Problems:

On starting a PC the screen show the message:

Bad or missing Command Interpreter

cause = usually a disk in drive A: (floppy) without the correct system files. remove

disk and start over.

Possible = system not configured properly - the PC is trying to "boot" from A: when it should boot from C: (internal hard drive) - go into the CMOS (system setup) and reset it to only boot from the hard drive.

Problems = booting from A: can spread viruses (boot sector viruses - ANTICMOS, ANTIEXE, MONKEY, STONED, etc.).

Please report this error to a lab aide or send email to HELP@CLAM

It sometimes happens after maintenance on a lab PC where the technician needs to boot from A: to work on the PC and sets the CMOS to boot from A: but when finished with the maintenance forgets to reset the CMOS to boot from C: instead. The PC will work normally booting from C: until a customer puts a disk in A: first before starting the PC. The PC will then read A: first and if the disk is only a data disk it will produce the message "Bad or Missing Command Interpreter". If this message appears and there is no disk in A: then the PC is out of commission and needs attention by our staff.

Floppy disk problems (3.5" diskette)

Never use a disk that has a loose, bent, dented, or crimped shutter (the metal slide protector). The metal piece can jam in the disk drive ruining your disk and the disk drive. See one of our technians who can help to retrieve your data - be sure to have a second diskette to transfer the data onto.

Be very careful of the surface of the floppy media. Never pull back the shutter and touch the media surface. Physical damage can be done to your disk with the loss of data. We use Norton Disk Doctor to retrieve data on a physically damaged disk but we can not guarentee that all data can be recovered.

Problem : My PC always wants to start this "odd" program when I turn on the PC. I don't want that program to start but I can't find where to stop it.

Windows starts programs in many places. You have to find the place and turn it off.

Places to look:

1) Look in the STARTUP folder in the Windows folder (subdirectory). Use Windows Explorer [START] [Programs] towards the bottom of the icon list - start explorer and move to "Windows" then "Start Menu" then "Programs" then "StartUp". All the file links in there get executed when Windows starts up. You can add or delete links in this area. To only see what is being run try [START] [Programs] [StartUp] and it will show a list of what gets started on bootup. Another approach to editing this area is to put the mouse onto the task bar (usually at the bottom of the screen) and push the RIGHT mouse button to show a small menu. On that menu pick the bottom option (Properties) to show the Taskbar Properties window. Find the [Advanced] button. Clicking on this button will start "Windows Explorer" at the [Start Menu] point. Go to "Programs" then to "StartUp" to see the links to programs that will start when the PC is started up. Again these can be edited - delete by left-clicking on the icon then right-click to show a menu on which you will find a delete option. You can add program links here by using the right mouse button to display a menu on which is the option "New". This option gives you "ShortCut" as an option and then browse to the link you want to add.

2 ) CONFIG . SYS in the root directory of the C: hard drive or 3) AUTOEXEC . BAT in the root of the C: drive. (root is the main folder or directory on the hard drive.) These are text files and can be modified using the EDIT program. Be sure you make a backup copy before changing these files - your PC may not start if you make a mistake - and keep a good floppy disk around with the operating system on it. You may need to boot Windows and then exit using the [START] [Shut-Down] [Reboot the computer in MS-DOS mode] to make these changes - that are sometimes locked by the PC so you can't change them and get into trouble. Programs added in this area can cause WIndows to run some drivers in REAL mode as opposed to protected mode which is what Windows prefers - example = CDROM drive would only display the shortened DOS version of file names (8.3) on the CD making them inaccessible to a program that expected to see "long" file names - the system was using the DOS version of the CDROM control program MSCDEX.EXE in the AUTOEXEC.BAT -removing the DOS driver and allowing WIndows to "see" the CDROM drive corrected the problem.

4) Check the WIN.INI file in the Windows folder (subdirectory). There are two lines at the top of this file labeled RUN= and LOAD= which can have programs listed that will execute when Windows is started.

5) Look in the "registry" - this is dangerous and can cause system failure if done badly. Run "REGEDIT" to get a look at the registry. There are two places that harbor a "RUN" command that can affect what is running on the PC. They are the HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folders (categories or main keys). In the first, under the folder "Software" then "Microsoft" then "Windows" then "CurrentVersion" there is a RUN option. (Messenger programs like Yahoo get loaded from here.) You may find the offending program here and delete it. In the second folder (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE) you will find the folder "Software" then "Microsoft" then "Windows" then "CurrentVersion" there is also a RUN option along with many other RUN-type options such as RunServices. You may find many programs in this area since Windows runs many things "in the background" and they get started from here. They make your system run better - like virus protection and other things that show up in the task tray and should be modified with great caution.

6) There may be a copy of WIN.INI imbedded in the registry - this is only a rumor as I could find one.

Problem: My computer doesn't display the file names properly from my CDROM drive. They show up with this little swiggly character (~). My program doesn't run right. Can't see the data on the CD.

In the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in the root of the C: hard drive there can be programs tat control the CDROM drive. In the CONFIG.SYS it's a driver program named something like - NEC_IDE.SYS or SBCD.SYS. Whatever it's called it's on a line with /D=MSCD001 (but this name is flexible also). Remark it out by using EDIT put REM at the front of the line. Look into AUTOEXEC.BAT (using EDIT) for the file MSCDEX and remark it also. These programs can cause WIndows to run some drivers in REAL mode as opposed to protected mode which is what Windows prefers - example = CDROM drive would only display the shortened DOS version of file names (8.3) on the CD making them inaccessible to a program that expected to see "long" file names - the system was using the DOS version of the CDROM control program MSCDEX.EXE in the AUTOEXEC.BAT -removing the DOS driver and allowing WIndows to "see" the CDROM drive corrected the problem.