System Hangs at "Starting MS-DOS" Message with DoubleSpace (98740)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.0
This article was previously published under Q98740

SYMPTOMS

After you compress an existing drive with DoubleSpace, the system may stop responding (hang) during startup when the "Starting MS-DOS" text appears.

If you install DoubleSpace on your boot drive, the following error message may be displayed:
Bad or Missing Command Interpreter

CAUSE

Your system may hang during startup because it is unable to mount the compressed volume file (CVF) and load the command interpreter. In this situation, the same problem occurs if you try to boot with an MS-DOS 6.0 floppy disk.

Your system may display the error message above if the compressed drive did not mount properly and the COMMAND.COM file is not accessible on the drive.

WORKAROUND

If your system hangs during startup, try the following:

  1. Boot with another version of MS-DOS.
  2. Create a blank DBLSPACE.INI file.
  3. Use your MS-DOS 6.0 startup disk to reboot the system and manually mount the compressed drive.
If your system displays the error message, copy the COMMAND.COM file to the root directory of the drive as follows:

  1. Boot from an MS-DOS system disk, such as MS-DOS Upgrade Disk 1 or Uninstall Disk 1.
  2. When the message "Starting MS-DOS..." appears, press the F5 key to perform a clean boot.
  3. Use the following command to copy the COMMAND.COM file to the boot drive: 
          copy a:\command.com c:\command.com
  4. Remove the disk from the A drive and reboot the machine.
The error message should no longer appear. If your machine locks up, you may need to use the extended procedure below.

MORE INFORMATION

If a DBLSPACE.INI file exists on the boot drive and it has an ActivateDrive= line, DoubleSpace attempts to mount the drive specified. If for some reason it cannot be mounted and the system hangs, mounting the drive manually may correct the problem. To do so, use the steps below.

Before starting this procedure, you need the following two items:

  • A bootable disk from an earlier version of MS-DOS
  • The ATTRIB.EXE file from the earlier version of MS-DOS
NOTE: If you use MS-DOS 4.01 or earlier, you need to use a third- party program instead of the ATTRIB program to remove system or hidden file attributes.

  1. Reboot using a floppy disk with a version of MS-DOS earlier than 6.0.
  2. If you are using MS-DOS version 4.01 or earlier, use a third-party program to clear the file attributes on the DBLSPACE.INI file.
  3. If you are using MS-DOS 5 Upgrade, insert MS-DOS 5 Upgrade Disk 2 (5.25-inch) or Disk 3 (3.5-inch) and type the following lines at the MS-DOS command prompt, pressing ENTER after each line:

    a:expand a:attrib.ex_ c:\attrib.exe
    c:\attrib -s -h -r c:\dblspace.ini

    NOTE: This example assumes you are using floppy disk drive A; substitute drive B if appropriate.
  4. Rename the DBLSPACE.INI file. For example: 
          ren c:\dblspace.ini temp.ini.
  5. Type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt:

    copy con dblspace.ini

    After you type the above line, press ENTER twice, press the F6 key, and then press ENTER again; this creates a blank DBLSPACE.INI file.
  6. Restore the attributes to the DBLSPACE.INI file by typing the following command:

    c:\attrib +s +h +r c:\dblspace.ini

    Note: If you are using MS-DOS version 4.01 or earlier, use a third-party program to set the file attributes on the DBLSPACE.INI file.
  7. Insert MS-DOS 6.0 Disk 1 and type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt, pressing ENTER after each line:

    copy a:command.com c:\
    copy a:attrib.exe c:\
    copy a:expand.exe c:\

    NOTE: This example assumes you are using floppy disk drive A; substitute drive B if appropriate.
  8. Insert MS-DOS 6.0 Disk 3 (3.5-inch) or Disk 4 (5.25-inch), type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt, and then press ENTER:

    expand a:dblspace.ex_ c:\dblspace.exe

  9. Remove all floppy disks, reboot, and then type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt:

    c:\dblspace /mount c:

    Alternatively, run DBLSPACE.EXE, choose Mount from the Drive menu, and try to mount C:\DBLSPACE.000. If the drive mounts successfully, quit DoubleSpace, and reboot your computer.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:2/19/2002
Keywords:KB98740
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.