a) If you have a boot sector virus, you may lose
access
| to all
| partitions. Then
| http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html
| MBRWork "might" help to
| recover them.
|
| (b) If you have "overlay" code in the MBR, e.g., EZ-
BIOS,
| Maxblast, a
| boot manager, then that will need to be reestablished
| afterwards.
| http://www.aefdisk.com/ FDISK & Boot Manager
|
http://support.microsoft.com/support...cles/Q245/1/62
| .ASP Overlay
| Utility & FDISK
|
| (c) FDISK may be buggy. So? Use MBRWork to do it, or
| http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
| us;Q263044
| Latest FDISK, hoping this one doesn't have any bugs.
(But
| it doesn't
| solve the 55AA thing.)
|
| (d) If for some reason the "geometry" setting in BIOS
| does not match the
| hard drive, then any write to the drive may be
| destructive. So, go into
| BIOS and have it "automatically detect" the proper
| setting. (If you can
| DIR the drive in DOS, then you have proven the geometry
| is right.)
|
| (3)
| (a) Boot to DOS. (Hold CTRL as you boot for the Startup
| Menu, & select
| "Command Prompt Only".)
|
| (b) Scandisk /Checkonly
| Might be wise to know beforehand what it intends
to
| fix. Will
| display on screen & get written to "C:\Scandisk.log".
|
| (c) Scandisk
| Let it fix, if it didn't sound horrible.
Otherwise,
| post what it
| said.
|
| In Dos, you may see "C:\Scandisk.log" this way...
|
| EDIT C:\Scandisk.log
| Alt-F-X (pressed separately) to exit EDIT. (TAB to
| traverse buttons.)
|
| ........Start......of quote of Glee..........
| Download the diagnostics for your brand hard drive.
|
| If you do not know the brand, download Seagate
SeaTools.
| After it is
| downloaded, double-click it, and it will create a
| bootable floppy disk
| with the diagnostic program on it. Then boot your
| problem computer
| using the bootable floppy, and choose the Generic long
| test. It will
| create a report that you can read from within the
program
| when the tests
| are complete, and it is also saved as a text file on
the
| floppy disk.
|
| Alternately, you can use the evaluation version of
| Ontrack Data Advisor,
| which is the same program in its original version.
They
| both are
| created the same way.
|
| Seagate SeaTools:
|
http://download.microshopper.com/har...sks/seagate/se
| atoold.exe
| or
| http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/B7a.html
|
| Error codes:
|
http://www.seagate.com/support/npf/s...st_error_index
| .html
|
| Data Advisor:
| http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/#dataadvisor
| The download link has not been working recently...if it
| does not
| connect, use Seagate SeaTools instead.
|
| Installation instructions for both:
| http://www.ontrack.com/dataadvisor/downloadinfo.asp
|
| If you DO know the brand, find the diagnostics he
|
| Fujitsu
| http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com/download/hard-
| drives/#diagnostic
|
| IBM and Hitachi
| http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT
|
| Maxtor
| http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/products/index.htm
|
| Seagate
| http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/index.html
|
| Western Digital
| http://support.wdc.com/download/
| or
| www.westerndigital.com
| --
| Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
| http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
|
| ....glen
| --
| Glen Ventura, MS MVP
| ............End......of quote.........
|
|
| --
| Thanks or Good Luck,
| There may be humor in this post, and,
| Naturally, you will not sue,
| should things get worse after this,
| PCR
|
| "BILL" wrote in
| message
| ...
| | 1 To dual boot, I first boot to a utility on a floppy
| disk
| | that permits me to change the active partition.
| | 2 I know that certain sys files(such as io.sys) are
| needed
| | to boot a partition. I found the necessary files to
| boot a
| | partition in the root directory of the partition
where
| | they should be.
| | 3 On a physical hard drive, there is only one active
| | partition. I'm very careful about that.
| |
| | There are two partitions on a physical hard drive
that I
| | could previously boot. I can still boot one of them
but
| | when I try to boot the other, the error message
appears.
| |
| | ----------------------------------------------------
| |
| | -----Original Message-----
| | Provide more detail.
| |
| | (1) How do you dual boot?
| | (2) Post the "'SYS' files in the root directory" of
| which
| | you speak.
| | (3) Is one & only one partition marked as Active?
| |
| |
| | --
| | Thanks or Good Luck,
| | There may be humor in this post, and,
| | Naturally, you will not sue,
| | should things get worse after this,
| | PCR
| |
| | "bill" wrote
in
| | message
| | ...
| | | I had no problem booting a particular partition
| before
| | but
| | | now the error message "Error Loading OS" appears.
I
| | | checked the partition and found the
necessary "SYS"
| | files
| | | in the root directory. What should I do now?
| |
| |
| | .
| |
|
|
| .
|


.

I think that would be "FDISK /MBR", but attend the multiple warnings.
Also, MBRWork will do it, but attend a fewer amount of warnings--
basically, MBRWork wipes any non-standard MBR boot code.


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"bill" wrote in message
...
| The SYS files are already in the Root Directory.
|
| I need to repair the partition boot code/sector.
|
| Where can I download a free utility that will repair it?
|
| __________________________________________________ _____
| -----Original Message-----
| About all I know is in that previous post. However, you
| must discover
| the letter of the faulty partition. Then, if called for &
| you get past
| the dread warnings, SYS that letter, instead of C:. For
| instance, "SYS
| D:".
|
|
| --
| Thanks or Good Luck,
| There may be humor in this post, and,
| Naturally, you will not sue,
| should things get worse after this,
| PCR
|
| "bill" wrote in
| message
| ...
| | I think the MBR is OK but the boot code for the
| partition
| | is probably currupt. Where can I download a free utility
| | that will easily repair the partition boot code?
| |
| | -----------------------------------------------------
| | -----Original Message-----
| | What OS is on the partition that won't boot? Is that
| the
| | exact error
| | message, "Error Loading OS"? I'm not finding it at...
| | http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp?
| | fr=0&SD=GN&LN=EN-US MSKB
| |
| | Well, for Win98 anyway...
| |
| | Eject any floppy or CD left in a drive. Does it still
| | happen? Then...
| |
| | I guess do go into BIOS first, to see settings weren't
| | mussed that may
| | upset the "geometry" of it. I don't know what you might
| | look for, but I
| | have two guesses...
| |
| | (1) I guess "Reset to defaults & exit" is a viable
| choice.
| | (2) Have it auto-detect the drives.
| |
| | Here is what I know of the MBR and partition boot
| sectors.
| |
| | "Fdisk /mbr" will restore Microsoft "boot code" to the
| | Master Boot
| | Record of the boot HDD, usually the Primary Master.
| (This
| | perhaps should
| | not be done, if you have a drive overlay in the MBR or
| if
| | you suspect a
| | boot sector virus. The drive overlay would have to be
| | restored in the
| | first case.) Boot code in the MBR, as I understand,
| | searches the
| | partition table, also in the MBR, for the one that is
| | Active. The boot
| | sector of the Active partition is hard-coded with the
| | name of the
| | OPERATING SYSTEM that the boot code must load. For
| Win98,
| | that OS is
| | IO.sys (DOS), which eventually leads to Windows. The
| | other portion of
| | the MBR, the partition table, normally is not disturbed
| | by "Fdisk /MBR".
| | The partition table contains the dimensions of the
| | partitions and is
| | updated only when the partitions are created or
| resized.
| | However, /MBR
| | may combine multiple partitions into a single one. It
| | will do so, if it
| | discovers a missing End-Of-Sector marker (55AA) in the
| | MBR sector. This
| | may result in a "mess of goo", says Blanton, if you had
| | multiple
| | partitions, per
| | http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
| | Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found
| |
| | (1)
| | (a) Hold Ctrl as you boot for the Startup Menu, if it
| | hasn't already
| | been activated at "START, Run, MSConfig, Advanced
| | button". Select to
| | boot to the "Command Prompt Only" (DOS).
| |
| | (b) Alternatively, get a Startup Diskette from
| | http://www.bootdisk.com/ , if you don't already have
| one
| | from "Control
| | Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Startup Disk tab". Put the
| | diskette in &
| | turn on the computer.
| |
| | (2) Enter "DIR C:". Did you get a listing or an error
| | message?
| |
| | If a listing, then... things to consider....
| |
| | (1) Perhaps enter "SYS C:".
| |
| | This will copy certain system files (IO.sys,
| Command.com
| | & perhaps
| | MSDOS.sys) from the Startup Diskette to C:\. (It also
| | sets the BPB drive
| | number to HD0, so that it is now in the bootstrap. It
| | does so, no matter
| | whether it is HD0. To boot it, one must still move it
| to
| | be HD0,
| | however.) You may now be able to boot to Windows, if
| all
| | folders are
| | intact. If not, some further adjustment need be done
| | to "MSDOS.sys",
| | that was copied to C:\. The floppy has just a shell of
| | it. Well, remove
| | the floppy & boot.
| |
| | Oh gosh! Here are some warnings from Jeff Richards, MS
| | MVP W95/W98,
| | about "SYS C:". DON'T DO IT, he says, if:
| |
| | (a) "Major errors were reported in Scandisk."
| | (b) "A drive is moved from one machine to another",
| | because of the next
| | two, maybe.
| | (c) "The BIOS setting for a drive is changed (eg, LBA
| to
| | LARGE)."
| | (d) "A drive that uses overlay software is operated
| | without the overlay
| | loaded."
| |
| | (2) Enter "FDISK /MBR"
| | This will rewrite the code portion of the Master
| | Boot Record,
| | leaving the Partition Table untouched, except it may
| muss
| | the partition
| | table, if there is a missing End-Of-Sector marker
| (55AA),
| | per
| | http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
| | Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found
| |
| | Here are the warnings against it...
| |
| | (a) If you have a boot sector virus, you may lose
| access
| | to all
| | partitions. Then
| | http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html
| | MBRWork "might" help to
| | recover them.
| |
| | (b) If you have "overlay" code in the MBR, e.g., EZ-
| BIOS,
| | Maxblast, a
| | boot manager, then that will need to be reestablished
| | afterwards.
| | http://www.aefdisk.com/ FDISK & Boot Manager
| |
| http://support.microsoft.com/support...cles/Q245/1/62
| | .ASP Overlay
| | Utility & FDISK
| |
| | (c) FDISK may be buggy. So? Use MBRWork to do it, or
| | http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
| | us;Q263044
| | Latest FDISK, hoping this one doesn't have any bugs.
| (But
| | it doesn't
| | solve the 55AA thing.)
| |
| | (d) If for some reason the "geometry" setting in BIOS
| | does not match the
| | hard drive, then any write to the drive may be
| | destructive. So, go into
| | BIOS and have it "automatically detect" the proper
| | setting. (If you can
| | DIR the drive in DOS, then you have proven the geometry
| | is right.)
| |
| | (3)
| | (a) Boot to DOS. (Hold CTRL as you boot for the Startup
| | Menu, & select
| | "Command Prompt Only".)
| |
| | (b) Scandisk /Checkonly
| | Might be wise to know beforehand what it intends
| to
| | fix. Will
| | display on screen & get written to "C:\Scandisk.log".
| |
| | (c) Scandisk
| | Let it fix, if it didn't sound horrible.
| Otherwise,
| | post what it
| | said.
| |
| | In Dos, you may see "C:\Scandisk.log" this way...
| |
| | EDIT C:\Scandisk.log
| | Alt-F-X (pressed separately) to exit EDIT. (TAB to
| | traverse buttons.)
| |
| | ........Start......of quote of Glee..........
| | Download the diagnostics for your brand hard drive.
| |
| | If you do not know the brand, download Seagate
| SeaTools.
| | After it is
| | downloaded, double-click it, and it will create a
| | bootable floppy disk
| | with the diagnostic program on it. Then boot your
| | problem computer
| | using the bootable floppy, and choose the Generic long
| | test. It will
| | create a report that you can read from within the
| program
| | when the tests
| | are complete, and it is also saved as a text file on
| the
| | floppy disk.
| |
| | Alternately, you can use the evaluation version of
| | Ontrack Data Advisor,
| | which is the same program in its original version.
| They
| | both are
| | created the same way.
| |
| | Seagate SeaTools:
| |
| http://download.microshopper.com/har...sks/seagate/se
| | atoold.exe
| | or
| | http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/B7a.html
| |
| | Error codes:
| |
| http://www.seagate.com/support/npf/s...st_error_index
| | .html
| |
| | Data Advisor:
| | http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/#dataadvisor
| | The download link has not been working recently...if it
| | does not
| | connect, use Seagate SeaTools instead.
| |
| | Installation instructions for both:
| | http://www.ontrack.com/dataadvisor/downloadinfo.asp
| |
| | If you DO know the brand, find the diagnostics he
| |
| | Fujitsu
| | http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com/download/hard-
| | drives/#diagnostic
| |
| | IBM and Hitachi
| | http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT
| |
| | Maxtor
| | http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/products/index.htm
| |
| | Seagate
| | http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/index.html
| |
| | Western Digital
| | http://support.wdc.com/download/
| | or
| | www.westerndigital.com
| | --
| | Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
| | http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
| |
| | ....glen
| | --
| | Glen Ventura, MS MVP
| | ............End......of quote.........
| |
| |
| | --
| | Thanks or Good Luck,
| | There may be humor in this post, and,
| | Naturally, you will not sue,
| | should things get worse after this,
| | PCR
| |
| | "BILL" wrote in
| | message
| | ...
| | | 1 To dual boot, I first boot to a utility on a floppy
| | disk
| | | that permits me to change the active partition.
| | | 2 I know that certain sys files(such as io.sys) are
| | needed
| | | to boot a partition. I found the necessary files to
| | boot a
| | | partition in the root directory of the partition
| where
| | | they should be.
| | | 3 On a physical hard drive, there is only one active
| | | partition. I'm very careful about that.
| | |
| | | There are two partitions on a physical hard drive
| that I
| | | could previously boot. I can still boot one of them
| but
| | | when I try to boot the other, the error message
| appears.
| | |
| | | ----------------------------------------------------
| | |
| | | -----Original Message-----
| | | Provide more detail.
| | |
| | | (1) How do you dual boot?
| | | (2) Post the "'SYS' files in the root directory" of
| | which
| | | you speak.
| | | (3) Is one & only one partition marked as Active?
| | |
| | |
| | | --
| | | Thanks or Good Luck,
| | | There may be humor in this post, and,
| | | Naturally, you will not sue,
| | | should things get worse after this,
| | | PCR
| | |
| | | "bill" wrote
| in
| | | message
| | | ...
| | | | I had no problem booting a particular partition
| | before
| | | but
| | | | now the error message "Error Loading OS" appears.
| I
| | | | checked the partition and found the
| necessary "SYS"
| | | files
| | | | in the root directory. What should I do now?
| | |
| | |
| | | .
| | |
| |
| |
| | .
| |
|
|
| .
|