problem

ok computer wouldn't start without safe mode, tried rebooting but won't with
hdd, can't get into windows. My question is I have a emachine 366 i2 with a
celeron processer. If I buy a new hard drive what should I get and can I then
put windows xp in? Or is something else wrong and I should give up? With some
info I will try to fix it.

That machine might have problems with large hard drives, and in any case
Windows has trouble with a drive larger than 128MB. If your new drive is
not larger than the machine or system can cope with, then it should work
fine.

If you can get Windows to start in safe mode then there isn't much wrong
with the hard disk drive.

What happens when you try to start normally? How far through the process do
you get? Is there a message of some sort to indicate where to start looking?
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Candi" wrote in message
news
ok computer wouldn't start without safe mode, tried rebooting but won't
with
hdd, can't get into windows. My question is I have a emachine 366 i2 with
a
celeron processer. If I buy a new hard drive what should I get and can I
then
put windows xp in? Or is something else wrong and I should give up? With
some
info I will try to fix it.

with out the restore disk I get c:/ file allocation bad drive c
with it and selecting 98 will format hdd I get to the point of
driver r = driver gemcd001 unit 0 and
driver s = driver gemcd001 unit 1
then it stops
with restore disk with dos I get
invalid comand.com
enter correct name of comand interpreter (eg, c:/comand.com)
Does this help?
"Jeff Richards" wrote:

That machine might have problems with large hard drives, and in any case
Windows has trouble with a drive larger than 128MB. If your new drive is
not larger than the machine or system can cope with, then it should work
fine.

If you can get Windows to start in safe mode then there isn't much wrong
with the hard disk drive.

What happens when you try to start normally? How far through the process do
you get? Is there a message of some sort to indicate where to start looking?
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Candi" wrote in message
news
ok computer wouldn't start without safe mode, tried rebooting but won't
with
hdd, can't get into windows. My question is I have a emachine 366 i2 with
a
celeron processer. If I buy a new hard drive what should I get and can I
then
put windows xp in? Or is something else wrong and I should give up? With
some
info I will try to fix it.

What procedure are you using when you get "c:/ file allocation bad drive c"?
Is this what happens when you try and boot to normal mode? Are you quite
sure this is the exact, complete message, because I don't recognise that as
either a DOS or Windows message?

What is the restore disk you are referring to, and how are you making use of
it?
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Candi" wrote in message
...
with out the restore disk I get c:/ file allocation bad drive c
with it and selecting 98 will format hdd I get to the point of
driver r = driver gemcd001 unit 0 and
driver s = driver gemcd001 unit 1
then it stops
with restore disk with dos I get
invalid comand.com
enter correct name of comand interpreter (eg, c:/comand.com)
Does this help?
"Jeff Richards" wrote:

That machine might have problems with large hard drives, and in any case
Windows has trouble with a drive larger than 128MB. If your new drive is
not larger than the machine or system can cope with, then it should work
fine.

If you can get Windows to start in safe mode then there isn't much wrong
with the hard disk drive.

What happens when you try to start normally? How far through the process
do
you get? Is there a message of some sort to indicate where to start
looking?
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Candi" wrote in message
news
ok computer wouldn't start without safe mode, tried rebooting but won't
with
hdd, can't get into windows. My question is I have a emachine 366 i2
with
a
celeron processer. If I buy a new hard drive what should I get and can
I
then
put windows xp in? Or is something else wrong and I should give up?
With
some
info I will try to fix it.

The disk I'm calling restore is the disk to reboot when the computer crashes.
This disk is suposed to wipe out all that is in there and restart like new
at least thats what I was told. allocation bad is what it says when I try and
start it in dos. When I try to start in windows it just freezes before even
safe mode now.

"Jeff Richards" wrote:

What procedure are you using when you get "c:/ file allocation bad drive c"?
Is this what happens when you try and boot to normal mode? Are you quite
sure this is the exact, complete message, because I don't recognise that as
either a DOS or Windows message?

What is the restore disk you are referring to, and how are you making use of
it?
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Candi" wrote in message
...
with out the restore disk I get c:/ file allocation bad drive c
with it and selecting 98 will format hdd I get to the point of
driver r = driver gemcd001 unit 0 and
driver s = driver gemcd001 unit 1
then it stops
with restore disk with dos I get
invalid comand.com
enter correct name of comand interpreter (eg, c:/comand.com)
Does this help?
"Jeff Richards" wrote:

That machine might have problems with large hard drives, and in any case
Windows has trouble with a drive larger than 128MB. If your new drive is
not larger than the machine or system can cope with, then it should work
fine.

If you can get Windows to start in safe mode then there isn't much wrong
with the hard disk drive.

What happens when you try to start normally? How far through the process
do
you get? Is there a message of some sort to indicate where to start
looking?
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Candi" wrote in message
news ok computer wouldn't start without safe mode, tried rebooting but won't
with
hdd, can't get into windows. My question is I have a emachine 366 i2
with
a
celeron processer. If I buy a new hard drive what should I get and can
I
then
put windows xp in? Or is something else wrong and I should give up?
With
some
info I will try to fix it.

I don't think that 'allocation bad' is the message you are getting. Without
knowing the exact message you are getting, and exactly what you are doing
when it occurs, it is difficult to offer advice. Are you trying to boot
using the existing installed system on the hard drive, or are you trying to
boot using an emergency startup floppy disk? How for through the boot
procedure do you get (what is the last message that occurs on screen) before
the message appears or before the machine freezes?

The restore disk sounds like a CD supplied by your machine manufacturer. It
might be configured to partition and format your hard drive and install
Windows. In that case the message about the command interpreter doesn't
quite make sense. Is there another error before that one appears?

If you are using that disk, then I would guess that you are not concerned
about the current contents of your hard disk drive - there are no files that
you need to preserve. In that case I would recommend getting some hard disk
drive diagnostic software from the www site of your hard disk drive
manufacturer, or from the www site of your system manufacturer, and using
them to pinpoint the problem. Although this is only a generic procedure
that would be used for a wide range of hard disk drive problems, it's about
the only suitable suggestion available, given that there's no information
available about the exact error message you are getting or the exact
procedures you are using.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Candi" wrote in message
...
The disk I'm calling restore is the disk to reboot when the computer
crashes.
This disk is suposed to wipe out all that is in there and restart like new
at least thats what I was told. allocation bad is what it says when I try
and
start it in dos. When I try to start in windows it just freezes before
even
safe mode now.