Windows 95

[robert23]

I have a Packard Bell computer with Windows 95. I get errors and want to reinstall the operating system. When I put the Packard Bell Master Restore Diskette Ver 3.61W and Packard Bell Master CD PC-Doctor TM Diagnostics disks in I get the message: Unable To Create ERROR.LOG and can proceed no further. Does anyone know how to fix this? Robert

[nil]

Hi Robert. I'm just guessing here but maybe that floppy disk of yours need to be write enabled, eg. slide the the tab across till its covering the hole (personally I'd make a copy of the disk and use the copy instead). Assuming the floppy disk is booting up ok and that the the errors occur after you attempt to run something from the CDROM try CD'ing to a writable disk first, like the RAM disk if one is created, then starting the cdrom program using its full pathname. It may also be that the program you're trying to run need to create a file in a "temp" directory. Let us know if you need talking through any of the above.

Cheers.

Edited September 6, 2005 by nil

[robert23]

Thanks for responding. The floppy seems ok and the problem starts after I insert the CD. There's no tab to slide on the floppy, it came that way. I re-installed the system a couple of times before in the past without problems. I bought the computer new in '97 What is an ERROR.LOG ? I was wondering if there was something I could do in DOS that would fix it.

I need help in these areas: "try CD'ing to a writable disk first, like the RAM disk if one is created, then starting the cdrom program using its full pathname. It may also be that the program you're trying to run need to create a file in a "temp" directory. Let us know if you need talking through any of the above"

IWould it be better or easier to just erase the whole hard drive and just start over with something new? If so I'm not sure how to do it. This is a 2nd computer now that I've got a newer one with Windows XP. I don't care about all that Packard Bell Navigator stuff that came with the computer. All I really need is the most current version of Windows that this computer will handle and I also want to try experimenting with Linux and install that operating system if I can. I ran a BelArc scan on the computer and got the following information:

Operating System        System Model   

Windows 95 B (OSR2) (build 4.0.1111)        Packard Bell NEC C 115A

System Serial Number: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Processor a        Main Circuit Board b   

120 megahertz Intel Pentium

No memory cache        Board: Intel Corporation NV430VX

Bus Clock: 96 megahertz

BIOS: Intel Corporation 1.00.08.DN0R 10/23/96   

Drives        Memory Modules c,d   

3.28 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity

768 Megabytes Hard Drive Free Space

LITEON CD-ROM LTN222A

Generic floppy disk drive (3.5")

Seagate Technology 1275MB - ST31276A [Hard drive] (1.28 GB) -- drive 0, s/n FNE9AA9, rev 1.37, SMART Status: Healthy        16 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot '0' has 8 MB

Slot '1' has 8 MB

Slot '2' is Empty

Slot '3' is Empty   

    Local Drive Volumes   

               

c: (FAT on drive 0)    2.00 GB    606 MB free   

h: (FAT on drive 0)    1.28 GB    162 MB free   

   

    Network Drives   

    None detected   

Users (mouse over user name for details)        Printers   

No details available         Canon Bubble-Jet BJ-200    on LPT1:   

Microsoft Fax Driver    on FAX:   

Microsoft Fax Driver    on PUB:   

   

Controllers        Display   

Standard Floppy Disk Controller

Intel 82371SB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller

Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)

Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)        S3 Inc. Trio64V+ [Display adapter]

ViewSonic E773 [Monitor] (15.7"vis, s/n DP02302710, June 2000)   

Bus Adapters        Multimedia   

None detected        Sound III Audio Device w/SWT

Sound III EEPROM Device

Sound III Gameport Joystick Device

Sound III MPU-401 Device

Wave Device for Voice Modem   

Communications        Other Devices   

Sound III 336SP [Modem]

           

AOL Adapter   

Microsoft Virtual Private Networking Adapter   

        Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard

Standard PS/2 Port Mouse   

[iWindoze]

Thanks for responding.  The floppy seems ok and the problem starts after I insert the CD.  There's no tab to slide on the floppy, it came that way.  I re-installed the system a couple of times before in the past without problems. I bought the computer new in '97  What is an ERROR.LOG  ?  I was wondering if there was something I could do in DOS that would fix it.

I need help in these areas: "try CD'ing to a writable disk first, like the RAM disk if one is created, then starting the cdrom program using its full pathname. It may also be that the program you're trying to run need to create a file in a "temp" directory. Let us know if you need talking through any of the above" 

<SNIP>

<Much todo About Hardware>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well based on the stats you've given I'd recommend slaping on Windows 98

using 98Lite or ROM II (Revenge of Mozilla) and using it with the 95 shell..really

any Microsoft OS after Win95b is going to have built in support for most of those

specs...

[robert23]

Thanks for responding, 98Lite and ROM II sound interesting and I might do it if I can get a good deal on a 98 program. Right now I'm fighting to get the 95 reinstalled and am having trouble creating a new boot disk. I can't get past the problem of getting the LITEON CD-ROM LTN222A driver to work on the boot disk and nothing I've put into the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT seems to work. The CD-ROM works except when I try to use the boot disk. I found a driver program for it and downloaded it but no change. I'm hoping somebody can tell me what data I need to put in the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to make the disk work. Here's some data on what's going on now:

===============================================

A:\CONFIG.SYS     from  New Boot Disk  

DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS

DEVICE=A:\EMM386.EXE NOEMS I=B000-B7FF

===============================================

A:\CONFIG.SYS      from Packard Bell Disk

DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS

DOS=HIGH,UMB

DEVICE=A:\EMM386.EXE NOEMS I=B000-B7FF

FILESHIGH=30

BUFFERSHIGH=20

STACKSHIGH=0,0

FCBSHIGH=1

LASTDRIVEHIGH=Z

=================================================

C:\CONFIG.SYS    From Sysedit

DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS

DOS=HIGH,UMB

REM DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS I=B000-B7FF

FILESHIGH=50

BUFFERSHIGH=20

STACKSHIGH=0,0

FCBSHIGH=1

DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\MOUSE.SYS

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM devicehigh=c:\pbtools\ltnide.sys /d:mscd0001 /dma

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM devicehigh = c:\hxcd-rom\ltnide.sys /d:mscd000

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM devicehigh = c:\hxcd-rom\ltnide.sys /d:mscd000

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM devicehigh = c:\hxcd-rom\ltnide.sys /d:mscd000

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM devicehigh = c:\hxcd-rom\ltnide.sys /d:mscd000

DEVICEHIGH = C:\HXCD-ROM\LTNIDE.SYS /D:MSCD000

DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE

=================================================

From Windows Explorer to Windows to Config to General

RIFF†  IDF LIST  MMAPhdr )   )            General MIDI Instrument x inst¥   ¥                  (      0   Unspecified Company U n s p e c i f i e d   C o m p a n y   General MIDI Instrument G e n e r a l   M I D I   I n s t r u m e n t     caps                     chan      ÿý     t ,     LISTR  MMAPhdr *   *            Percussion on Channel 16  instØ   Ø                  (   )   R   Unspecified Company U n s p e c i f i e d   C o m p a n y   MIDI Instrument with Drums on Channel 16 M I D I   I n s t r u m e n t   w i t h   D r u m s   o n   C h a n n e l   1 6    caps                     chan      ÿ

  ?          

=================================================

C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT  From Sysedit

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4

@ECHO OFF

PROMPT $P$G

PATH C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\

SET DIRCMD=/O

SET TEMP=C:\PBTOOLS\WINTEMP

SET WINPMT=[WINDOWS] $P$G

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM lh c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:mscd0001 /m:20 /s /l:q

C:\WINDOWS\AZTPNP.EXE /A

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM lh c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:mscd000 /m:20 /s /l:q

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM lh c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:mscd000 /m:20 /s /l:q

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM lh c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:mscd000 /m:20 /s /l:q

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM lh c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:mscd000 /m:20 /s /l:q

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM lh c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:mscd000 /m:20 /s /l:q

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM lh c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:mscd000 /m:20 /s /l:q

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM lh c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:mscd000 /m:20 /s /l:q

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

REM lh c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:mscd000 /m:20 /s /l:q

REM ---  By HiSpeed CD-ROM Drive installation program.  9/7/105  ---

LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD000 /M:20 /S /L:Q

======================================================

[robert23]

NARROWING DOWN THE PROBLEM

I think I've got this boot disk problem almost solved and will be able to use the disk I've been working on once I figure just a couple of things out. I believe I've narrowed the problem down to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and the link between the CD-ROM drive and the sound card. Here's where things stand now:

===================================================

current CONFIG.SYS on boot disk

DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS

DEVICEHIGH = A:\HXCD-ROM\LTNIDE.SYS /D:MSCD000

=======================================================

current AUTOEXEC.BAT on boot disk

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4

@ECHO OFF

PROMPT $P$G

PATH C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\

SET DIRCMD=/O

SET TEMP=C:\PBTOOLS\WINTEMP

SET WINPMT=[WINDOWS] $P$G

A:\WINDOWS\AZTPNP.EXE /A

LH A:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD000 /M:20 /S /L:Q

============================================================

current AUTOEXEC.BAT on C Drive

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4

@ECHO OFF

PROMPT $P$G

PATH C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\

SET DIRCMD=/O

SET TEMP=C:\PBTOOLS\WINTEMP

SET WINPMT=[WINDOWS] $P$G

C:\WINDOWS\AZTPNP.EXE /A

LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD000 /M:20 /S /L:Q

=============================================================

The boot disk now works if I put C instead of A in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file so I guess that means I found the right CD-ROM driver code but I know the value needs to be A

When I put A in it won't work so I think that means some of those Cs in the AUTOEXEC.BAT boof disk file needs to be As and maybe I don't need a few of thos addresses that are in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Does anyone have ideas what I should try next?

[nil]

Sorry about the delayed response - had computer (and life) troubles of my own. I did write the following while off-line and hope it helps.

There's no tab to slide on the floppy, it came that way.

I'm glad, coz I would've felt bad had you casually let your boot disk get plastered over on my poor advice. It's not a great idea to write to your original master boot disks - says me who still thinks tab-less floppy disks should be illegal.

The floppy seems ok and the problem starts after I insert the CD. I re-installed the system a couple of times before in the past without problems. I bought the computer new in '97. What is an ERROR.LOG?

I don't know what error.log is (or which program is trying to create it) or know enough about your HP/Win95 setup to offer any specific ideas. My earlier suggestions were typical DOS workarounds for "file creation" errors but in retrospect they probably won't be of much help, especially given neither disk has been altered and that you've successfully reinstalled in the same way in the past.

I need help in these areas... It may also be that the program you're trying to run needs to create a file in a "temp" directory.

Many DOS programs save temporary files to the directory recorded in a "variable" named 'tmp', and will fail if either the variable, or the directory it points to, doesn't exist (or can't be written to, eg. the variable references a full or write-protected disk).

To check if a 'tmp' variable exists just enter the command 'set' (without the quotes) at the DOS prompt and look for a line beginning with "tmp=". If the variable doesn't exist you can create it by using the command line 'set tmp=a:\' for example, and if the directory it points to is invalid (as a:\ would be in your case if you use your original boot disk]) change it by entering something like 'set tmp=c:\'. (To "delete" the variable you'd use 'set tmp=', and to reference the text stored in a variable just surround the variable name with '%' symbols, eg. 'echo The temp directory is currently %tmp%'.)

Try CD'ing to a writable disk first, like the RAM disk if one is created, then starting the cdrom program using its full pathname.

A common "9x" way to do a standard floppy/cdrom install of Windows is to boot up with a floppy, put in the Windows setup disk, then at the DOS prompt enter either x:\setup ('x' being your cdrom drive letter), or something like this:

x:\ (change the "current drive" to your cdrom drive)

cd x:\ (change the "current directory" to the root directory of your cdrom disk)

setup (run setup.exe)

The second method is generally the better approach but problems can occur if a program attempts to create a file (eg. a report or errorlog) in the current directory on a full or write-protected disk (like a cdrom). One possible workaround is to first change the current drive/directory to a writable disk, then start the program using it's full pathname, eg:

c:\

cd c:\temp

x:\dos\util\program

Note though that some cdrom-based programs expect to both read from and write to the current directory, and to get them to work you may need to copy the entire directory of the program in question to a writable disk and start it from there, eg.

xcopy /s x:\dos\util c:\util\

c:\

cd c:\util

program

Most Windows installers dump the required install files from cdrom to the 'c' drive (the intended boot partition) and eventually restart from that partition to complete the installation. The initial "current directory" is the root directory of the disk your system booted from (eg. "a:\" if you booted from a floppy disk) and it remains the "current directory" until explicitly changed from a batch file (eg. a:\autoexec.bat) or from the commandline, and while there's no default %tmp% assignment it's unusual for a boot disk not to create one via autoexec.bat. If issues are happening early in the boot process and you can't check the location of the temp or current directories via DOS try instead get that information by looking at 'a:\autoexec.bat' with notepad.

...like the RAM disk if one is created...

A typical Win98 boot disk creates a "ram disk" (a portion of the computers memory is exclusively reserved for use as a high speed temporary disk) and uses it as the "temp" directory and to store other created files. Your OEM/Win95 boot disk may not create a ram disk and might instead use a directory on the hard disk to store temporary files. Ramdisks are mostly a luxury on hard-disk systems and in your case a waste of precious RAM so consider modifying any boot disks you create/use in future to either stop the ram disk from being created or to limit it's size (ie. ram usage).

Would it be better or easier to just erase the whole hard drive and just start over with something new? If so I'm not sure how to do it.

Maybe there's a simple fix for the issues you've describe but a "clean install" (ie. reformatting the boot partition and installing a fresh copy of Windows on it) is still likely to be the better long term solution. That said, there's no simple fix if you accidently wipe a hidden "support" partition (or format months worth of unsaved data, or scratch your cd, ...) so take care, and check out one of the many install guides available (on this site for example) before taking the plunge. (A complete reinstall would likely involve repartitioning and reformatting your hard drive, preferably with two partitions to make future reinstalls easier, and a search for "Ranish Partition Manager" would be a good start.)

All I really need is the most current version of Windows that this computer will handle...

If you do upgrade try Windows 98SE. It's generally easier to strip down than 'ME' and more likely to handle modern hardware and software than Windows '98'. In any case try using less resource hungry alternatives to programs you might find yourself needing (eg. Foxit PDF Reader instead of Adobe Acrobat Reader, or use registry hacks instead of installing context menu extensions), and consider turning off any installed realtime virus/trojan/scumware scanners until they're actually needed (eg. just before installing a new program). Regardless of which OS you use don't use compressed disks (your Win95 system has one?) because they sacrifice RAM and processing power (you've got little to waste of both) for extra disk storage (which is relatively cheap and easy to upgrade these days).

If you instead decide to reinstall your HP/Win95 setup you might find this link helpful, though I only gave it a quick glance and didn't check if it helps answer your previous questions.

Anyhow, I'm sure someone will chuck a spare P-200 your way if you keep flashing those specs around. Good Luck.

Edit: I'm not sure if the version of command.com you're using includes it but you could type 'set' immediately after your floppy boot fails and see if a variable named 'cmdline' exists. If it does, it holds the name of the last external program run from that particular DOS shell, which may not tell you which commandline is causing you hassles (internal commands aren't recorded) but at least will help track down how far along the boot process you're getting. You may also find this link helpful.

Cheers.

Edited September 9, 2005 by nil

[robert23]

Thanks for the detailed response, there's a lot there for me to study. I found a boot disk that was able to erase the system. I went to http://www.putergeek.com/downloads/#win95b_boot and downloaded the file and used it to create a boot disk that erased the memory. When I went to reinstall Win95 I discovered that the PuterGeek boot disk didn't work with the Packard Bell CD which contains Windows 95 within it. Starting to get discouraged and thinking I might have to go out and buy a Windows 95 CD, it occurred to me that I should try the Packard Bell Master Restore Diskette Ver 3.61W and Packard Bell Master CD PC-Doctor TM Diagnostics combination again and BINGO that was the answer!!! The PuterGeek download got rid of whatever crud was preventing the factory disks from working. So it turns out the problem was in my C Drive not in the 3.5 Restore Diskette. When I bought this computer new back in '97 I was just doing e-mail and staying within the AOL program and 16 MB RAM was good enough. Now I go to various websites and it was nearly impossible to get anything accomplished because of the slow speed. Today with the operating system running again and nearly 75% hard drive space available instead of the 3% available when the system was corrupted I went to WeirdStuff (a computer surplus store in Sunnyvale CA) and bought 4 16MB simms and installed them myself, another first for me who previously wasn't brave enough to remove the cover of the unit. With 64 MB RAM the computer seems like it's running at lightening speed compared to the way it was before. It's not as powerful as my other computer with Windows XP and 256 RAM and 30 GB hard drive but I'm on it right now with several windows open and it's hanging in there so I'm happy and feel like Einstein that I was able to do this without having to take it into a shop. I'm wondering what to do about virus protection. I've never had it on this system before but think I need something. Just before the 'fix" I had downloaded Grisoft AVG Version 7.1.0.287 but it wasn't usable because of the corruption and slow operating speed. With the 64 MB Ram and the clean system, I'm wondering if I should try Grisoft again or if it would bog things down too much. Grisoft starts itself up each time the system boots but I'm hoping I can disable that function as a preference and only have it run when I start it manually. Any ideas on virus protection the system I've got?

[nil]

Thanks for the detailed response, there's a lot there for me to study.

Yeah, I've been known to prattle on. Glad to see you got your system's up and running.

I'm happy and feel like Einstein that I was able to do this without having to take it into a shop.

Scary as hell the first time round but an awesome rush all the same. You'll be treating it like lego before too long. Happy hacking.

I'm wondering what to do about virus protection. I've never had it on this system before but think I need something.

I'd certainly be wanting some form of protection running, if only while on-line.

'AVG7' and 'Avast 4.6 Home Edition' (http://www.avast.com/) are two popular choices for free (for personal use) anti-virus that'll work with Win95. If you stick with AVG I strongly suggest you configure the anti-virus to your liking (and turn off auto-updates) then quit it's "control center" (via the tray icon menu) for an instant 10MB+ memory saving. Stopping the control center from loading at startup (which is what you're best doing) requires a registry change; the simplest way to do it is to run 'MSConfig' (System Configuration Utility) and untick the relevant box on the "Startup" tab. (Assumes 'MSConfig' is on your system; if not download and use Codestuff Starter instead - http://members.lycos.co.uk/codestuff/)

Remember that your AV is only as good as it's last update, and is nothing but hard disk clutter if you don't switch it on *before* you (think you might) need it...

Your best bet for a free software firewall is definately Kerio Personal Firewall v2.1.5 (not the latter versions) which you can get via http://download.kerio.com/archive/. ZoneAlarm (a popular "applications-based" firewall) is arguably easier to configure than Kerio (a "rules-based" firewall) but is absolutely bloated in comparison. Check the Kerio forum (http://forums.kerio.com/) or dslreport forum (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/kerio) for a "generic ruleset" to get you started.

The two best choices in anti-spyware software are 'SpyBot-SD (Search and Destroy)' (http://security.kolla.de/) and Lavasoft's 'Adaware SE Personal Edition' (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/). If you have the disk space I suggest you install both and use them on a regular basis.

All my opinions of course. For more check out the wilders.org forum (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/index.php).

Cheers.

[Andromeda43]

When you get an error message like, "can't create Log file" it's usually because there's already a log file on the hard drive and its locked.

Either unlocking it or just deleting it would solve that problem....

But why anyone would want to keep Win 95 is absolutely Beyond me.

Your first priority should be to find yourself a 98-Upgrade CD and do the upgrade.

Finally, upgrading to Windows 98/Second Edition gives you much better printer and USB support.

I have all the CD's here and do that upgrade every once in a while.

It just takes a little time.....no big deal.

I've got an old packard bell computer on my bench right now.....I added some ram, put in a larger (faster) HD, and put in a new Intel hardware modem and upgraded it to Windows 98/SE w/ Service pack.

Believe it or not.....that old dog runs pretty good now.

Doing upgrades is better than doing a clean install because it saves all the old hardware drivers that may be impossible to find.

Good Luck,

Andromeda43

[nil]

When you get an error message like, "can't create Log file" it's usually because there's already a log file on the hard drive and its locked.

Either unlocking it or just deleting it would solve that problem....

What do you mean by "locked", and how would you go about "unlocking" it? (Other than deleting it of course )