Invalid system disk

Hmmm. I don't like the looks of all these .chk files on your disk,
could be that they have accumulated over a period of time or could be
that they were made when you ran scandisk earlier to try and fix things.
They indicate attempts to recover bad or broken files from bad sectors
on the disk. They could be an indication of a rapidly failing hard
disk, something that IBM Deskstar drive are notorious for! If you
really want to save files on that disk it might be a good idea to slave
the disk in another computer and salvage the files before things go
completely to the dogs!

Back to the error message from the sys command. Can you confirm the
presence of a msdos.sys on the C: drive? Maybe the paths in the file
are wrong or maybe the file got completely corrupt or lost. The file is
usually hidden, do the following to unhide and edit it:

Start the computer with the startup diskette again and at the command
prompt issue these commands (press enter after each line):

attrib -s -h -r c:\msdos.sys
edit c:\msdos.sys


***Note the spaces between -s -h -r c:***
If you get "Bad command or filename" you typed it wrong, try again. Now
verify the paths in the file. Assuming that your Windows is installed on
C: and that it was installed in the default directory the Dir entries
should read:

WinDir=C:\WINDOWS
WinBootDir=C:\WINDOWS
HostWinBootDrv=C

If the entries point to the wrong paths (=C:\WINDOWS or =C) correct them
and try to boot the computer normally again. If the pc doesn't want to
boot try the sys command again using the startup diskette.

To exit and save the msdos.sys file press the Alt key and use the
keyboard arrows or letter shortcuts to perform menu actions.

John

mayfriday wrote:
From www.bootdisk.com and downloaded the ME OEM version and extract to a
floppy and start the pc and at A: sys c: and it gives the following message;-

"Cannot find the system file in the location on dirve c: Sys can only be
used in drive c: to attempt a repair of the already existing installation of
Windows. Use Windows SETUP to make drive c: bootable."

My c: drive contains 6 files and 9 directories as follows:-

[DIR0001} [DISKUN~1] [DISKTW~1] FILE0001.CHK 0003.CHK FILE0004.CHK
FILE005 CHK FILE0006.CHK [LOTUS] [MY Docu~1] [My Down`1] (proga~1)
FILE0002.CHK [IBMTOOLS] (WINDOWS)

Guess something is fishy..... what can I do next? Thanks
"John John" wrote:


Try this one:

sys c:

John

mayfriday wrote:


At A: and I typed in a:\sys c: , it says "bad commad or file name". What I
have is the Win98 startup disk....so where did I go wrong......... thanks

"John John" wrote:



Yes. It will transfer the system files to the hard drive and ensure
that it (the Hard disk) is bootable. If "sys-ing" the C drive doesn't
fix things enter the BIOS and try setting the boot order to the hard
dive first and see what happens.

John

mayfriday wrote:



Do you mean at A: type in a:\sys c: , thanks

"John John" wrote:




Start the computer with the Startup boot diskette and issue:

a:\sys c:

John

mayfriday wrote:




My boot sequence is cd rom/floppy/hd. When I last shut down, I did not take
out my floppy disk after saving my work. Now, when I boot up, it says " Boot

from ATAPI cdrom - no bootable cd rom...... To start IBM Product Recovery


Press F11. Invalid system disk, Replace the disk and press any key"

With floppy as the 1st boot and using the WIN98 starup disk, and at A:
SCANDISK C: , it did fix something and reports no bad sectors. However, when
I try to boot up as per normal (without the floppy) , it still give me the
above message " Boot from................ Invalid system disk...........press
anay key". Now,how can I get the pc going again withot going through
reformatting/recovery path as I need my daya? Thanks

system going? Thanks

At A: attrib -s -h -r c:\msdos.sys (hit enter)
File not found -c:/msdos.sys

Really does not looks good isnt it? What can I do next? Thanks




"John John" wrote:

Hmmm. I don't like the looks of all these .chk files on your disk,
could be that they have accumulated over a period of time or could be
that they were made when you ran scandisk earlier to try and fix things.
They indicate attempts to recover bad or broken files from bad sectors
on the disk. They could be an indication of a rapidly failing hard
disk, something that IBM Deskstar drive are notorious for! If you
really want to save files on that disk it might be a good idea to slave
the disk in another computer and salvage the files before things go
completely to the dogs!

Back to the error message from the sys command. Can you confirm the
presence of a msdos.sys on the C: drive? Maybe the paths in the file
are wrong or maybe the file got completely corrupt or lost. The file is
usually hidden, do the following to unhide and edit it:

Start the computer with the startup diskette again and at the command
prompt issue these commands (press enter after each line):

attrib -s -h -r c:\msdos.sys
edit c:\msdos.sys


***Note the spaces between -s -h -r c:***
If you get "Bad command or filename" you typed it wrong, try again. Now
verify the paths in the file. Assuming that your Windows is installed on
C: and that it was installed in the default directory the Dir entries
should read:

WinDir=C:\WINDOWS
WinBootDir=C:\WINDOWS
HostWinBootDrv=C

If the entries point to the wrong paths (=C:\WINDOWS or =C) correct them
and try to boot the computer normally again. If the pc doesn't want to
boot try the sys command again using the startup diskette.

To exit and save the msdos.sys file press the Alt key and use the
keyboard arrows or letter shortcuts to perform menu actions.

John

mayfriday wrote:
From www.bootdisk.com and downloaded the ME OEM version and extract to a
floppy and start the pc and at A: sys c: and it gives the following message;-

"Cannot find the system file in the location on dirve c: Sys can only be
used in drive c: to attempt a repair of the already existing installation of
Windows. Use Windows SETUP to make drive c: bootable."

My c: drive contains 6 files and 9 directories as follows:-

[DIR0001} [DISKUN~1] [DISKTW~1] FILE0001.CHK 0003.CHK FILE0004.CHK
FILE005 CHK FILE0006.CHK [LOTUS] [MY Docu~1] [My Down`1] (proga~1)
FILE0002.CHK [IBMTOOLS] (WINDOWS)

Guess something is fishy..... what can I do next? Thanks
"John John" wrote:


Try this one:

sys c:

John

mayfriday wrote:


At A: and I typed in a:\sys c: , it says "bad commad or file name". What I
have is the Win98 startup disk....so where did I go wrong......... thanks

"John John" wrote:



Yes. It will transfer the system files to the hard drive and ensure
that it (the Hard disk) is bootable. If "sys-ing" the C drive doesn't
fix things enter the BIOS and try setting the boot order to the hard
dive first and see what happens.

John

mayfriday wrote:



Do you mean at A: type in a:\sys c: , thanks

"John John" wrote:




Start the computer with the Startup boot diskette and issue:

a:\sys c:

John

mayfriday wrote:




My boot sequence is cd rom/floppy/hd. When I last shut down, I did not take
out my floppy disk after saving my work. Now, when I boot up, it says " Boot

from ATAPI cdrom - no bootable cd rom...... To start IBM Product Recovery


Press F11. Invalid system disk, Replace the disk and press any key"

With floppy as the 1st boot and using the WIN98 starup disk, and at A:
SCANDISK C: , it did fix something and reports no bad sectors. However, when
I try to boot up as per normal (without the floppy) , it still give me the
above message " Boot from................ Invalid system disk...........press
anay key". Now,how can I get the pc going again withot going through
reformatting/recovery path as I need my daya? Thanks

system going? Thanks

The reason that you are getting the "Invalid system disk" error is
probably because the C:\io.sys file is missing or corrupt. Not having a
valid msdos.sys file may be preventing the sys :c command from
transferring the files to the hard disk, could be a long shot but other
than that my thinking is that the drive might need to be fdisked and
reformated to be made bootable again, a procedure that will mean the
loss of all data on the disk. You can try placing an msdos.sys file on
the hard disk and then do the sys c: command again.

Copy the stuff between the === lines below to a notepad file and save it
as msdos.sys. Copy the file to a diskette. Boot the computer with the
Startup diskette you made earlier. Once booted put the diskette
containing the msdos.sys file that you made in the A: drive and when you
are at the A: prompt issue these commands:

attrib -s -h -r a:\msdos.sys
copy a:msdos.sys c:msdos.sys
attrib +s +h +r c:msdos.sys
sys c:

Keep your fingers crossed...

To make the msdos.sys file copy the stuff between these lines (but NOT
the ==== lines)

================================================== ==============
[Paths]
WinDir=C:\WINDOWS
WinBootDir=C:\WINDOWS
HostWinBootDrv=C

[Options]
BootMulti=1
BootGUI=1
AutoScan=1
WinVer=4.90.3000
;
;The following lines are required for compatibility with other programs.
;Do not remove them (MSDOS.SYS needs to be 1024 bytes).
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxa
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxb
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxc
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxd
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxe
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxf
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxg
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxh
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxi
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxj
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxk
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxl
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxm
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxn
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxo
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxp
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxq
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxr
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxs

================================================== =============================

Note that the last line is a hard return (empty or blank line) and has
to be in the file.

If that doesn't work I have no suggestions other than trying to salvage
your data and trying to reinstall Windows. That is assuming that the
drive has not failed beyond recoverability.

John

mayfriday wrote:
At A: attrib -s -h -r c:\msdos.sys (hit enter)
File not found -c:/msdos.sys

Really does not looks good isnt it? What can I do next? Thanks




"John John" wrote:


Hmmm. I don't like the looks of all these .chk files on your disk,
could be that they have accumulated over a period of time or could be
that they were made when you ran scandisk earlier to try and fix things.
They indicate attempts to recover bad or broken files from bad sectors
on the disk. They could be an indication of a rapidly failing hard
disk, something that IBM Deskstar drive are notorious for! If you
really want to save files on that disk it might be a good idea to slave
the disk in another computer and salvage the files before things go
completely to the dogs!

Back to the error message from the sys command. Can you confirm the
presence of a msdos.sys on the C: drive? Maybe the paths in the file
are wrong or maybe the file got completely corrupt or lost. The file is
usually hidden, do the following to unhide and edit it:

Start the computer with the startup diskette again and at the command
prompt issue these commands (press enter after each line):

attrib -s -h -r c:\msdos.sys
edit c:\msdos.sys


***Note the spaces between -s -h -r c:***
If you get "Bad command or filename" you typed it wrong, try again. Now
verify the paths in the file. Assuming that your Windows is installed on
C: and that it was installed in the default directory the Dir entries
should read:

WinDir=C:\WINDOWS
WinBootDir=C:\WINDOWS
HostWinBootDrv=C

If the entries point to the wrong paths (=C:\WINDOWS or =C) correct them
and try to boot the computer normally again. If the pc doesn't want to
boot try the sys command again using the startup diskette.

To exit and save the msdos.sys file press the Alt key and use the
keyboard arrows or letter shortcuts to perform menu actions.

John

mayfriday wrote:

From www.bootdisk.com and downloaded the ME OEM version and extract to a
floppy and start the pc and at A: sys c: and it gives the following message;-

"Cannot find the system file in the location on dirve c: Sys can only be
used in drive c: to attempt a repair of the already existing installation of
Windows. Use Windows SETUP to make drive c: bootable."

My c: drive contains 6 files and 9 directories as follows:-

[DIR0001} [DISKUN~1] [DISKTW~1] FILE0001.CHK 0003.CHK FILE0004.CHK
FILE005 CHK FILE0006.CHK [LOTUS] [MY Docu~1] [My Down`1] (proga~1)
FILE0002.CHK [IBMTOOLS] (WINDOWS)

Guess something is fishy..... what can I do next? Thanks
"John John" wrote:



Try this one:

sys c:

John

mayfriday wrote:



At A: and I typed in a:\sys c: , it says "bad commad or file name". What I
have is the Win98 startup disk....so where did I go wrong......... thanks

"John John" wrote:




Yes. It will transfer the system files to the hard drive and ensure
that it (the Hard disk) is bootable. If "sys-ing" the C drive doesn't
fix things enter the BIOS and try setting the boot order to the hard
dive first and see what happens.

John

mayfriday wrote:




Do you mean at A: type in a:\sys c: , thanks

"John John" wrote:





Start the computer with the Startup boot diskette and issue:

a:\sys c:

John

mayfriday wrote:





My boot sequence is cd rom/floppy/hd. When I last shut down, I did not take
out my floppy disk after saving my work. Now, when I boot up, it says " Boot

from ATAPI cdrom - no bootable cd rom...... To start IBM Product Recovery



Press F11. Invalid system disk, Replace the disk and press any key"

With floppy as the 1st boot and using the WIN98 starup disk, and at A:
SCANDISK C: , it did fix something and reports no bad sectors. However, when
I try to boot up as per normal (without the floppy) , it still give me the
above message " Boot from................ Invalid system disk...........press
anay key". Now,how can I get the pc going again withot going through
reformatting/recovery path as I need my daya? Thanks

system going? Thanks