Booting from compressed drive

Are you having trouble starting Windows, or are you having trouble mounting
the compressed drive? If it's the compressed drive, what is the command you
are using to mount it, and what is the error message that is being
generated? If you are having problem starting Windows, exactly how far
through the startup process do you get and what messages (if any) appear at
the point where it stops?:
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
wrote in message
ldnet.att.net...
Hi,

A user ran out of space on C: (way back when). A helpful person
compressed the whole C: drive. The user ran out of space again
so she deleted "some files," incl. system files.

I can boot the PC from EBD to DOS but I cannot start windows
(can't mount the compressed drive). DRVSPACE.BIN and
DBLSPACE.BIN at the root of the host drive.

Any info on dealing with compressed boot drive would be
appreciated (any help).

I don't know what command you are using to mount the compressed volume, so
it's hard to say where the problem is. Start here for information on
configuring the INI file to mount compressed volumes automatically:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=100536
DBLSPACE.INI File Settings
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
wrote in message
ldnet.att.net...
snip
I can boot from EBD floppy. In DOS, I can see the compressed
drive (whatever.000) file. There are no corresponding .INI and
.MR1 files. After copying back IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and the two
.BIN, the drive still will not mount.

First compare drvspace.bin and dblspace.bin and make sure that they are the
same size and date. They are the same file with different names so that
they will work with older and newer versions of drivespace/dblspace and if
they differ, then one is corrupt or from the wrong version of DOS/Windows.

Now, I suggest that you change the attributes of drvspace.ini or
dblspace.ini (whichever you have - you do NOT want both) so that you can
rename the file and start fresh. A corrupt header on this file is a common
reason for being unable to mount a compressed drive. The ini file and the
bin file must match. For instance, if you have dblspace.bin then you must
have dblspace.ini to mount it.

Once you have renamed the ini file, create a new one using Notepad. (you can
do this on another computer and copy it to the root of the one that won't
boot). Include only an ActivateDrive line as described in this article:

DBLSPACE.INI File Settings
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=100536

Once you have the matching bin and ini, you may also be able to mount the
bin file using Scandisk. Boot from a Win98 boot disk (A and then run
Scandisk /mount.

Hopefully, this will help you mount the drive. Windows may not start if
system files were deleted but you should be able to see the Windows folder
and then delete enough files so that you can reinstall Windows to replace
the missing files. If you receive any messages during this process, please
report back the exact message that you receive.

PattyL


wrote in message
ldnet.att.net...
Hi,

A user ran out of space on C: (way back when). A helpful person
compressed the whole C: drive. The user ran out of space again
so she deleted "some files," incl. system files.

I can boot the PC from EBD to DOS but I cannot start windows
(can't mount the compressed drive). DRVSPACE.BIN and
DBLSPACE.BIN at the root of the host drive.

Any info on dealing with compressed boot drive would be
appreciated (any help).

TIA

J
--
Replies to: Nherr1professor2doktor31109(at)Oyahoo(dot)Tcom

Do you know what version of DOS/Windows made the compressed drive, i.e. what
ver of DriveSpace or DoubleSpace the CVF is?

Once you know, SYS the C: drive with the same version, ensure dlbspace.bin
or drvspace.bin is in the root of C:

If the compression is an older version that came with DOS, you will need to
run DBLSPACE or DRVSPACE to gain access to the CVF.

If it's compressed under Win9x, use the SCANDISK /MOUNT command to gain
access to the CVF.

wrote in message
ldnet.att.net...
Hi,

A user ran out of space on C: (way back when). A helpful person
compressed the whole C: drive. The user ran out of space again
so she deleted "some files," incl. system files.

I can boot the PC from EBD to DOS but I cannot start windows
(can't mount the compressed drive). DRVSPACE.BIN and
DBLSPACE.BIN at the root of the host drive.

Any info on dealing with compressed boot drive would be
appreciated (any help).

TIA

J
--
Replies to: Nherr1professor2doktor31109(at)Oyahoo(dot)Tcom

Awesome! Glad to hear that you got the drive mounted.

PattyL


wrote in message
ldnet.att.net...
Re-creating the .INI file (it was missing) "did it." After that,
scandisk mounted the drive.

Thanks again (all) for your help.


J
--
Replies to: Nherr1professor2doktor31109(at)Oyahoo(dot)Tcom