windows will not boot

[deshario]

hi. i was installing a digital camera and the next time i loaded windows i gota c: prompt and a message saying that some virtual device drivers were missing. i copied over the .vxd files from my friends pc (i have windows me but he has 95 but it was the best i could do. now i get a message saying "while initilializing device IOS: Error: An I/0 subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the .\ iosubsys subdirectory is corrupt, or the system is low on memory." it then stops, it doesn't go to a c: prompt and i can't load it in safe mode. has anyone got any ideas as to how to fix this? i would be very grateful.

thanks

 

[dxd]

The first thing you need to do it remove the 95 version drivers you copied over so you can get back to the point you were before. If you can't boot to Safe Mode Command Prompt only, then you will need to boot via a Windows 9x boot disk.

Once you boot from the disk you should remove the files from the C: drive you copied over.

Regarding your original error, which files did Windows indicate were missing? Do you have a Windows Me CD? If not and Windows Me was installed by the computer manufacturer then the Windows install files should be located somewhere on the hard drive. Not sure the exact names of the cabinet files for Windows Me, but you may want to search the drive using the following syntax "dir w.cab /s".

Once you find the install files, read the following Microsoft article on how to extract files..

http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q129605

Doug
dxd_2000@yahoo.com

 

[deshario]

ok. i extracted the files from the .cabs and now when i choose an option from the startup menu the hard drive reads for a few seconds and then without warning the pc resets itself. i have tried all the options on the menu but all have the same result. help please!

 

[xkjdhdg]

It sounds like you did not get all of the files replaced. See if you can get to safe mode. If you do not have the start menu coming up. You will have to go into the bios
settings and turn it on an then reboot. This
can be done by hold down crtl F1, F1, Or F2 depending on your system. If you can get to safe mode you can go to the restore feature and fix it. If not see if you can do a step by step load. Skip just about everything only enough to get up and the
go to system and us the restore feature.

If you can not get these to work it sounds like a re-load to me.

 

[dxd]

Do you remember exactly which files you replaced...by name?
That would be helpful here.

If the option "Safe Mode Command Prompt Only" does not work, then I would suspect one of the sytem files to be corrupt or the wrong version. Possibly himem.sys, ifshlp.sys, or even msdos.sys.

Msdos.sys is actually a text file with boot configuration settings. If it gets corrupted all kinds of anomalies can occur. Try booting with a floppy disk that has "edit.com" or some other Dos based text editor as well as the Dos program "attrib.exe". Both of these files can be found in the Windows\Command directory.

The msdos.sys file is a hidden, read-only, system file so the first thing we need to do is remove those attributes. Once you boot to the floppy type
"attrib c:\msdos.sys -h -r -s" without the quotes.
Then open the msdos.sys file in the text editor.

Should look something like this:

[Paths]
WinDir=<Windows>
WinBootDir=<Windows>
HostWinBootDrv=C

[Options]
BootGUI=1
;
;Some programs on this system expect the Msdos.sys file to be at least
;1024 bytes in length; hence, the following lines create an Msdos.sys
;file that is greater than 1024 bytes in length. These lines are not
;needed for Windows to boot or run.
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxa
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxb
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxc
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxd
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxe
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxf
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxg
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxh
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxi
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxj
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxk
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxl
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxm
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxn
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxo
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxp
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxq
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxr
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxs


If you see any other information in this file other than what is above please include it in your follow-up post.


Doug
dxd_2000@yahoo.com

 

[deshario]

hi. the msdos.sys file looks ok, in addition to the above it also has a line above the BootGui=1 line that says BootMulti=1 and right at the bottom after all the filler it has
AutoScan=1
WinVer=4.90.3000

i can't get into safe mode and the files i replaced were ifsmgr.vxd, ios.vxd and vmm32.vxd.

thanks or your contiued help

 

[dxd]

The file vmm32.vxd is the one that has probably hosed your computer.
It is not as simple as extracting and copying a new or the original version of this file...because, this file is recompiled during the Windows installation. Other MS updates may recompile as well.

To make a long story short, the best bet is going to be a reinstall of the OS. Doug
dxd_2000@yahoo.com

 

[deshario]

i was afraid that was going to be the case but i was trying to avoid it because i only have a system restore disk and i'll lose all my stuff on the hard drive. oh well, thanks for all your help.