Cannot Make System Disk from File Manager (131276)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 3.0
  • Microsoft Windows 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows 3.11
  • Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11
This article was previously published under Q131276

SYMPTOMS

When you use File Manager to make a system disk, the process may fail and you may receive the following error message:
System Disk Error: Cannot add system files to this disk. Make sure a formatted disk is present in the drive and that the drive door is closed.
In Windows 3.0, the error message is:
System Disk Error: The current drive does not contain system files.

CAUSE

This error can occur if you try to use the Make System Disk option with a floppy disk that contains files.

RESOLUTION

To work around this behavior, use either of the following methods:

  • Remove all the files from the disk before you make it a system disk.
  • Use the MS-DOS SYS command to transfer the system files to the disk. This method works on disks that already contain files. To use this method, type the following line at an MS-DOS prompt:

    sys a:

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/5/2003
Keywords:KB131276
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.