Need some Dos help... I think

[Gncc50]

I recently purchased a PowerPath 15. It had the old motherboard and hard drive. I installed a new backplane and mother board. I also got a disk on a module from EMI with the updated software installed. I ran auto detect in CMOS setup and it detected the new hard drive. I made sure it was booting to the floppy first and then the hard drive.

Now my problem, when it boots I get "operating system missing". I put in the boot disk I received with the DOM and it boots to A:, I then can navigate
to c: drive and I see that dos is there and the powerpath directory is also there. I can go to the powerpath directory and execute the EZ.bat file and the machine control software comes on and I can home the machine,and access the control.

I googled it and tried fdisk/mbr to recover the master boot record. That didn't seem to help either. Should I format the DOM and reinstall dos and the powerpath software or is there an easier fix??

[Karl_T]

This might be worth a try. the command SYS used to transfer the OS. Try SYS C: after booting from your floppy.

Karl

[Gncc50]

As you were typing the reply I tried just what you suggested. It unfortunately didn't work. I also found after I boot from the floppy and then go to C: if I type autoexec.bat it also starts the control software. I ran scandisk and it found no problems.

The exact message I am getting is " searching for boot record from ide-ok"
"missing operating system"


ide-0 is second in my boot sequence after floppy in my cmos settings.

Thanks for your reply,

Pete

[One of Many]

I'd look into what the autoexec.bat or other *.bat file that is not quite right. It sounds like it is missing the call to load the machine software. You can keep pressing F8 repeatedly at power up while CMOS is doing its thing. Then you will see a message to run the autoexec.bat file to continue steps through the boot process.

You can use the "edit" command at the dos prompt and then go through the process to tab through to the autoexec or any other file, change as required and resave it. Then you can do an F8 at power up to step through the boot process again to see what file is either missing or called from the wrong location. directory or drive. If you see a line where it asks to process or execute a line that says "echo off" use N so what happens next will display on the screen.

You may also need a line that changes the directory if the machine software or your EZ.bat file resides elsewhere in the C drive:

C:\cd\c:\directory of *.exe or *.bat of file to load GUI

or as simple as:

C:\EZ.bat as the last line in the autoexec.bat file if EZ.bat resides in the main section of the C drive.

DC

[HuFlungDung]

If you can copy the contents of your autoexec.bat here for a look, it would be helpful.

I think you need a path command in the autoexec.bat to point to the DOS directory on C so that the computer has somewhere to go to get to the DOS command.com it needs in order to execute commands.

[Gncc50]

If I navigate to C: then type c:\autoexec.bat then the control software comes up as it should. It seems I can't get it to look at C: or the autoexec.bat

[HuFlungDung]

The autoexec.bat only executes once after booting up. You'd need to remove the floppy from the drive and reboot before it will search drive C for autoexec.bat and config.sys.

If the autoexec.bat on C does not have a path command to point to where DOS is installed, then it will report no operating system. Thus copying autoexec.bat from a bootable floppy will not likely have the correct path to DOS, because it will have its own command.com on the bootable floppy. So you'd have to edit it a little bit, as One of Many wrote above.

If you type 'autoexec.bat', that will run the file. If you want to open it for a look, you must use
edit C:\autoexec.bat

[One of Many]

Originally Posted by Gncc50 If I navigate to C: then type c:\autoexec.bat then the control software comes up as it should. It seems I can't get it to look at C: or the autoexec.bat

Hmmm, I wonder if when you formated the DOM, if you told it to make it a system disk? This could create a boot sector, but not sure of the proper initialization of a DOM as replacing a hard disk.

If doing an F8 if it crashes before getting to the autoexec, I'd think it to be either cmos or DOM prep improper.

Here is the autoexec of an ezpath.

C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE
PATH=c:\;c:\dos;c:\ezpath
ECHO on
VERIFY ON
PROMPT $P$G
cls
REM C:\EZpath\cdrivestuff\ezload c:\ezpath\cdrivestuff\bmdc.bin
REM original line above this was-- ezload bmdc.bin
cd\ezpath
ez


DC

[Gncc50]

Ok,

Here is what is in the autoexec.bat


c:\dos\smartdrv.exe
path=c:\;c:\dos:;c:\ppath
echo off
verify on
prompt $p$g
doskey
cls
cd\ppath
ez

Thanks for your help. Pete

[Gncc50]

One of many,

I purchased the dom with the updated software already loaded. I was supposed to be able to plug it in and go.

They said there might be compatibility issues with the older mother boards. I updated and used the the same model mother board that I am using in another Bridgeport machine that is also using one of their disk on a modules. It has been running several years with no problems, so I don't think it is a compatibility issue. Stuck.

Thanks again. Pete

[HuFlungDung]

This line contains a typo:
path=c:\;c:\dos:;c:\ppath
should be
path=c:\;c:\dos;c:\ppath

I know, picky, picky, but so is DOS

Other than that, I don't know. What files do you have in the root directory on C:?

[One of Many]

Hu,

Could be as simple as that.

Here is a copy of the config.sys, although again ezpath...

DC

device=C:\dos\HIMEM.SYS
SHELL = C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM C:\DOS /p /e:1024
FILES=50
Buffers=20
DOS=HIGH,UMB
NUMLOCK=ON
devicehigh=c:\dos\ansi.sys