24/4/2016

compactdiscInstallaCDROMdriveronMSDOSSuperUser

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InstallaCDROMdriveronMSDOS
IhaveanoldMSDOScomputerthatIamexperimentingwith.ThecomputerhasanAMD80386processor,1664KBofRAM,a50MBhard
drive,andtwofloppydiskdrives:one31/2inch,theother51/4inch.
IamintheprocessofinstallingaC++compileronthiscomputer(seeInstallC++compileronoldMSDOScomputerwithfloppies formore
details).Inordertofacilitatethatinstallation,IamattemptingtoinstallaCDROMdrive.ThedriveisaTopGloryElectronicsBCDG621D.Ihave
foundthecorrectdriver(http://www.driverguide.com/driver/detail.php?driverid=349099)andhavefollowedtheinstructionsinthemanual(included
inthedriverdownload)toconnectthedrivetothesystemandinstallthesoftware.
CurrentlytheCDROMdriveishookedupasaslavedrivetotheHD,andthejumperissetaccordingly.Thedriveisbeingpoweredcorrectlyit
opensandclosesasitshould.
ThedriverisinstalledinD:\CDROM\,whiletheMSDOSsystemfilesarelocatedintheC:drive.Ihaveaddedthefollowinglinestothe
CONFIG.SYSandAUTOEXEC.BATfiles,respectively:
DEVICE=D:\CDROM\CDROM.SYS/D:MSCD001/V

and
C:\DRDOS\MSCDEX.EXE/D:MSCD001/L:F

Theformerloadsthedriverintomemory,andthelatterconfigurestheMSCDEX.EXEprogramtointeractwiththedriver,thusallowingtheuser
(me)toaccesstheCDROMdrive.
However,aproblemhasoccurred.Afterinstallingthedriverandrestartingthesystem,oneoftwothingshappen:1.Informationaboutthedriveris
displayed.2.Anunusuallylargecursorflashesonscreen.
Theinformationmentionedinitem1isshownhere:
ATAPIIDECDROMDeviceDriver
ReleaseDATE:04/19/1999TIME:09:00:00
Example:DEVICE=CDROM_DRV.SYS/D:MSCD001[/DMA]
/DMA>EnablePCIBusMasterDMAMode
/UDMA>EnablePCIBusMasterUltraDMAMode
SoundCardIDEPort168>IRQ10
SoundCardIDEPort1E8>IRQ11
DriverVersion:2.9
DeviceName:MSCD001
Drive0:Port=1F0(PrimaryChannel),SlaveIRQ=14
FirmwareVersion:M1.30
TransferMode:ProgrammedI/Omode4

Inbothcases,theDOSpromptneverappears,andthesystemdoesnotacceptcommands.Thus,thecomputerisrendereduseless.
TheproblemappearstobecausedbythelineinCONFIG.SYS.WhenIbootMSDOSfromafloppydiskratherthantheHDandremovethatline
fromthefile,thecomputerworksjustfinewhenIrebootfromtheHD.(Ofcourse,MSCDEX.EXEcannotaccessthedevice,asthedriverisnot
loaded).
ThisleadsmetobelievethatIhavethedriveanditsdriversetupcorrectly.However,thatdoesnothelpmeconsideringthatIamunabletodo
anythingwiththecomputeroncethedriverloads.DoesanybodyknowhowIwouldbeabletogainaccesstotheMSDOSpromptandusethe
computerwhilethedriverisloaded?
Thanksinadvancedforyourhelp.
drivers compactdisc msdos
askedJul9'14at2:11

Kyle
48

Tryremovingthe /V fromthelinein CONFIG.SYS . LawrenceC Jul9'14at2:53

Goodolddays...remove C:\DRDOS\MSCDEX.EXE/D:MSCD001/L:F from autoexec.bat anddoesitboot

intoDOSprompt?KennethLJul9'14at3:47
Itriedremovingthe /V switchfromthelineinCONFIG.SYSand Kyle Jul9'14at14:31
@ultrasawbladeand@KennethLItriedremovingthe /V switchfromthelineinCONFIG.SYSand

removingthelinefromAUTOEXEC.BAT.Neitherofthoseactionsenabledthecomputertobootintothe
prompt. Kyle Jul9'14at14:45

http://superuser.com/questions/778716/installacdromdriveronmsdos

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24/4/2016

compactdiscInstallaCDROMdriveronMSDOSSuperUser

2Answers
Thisbehaviorcanoccurifanyofthefollowingconditionsexist:
TheCDROMdriverorMscdex.exefileisdisabled(commented)ormissingfromthe
Autoexec.batorConfig.sysfile.
TheCDROMdriverorMscdex.exefileismissingordamaged.
ThestartupdiskdoesnotcontaintheCDROMdriverorMscdex.exefile.
YouhavereplacedtheoriginalCDROMandnotupdatedMSDOSdrivers.

ToaccessaCDROMdrivewhenyouboottoaWindowscommandpromptorrestartthe
computerinMSDOSmode,youmustloadtherealmodeCDROMdriverintheConfig.sysfile
andtheMSCDEXdriverintheAutoexec.batorDosstart.batfile.IfyourCDROMdriveis
supportedinprotectedmodeinWindows,therealmodeCDROMandMSCDEXdriversare
mostlikelynotbeingloadedintheConfig.sysandAutoexec.batorDosstart.batfilesonthehard
disk.Inaddition,ifyoubootfromafloppydisk,theCDROMandMSCDEXdriverswillnotload
unlessyoumanuallyconfiguretheConfig.sysandAutoexec.batfilesonthefloppydisktoload
them.
forresolvethemsee:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/135174
answeredAug29'14at9:37

mohammadmoeini
141

IagreewiththecommentaboutremovingMSCDEXfromAUTOEXEC.BAT.
Maybenotalongtermsolution,butthatcouldhelptodeterminewherethestabilityissueexists.
TrymakingthefirstlineofAUTOEXEC.BATthis:
@EchoOff
Andthesecondlinethis:
Pause
IftheproblemistheCONFIG.SYSdriver,trychangingit.Idon'tknowjustwhatDriverGuide
offeredyou,buttherearesomedriversthattendedtoworkonalmostalldrives,anduseupfar
lessconventionalmemorythanmostotherCDdrivers.See:TOOGAM'sSoftwareArchive:CD
driversforDOSfordetails.BecauseconventionalmemorywasoftenimportantinDOS,Iwould
befairlytrythosedriversinjustaboutanycase,evenifofficialmanufacturer'sdriversweren't
causingstabilityissues.Confix.sys canalsobeuseful,allowingyoutoechomessagesand
pausebootupduringconfig.sysprocessing.Thismayreallyhelpyouconfirmthattheconfig.sys
lineiswhatiscausingstabilityissues.
Ifyou'reusingMSDOS6(orperhapsneweralternatives,likeFreeDOS),thentryholdingF8or
ShiftF8whenbooting.Youmayfindthat'saneasierwaytoskiplinesfromtheCONFIG.SYSfile.
Yoursampleconfig.sysoutputshowsquitealotofIRQinfo.Hardwareconflictscancause
symptomslikewhatyoudescribe:wherethesecondtimethecomputerbootsthenthingsdon't
initializeasdesired.Ifyoucontinuetohaveproblemswithdifferentdrivers,makesurethatthere's
noconflictsofI/OaddressorIRQs(orDMA).Thatwasacommonsourceofproblemswith
computersinthatera,andcantypicallybefixedforfreebyjustfiguringoutwhathardware(or
possiblydriver)needstohavesettingsbechanged.
answeredJan6'15at5:08

TOOGAM
4,206

http://superuser.com/questions/778716/installacdromdriveronmsdos

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