Hi, Nick.
You are going to continue to be frustrated with WinXP until you abandon the
MS-DOS/Win9x/ME mindset. Throw away that Win98 boot disk! Or at least hide
it from yourself, so that you will never again be tempted to use it. And
don't even think about it again.
This does not mean you should forget what you've learned about MS-DOS. I
started with personal computers with the first TRS-80 in 1977, years before
MS-DOS was invented. I was comfy at the OK> prompt before there was an A:>
prompt, much less a C:> prompt. I still use "DOS" every day in a "DOS"
window; I've even assigned a hotkey (Ctrl+Alt+M, for MS-DOS) to get me there
instantly, no matter what programs I have running. I've used the Command
Prompt's Properties window to make it run full-screen, white text on a blue
background, etc., with the old familiar font. (Kind of like we did with PIF
files back in the days when we ran Quarterdeck's shell, remember?) To me,
in most ways, it's "a better DOS than DOS". And some things just can't be
done from the GUI, it seems (like deleting rogue files by finding and using
their 8.3 filenames).
For example, you should never need FDISK and Format.com again. Boot from
the WinXP CD-ROM and let Setup partition and format the system partition
(and, if different, your boot volume) on your HD as a part of WinXP
installation. Then, boot into WinXP and find Disk Management; there are
several ways to get there, one is to enter at the Run prompt: diskmgmt.msc
I'm amazed that even many experienced DOS and Windows users have not yet
found Disk Management, four years after it was introduced in Windows 2000!
This excellent utility creates and formats partitions and assigns drive
letters, and it has an extensive Help file that explains disks and file
systems. Use this utility to manage any drives and volumes other than the
system and boot volumes.
The Recovery Console can be installed on your HD, but there's no need to do
that. Just boot from the WinXP CD-ROM and run RC from there. You will see
an interface that looks like MS-DOS, but is not. It is much more powerful
than DOS in some ways, but much more limited in others. Use the Help file
from within the RC for quickie instructions. For more detailed information
about the Recovery Console, you can read the online version of the WinXP Pro
Resource Kit at:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/d...k_overview.asp
You can drill down in Part VII Appendices to Appendix D Tools for
Troubleshooting; Disaster Recovery Tools; Recovery Console.
My knowledge of virus removal is minimal since I've never had a virus on my
computer, but many MVPs and others who read these messages regularly have
lots of experience and can help if you explain your problem clearly. I
never heard of "Trojan Remover", so I can't give you any specific help on
that. Since I'm the only user of my machine, I've not learned much about
permissions, either.
Nick, you still haven't told us exactly what you want to do. You've told us
where you are; now if you will tell us where you want to end up, we can
probably help you get there.
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(E-Mail Removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
"TrickTrash" <guardclone-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:cfp7vu$pba$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I'm just beginning to get a handle on this: Until i did this fix i'd been
> happily pootling along, just occasionally going into what i believed was
> DOS
> for the odd admin task- or more likely to recover from another
> cockup -using
> an XP made Boot Disk\System Disk or my old Win 98 System Disk when i
> wanted
> "CD Support". This was before i realized you had to Install the Recovery
> Console yourself (that had been a head scratching couple of days i can
> tell
> you), but long after i'd converted to NTFS.
>
> What prompted this was my trial copy of Trojan Remover expiring & wanting
> to
> install the latest trial version; problem is, uninstallation leaves a
> *.dll
> file behind which you can't delete in Window & that (i believe) prevents
> you
> doing this; It tells you "Trial Expired" when you try. This itself isn't
> important, but i thought, 'go into DOS & delete the *.dll & it'll work.'
> (i
> don't really understand security permissions yet, but i can't seem to
> alter
> this, purposefully i presume.)
>
> What bothered me was not being able to get to DOS which i'd been getting
> used to working in with Win 98. Remember, i hadn't installed the Recovery
> Console & because of the prob i had-"windows\system32\config\system
> missing
> or corrupt" - i couldn't get at C: nor was it the 'untrue' DOS emulator
> you
> get to through XP's boot screen; this has got a different feel to it & i
> can recognize it. (The Font?)
>
> I accept what i'm told about NTFS, XP & DOS & i'm beginning to doubt my
> memory and my sanity- so common an occurrence that it thankfully no longer
> bothers me -but i've leant something through all this. This is why I go
> onto Newsgroups. Why do the smart alecs use Newsgroups?
>
> Anyway, thanks for your reply. I appreciate helpful advice and i'm
> working
> through your info. If you've any further thoughts on all this let me know
>
> yours
>
> Nick
>
>
>
> "R. C. White" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hi, Nicholas.
>>
>> Try this: With a blank (or expendable) diskette in the floppy drive,
> click
>> My Computer, then right-click Drive A: and click Format... Then choose
>> to
>> Create an MS-DOS startup diskette. Then see if you can boot to MS-DOS
> from
>> that.
>>
>> Without an MS-DOS boot diskette, you cannot get to true MS-DOS from
>> WinXP.
>> You can get to one of the two (one 16-bit and one 32-bit version) MS-DOS
>> emulators (the Command Prompt), but neither is true MS-DOS, which doesn't
>> exist in WinXP (except for the minimal system files used to create the
>> MS-DOS startup disk).
>>
>> If you do boot into MS-DOS, of course, you won't be able to read NTFS
>> volumes (without help from a third-party utility).
>>
>> I'm not sure what you mean by "an XP boot disk". If you boot from the
> WinXP
>> CD-ROM and choose Repair, you can use the Recovery Console, which
> resembles
>> MS-DOS in some ways, but is really quite different.
>>
>> What are you trying to accomplish? If you tell us what you want to do,
>> maybe we can help you find a way to do it.
>>
>> RC
>> --
>> R. C. White, CPA
>> San Marcos, TX
>> (E-Mail Removed)
>> Microsoft Windows MVP
>>
>> "TrickTrash" <guardclone-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:cfmmtm$nbn$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >I recently fixed a startup problem (missing an essential file, so
> wouldn't
>> > boot) but since then i can't get to DOS from boot, whether i use an XP
>> > boot
>> > disk or a Win 98 one; it gives me the message about unrecognised
> command
>> > or
>> > "you might be infected with a virus" (because it can't find my hard
> disk),
>> > all this even though XP is working fine. & i'm pretty sure i'm not
>> > infected.
>> >
>> > The repair i did was to fix error "windows\system32\config\system
> missing
>> > or
>> > corrupt" which i did in DOS by going into windows\system32\config and
>> > copying C:\windows\repair\system.
>> >
>> > Hope someone can help; at the moment it feels as if i'm strolling
>> > along
>> > alright & look down to find i've no feet!
>> >
>> > --
>> > Nicholas Nolan
>>
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.737 / Virus Database: 491 - Release Date: 11/08/2004
>
>
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