Searching for Boot Record from Floppy..OK

[shadowbru]

I am trying to fix a friend's PC running Windows 98 that I believe has a virus in the boot sector. I receive the above message when I insert a Boot disk which has sys.com and fdisk on it since I was going to try and run the fdisk /mbr. The prolem I'm having is that the PC will not recognize the floppy drive. I know it works because I've installed drivers from it. I tried putting in another floppy that works and it does the same thing. The machine will not recognize the modem, NIC card (even tho the properties have the drivers installed and indicate no errors).

This PC is a clone 400mhz, 12gb drive with 128mb of RAM.

Initially the bios would change settings all by itself and when I put it back where it should be, it ultimately changes again.

Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

[1stITMAN]

I suggest resetting the CMOS 1st, the try the settings again. If BIOS changes again you may need a new CMOS battery. As for the startup disk which computer did you create it on?



Zaheer Ahmed Iqbal
I.T Systems Support Engineer
Bsc. (Hons).

 

[edfair]

Sounds like something has corrupted the system files on the floppy. Might try running a sys command from the hard drive when it is up and running in DOS.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[shadowbru]

Thanks for the responses. How do I reset the CMOS (haven't done that in years and I'm having a senior moment - ha!). A new CMOS battery was installed a couple of months ago.

The start-up disk I used was the original start-up disk that came with Win98 and sys.com was copied to it from another machine that is also Win98 and is always write-protected.

Another interesting point I just remembered occurred before I reinstalled Win98 from the CD (because I couldn't get to the floppy) is that every floppy that was not protected that was inserted in her machine showed corruption, i.e., I'd take that same disk and put it in my machine and it showed goofy characters and it wouldn't even let me format it, so I dumped several of them. After Win98 was installed, at least that problem went away.

 

[1stITMAN]

Ok to reset cmos you shoul dhave jumpers on the board. Cmos jumper, move the jumper to pins 1&2 for about 10 secs and place it back. Or you can remove the battery for a while.

As for the floppies they may be corrupt, old floppies tend to do that.

Zaheer Ahmed Iqbal
I.T Systems Support Engineer
Bsc. (Hons).

 

[shadowbru]

Nothing seems to work. I did reset the CMOS and still got the dreaded error and it could not see the floppy. I reinstalled all the drivers and it still would not recognize the modem or sound card. I also installed a brand new NIC card, connected it to my network at home and while it installed just fine and all settings were correct, it could not get out to the internet. (I thought it'd be easier to get the drivers from there as opposed to my machine).

When I tried to view the boot disk after I went into Windows98 it showed one file with zero bytes. I took that same disk and put it in another machine and it showed all the files. As a test, I put in another hard drive and it read the floppy just fine, but still would not boot from it.
Her hard disk now shows 7 bad blocks which tells me that the hard disk is almost shot. It is also attached to the motherboard. So either the hard drive is gone as well as the motherboard.

 

[franklin97355]

If you take out all the ide drives the computer should still boot to a floppy. if not it's the floppy, the drive, the cable or the motherboard.

 

[diogenes10]

Maybe you could try a bootable cd with the files you need.

 

[wolluf]

Can you boot to a command prompt (press F8 or Ctrl as 98 starting, and choose command promt only option).

If so, try running fdisk /mbr from there.

btw - what makes you think there's a boot sector virus - it sounds like 98 is actually working ok.

 

[shadowbru]

Thanks to all who have responded. I did not take out the IDE drive, but I don't think it will work anyway because I'll bet I get the same error. I did try another floppy cable but I noticed that the ones I have don't work because the second pin on my floppy cables that go into the controller are blanked out and the ribbon cable she has are all open - I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

I haven't tried booting from CD - why didn't I think of that?

I can boot to a command prompt, but when I type a: it can't find a.

Windows 98 does work just fine but if it doesn't recognize any of the components, it doesn't do my any good.

I thought it was a virus because she hadn't run any virus protection for awhile. That's the reason why I originally wanted to run the fdisk /mbr. The error that appears every time is on the subject line. This is very baffling.

 

[edfair]

The interlock pins are strictly to keep the cable from going on the wrong way. Some have it, some don't.

Is CMOS set up for "seek on boot"? Do you get 2 separate seeks during POST? Cable plugged in well on both ends? CMOS set for the drive size you have? Drive on the end of the cable past the cut and twist? Drive select light on and off twice with the seek noise?

Sounds like you have some major M/B problems, with the CMOS changing, the floppy problems, and the other hardware issues, but you diagnose them one at a time, and at the easiest point first.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[TekTippy4U]

If there's a NoDrives with a Binary value (varies depending) under Data listed in this REG key;
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
may be the problem
Start>Run REGEDIT
navigate to Key, in right pane, what d'ya got?

Otherwise
If you have an OEM 98 cd, and can boot from CD, by setting CMOS to Boot from CD as first boot device, you should be able to get an A: Prompt. When prompted Boot from CD choice "2" , choose either CDROM or No CDROM support) on the next screen.

The CMOS battery "was replaced" a little while ago and that'll make the "defaults" present (same as removing the jumpers to reset it)....so maybe the defaults aren't correct for the Mobo and Hardware installed...Like someone said, Make sure the floppy "seek" is listed in CMOS and all floppy parameters (like 3.5 and 1.44mb) are correct and set first. then proceed...

I don't remember how you installed Win98, but maybe Re-install from CDROM only..follow above procedures , but choose #1 "Start Windows98 Setup" after you choose #2 "Boot from CDROM" on first screen that comes up after POST..

TT4U

Notification:
These are just "my" thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs..All involved shall be spared the grief.

 

[TekTippy4U]

My apologies;
I posted the wrong REG key;
This is correct
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

TT4U

Notification:
These are just "my" thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs..All involved shall be spared the grief.

 

[micker377]

Are you sure the floppy drive is still OK? Can you plug another one in to be sure?