EZ -BIOS: Hold CTRL Key Down

[Cliff Phiri]

I need some help. I am trying to re-install windows on an old PC (used
to run win95).

The problem is i cant get it to boot to the DOS prompt or from a
floppy!!!!

When i turn it on i it starts to boot alright but then halts on the
message:

"EZ Drive Initializing"
"Hold the CTRL key to go to the status screen"

When i turn it on again while holding the CTRL key it takes me to some
screen with a message:

"Press C to boot from the hard drive or A to boot from floppy"

Pressing C has no effect at all when i press A i get the message"

"Insert system disk and press enter"

but nothing happens after i insert the disk and press enter the
computer just doesn't respond
and finally hangs when i keep pressing enter.

Is there something i can do about this or i do i just need to throw
this PC away?

Thanks


Cliff

 

[BeamGuy]

Are you doing this for fun, or are you being paid to maintain museum pieces?

What seems to be happening is that you do not have a valid boot disk. If,
in the BIOS, the boot order is floppy, hard drive, CD (unlikely in such an old
machine) then the computer first tried to boot from the floopy, did not find an
OS there, so booted from the hard drive and found the ez-bios image there.
Ez-bios was put on that computer because the bios could not support the hard
drive size, which may seem small by today's standards but was gigantic by the
standards of those who wrote the bios. So the ez-bios serves as an emulator
allowing the full hard drive to be accessed. The right way to boot is to enter
ez-bios, then press A to boot from the floppy. The floppy should be valid
boot disk.

Ez-bios is used by western digital, and you can still download it from their
website. Make sure you select the older MS-Dos based version and load it
onto a floppy. This will have the options for formating as well as adding or
removing ez-bios from the boot sector.

 

[Hugh Candlin]

I need some help. I am trying to re-install windows on an old PC (used
to run win95).

The problem is i cant get it to boot to the DOS prompt or from a
floppy!!!!

When i turn it on i it starts to boot alright but then halts on the
message:

"EZ Drive Initializing"
"Hold the CTRL key to go to the status screen"

When i turn it on again while holding the CTRL key it takes me to some
screen with a message:

"Press C to boot from the hard drive or A to boot from floppy"

Pressing C has no effect at all when i press A i get the message"

"Insert system disk and press enter"

but nothing happens after i insert the disk and press enter the
computer just doesn't respond
and finally hangs when i keep pressing enter.

Is there something i can do about this or i do i just need to throw
this PC away?

Thanks


Cliff

Run the BIOS Setup program.

How are the Boot Options set?
They need to be: A first, then C.

 

[BeamGuy]

Well not if you have ez-bios installed. You would not want to boot from
a floppy and start writing to the hard drive without the ez-bios running,
could corrupt stuff. I always turned off booting from the floppy for
safety.

 

[Lil' Dave]

Sounds like the bios extender lost part of the program. Due to its hard
disk location, the only thing you can do is remove it and install it again.
While doing that, you need to examine the entire HD for defects and get them
mapped out of the picture. Go to the HD manufacturer's website for a
utility for that. It will run on the floppy drive. You have to manipulate
the PC's native bios to boot to the floppy drive first.
After mapping out the defects, write zeroes to the entire hard drive with
the utiility. This process takes a very long time, sometimes as much as
entire day. Install the bios extender. Boot from the hard drive and boot
from the floppy from there. Partition and format the hard drive as usual.
Some unseasoned users install the bios extender even though its not needed.
Check your system bios for the actual HD size indicated and bounce that
against the HDs actual capacity.
Dave

 

[Hugh Candlin]

Well not if you have ez-bios installed. You would not want to boot from
a floppy and start writing to the hard drive without the ez-bios running,

I didn't suggest that, or mean to leave anyone with that idea.
He obviously knows to press and hold the CTRL key
when advised to do so by EZ-BIOS, and then request
a "boot from floppy", and then insert the boot floppy
when instructed to do so. I wanted to see if the BIOS
boot option change would prevent the system hang.

I didn't spell it out, because he sounds like he knows
his way around EZ-BIOS.

 

[Ben Myers]

Try creating a new boot floppy.

http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

Ben

 

[Peter Milnes]

You have somehow got the software that partitions a Maxtor "Diamondmax" hard
drive. If your hard drive does not have any partitions then delete all
references to EZ-BIOS from your Registry and Hard Drive. I used it prior to
upgrading to XP Pro as W98 couldn't cope with drives bigger than 8.4Gb with the
bios I had prior to upgrading. I think I should get a copy of Partition Magic to
change the sizes of the partitions without losing any data.

Hope that may be of help to you, Peter.

"Ben Myers" <benjmyersatmindspring.com> wrote in message
Try creating a new boot floppy.

http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

Ben

 

[Peter Milnes]

Didn't you read the message I sent to the group on 19th December? If not here is
a repeat.

You have somehow got the software that partitions a Maxtor "Diamondmax" hard
drive. If your hard drive does not have any partitions then delete all
references to EZ-BIOS from your Registry and Hard Drive. I used EZ-BIOS prior to
upgrading to XP Pro as W98 couldn't cope with drives bigger than 8.4Gb with the
bios I had prior to upgrading. I think I should get a copy of Partition Magic to
change the sizes of the partitions without losing any data.

Hope that may be of help to you, Peter.


: I need some help. I am trying to re-install windows on an old PC (used
: to run win95).
:
: The problem is i cant get it to boot to the DOS prompt or from a
: floppy!!!!
:
: When i turn it on i it starts to boot alright but then halts on the
: message:
:
: "EZ Drive Initializing"
: "Hold the CTRL key to go to the status screen"
:
: When i turn it on again while holding the CTRL key it takes me to some
: screen with a message:
:
: "Press C to boot from the hard drive or A to boot from floppy"
:
: Pressing C has no effect at all when i press A i get the message"
:
: "Insert system disk and press enter"
:
: but nothing happens after i insert the disk and press enter the
: computer just doesn't respond
: and finally hangs when i keep pressing enter.
:
: Is there something i can do about this or i do i just need to throw
: this PC away?
:
: Thanks
:
:
: Cliff