ms-dos compatibility mode

[billy5000]

Hi all

 

A week ago my computer started in ms-dos compatibility mode(no cd roms etc)

and it said that it had a hardware problem when trying to intilise it(didnt state what it was)so i tried and tried to get it back to 100% but to no avail.

so after a net search i found that if a hardware prob occurs then windows will write a log which makes windows avoid trying to right the wrong again which keeps you without cd's etc (ms-dos compatibility mode)

 

it states that if you use the run system in start menu and type sysedit it has a box with loads of cr#p,it pointed me to a bit called hkey-local machine and a subheading called (ios) which when clicked on has a log called noide if you delete this file the computer will relook through the hardware on bootup and voila all was well and my cd's where back for me to watch that dvd id rented(28 days).

 

so if you come up with a problem like this i hope it helps as its a pain in the as# when it does that.

 

billy

[kendo]

does the same work for any operating system I wonder?which operating system did you try this on? :confused:

[billy5000]

Hi all

 

kendo i tried it on M.E and as far as i know it works on 95-98-98se and M.E but as for 2000 and xp i have no idea.

 

billy

 

it was a tip for ms-dos compatibilty using 98 so i thought as the two O,Ses are not much differant i thought id try but XP is pretty differant so not sure.

 

[ 13. December 2003, 06:39 PM: Message edited by: billy5000 ]

[kendo]

thanks anyway,guess what Iv got yeah xp,not got a prob as yet but just thought the knowlege would come in usefull.

[Newt]

There is a fundimental difference in the DOS based Windows systems (all of them from 1.x thru 9x & ME) and the NT systems (NTx.x/2K/XP/2003).

 

95/98/ME are not really operating systems but are big GUI (graphical user interface) programs that make up the parts you normally see. They all require the PC to start using some version of MS-DOS and they simply start up and hook on to DOS but it remains active and does lots of the more basic computing tasks.

 

With all of these, you have the option to 'boot to MS-DOS' which basically means you let DOS load and stop the process there.

 

Most of the things you mentioned are instructions in either config.sys or autoexec.bat which are the main instruction sets to tell DOS exactly how and what to load.

 

The NT systems are completely different since NT is a true & complete operating system. No DOS needed and none to be found. You can run a 'DOS window' but it's not MS-DOS. Simply a program that mimics DOS well enough to run many applications that require it. NT3.x, NT4, 2000, 2003, and XP all use some version of NT.

 

You can still find config.nt and autoexec.nt (and sometimes config.sys and autoexec.bat) but they are not used for starting your operating system. You can delete them and your NT system will do fine. Some older programs won't though since they have to be able to 'see' these files and often need to use parts of them.

 

This is the reason that some older programs, especially games, don't run correctly on any of the NT systems. Programmers would write their program to manipulate hardware to get the effects they wanted. MS-DOS didn't notice and didn't care.

 

Since NT was originally designed as a business system where stability was essential, it does not allow any program to make direct calls (instructions) to hardware. It contains a sub-routine called HAL (hardware abstraction layer) that sits in the background watching for programs to make hardware calls. When this happens, HAL traps the call, figures out what it wanted to do, and does it in a safe manner. Usually. But sometimes HAL gets confused as to what the program wanted to do and does something else altogether (or does nothing). The end result is a program that doesn't work correctly or won't run at all.

[billy5000]

Hi all

 

Hi newt

The reason i went through startmenu-run sysedit was because in my autoexec.bat and config.sys (in and out of windows)was no command line at all which would have been nice and probably easier but i fixed it in the end

otherwise what you have said is spot on e.g config sys etc.

hows NT for games? or is it better in other areas or a good allrounder?

sounds like a good OS.

 

 

billy

[Newt]

NT4 isn't very good for them. 2000 is much better but if you want a new OS and intend to do much gaming, XP is the best choice (unless you want to spend the money for 2003 and then spend a few hours tweaking the settings).

[billy5000]

Hi all

 

newt id love XP as ive tried xp pro edition and thought it was a very attractive OS but at the mo theres always something else needing paying i.e bills and the annoying christmas time poverty but XP home edition is price dropping on ebay all the time so one day i hope.

 

http://www.infinisource.com/techfiles/msdo...patibility.html

 

plus another interesting page thats worth checking next time you got the hood off your pc

 

http://www.overclockers.com/tips00140/

 

 

billy

 

[ 14. December 2003, 09:58 AM: Message edited by: billy5000 ]

[Newt]

LOL - Billy, I'm too chicken to try any of the overclocking things.

 

In my younger days I enjoyed souping up an auto for better performance and probably if computers had been around, I'd have overclocked my system as well.

 

These days, I just take things like they were when I bought them.

[billy5000]

Hi all

 

newt its a wise man that leaves things B but i like to see what benefits/downfalls i get and if it has 100%no probs then i tend to leave it at that

 

if only it was that easy.

 

 

billy