General error messages.

Every such error message may indicate problems ranging from improper hardware configuration to damaged hard disk partition information. The following steps can be used to help resolve the problem. However, if these steps do not resolve the problem, please contact your hardware manufacturer or have the drive serviced by a qualified service professional.

  1. Start the computer using the Windows 95 emergency boot disk (EBD) or using a bootable MS-DOS disk that contains Fdisk.exe, Format.com, Sys.com, and Scandisk.exe (MS-DOS versions 6.2x only).
  2. If your computer does not start from drive A, or if you receive an error message similar to one listed above when you start from drive A, please contact the computer's manufacturer.
  3. Use Fdisk.exe to view the partitions on the hard disk by performing the following steps:
    a. Run Fdisk.exe from the EBD or bootable MS-DOS disk.
    NOTE: If the hard disk was not partitioned using Fdisk.exe, use the appropriate third-party partitioning software to view the hard disk partition(s). For instructions on using the third-party partitioning software, please consult the software's documentation.
    b. Select option 4 (Display partition information).
    c. If the partitions are listed, make sure that the bootable partition is defined as active (look for an uppercase A in the Status column.)
    d. If there are no partitions listed, use Fdisk.exe to establish new partitions and then use Format.com to format the partition you want to boot from.
    WARNING: When you use Fdisk.exe or Format.com to create new partitions or format the drive, you lose any data on that drive or partition.
    e. If all the partitions appear in Fdisk.exe, and one is defined as active, proceed to the next step.
  4. Run the SYS command on the hard disk from the EBD or bootable MS-DOS disk. For example, type the following command:
    a:\sys c:
  5. If you receive the message "System Transferred," remove the disk from drive A and restart the computer. If you receive the same error message after you restart your computer, your hard disk may be configured improperly or damaged.
  6. If you do not receive the "System Transferred" message, or if you receive an error message, run ScanDisk from the EBD or bootable MS-DOS disk (MS-DOS version 6.20 or later) to check for physical damage on the hard disk by typing the following command:
    a:\scandisk c:
  7. If you are prompted to perform a surface scan, choose Yes. If ScanDisk reports physical damage on the hard disk, have the hard disk checked by a qualified service professional.

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