My screen shows the Blue HP screen and then Wham! the message about the
DISK BOOT ERROR< PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK. all I do at that point is hit the
ENTER button and all runs like normal.
Someone said it was a Hardware rpoblem, I do not agree. Once I hit enter
all is great and I have run Nortons, Windoctor, Disk Doctor, Ccleaner, etc. I
have run Spybot with all of the latest updates and everything is fine.
Now what I can tell you all is this. I went to the Microsoft Download site
and I downloaded and installed, the Media Player plus free version, and
installed it. I installed the Office 2003 sp1 patch. and that was it. Afetr
I installed and rebooted, I have had the problem.
Now what I have noticed. I can NOT use System Restore. I have tried
several restore points and they all fail. I have also noticed that my
Autoexec bat is NOW blank as well as config.sys. The only two files that have
anything in them and that is very little is System.ini and win.ini Both have
only about 10 lines in them and I do remember that the system.ini file had
boot and printer stufff etc, now it is basically empty and shows no reference
to any progrmas etc.
Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and Win.ini files or
do I have to reformat, AGAIN? There is no BAK files in the root directory of
C and I even made certain that ALL files were visible and NOT hidden.
Any suggestions of what to do? The very LAST thing I had done on the
computer prior to seeing a problem was running that 276k malisicous program
finder from the Microsoft website.
Thanks for the help, I really don't want to reformat, again and I have all
these Utilities programs, all of these Safe guards in place and it seems that
the most vulnerable files get changed and there is no fix. The old days every
time something was done to a file a bak file was created. What happened?
Could a Trojan have done some dirty deeds to my system.ini and win.ini etc
and I know there use to be FIVE files under sysedit and now there are only
four.
Thanks

Hi, Craig.

Which drive is set as your first boot device in your computer's BIOS?

It sounds like the default is to boot from the floppy, but there's nothing
bootable in the floppy drive, so it waits for the Enter keypress, then goes
on to the second boot device choice, which is your hard drive. Or your
default boot device may be your CD-ROM or your OTHER HD or some other
device.

Maybe all you need do is remove the diskette before you reboot.

If that's the problem, I'm glad you didn't have to reformat, reinstall...,
etc. None of that would have helped, anyhow.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(E-Mail Removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

"Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:C77D2F32-CA00-4298-A96D-(E-Mail Removed)...
> My screen shows the Blue HP screen and then Wham! the message about the
> DISK BOOT ERROR< PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK. all I do at that point is hit
> the
> ENTER button and all runs like normal.
> Someone said it was a Hardware rpoblem, I do not agree. Once I hit enter
> all is great and I have run Nortons, Windoctor, Disk Doctor, Ccleaner,
> etc. I
> have run Spybot with all of the latest updates and everything is fine.
> Now what I can tell you all is this. I went to the Microsoft Download
> site
> and I downloaded and installed, the Media Player plus free version, and
> installed it. I installed the Office 2003 sp1 patch. and that was it.
> Afetr
> I installed and rebooted, I have had the problem.
> Now what I have noticed. I can NOT use System Restore. I have tried
> several restore points and they all fail. I have also noticed that my
> Autoexec bat is NOW blank as well as config.sys. The only two files that
> have
> anything in them and that is very little is System.ini and win.ini Both
> have
> only about 10 lines in them and I do remember that the system.ini file had
> boot and printer stufff etc, now it is basically empty and shows no
> reference
> to any progrmas etc.
> Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and Win.ini files or
> do I have to reformat, AGAIN? There is no BAK files in the root directory
> of
> C and I even made certain that ALL files were visible and NOT hidden.
> Any suggestions of what to do? The very LAST thing I had done on the
> computer prior to seeing a problem was running that 276k malisicous
> program
> finder from the Microsoft website.
> Thanks for the help, I really don't want to reformat, again and I have
> all
> these Utilities programs, all of these Safe guards in place and it seems
> that
> the most vulnerable files get changed and there is no fix. The old days
> every
> time something was done to a file a bak file was created. What happened?
> Could a Trojan have done some dirty deeds to my system.ini and win.ini etc
> and I know there use to be FIVE files under sysedit and now there are only
> four.
> Thanks

Hi R.C.

Thanks for the prompt reply.
Yes! the floppy is the primary boot. I thought it was suppose to be, in
case of HD problems, you are able to boot from floppy. I can change it, what
would you suggest and would I still be able to boot from floppy?
What would have changed my bios settings? I haven't touched them but I did
view them when things started acting up and the floppy was the first boot
drive.
Thanks



"R. C. White" wrote:

> Hi, Craig.
>
> Which drive is set as your first boot device in your computer's BIOS?
>
> It sounds like the default is to boot from the floppy, but there's nothing
> bootable in the floppy drive, so it waits for the Enter keypress, then goes
> on to the second boot device choice, which is your hard drive. Or your
> default boot device may be your CD-ROM or your OTHER HD or some other
> device.
>
> Maybe all you need do is remove the diskette before you reboot.
>
> If that's the problem, I'm glad you didn't have to reformat, reinstall...,
> etc. None of that would have helped, anyhow.
>
> RC
> --
> R. C. White, CPA
> San Marcos, TX
> (E-Mail Removed)
> Microsoft Windows MVP
>
> "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:C77D2F32-CA00-4298-A96D-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > My screen shows the Blue HP screen and then Wham! the message about the
> > DISK BOOT ERROR< PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK. all I do at that point is hit
> > the
> > ENTER button and all runs like normal.
> > Someone said it was a Hardware rpoblem, I do not agree. Once I hit enter
> > all is great and I have run Nortons, Windoctor, Disk Doctor, Ccleaner,
> > etc. I
> > have run Spybot with all of the latest updates and everything is fine.
> > Now what I can tell you all is this. I went to the Microsoft Download
> > site
> > and I downloaded and installed, the Media Player plus free version, and
> > installed it. I installed the Office 2003 sp1 patch. and that was it.
> > Afetr
> > I installed and rebooted, I have had the problem.
> > Now what I have noticed. I can NOT use System Restore. I have tried
> > several restore points and they all fail. I have also noticed that my
> > Autoexec bat is NOW blank as well as config.sys. The only two files that
> > have
> > anything in them and that is very little is System.ini and win.ini Both
> > have
> > only about 10 lines in them and I do remember that the system.ini file had
> > boot and printer stufff etc, now it is basically empty and shows no
> > reference
> > to any progrmas etc.
> > Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and Win.ini files or
> > do I have to reformat, AGAIN? There is no BAK files in the root directory
> > of
> > C and I even made certain that ALL files were visible and NOT hidden.
> > Any suggestions of what to do? The very LAST thing I had done on the
> > computer prior to seeing a problem was running that 276k malisicous
> > program
> > finder from the Microsoft website.
> > Thanks for the help, I really don't want to reformat, again and I have
> > all
> > these Utilities programs, all of these Safe guards in place and it seems
> > that
> > the most vulnerable files get changed and there is no fix. The old days
> > every
> > time something was done to a file a bak file was created. What happened?
> > Could a Trojan have done some dirty deeds to my system.ini and win.ini etc
> > and I know there use to be FIVE files under sysedit and now there are only
> > four.
> > Thanks
>
>

Hi, Craig.

HDs are MUCH more dependable than floppies! And, in a pinch, you can just
go into the BIOS and change your boot drive to the floppy if the HD fails.
There's nothing wrong with leaving the floppy first - if you don't mind the
delay and the extra keystroke - but it doesn't make sense to me.

Maybe nothing changed the BIOS settings. Maybe the floppy was always first,
but there never was diskette in the drive, so it just went on to the HD
without waiting.

I just reread your first post. You badly need to shake of the Win9x/ME
mindset! This is WinXP, for gosh sakes. Unless you are dual-booting,
forget stuff like Autoexec.bat, Config.sys, System.ini and all the rest!
You don't need them anymore! Trying to mix them in with WinXP is just going
to cause you confusion and headaches. And you probably don't need any
Norton programs anymore, except for maybe their Norton Internet Security
suite, with firewall, antivirus and antispam. Stuff like the WinDoctor
seemed to give me more grief than help once I retired Win98.

Welcome to the 21st Century! ;<)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(E-Mail Removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

"Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:BD9473FF-E397-4446-BB44-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi R.C.
>
> Thanks for the prompt reply.
> Yes! the floppy is the primary boot. I thought it was suppose to be, in
> case of HD problems, you are able to boot from floppy. I can change it,
> what
> would you suggest and would I still be able to boot from floppy?
> What would have changed my bios settings? I haven't touched them but I did
> view them when things started acting up and the floppy was the first boot
> drive.
> Thanks
>
> "R. C. White" wrote:
>
>> Hi, Craig.
>>
>> Which drive is set as your first boot device in your computer's BIOS?
>>
>> It sounds like the default is to boot from the floppy, but there's
>> nothing
>> bootable in the floppy drive, so it waits for the Enter keypress, then
>> goes
>> on to the second boot device choice, which is your hard drive. Or your
>> default boot device may be your CD-ROM or your OTHER HD or some other
>> device.
>>
>> Maybe all you need do is remove the diskette before you reboot.
>>
>> If that's the problem, I'm glad you didn't have to reformat,
>> reinstall...,
>> etc. None of that would have helped, anyhow.
>>
>> RC
>>
>> "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:C77D2F32-CA00-4298-A96D-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> > My screen shows the Blue HP screen and then Wham! the message about
>> > the
>> > DISK BOOT ERROR< PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK. all I do at that point is
>> > hit
>> > the
>> > ENTER button and all runs like normal.
>> > Someone said it was a Hardware rpoblem, I do not agree. Once I hit
>> > enter
>> > all is great and I have run Nortons, Windoctor, Disk Doctor, Ccleaner,
>> > etc. I
>> > have run Spybot with all of the latest updates and everything is fine.
>> > Now what I can tell you all is this. I went to the Microsoft Download
>> > site
>> > and I downloaded and installed, the Media Player plus free version, and
>> > installed it. I installed the Office 2003 sp1 patch. and that was it.
>> > Afetr
>> > I installed and rebooted, I have had the problem.
>> > Now what I have noticed. I can NOT use System Restore. I have tried
>> > several restore points and they all fail. I have also noticed that my
>> > Autoexec bat is NOW blank as well as config.sys. The only two files
>> > that
>> > have
>> > anything in them and that is very little is System.ini and win.ini
>> > Both
>> > have
>> > only about 10 lines in them and I do remember that the system.ini file
>> > had
>> > boot and printer stufff etc, now it is basically empty and shows no
>> > reference
>> > to any progrmas etc.
>> > Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and Win.ini files
>> > or
>> > do I have to reformat, AGAIN? There is no BAK files in the root
>> > directory
>> > of
>> > C and I even made certain that ALL files were visible and NOT hidden.
>> > Any suggestions of what to do? The very LAST thing I had done on the
>> > computer prior to seeing a problem was running that 276k malisicous
>> > program
>> > finder from the Microsoft website.
>> > Thanks for the help, I really don't want to reformat, again and I have
>> > all
>> > these Utilities programs, all of these Safe guards in place and it
>> > seems
>> > that
>> > the most vulnerable files get changed and there is no fix. The old days
>> > every
>> > time something was done to a file a bak file was created. What
>> > happened?
>> > Could a Trojan have done some dirty deeds to my system.ini and win.ini
>> > etc
>> > and I know there use to be FIVE files under sysedit and now there are
>> > only
>> > four.
>> > Thanks

In news:(E-Mail Removed),
R. C. White <(E-Mail Removed)> typed:

> HDs are MUCH more dependable than floppies! And, in a pinch,
> you can
> just go into the BIOS and change your boot drive to the floppy
> if the
> HD fails. There's nothing wrong with leaving the floppy first -
> if
> you don't mind the delay and the extra keystroke - but it
> doesn't
> make sense to me.


In my view, there *is* something wrong with leaving the floppy
first in the boot order. If you put a floppy with a boot sector
virus in the drive, you won't get infected by it. But if you
accidentally leave it in the drive, and you are set to boot from
the floppy first, when you next boot, you're infected.

For that reason I always recommend that the floppy never be the
first boot device.

If you ever need to boot from a floppy, that's the time to change
the boot order, but then change it back when you're done.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup



> Maybe nothing changed the BIOS settings. Maybe the floppy was
> always
> first, but there never was diskette in the drive, so it just
> went on
> to the HD without waiting.
>
> I just reread your first post. You badly need to shake of the
> Win9x/ME mindset! This is WinXP, for gosh sakes. Unless you
> are
> dual-booting, forget stuff like Autoexec.bat, Config.sys,
> System.ini
> and all the rest! You don't need them anymore! Trying to mix
> them in
> with WinXP is just going to cause you confusion and headaches.
> And
> you probably don't need any Norton programs anymore, except for
> maybe
> their Norton Internet Security suite, with firewall, antivirus
> and
> antispam. Stuff like the WinDoctor seemed to give me more
> grief than
> help once I retired Win98.
> Welcome to the 21st Century! ;<)
>
> RC
>
> "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:BD9473FF-E397-4446-BB44-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hi R.C.
>>
>> Thanks for the prompt reply.
>> Yes! the floppy is the primary boot. I thought it was suppose
>> to be,
>> in case of HD problems, you are able to boot from floppy. I
>> can
>> change it, what
>> would you suggest and would I still be able to boot from
>> floppy?
>> What would have changed my bios settings? I haven't touched
>> them but
>> I did view them when things started acting up and the floppy
>> was the
>> first boot drive.
>> Thanks
>>
>> "R. C. White" wrote:
>>
>>> Hi, Craig.
>>>
>>> Which drive is set as your first boot device in your
>>> computer's
>>> BIOS? It sounds like the default is to boot from the floppy,
>>> but there's
>>> nothing
>>> bootable in the floppy drive, so it waits for the Enter
>>> keypress,
>>> then goes
>>> on to the second boot device choice, which is your hard
>>> drive. Or
>>> your default boot device may be your CD-ROM or your OTHER HD
>>> or
>>> some other device.
>>>
>>> Maybe all you need do is remove the diskette before you
>>> reboot.
>>>
>>> If that's the problem, I'm glad you didn't have to reformat,
>>> reinstall...,
>>> etc. None of that would have helped, anyhow.
>>>
>>> RC
>>>
>>> "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
>>> message
>>> news:C77D2F32-CA00-4298-A96D-(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>> My screen shows the Blue HP screen and then Wham! the
>>>> message
>>>> about the
>>>> DISK BOOT ERROR< PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK. all I do at that
>>>> point
>>>> is hit
>>>> the
>>>> ENTER button and all runs like normal.
>>>> Someone said it was a Hardware rpoblem, I do not agree.
>>>> Once I hit
>>>> enter
>>>> all is great and I have run Nortons, Windoctor, Disk Doctor,
>>>> Ccleaner, etc. I
>>>> have run Spybot with all of the latest updates and
>>>> everything is
>>>> fine. Now what I can tell you all is this. I went to the
>>>> Microsoft Download site
>>>> and I downloaded and installed, the Media Player plus free
>>>> version, and installed it. I installed the Office 2003 sp1
>>>> patch.
>>>> and that was it. Afetr
>>>> I installed and rebooted, I have had the problem.
>>>> Now what I have noticed. I can NOT use System Restore. I
>>>> have
>>>> tried several restore points and they all fail. I have also
>>>> noticed that my Autoexec bat is NOW blank as well as
>>>> config.sys.
>>>> The only two files that
>>>> have
>>>> anything in them and that is very little is System.ini and
>>>> win.ini
>>>> Both
>>>> have
>>>> only about 10 lines in them and I do remember that the
>>>> system.ini
>>>> file had
>>>> boot and printer stufff etc, now it is basically empty and
>>>> shows no
>>>> reference
>>>> to any progrmas etc.
>>>> Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and
>>>> Win.ini
>>>> files or
>>>> do I have to reformat, AGAIN? There is no BAK files in the
>>>> root
>>>> directory
>>>> of
>>>> C and I even made certain that ALL files were visible and
>>>> NOT
>>>> hidden. Any suggestions of what to do? The very LAST thing
>>>> I had
>>>> done on the computer prior to seeing a problem was running
>>>> that
>>>> 276k malisicous program
>>>> finder from the Microsoft website.
>>>> Thanks for the help, I really don't want to reformat, again
>>>> and I
>>>> have all
>>>> these Utilities programs, all of these Safe guards in place
>>>> and it
>>>> seems
>>>> that
>>>> the most vulnerable files get changed and there is no fix.
>>>> The old
>>>> days every
>>>> time something was done to a file a bak file was created.
>>>> What
>>>> happened?
>>>> Could a Trojan have done some dirty deeds to my system.ini
>>>> and
>>>> win.ini etc
>>>> and I know there use to be FIVE files under sysedit and now
>>>> there
>>>> are only
>>>> four.
>>>> Thanks

The problem just happened and I have learned from over 25 years playing
with these damn machines, that what JUST happens can usually be JUST
UNHAPPENED.
I started in 76 with TRS-DOS and then Ms-Dos 2.11.24 and and then 3.0
and then 3.2 adnd 4.0 and 5.0 and 6.0 and 6.2 and then Windows 3.0 and
Deskmate and Windows 3.1 and then 95 and then 98 SE and now XP. I know the
Autoexec and config is not used any longer, but there were entries in them
just a few weeks ago and my system.ini use to have at least 50 lines or more
in it and it now has less than 10. I gave this info to give clues to what my
problem is and not that Windows needed or not needed it. Something has
changed those files.
I did you suggestion and changed the boot drive to the hard drive and I
got the same results.
I have uninstalled my free microsoft media plus program and still the
same results.
I use to be pretty good with computers and now am just friggin confused.




"Ken Blake" wrote:

> In news:(E-Mail Removed),
> R. C. White <(E-Mail Removed)> typed:
>
> > HDs are MUCH more dependable than floppies! And, in a pinch,
> > you can
> > just go into the BIOS and change your boot drive to the floppy
> > if the
> > HD fails. There's nothing wrong with leaving the floppy first -
> > if
> > you don't mind the delay and the extra keystroke - but it
> > doesn't
> > make sense to me.
>
>
> In my view, there *is* something wrong with leaving the floppy
> first in the boot order. If you put a floppy with a boot sector
> virus in the drive, you won't get infected by it. But if you
> accidentally leave it in the drive, and you are set to boot from
> the floppy first, when you next boot, you're infected.
>
> For that reason I always recommend that the floppy never be the
> first boot device.
>
> If you ever need to boot from a floppy, that's the time to change
> the boot order, but then change it back when you're done.
>
> --
> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> Please reply to the newsgroup
>
>
>
> > Maybe nothing changed the BIOS settings. Maybe the floppy was
> > always
> > first, but there never was diskette in the drive, so it just
> > went on
> > to the HD without waiting.
> >
> > I just reread your first post. You badly need to shake of the
> > Win9x/ME mindset! This is WinXP, for gosh sakes. Unless you
> > are
> > dual-booting, forget stuff like Autoexec.bat, Config.sys,
> > System.ini
> > and all the rest! You don't need them anymore! Trying to mix
> > them in
> > with WinXP is just going to cause you confusion and headaches.
> > And
> > you probably don't need any Norton programs anymore, except for
> > maybe
> > their Norton Internet Security suite, with firewall, antivirus
> > and
> > antispam. Stuff like the WinDoctor seemed to give me more
> > grief than
> > help once I retired Win98.
> > Welcome to the 21st Century! ;<)
> >
> > RC
> >
> > "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:BD9473FF-E397-4446-BB44-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >> Hi R.C.
> >>
> >> Thanks for the prompt reply.
> >> Yes! the floppy is the primary boot. I thought it was suppose
> >> to be,
> >> in case of HD problems, you are able to boot from floppy. I
> >> can
> >> change it, what
> >> would you suggest and would I still be able to boot from
> >> floppy?
> >> What would have changed my bios settings? I haven't touched
> >> them but
> >> I did view them when things started acting up and the floppy
> >> was the
> >> first boot drive.
> >> Thanks
> >>
> >> "R. C. White" wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hi, Craig.
> >>>
> >>> Which drive is set as your first boot device in your
> >>> computer's
> >>> BIOS? It sounds like the default is to boot from the floppy,
> >>> but there's
> >>> nothing
> >>> bootable in the floppy drive, so it waits for the Enter
> >>> keypress,
> >>> then goes
> >>> on to the second boot device choice, which is your hard
> >>> drive. Or
> >>> your default boot device may be your CD-ROM or your OTHER HD
> >>> or
> >>> some other device.
> >>>
> >>> Maybe all you need do is remove the diskette before you
> >>> reboot.
> >>>
> >>> If that's the problem, I'm glad you didn't have to reformat,
> >>> reinstall...,
> >>> etc. None of that would have helped, anyhow.
> >>>
> >>> RC
> >>>
> >>> "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
> >>> message
> >>> news:C77D2F32-CA00-4298-A96D-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >>>> My screen shows the Blue HP screen and then Wham! the
> >>>> message
> >>>> about the
> >>>> DISK BOOT ERROR< PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK. all I do at that
> >>>> point
> >>>> is hit
> >>>> the
> >>>> ENTER button and all runs like normal.
> >>>> Someone said it was a Hardware rpoblem, I do not agree.
> >>>> Once I hit
> >>>> enter
> >>>> all is great and I have run Nortons, Windoctor, Disk Doctor,
> >>>> Ccleaner, etc. I
> >>>> have run Spybot with all of the latest updates and
> >>>> everything is
> >>>> fine. Now what I can tell you all is this. I went to the
> >>>> Microsoft Download site
> >>>> and I downloaded and installed, the Media Player plus free
> >>>> version, and installed it. I installed the Office 2003 sp1
> >>>> patch.
> >>>> and that was it. Afetr
> >>>> I installed and rebooted, I have had the problem.
> >>>> Now what I have noticed. I can NOT use System Restore. I
> >>>> have
> >>>> tried several restore points and they all fail. I have also
> >>>> noticed that my Autoexec bat is NOW blank as well as
> >>>> config.sys.
> >>>> The only two files that
> >>>> have
> >>>> anything in them and that is very little is System.ini and
> >>>> win.ini
> >>>> Both
> >>>> have
> >>>> only about 10 lines in them and I do remember that the
> >>>> system.ini
> >>>> file had
> >>>> boot and printer stufff etc, now it is basically empty and
> >>>> shows no
> >>>> reference
> >>>> to any progrmas etc.
> >>>> Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and
> >>>> Win.ini
> >>>> files or
> >>>> do I have to reformat, AGAIN? There is no BAK files in the
> >>>> root
> >>>> directory
> >>>> of
> >>>> C and I even made certain that ALL files were visible and
> >>>> NOT
> >>>> hidden. Any suggestions of what to do? The very LAST thing
> >>>> I had
> >>>> done on the computer prior to seeing a problem was running
> >>>> that
> >>>> 276k malisicous program
> >>>> finder from the Microsoft website.
> >>>> Thanks for the help, I really don't want to reformat, again
> >>>> and I
> >>>> have all
> >>>> these Utilities programs, all of these Safe guards in place
> >>>> and it
> >>>> seems
> >>>> that
> >>>> the most vulnerable files get changed and there is no fix.
> >>>> The old
> >>>> days every
> >>>> time something was done to a file a bak file was created.
> >>>> What
> >>>> happened?
> >>>> Could a Trojan have done some dirty deeds to my system.ini
> >>>> and
> >>>> win.ini etc
> >>>> and I know there use to be FIVE files under sysedit and now
> >>>> there
> >>>> are only
> >>>> four.
> >>>> Thanks
>
>
>

Ken

I have never had a floppy in my floppy. I will change the bios to look at
the hd first, but I am still getting the error.



"Ken Blake" wrote:

> In news:(E-Mail Removed),
> R. C. White <(E-Mail Removed)> typed:
>
> > HDs are MUCH more dependable than floppies! And, in a pinch,
> > you can
> > just go into the BIOS and change your boot drive to the floppy
> > if the
> > HD fails. There's nothing wrong with leaving the floppy first -
> > if
> > you don't mind the delay and the extra keystroke - but it
> > doesn't
> > make sense to me.
>
>
> In my view, there *is* something wrong with leaving the floppy
> first in the boot order. If you put a floppy with a boot sector
> virus in the drive, you won't get infected by it. But if you
> accidentally leave it in the drive, and you are set to boot from
> the floppy first, when you next boot, you're infected.
>
> For that reason I always recommend that the floppy never be the
> first boot device.
>
> If you ever need to boot from a floppy, that's the time to change
> the boot order, but then change it back when you're done.
>
> --
> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> Please reply to the newsgroup
>
>
>
> > Maybe nothing changed the BIOS settings. Maybe the floppy was
> > always
> > first, but there never was diskette in the drive, so it just
> > went on
> > to the HD without waiting.
> >
> > I just reread your first post. You badly need to shake of the
> > Win9x/ME mindset! This is WinXP, for gosh sakes. Unless you
> > are
> > dual-booting, forget stuff like Autoexec.bat, Config.sys,
> > System.ini
> > and all the rest! You don't need them anymore! Trying to mix
> > them in
> > with WinXP is just going to cause you confusion and headaches.
> > And
> > you probably don't need any Norton programs anymore, except for
> > maybe
> > their Norton Internet Security suite, with firewall, antivirus
> > and
> > antispam. Stuff like the WinDoctor seemed to give me more
> > grief than
> > help once I retired Win98.
> > Welcome to the 21st Century! ;<)
> >
> > RC
> >
> > "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:BD9473FF-E397-4446-BB44-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >> Hi R.C.
> >>
> >> Thanks for the prompt reply.
> >> Yes! the floppy is the primary boot. I thought it was suppose
> >> to be,
> >> in case of HD problems, you are able to boot from floppy. I
> >> can
> >> change it, what
> >> would you suggest and would I still be able to boot from
> >> floppy?
> >> What would have changed my bios settings? I haven't touched
> >> them but
> >> I did view them when things started acting up and the floppy
> >> was the
> >> first boot drive.
> >> Thanks
> >>
> >> "R. C. White" wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hi, Craig.
> >>>
> >>> Which drive is set as your first boot device in your
> >>> computer's
> >>> BIOS? It sounds like the default is to boot from the floppy,
> >>> but there's
> >>> nothing
> >>> bootable in the floppy drive, so it waits for the Enter
> >>> keypress,
> >>> then goes
> >>> on to the second boot device choice, which is your hard
> >>> drive. Or
> >>> your default boot device may be your CD-ROM or your OTHER HD
> >>> or
> >>> some other device.
> >>>
> >>> Maybe all you need do is remove the diskette before you
> >>> reboot.
> >>>
> >>> If that's the problem, I'm glad you didn't have to reformat,
> >>> reinstall...,
> >>> etc. None of that would have helped, anyhow.
> >>>
> >>> RC
> >>>
> >>> "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
> >>> message
> >>> news:C77D2F32-CA00-4298-A96D-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >>>> My screen shows the Blue HP screen and then Wham! the
> >>>> message
> >>>> about the
> >>>> DISK BOOT ERROR< PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK. all I do at that
> >>>> point
> >>>> is hit
> >>>> the
> >>>> ENTER button and all runs like normal.
> >>>> Someone said it was a Hardware rpoblem, I do not agree.
> >>>> Once I hit
> >>>> enter
> >>>> all is great and I have run Nortons, Windoctor, Disk Doctor,
> >>>> Ccleaner, etc. I
> >>>> have run Spybot with all of the latest updates and
> >>>> everything is
> >>>> fine. Now what I can tell you all is this. I went to the
> >>>> Microsoft Download site
> >>>> and I downloaded and installed, the Media Player plus free
> >>>> version, and installed it. I installed the Office 2003 sp1
> >>>> patch.
> >>>> and that was it. Afetr
> >>>> I installed and rebooted, I have had the problem.
> >>>> Now what I have noticed. I can NOT use System Restore. I
> >>>> have
> >>>> tried several restore points and they all fail. I have also
> >>>> noticed that my Autoexec bat is NOW blank as well as
> >>>> config.sys.
> >>>> The only two files that
> >>>> have
> >>>> anything in them and that is very little is System.ini and
> >>>> win.ini
> >>>> Both
> >>>> have
> >>>> only about 10 lines in them and I do remember that the
> >>>> system.ini
> >>>> file had
> >>>> boot and printer stufff etc, now it is basically empty and
> >>>> shows no
> >>>> reference
> >>>> to any progrmas etc.
> >>>> Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and
> >>>> Win.ini
> >>>> files or
> >>>> do I have to reformat, AGAIN? There is no BAK files in the
> >>>> root
> >>>> directory
> >>>> of
> >>>> C and I even made certain that ALL files were visible and
> >>>> NOT
> >>>> hidden. Any suggestions of what to do? The very LAST thing
> >>>> I had
> >>>> done on the computer prior to seeing a problem was running
> >>>> that
> >>>> 276k malisicous program
> >>>> finder from the Microsoft website.
> >>>> Thanks for the help, I really don't want to reformat, again
> >>>> and I
> >>>> have all
> >>>> these Utilities programs, all of these Safe guards in place
> >>>> and it
> >>>> seems
> >>>> that
> >>>> the most vulnerable files get changed and there is no fix.
> >>>> The old
> >>>> days every
> >>>> time something was done to a file a bak file was created.
> >>>> What
> >>>> happened?
> >>>> Could a Trojan have done some dirty deeds to my system.ini
> >>>> and
> >>>> win.ini etc
> >>>> and I know there use to be FIVE files under sysedit and now
> >>>> there
> >>>> are only
> >>>> four.
> >>>> Thanks
>
>
>

"Craig A." wrote:
>
> My screen shows the Blue HP screen and
> then Wham! the message about the DISK
> BOOT ERROR< PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM
> DISK. all I do at that point is hit the ENTER
> button and all runs like normal. (snip)


I had this problem before and it was an "always boot from this device," or
something similar, setting in Windows somewhere, either in a control panel
or the properties for the drive. I don't remember where and I can't look for
it since I'm now using a laptop without a floppy drive. However, look around
for it. It's buried in there somewhere. In my case, I had selected it in
passing when fiddling around with the settings to get something else to
work. When I restarted and got the message, it took some time to find the
cause (even while simply backtracking over what I had just done a few
minutes before).

Stewart

Hi, Craig.

> I started in 76 with TRS-DOS and then Ms-Dos 2.11.24 and and then 3.0

I bought the first TRS-80 (before they called it Model I) in December 1977.
I still have the original, stapled "Preliminary User's Manual" with a small
card stapled to the front saying that "As soon as the final manual is
printed" Radio Shack would send it to me. ;^} I also have the "Proof Copy"
of the Level II BASIC Reference Manual and the Preliminary Instruction
Manual for "TRSDOS VERSION 2.0", dated July 7 1978. These should go to some
computer museum some day, but for now, I still have them. The Tandy 2000
was my first MS-DOS computer in 1985. My last branded computer was a KayPro
286. My local dealer assembled a 386/25 to my specs in 1989 and I've built
my own from mobos/CPUs/HDs, etc., since then, up to my current AMD Athlon 64
system. After taking a year to get Win2K running right, I retired my
dual-booted Win98 in 2001 and haven't looked at DOS-based Windows much since
then. I still dual boot, but now it's into various WinNT versions of
Windows. I've been running WinXP since RC1 in August 2001 and have the
preliminary version of Longhorn installed on my third HD, but haven't even
booted it in months.

Not trying to "one-up" anybody. Just trying in a roundabout way to say I
understand now where you're coming from. As you said:

> I use to be pretty good with computers and now am just friggin
> confused.

I know what you mean! My advantage here is that I first got WinNT4 in 1998
and have had nearly 6 years to "shake off the MS-DOS/Win9x mindset" while
learning WinNT/2K/XP. I guess what threw me was this line in your original
post:

> Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and Win.ini files or
> do I have to reformat, AGAIN?

That struck me as the kind of question a recent Win98 "graduate" would ask,
especially with the "reformat, AGAIN" question, and I probably didn't read
the rest of the post as carefully as I should have. Sysedit used to be one
of my favorite tools, but I haven't used it in so long that I didn't realize
it is still included in WinXP. When I ran it just now, it shows Config.sys,
Autoexec.bat, System.ini and Win.ini. Config and Autoexec are in C:\, but
they are zero-byte files; WinXP does not use these files at all and won't
miss them if they are deleted. The two .ini files are in
D:\Windows\system32; WinXP doesn't use them itself and retains them only so
that we can run older applications that expect to find them. If they are
deleted, WinXP won't notice, but we may get complaints when trying to run
those apps. Note that the first line in both .ini files is a Remark:
; for 16-bit app support

After 15 years or so of running MS-DOS and Windows versions based on it, the
MS-DOS mindset was so firmly embedded in my brain that it was hard to escape
it. And WinXP looks so much like Win98 on the surface that it's easy to
forget how much difference there is under the skin.

With Win98, the computer always booted into MS-DOS first, using Config and
Autoexec, and then loaded Win.com and turned over control to it. Running
good old Sys C: wrote the files io.sys and msdos.sys into C:\, along with
Command.com. It also wrote the boot sector into the first physical sector
of the Active partition. This DOS-style boot sector held instructions to
find, load and start io.sys, which used msdos.sys to locate WinDir,
WinBootDir, etc. Win98 was always running as an application under MS-DOS,
the operating system.

WinXP does not use MS-DOS at all. The WinNT-style boot sector does not look
for io.sys or msdos.sys (or Config.sys or Autoexec.bat). It looks for
NTLDR, which uses Boot.ini, to locate the Windows folder, and NTDETECT.COM
to load and start WinXP. Once WinXP is up and running, we can use Cmd.exe
to open a "DOS" window - which LOOKS LIKE MS-DOS, but is not; it is an
application that runs inside WinXP. So, while Win98 ran inside MS-DOS, the
"DOS" window runs inside WinXP. Formerly, MS-DOS was in control of Windows;
now WinXP is the boss of "DOS". A BIG difference! For those few old
programs that require them for compatibility, WinXP offers the files
config.nt and autoexec.nt; these are used, if called for, when the "DOS"
window is opened in WinXP, NOT at boot time.

WinXP does contain just enough of MS-DOS to let us create a boot floppy. To
do this, put a blank (or expendable) diskette into the drive, then
right-click on Drive A: in My Computer. Choose Format..., then Create an
MS-DOS startup disk. WinXP will format the floppy and add io.sys and
msdos.sys to it. The floppy can then be used to boot into MS-DOS, but you
won't be able to read or even SEE an NTFS-formatted volume without help from
a third-party utility.

If you want to create a floppy to boot into WinXP in case of failure of the
boot system on C:, then just delete io.sys and copy NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM and
Boot.ini to the floppy. Make sure that that copy of boot.ini points to the
proper location (using the rdisk(#)partition(#)) of the \Windows folder on
your HD. There's no way to get enough of WinXP onto a floppy to let you
boot, even to a Command Prompt. Remember, in WinXP, we can't boot into DOS
first; we first have to fully boot into WinXP, then run the "DOS" emulator
from inside Windows.

Now, back to your original problem: I don't know why your computer tries to
boot first from the floppy. You haven't told us the make and model of your
hardware or your BIOS version (or I overlooked it in this long thread). We
don't know how many HDs you have; whether they are IDE, SCSI, SATA or
something else; how they are partitioned and formatted; where you have WinXP
installed; or if you are dual-booting more than one version of Windows. We
don't know whether any of that relates to your problem, but we can't be sure
that it doesn't. Each BIOS is different, so I can't guess how to change the
settings in yours. If you mention the make and model, someone here might
recognize it and know how you should set your BIOS.

Sorry for the long post. I always over-explain things. :>{

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(E-Mail Removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

"Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:69950E4D-9A79-41CA-B35A-(E-Mail Removed)...
> The problem just happened and I have learned from over 25 years playing
> with these damn machines, that what JUST happens can usually be JUST
> UNHAPPENED.
> I started in 76 with TRS-DOS and then Ms-Dos 2.11.24 and and then 3.0
> and then 3.2 adnd 4.0 and 5.0 and 6.0 and 6.2 and then Windows 3.0 and
> Deskmate and Windows 3.1 and then 95 and then 98 SE and now XP. I know
> the
> Autoexec and config is not used any longer, but there were entries in them
> just a few weeks ago and my system.ini use to have at least 50 lines or
> more
> in it and it now has less than 10. I gave this info to give clues to what
> my
> problem is and not that Windows needed or not needed it. Something has
> changed those files.
> I did you suggestion and changed the boot drive to the hard drive and
> I
> got the same results.
> I have uninstalled my free microsoft media plus program and still the
> same results.
> I use to be pretty good with computers and now am just friggin
> confused.
>
>
> "Ken Blake" wrote:
>
>> In news:(E-Mail Removed),
>> R. C. White <(E-Mail Removed)> typed:
>>
>> > HDs are MUCH more dependable than floppies! And, in a pinch,
>> > you can
>> > just go into the BIOS and change your boot drive to the floppy
>> > if the
>> > HD fails. There's nothing wrong with leaving the floppy first -
>> > if
>> > you don't mind the delay and the extra keystroke - but it
>> > doesn't
>> > make sense to me.
>>
>>
>> In my view, there *is* something wrong with leaving the floppy
>> first in the boot order. If you put a floppy with a boot sector
>> virus in the drive, you won't get infected by it. But if you
>> accidentally leave it in the drive, and you are set to boot from
>> the floppy first, when you next boot, you're infected.
>>
>> For that reason I always recommend that the floppy never be the
>> first boot device.
>>
>> If you ever need to boot from a floppy, that's the time to change
>> the boot order, but then change it back when you're done.
>>
>> --
>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>>
>>
>> > Maybe nothing changed the BIOS settings. Maybe the floppy was
>> > always
>> > first, but there never was diskette in the drive, so it just
>> > went on
>> > to the HD without waiting.
>> >
>> > I just reread your first post. You badly need to shake of the
>> > Win9x/ME mindset! This is WinXP, for gosh sakes. Unless you
>> > are
>> > dual-booting, forget stuff like Autoexec.bat, Config.sys,
>> > System.ini
>> > and all the rest! You don't need them anymore! Trying to mix
>> > them in
>> > with WinXP is just going to cause you confusion and headaches.
>> > And
>> > you probably don't need any Norton programs anymore, except for
>> > maybe
>> > their Norton Internet Security suite, with firewall, antivirus
>> > and
>> > antispam. Stuff like the WinDoctor seemed to give me more
>> > grief than
>> > help once I retired Win98.
>> > Welcome to the 21st Century! ;<)
>> >
>> > RC
>> >
>> > "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> > news:BD9473FF-E397-4446-BB44-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >> Hi R.C.
>> >>
>> >> Thanks for the prompt reply.
>> >> Yes! the floppy is the primary boot. I thought it was suppose
>> >> to be,
>> >> in case of HD problems, you are able to boot from floppy. I
>> >> can
>> >> change it, what
>> >> would you suggest and would I still be able to boot from
>> >> floppy?
>> >> What would have changed my bios settings? I haven't touched
>> >> them but
>> >> I did view them when things started acting up and the floppy
>> >> was the
>> >> first boot drive.
>> >> Thanks
>> >>
>> >> "R. C. White" wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Hi, Craig.
>> >>>
>> >>> Which drive is set as your first boot device in your
>> >>> computer's
>> >>> BIOS? It sounds like the default is to boot from the floppy,
>> >>> but there's
>> >>> nothing
>> >>> bootable in the floppy drive, so it waits for the Enter
>> >>> keypress,
>> >>> then goes
>> >>> on to the second boot device choice, which is your hard
>> >>> drive. Or
>> >>> your default boot device may be your CD-ROM or your OTHER HD
>> >>> or
>> >>> some other device.
>> >>>
>> >>> Maybe all you need do is remove the diskette before you
>> >>> reboot.
>> >>>
>> >>> If that's the problem, I'm glad you didn't have to reformat,
>> >>> reinstall...,
>> >>> etc. None of that would have helped, anyhow.
>> >>>
>> >>> RC
>> >>>
>> >>> "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
>> >>> message
>> >>> news:C77D2F32-CA00-4298-A96D-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >>>> My screen shows the Blue HP screen and then Wham! the
>> >>>> message
>> >>>> about the
>> >>>> DISK BOOT ERROR< PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK. all I do at that
>> >>>> point
>> >>>> is hit
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> ENTER button and all runs like normal.
>> >>>> Someone said it was a Hardware rpoblem, I do not agree.
>> >>>> Once I hit
>> >>>> enter
>> >>>> all is great and I have run Nortons, Windoctor, Disk Doctor,
>> >>>> Ccleaner, etc. I
>> >>>> have run Spybot with all of the latest updates and
>> >>>> everything is
>> >>>> fine. Now what I can tell you all is this. I went to the
>> >>>> Microsoft Download site
>> >>>> and I downloaded and installed, the Media Player plus free
>> >>>> version, and installed it. I installed the Office 2003 sp1
>> >>>> patch.
>> >>>> and that was it. Afetr
>> >>>> I installed and rebooted, I have had the problem.
>> >>>> Now what I have noticed. I can NOT use System Restore. I
>> >>>> have
>> >>>> tried several restore points and they all fail. I have also
>> >>>> noticed that my Autoexec bat is NOW blank as well as
>> >>>> config.sys.
>> >>>> The only two files that
>> >>>> have
>> >>>> anything in them and that is very little is System.ini and
>> >>>> win.ini
>> >>>> Both
>> >>>> have
>> >>>> only about 10 lines in them and I do remember that the
>> >>>> system.ini
>> >>>> file had
>> >>>> boot and printer stufff etc, now it is basically empty and
>> >>>> shows no
>> >>>> reference
>> >>>> to any progrmas etc.
>> >>>> Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and
>> >>>> Win.ini
>> >>>> files or
>> >>>> do I have to reformat, AGAIN? There is no BAK files in the
>> >>>> root
>> >>>> directory
>> >>>> of
>> >>>> C and I even made certain that ALL files were visible and
>> >>>> NOT
>> >>>> hidden. Any suggestions of what to do? The very LAST thing
>> >>>> I had
>> >>>> done on the computer prior to seeing a problem was running
>> >>>> that
>> >>>> 276k malisicous program
>> >>>> finder from the Microsoft website.
>> >>>> Thanks for the help, I really don't want to reformat, again
>> >>>> and I
>> >>>> have all
>> >>>> these Utilities programs, all of these Safe guards in place
>> >>>> and it
>> >>>> seems
>> >>>> that
>> >>>> the most vulnerable files get changed and there is no fix.
>> >>>> The old
>> >>>> days every
>> >>>> time something was done to a file a bak file was created.
>> >>>> What
>> >>>> happened?
>> >>>> Could a Trojan have done some dirty deeds to my system.ini
>> >>>> and
>> >>>> win.ini etc
>> >>>> and I know there use to be FIVE files under sysedit and now
>> >>>> there
>> >>>> are only
>> >>>> four.
>> >>>> Thanks

Floppy 'seek at boot up' may be enabled in BIOS.. that may cause it..

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm





"R. C. White" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi, Craig.
>
>> I started in 76 with TRS-DOS and then Ms-Dos 2.11.24 and and then 3.0
>
> I bought the first TRS-80 (before they called it Model I) in December
> 1977. I still have the original, stapled "Preliminary User's Manual" with
> a small card stapled to the front saying that "As soon as the final manual
> is printed" Radio Shack would send it to me. ;^} I also have the "Proof
> Copy" of the Level II BASIC Reference Manual and the Preliminary
> Instruction Manual for "TRSDOS VERSION 2.0", dated July 7 1978. These
> should go to some computer museum some day, but for now, I still have
> them. The Tandy 2000 was my first MS-DOS computer in 1985. My last
> branded computer was a KayPro 286. My local dealer assembled a 386/25 to
> my specs in 1989 and I've built my own from mobos/CPUs/HDs, etc., since
> then, up to my current AMD Athlon 64 system. After taking a year to get
> Win2K running right, I retired my dual-booted Win98 in 2001 and haven't
> looked at DOS-based Windows much since then. I still dual boot, but now
> it's into various WinNT versions of Windows. I've been running WinXP
> since RC1 in August 2001 and have the preliminary version of Longhorn
> installed on my third HD, but haven't even booted it in months.
>
> Not trying to "one-up" anybody. Just trying in a roundabout way to say I
> understand now where you're coming from. As you said:
>
>> I use to be pretty good with computers and now am just friggin
>> confused.
>
> I know what you mean! My advantage here is that I first got WinNT4 in
> 1998 and have had nearly 6 years to "shake off the MS-DOS/Win9x mindset"
> while learning WinNT/2K/XP. I guess what threw me was this line in your
> original post:
>
>> Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and Win.ini files or
>> do I have to reformat, AGAIN?
>
> That struck me as the kind of question a recent Win98 "graduate" would
> ask, especially with the "reformat, AGAIN" question, and I probably didn't
> read the rest of the post as carefully as I should have. Sysedit used to
> be one of my favorite tools, but I haven't used it in so long that I
> didn't realize it is still included in WinXP. When I ran it just now, it
> shows Config.sys, Autoexec.bat, System.ini and Win.ini. Config and
> Autoexec are in C:\, but they are zero-byte files; WinXP does not use
> these files at all and won't miss them if they are deleted. The two .ini
> files are in D:\Windows\system32; WinXP doesn't use them itself and
> retains them only so that we can run older applications that expect to
> find them. If they are deleted, WinXP won't notice, but we may get
> complaints when trying to run those apps. Note that the first line in
> both .ini files is a Remark:
> ; for 16-bit app support
>
> After 15 years or so of running MS-DOS and Windows versions based on it,
> the MS-DOS mindset was so firmly embedded in my brain that it was hard to
> escape it. And WinXP looks so much like Win98 on the surface that it's
> easy to forget how much difference there is under the skin.
>
> With Win98, the computer always booted into MS-DOS first, using Config and
> Autoexec, and then loaded Win.com and turned over control to it. Running
> good old Sys C: wrote the files io.sys and msdos.sys into C:\, along with
> Command.com. It also wrote the boot sector into the first physical sector
> of the Active partition. This DOS-style boot sector held instructions to
> find, load and start io.sys, which used msdos.sys to locate WinDir,
> WinBootDir, etc. Win98 was always running as an application under MS-DOS,
> the operating system.
>
> WinXP does not use MS-DOS at all. The WinNT-style boot sector does not
> look for io.sys or msdos.sys (or Config.sys or Autoexec.bat). It looks
> for NTLDR, which uses Boot.ini, to locate the Windows folder, and
> NTDETECT.COM to load and start WinXP. Once WinXP is up and running, we
> can use Cmd.exe to open a "DOS" window - which LOOKS LIKE MS-DOS, but is
> not; it is an application that runs inside WinXP. So, while Win98 ran
> inside MS-DOS, the "DOS" window runs inside WinXP. Formerly, MS-DOS was
> in control of Windows; now WinXP is the boss of "DOS". A BIG difference!
> For those few old programs that require them for compatibility, WinXP
> offers the files config.nt and autoexec.nt; these are used, if called for,
> when the "DOS" window is opened in WinXP, NOT at boot time.
>
> WinXP does contain just enough of MS-DOS to let us create a boot floppy.
> To do this, put a blank (or expendable) diskette into the drive, then
> right-click on Drive A: in My Computer. Choose Format..., then Create an
> MS-DOS startup disk. WinXP will format the floppy and add io.sys and
> msdos.sys to it. The floppy can then be used to boot into MS-DOS, but you
> won't be able to read or even SEE an NTFS-formatted volume without help
> from a third-party utility.
>
> If you want to create a floppy to boot into WinXP in case of failure of
> the boot system on C:, then just delete io.sys and copy NTLDR,
> NTDETECT.COM and Boot.ini to the floppy. Make sure that that copy of
> boot.ini points to the proper location (using the rdisk(#)partition(#)) of
> the \Windows folder on your HD. There's no way to get enough of WinXP
> onto a floppy to let you boot, even to a Command Prompt. Remember, in
> WinXP, we can't boot into DOS first; we first have to fully boot into
> WinXP, then run the "DOS" emulator from inside Windows.
>
> Now, back to your original problem: I don't know why your computer tries
> to boot first from the floppy. You haven't told us the make and model of
> your hardware or your BIOS version (or I overlooked it in this long
> thread). We don't know how many HDs you have; whether they are IDE, SCSI,
> SATA or something else; how they are partitioned and formatted; where you
> have WinXP installed; or if you are dual-booting more than one version of
> Windows. We don't know whether any of that relates to your problem, but
> we can't be sure that it doesn't. Each BIOS is different, so I can't
> guess how to change the settings in yours. If you mention the make and
> model, someone here might recognize it and know how you should set your
> BIOS.
>
> Sorry for the long post. I always over-explain things. :>{
>
> RC
> --
> R. C. White, CPA
> San Marcos, TX
> (E-Mail Removed)
> Microsoft Windows MVP
>
> "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:69950E4D-9A79-41CA-B35A-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> The problem just happened and I have learned from over 25 years playing
>> with these damn machines, that what JUST happens can usually be JUST
>> UNHAPPENED.
>> I started in 76 with TRS-DOS and then Ms-Dos 2.11.24 and and then 3.0
>> and then 3.2 adnd 4.0 and 5.0 and 6.0 and 6.2 and then Windows 3.0 and
>> Deskmate and Windows 3.1 and then 95 and then 98 SE and now XP. I know
>> the
>> Autoexec and config is not used any longer, but there were entries in
>> them
>> just a few weeks ago and my system.ini use to have at least 50 lines or
>> more
>> in it and it now has less than 10. I gave this info to give clues to
>> what my
>> problem is and not that Windows needed or not needed it. Something has
>> changed those files.
>> I did you suggestion and changed the boot drive to the hard drive and
>> I
>> got the same results.
>> I have uninstalled my free microsoft media plus program and still the
>> same results.
>> I use to be pretty good with computers and now am just friggin
>> confused.
>>
>>
>> "Ken Blake" wrote:
>>
>>> In news:(E-Mail Removed),
>>> R. C. White <(E-Mail Removed)> typed:
>>>
>>> > HDs are MUCH more dependable than floppies! And, in a pinch,
>>> > you can
>>> > just go into the BIOS and change your boot drive to the floppy
>>> > if the
>>> > HD fails. There's nothing wrong with leaving the floppy first -
>>> > if
>>> > you don't mind the delay and the extra keystroke - but it
>>> > doesn't
>>> > make sense to me.
>>>
>>>
>>> In my view, there *is* something wrong with leaving the floppy
>>> first in the boot order. If you put a floppy with a boot sector
>>> virus in the drive, you won't get infected by it. But if you
>>> accidentally leave it in the drive, and you are set to boot from
>>> the floppy first, when you next boot, you're infected.
>>>
>>> For that reason I always recommend that the floppy never be the
>>> first boot device.
>>>
>>> If you ever need to boot from a floppy, that's the time to change
>>> the boot order, but then change it back when you're done.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>>>
>>>
>>> > Maybe nothing changed the BIOS settings. Maybe the floppy was
>>> > always
>>> > first, but there never was diskette in the drive, so it just
>>> > went on
>>> > to the HD without waiting.
>>> >
>>> > I just reread your first post. You badly need to shake of the
>>> > Win9x/ME mindset! This is WinXP, for gosh sakes. Unless you
>>> > are
>>> > dual-booting, forget stuff like Autoexec.bat, Config.sys,
>>> > System.ini
>>> > and all the rest! You don't need them anymore! Trying to mix
>>> > them in
>>> > with WinXP is just going to cause you confusion and headaches.
>>> > And
>>> > you probably don't need any Norton programs anymore, except for
>>> > maybe
>>> > their Norton Internet Security suite, with firewall, antivirus
>>> > and
>>> > antispam. Stuff like the WinDoctor seemed to give me more
>>> > grief than
>>> > help once I retired Win98.
>>> > Welcome to the 21st Century! ;<)
>>> >
>>> > RC
>>> >
>>> > "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>> > news:BD9473FF-E397-4446-BB44-(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> >> Hi R.C.
>>> >>
>>> >> Thanks for the prompt reply.
>>> >> Yes! the floppy is the primary boot. I thought it was suppose
>>> >> to be,
>>> >> in case of HD problems, you are able to boot from floppy. I
>>> >> can
>>> >> change it, what
>>> >> would you suggest and would I still be able to boot from
>>> >> floppy?
>>> >> What would have changed my bios settings? I haven't touched
>>> >> them but
>>> >> I did view them when things started acting up and the floppy
>>> >> was the
>>> >> first boot drive.
>>> >> Thanks
>>> >>
>>> >> "R. C. White" wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >>> Hi, Craig.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> Which drive is set as your first boot device in your
>>> >>> computer's
>>> >>> BIOS? It sounds like the default is to boot from the floppy,
>>> >>> but there's
>>> >>> nothing
>>> >>> bootable in the floppy drive, so it waits for the Enter
>>> >>> keypress,
>>> >>> then goes
>>> >>> on to the second boot device choice, which is your hard
>>> >>> drive. Or
>>> >>> your default boot device may be your CD-ROM or your OTHER HD
>>> >>> or
>>> >>> some other device.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> Maybe all you need do is remove the diskette before you
>>> >>> reboot.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> If that's the problem, I'm glad you didn't have to reformat,
>>> >>> reinstall...,
>>> >>> etc. None of that would have helped, anyhow.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> RC
>>> >>>
>>> >>> "Craig A." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
>>> >>> message
>>> >>> news:C77D2F32-CA00-4298-A96D-(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> >>>> My screen shows the Blue HP screen and then Wham! the
>>> >>>> message
>>> >>>> about the
>>> >>>> DISK BOOT ERROR< PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK. all I do at that
>>> >>>> point
>>> >>>> is hit
>>> >>>> the
>>> >>>> ENTER button and all runs like normal.
>>> >>>> Someone said it was a Hardware rpoblem, I do not agree.
>>> >>>> Once I hit
>>> >>>> enter
>>> >>>> all is great and I have run Nortons, Windoctor, Disk Doctor,
>>> >>>> Ccleaner, etc. I
>>> >>>> have run Spybot with all of the latest updates and
>>> >>>> everything is
>>> >>>> fine. Now what I can tell you all is this. I went to the
>>> >>>> Microsoft Download site
>>> >>>> and I downloaded and installed, the Media Player plus free
>>> >>>> version, and installed it. I installed the Office 2003 sp1
>>> >>>> patch.
>>> >>>> and that was it. Afetr
>>> >>>> I installed and rebooted, I have had the problem.
>>> >>>> Now what I have noticed. I can NOT use System Restore. I
>>> >>>> have
>>> >>>> tried several restore points and they all fail. I have also
>>> >>>> noticed that my Autoexec bat is NOW blank as well as
>>> >>>> config.sys.
>>> >>>> The only two files that
>>> >>>> have
>>> >>>> anything in them and that is very little is System.ini and
>>> >>>> win.ini
>>> >>>> Both
>>> >>>> have
>>> >>>> only about 10 lines in them and I do remember that the
>>> >>>> system.ini
>>> >>>> file had
>>> >>>> boot and printer stufff etc, now it is basically empty and
>>> >>>> shows no
>>> >>>> reference
>>> >>>> to any progrmas etc.
>>> >>>> Is there a way to have Windows create NEW system.ini and
>>> >>>> Win.ini
>>> >>>> files or
>>> >>>> do I have to reformat, AGAIN? There is no BAK files in the
>>> >>>> root
>>> >>>> directory
>>> >>>> of
>>> >>>> C and I even made certain that ALL files were visible and
>>> >>>> NOT
>>> >>>> hidden. Any suggestions of what to do? The very LAST thing
>>> >>>> I had
>>> >>>> done on the computer prior to seeing a problem was running
>>> >>>> that
>>> >>>> 276k malisicous program
>>> >>>> finder from the Microsoft website.
>>> >>>> Thanks for the help, I really don't want to reformat, again
>>> >>>> and I
>>> >>>> have all
>>> >>>> these Utilities programs, all of these Safe guards in place
>>> >>>> and it
>>> >>>> seems
>>> >>>> that
>>> >>>> the most vulnerable files get changed and there is no fix.
>>> >>>> The old
>>> >>>> days every
>>> >>>> time something was done to a file a bak file was created.
>>> >>>> What
>>> >>>> happened?
>>> >>>> Could a Trojan have done some dirty deeds to my system.ini
>>> >>>> and
>>> >>>> win.ini etc
>>> >>>> and I know there use to be FIVE files under sysedit and now
>>> >>>> there
>>> >>>> are only
>>> >>>> four.
>>> >>>> Thanks
>