Basic Microsoft DOS
troubleshooting.
Issue:
Basic Microsoft DOS troubleshooting.
Additional Information:
This document has been created as a
location of general steps that can be taken to help you with problems
you may be experiencing with Microsoft DOS that are either general
problems. Users who also have Microsoft Windows on their computer should
refer to the basic trouble shooting document for Windows instead of
following the directions on this page, see our
basic troubleshooting page for links to the appropriate document.
Below are some reasons why a user may
follow the steps in this document.
- Unknown or undocumented problem with
computer running Microsoft DOS.
- Performance issues with the computer,
i.e. computer running slow.
- Users who wish to run a maintenance
on the computer or potentially speed up the computer.
- Users looking for steps to help
resolve a issue or that may help in locating the cause of an issue.
Solutions:
Error messages
encountered during boot
- Ensure that your computer BIOS settings are correctly configured
to the hardware that is installed in your computer. Improper
settings in the BIOS may cause various types of errors when first
booting a IBM compatible computer. These errors often occur as the
computer is first booting and may stop the load process of the
computer.
- Errors that are encountered during boot are commonly due to a
ms-configuration with your autoexec.bat or config.sys. We recommend
that you edit your autoexec.bat and/or config.sys and look for any
abnormalities.
Other error messages
If you are experiencing other error messages it is likely these
errors are being caused by the software program you are running and/or
a hardware device you are attempting to utilize it is recommended you
see the
basic trouble shooting section for your hardware device or
software program.
Computer running slow
- Make sure your autoexec.bat and
config.sys are optimized. Changing the way programs load into
memory, removing lines that are not necessary, and changing the
order of lines in your config.sys can all help with improving the
speed of your computer.
- Make sure your computer has at
least 50MB of hard disk drive space. If your computer has less then
50MB it may cause the computer to operate more slowly.
- Run Microsoft Scandisk and Defrag
on the computer.
- From the MS-DOS prompt C:\> type
chkdsk /f, if this gives you a bad command or file
name type cd\dos and press enter to get into the
DOS prompt and try it again.
- Delete all the temporary files and
any scandisk error files. From the MS- DOS prompt C:\> type
del *.tmp to delete all temporary files, also type
del *.chk. Once the files have been deleted type cd\dos
to get into the DOS directory and delete the *.tmp and *.chk files
like was done earlier.
- Ensure your computer has the latest
drivers for the hardware devices installed in your computer.
Issue with hardware
device
If you are having difficulties with a
hardware device please see our
basic trouble shooting section for steps that can be taken to help
resolve your hardware issues.
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