Computer problem

[Mistress]

I just got back from my out of state trip and eveyrthing was working fine before I left. I walked in and turned on the comps....the old one started up just fine, then I had an explore error and it restarted.

This time instead of restarting it went to the black start up screen and said:

invalid command.com


enter correct name of command interpreter (eg, C:/Command.com)


And wont do anything now.....


Can anyone help me? I tried putting in the win982nd edit. cd but it wont reboot off it.....

Speedy help would be appreciated please.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

You may have a bootable floppy laying around - if you do then try that. If it is the same version of DOS as is installed on your computer then try copying over command.com from the floppy to the root directory of your main hard drive.

I would suggest that you check in your BIOS settings to make sure that your CD is listed as a being in the chain of bootable devices, but most people don't how to get there much less how to do that, and it varies by computer make and model.

Your problem could also be that your hard disk is failing to start properly, but usually you do not get to the command.com point, usually it fails to boot altogther. Are you sure no one has been messing with your computer?

 

[Mistress]

HUH?


And positive..ok let me repeat..I can get NO WHERE when I try to start up...it goes blank now.....

 

[sabbathstorm]

How old is the computer and are you getting any weird sounds? On my own system, it's delete to get into BIOS. The systems I troubleshoot go into BIOS with F1. I'd make sure that the HD was listed there as well as the CDRom.

What kind of computer is it anyway?

 

[brisbon]

ERROR: Invalid Command Intrepreter or Missing command.com
Problem:

I get this error when I try to boot up. Invalid Command Intrepreter or Missing command.com


Solution:

This error ocurs for one of two reasons.

You have a non-bootable disk in your floppy drive.
answer: Remove the disk from the drive and try again.
Your hard drive has lost it's boot up information. (command.com) answer: Fatal error. You can see if your emergency disk will start the computer.

 

[Mistress]

About three to 4 years old...and I have no clue what your talking about....

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

HUH?


And positive..ok let me repeat..I can get NO WHERE when I try to start up...it goes blank now.....

You don't even get the "invalid command.com" any more?

If so, I think you may have hardware problems and this may not be one of those things you can fix by having someone tell you how to do it.

To riterate, do you have a floppy disk (3.5 inch hard plastic thingy with a little metal shutter window, that goes in your floppy drive) that says something like "DOS 6.2" or "Windows 98" or something like that? Anything that might lead you to believe you could boot your computer off it?

If so, stick it all the way into your 3.5" floppy disk drive, plastic side up (metal ring in the center down), metal shutter window first - and reboot. Then come back and tell us what happened.

If not, I think you need a visit from a local wizard.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

ERROR: Invalid Command Intrepreter or Missing command.com
Problem:

I get this error when I try to boot up. Invalid Command Intrepreter or Missing command.com


Solution:

This error ocurs for one of two reasons.

You have a non-bootable disk in your floppy drive.
answer: Remove the disk from the drive and try again.
Your hard drive has lost it's boot up information. (command.com) answer: Fatal error. You can see if your emergency disk will start the computer.

*smacks head* Doh!

It has been so long since I have done this that I forgot this can happen!

Mistress, make sure there are no floppies in your floppy drives.

 

[Mistress]

*smacks head* Doh!

It has been so long since I have done this that I forgot this can happen!

Mistress, make sure there are no floppies in your floppy drives.

Umm...I may seem ditzy but I'm not dumb.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Umm...I may seem ditzy but I'm not dumb.

I am both so I just assumed...

Seriously, I have seen people that are computer wizards make that mistake so it doesn't mean anything.

 

[Guest]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/support/windows/topics/errormsg/emresctr.asp

 

[Weird Harold]

...then I had an explore error and it restarted.

This time instead of restarting it went to the black start up screen and said:

invalid command.com


enter correct name of command interpreter (eg, C:/Command.com)


And wont do anything now.....

This is why Windows prompts you to make a "startup disk" when you install it -- so you can boot from the floppy to fix errors that keep your system from booting.

From the sequence of events I can see three possibilities:

One: You caught a virus that corrupted your boot sector and started deleting files.

Boot from a floppy and run a virus scan -- you may need to re-configure your Set-up menu to boot from your windows CD to be able to run your virus scan.

If you can't get a virus scan to run, take it to a repair shop and have them check it for viruses.

two: Your hard drive is failing or has failed.

Boot from a start-up disk and run scandisk. Runscan disk a second time if it completes the first run to see if it finds any additional problems. Constant or reoccuring faults in scandisk are usually an indication of an old hard-drive that isn't positioning the heads consistently or isn't coming up to speed properly.

Three: (and most likely) When your system crashed, it was in the process of updating the FAT (File Allocation Table) and did not complete the action, leaving a corrupted FAT.

Boot From a start-up disk (for this, one from your new computer will work.) and run Scandisk. After it completes, re-boot from the hard disk and check for other problems that may have been induced by the crash or rebuilding the FAT.

 

[Asendin]

download a win98 bootdisk for

http://www.bootdisk.com , put that on a floppy , shut down your computer boot the floppy and type a:\command.com c:\command.com

take the floppy out and reboot.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

type a:\command.com c:\command.com

Or rather:

copy a:\command.com c:\command.com

Sometimes there is a spare command.com somewhere on the hard drive - when I had DOS based computers I kept a copy of a DOS in a directory and on several floppies. It is important to get the right version too.

 

[Weird Harold]

download a win98 bootdisk for

http://www.bootdisk.com , put that on a floppy , shut down your computer boot the floppy and type a:\command.com c:\command.com

take the floppy out and reboot.

If she does in fact have a corrupt or missing Command.com this will solve the problem.

However, this error message is seldom generated by a bad or missing command.com. It's generated by some other problem that keeps the computer from seeing command.com -- bad FAT, failing disk, virus infection, scrambled CMOS, or something similar.

I can't recall one case where I've seen this error in circumstances like Mistress described that was a result of command.com actually being the problem.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

I can't recall one case where I've seen this error in circumstances like Mistress described that was a result of command.com actually being the problem.

I can, but it has been quite a while since I haven't run a DOS based version of Windoze in almost 6 years.

 

[Asendin]

I can, but it has been quite a while since I haven't run a DOS based version of Windoze in almost 6 years.

same, running XP for around 2 years now dual booted with windows.NET , moving onto longhorn soon..

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

same, running XP for around 2 years now dual booted with windows.NET , moving onto longhorn soon..

Ahhhh! .NET! *makes the cross sign while frantically searching for crucifix*

Can you tell I am a Java programmer?

 

[Asendin]

Ahhhh! .NET! *makes the cross sign while frantically searching for crucifix*

Can you tell I am a Java programmer?

I can now

 

[Weird Harold]

I can, but it has been quite a while since I haven't run a DOS based version of Windoze in almost 6 years.

I can recall several instances where command.com was the problem, just not any where the problem just mysteriously appeared on rebooting.

I have seen the other OS files get corrupted and cause this error on a reboot but not command.com.

I've also seen command.com GET corrupted from trying to replace it because of this error message wihtout correcting the real problem, hence my warning that other problems should be investigated, or at least considered, first.

 

[LukkyKnight]

It might, just might, be less tragic. It might be as simple as the setup information getting hosed up by a weak BIOS battery... when that happens the results are notoriously unpredictable.

The long and short of it is, there are some good suggestions here, worth trying and checking, but it's pretty tough to diagnose things over the net...

 

[Weird Harold]

...but it's pretty tough to diagnose things over the net...

Oh, how true that is.

There just isn't any substitute for "hands-on" troubleshooting where you can hear if the drives's clunking or slow to come up to speed and speed read the drivers installing.

 

[Draco]

but it's pretty tough to diagnose things over the net...

Amen to that brother...he speaketh the truth!

Also, try this little doozey...
Make a working bootdisk on old pc, start good(?) PC from it and when you get the boot menu (Start Win98 setup fron CD, etc) hold down SHIFT-F5 and then once you get A:\> type "fdisk/mbr"
without the brackets

it will restore (or fix) the MBR (Master Boot Record)

Also, check all connections to back of PC and the likes. I wont tell you to check monitor is turned on..thats a given. Sounds like a flat BIOS battery to me, its dumped its BIOS config.

Regards
Draco

 

[Mistress]

WOOHOO fixed it!!!!


I figured I had nothing to loose so I opened the case and was messing around inside it. I decided to check the ram so I took them all out and replaced them back in and thats when I noticed the cpu cooler was just laying there not attached. So of course I knew immediately thats what the problem was because the comp had been getting extremely hot. I put eveything back together and wah-la..I am using the computer right at this moment. I'm going to celebrate by logging into eq....

ta-ta.

 

[Asendin]

that should never have caused that exact error message but glad its fixed