Restart in MS-DOS Mode, rather moody...

[FZWG]

Appreciate some assistance.

Going to Start>Shutdown>Restart in MS-DOS Mode just produces a black screen, no cursor, absolutely nothing. Have not used the option for a while, but it used to work.

Tried renaming Dosstart.bat, nothing changed.
Tried deleting Dosstart.bat, still cannot Restart in MS-DOS mode.
Tried Specifying a new MS-DOS Configuration in the ‘Exit to DOS.pif’ file, but that does not really ‘fix’ the problem.
Also deleted the Exit to Dos.pif file, but no joy. Still cannot use the Restart in MS-DOS Mode option.

Realize the option: 'Enable StartUp Menu' is available in MSConfig, and that tapping F8 brings the PC to the StartUp/Boot Menu, is also available, but rather fix the problem.

Any ideas on how to get: Start>Shutdown>Restart in MS-DOS to work again??

Thanks for the help.

Running W98SE w/448MB RAM

[TwoRails]

Hi FZWG,

Try renaming dosstart to something else. (IE: don't use it)

HTH

TwoRails

[GaryRouth]

[. . .looks like we'd better get Rails some coffee . . .] (re: fzwg's 4th line of his post)

Happy Easter FZWG & Rails & all -

I haven't had this particular problem before, but there are a few Knowledge Base articles that might/might not help:

real mode driver woes
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;232657

errant mouse driver
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;188322

no IRQ for video card in DOS mode
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;232915

If these don't apply to your case (or don't yield any clues), and if you were able to set up a new Exit to Dos PIF, maybe you could compare the Dosstart file and your new Dos configuration in the working pif.

A little Easter puzzler
. . . Gary

[TwoRails]

Thanks for waking me up, Gary!!! I musta had more fun last night than I thought!!

All I can say is oopsss... and sorry.....

(and people wonder why I have a flat forehead! LOL)


TwoRails

[FZWG]

Happy Easter, TwoRails, GaryRouth.

Will work with the info on the links and see if anything in there gets the job done.

Thanks for the help.

[TwoRails]

Thanks! and Happy Easter to you too, FZWG, and you too Gary!

TwoRails

[GaryRouth]

Thanks Rails & Good Luck FZWG

[FZWG]

Update:

Got the Restart to MS-DOS option of the Shutdown menu to work by doing the following:

-Start>Find>Files or Folders for: Exitto
-The: Exit to DOS.pif file appeared (located in C:\WINDOWS)
-Right clicked file, selected Properties, and then selected the Program tab
-Clicked the Advanced button
-In Advanced Program Settings, selected: MS-DOS Mode, and: Specify a new MS-DOS Configuration

Restarted in MS-DOS Mode, and after going through the boot process, showing the listing of PCI Devices, Verifying DMI Pool data, etc, the following show up: W98 is now starting your MS-DOS based program, and the C:\WINDOWS> prompt.

The process is not as 'direct' as it was before making changes to the Exit to DOS.pif file (don't recall going through all the boot process previously), but it does get you there.

Thanks for all the help.

[TwoRails]

Hi FZWG,

Don't know if it will help, but in mine, it's checked as:

Use current MS DOS configuration.

TwoRails

[FZWG]

TwoRails,

That is the settings this PC had, but then it would not Restart in MS-DOS Mode!!!??!!!

[TwoRails]

Hmmm.... Might even be a problem in the Config.sys and / or Autoexec.bat file(s)... Because with the option you set, it by-passes them if I'm not mistaken. Have you looked in them?

TwoRails

[FZWG]

TwoRails,

AUTOEXEC.BAT has the following in it:

SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\WINDOWS\Twain_32\Scanwiz

Believe this has something to do with the scanner.



CONFIG.SYS has the follolwing in it:

DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS

Have no idea whether those entries influence the Restart in MS-DOS Mode option.

[TwoRails]

Hi FZWG,

The config.sys looks OK, but your actual PATH is missing in the autoexec.bat file. Normally it will point to the directory where command.com resides, and the windows directory, if different.

Try adding this like Before the existing line:

SET PATH=C:\;C:\WINDOWS

so the file now looks like:

SET PATH=C:\;C:\WINDOWS
SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\WINDOWS\Twain_32\Scanwiz

You can also try removing the
"NOEMS" from the second line in the config file.

HTH

TwoRails

[FZWG]

Thanks for the guidance, TwoRails.

Will make the changes, but do not know exactly what the changes do. If you can provide some enlightment, I'd appreciate it.

Also, on the following:
SET PATH=C:\;C:\WINDOWS

is that a semi-colon ( after\ and before the last C:?

[GaryRouth]

FZWG -

I believe that the semicolon following the first C:\ is what you separate a list of individual parameters with (in this case, paths).

Himem and the noems switch have to do with memory management. I learn about them for a while, then forget, and learn about them again, then forget . . .

I could use a memory manager myself!
. . . Gary

[galaxian]

By default, there is a PATH.

I'm don't think the root of C is part of it, just c:\Windows and C:\Windows\Command

Thus the variable %Path% contained "C:\Windows;C:\Windows\Command"

By setting the path above, you may have trouble running things that live in the \Command folder.

You also want to leave the EMS (Expanded Memory System), otherwise your DOS sessions will be emulating Expanded Memory using extended memory. And, unless your DOS apps are really old, this is not required.

[TwoRails]

Gary hit the proverbial nail on the head about the ";" - It's a separator. Windows won't give an error message if you type in a non-existent path or incorrect path name; it just aborts searching for the file it is trying to find.

The "%path%" part just regurgitates any existing path. So if you have:

SET PATH=C:\FIRST DIRECTORY
SET PATH=%PATH%;E:\SECOND DIRECTORY

Path will actually be:

C:\FIRST DIRECTORY;E:\SECOND DIRECTORY

(note: CAPS are NOT required)

So, you have

SET PATH=%PATH%....

with no existing path! That should result in an error, but even if it didn't, it would search only in the "C:\WINDOWS\Twain_32\Scanwiz" directory, which of course, would blow up because it wouldn't find command.com or any necessary files there.

~~~~~~~~

Both the HiMem and NOEMS are DOS legacy commands, but are used in thru at least Win 98.2, and probably Win ME also.

It stems from the old 640 KB (yes, KiloBytes) days. DOS and programs needed as much of the 640 KB as it could get, so if you were one of the fortunate ones to have more than 640 KB, you could load most TRS programs and some DOS components into "High Memory" -- hence "HiMem". This would / does load into the 640 - 1000 KB area, saving "conventional" memory (to 640) for DOS and programs.

(just a note on price history: It cost me $1,000 to add memory from 640 to 1000 KB!!! Memory was quite precious back then.)

Back then there were memory management schemes that were in heavy competition. EMS is one of them, but it didn't play well with Windows and other "modern" things, so you could "disable" it by adding the NO EMS (no space) switch to exclude it. There is other memory "exclusion" that Windows needs, but it's hidden in the SYSTEM.INI file.

It is:
emmexclude=c000-cfff

which was the address for reaching and low level formatting legacy hard drives. If windows or other programs accessed this memory, they'd be wiping out the HDs!!

HTH

TwoRails

[FZWG]

Thanks for the info.

Will have to absorb it before taking any plunges to change autoexec.bat and config.sys.

Have a good day.

[galaxian]

FZWG:
I don't think I would worry about them.

I "think" in one of the other forums, you did rename both files, and the restart to DOS still didn't work. Yes? In which case, these are not the cause.

[FZWG]

Thanks for the info, galaxian.

Call me chicken, but the autoexec.bat and config.sys are going to stay put for now.

Do not know enough about the issue to take the plunge.

[reboot]

Delete autoexec and config, they're useless in Win98.
Everything you need to start in DOS mode, is in dosstart.bat
A different way to restart in DOS is using the .pif, so decide which way you want to go, and then work on getting the files needed (there are none) to restart in DOS.

[galaxian]

Dosstart only comes into play on a shutdown/restart, but in this case this is not working.

So, if you need TSRs loaded, you still need Autoexec.
And, if you have drivers that are required, such as for the CDrom or sound, you still need config.sys, whether you are doing a restart to DOS, or booting directly to the command prompt.

[FZWG]

The scanner has entered a line in autoexec.bat.

If that is removed, wouldn't it ask for whatever, and require a reinstall?

Not worth the hassle.

[glc]

The reason you have those 2 lines in config.sys is most likely you have a sound card with DOS emulation enabled.

You don't have to remove the config and autoexec to play - you can just run msconfig and uncheck them - and put them back at any time.

[FZWG]

Thanks for the info, glc.