Reference number: CHMSDOS

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 and/or problems not documented elsewhere in the Computer Hope database. Users who also have Microsoft Windows on their computer should refer to the basic troubleshooting 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.

1. Unknown or undocumented problem with computer running Microsoft DOS.
2. Performance issues with the computer, for example, the computer running slowly.
3. Users who wish to run maintenance on the computer or potentially speed up the computer.
4. Users looking for steps to help resolve an issue or that may help in locating the cause of an issue.

Users may find explicit documented questions and answers on our MS-DOS Q&A page. Users looking for additional help with MS-DOS and/or information about its commands should refer to our main MS-DOS page.

Solutions:

Error messages encountered during boot

Before following the below steps, please make sure that the error you are encountering is not already documented on Computer Hope by performing a quick search for the error and by looking through our MS-DOS Q&A section.

1. 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 an IBM compatible computer. These errors often occur as the computer is first booting and may stop the load process of the computer.
2. Errors that are encountered during boot are commonly due to a misconfiguration with your autoexec.bat or config.sys. We recommend that you edit your autoexec.bat and/or config.sys and look for any abnormalities. Additional information and help with the autoexec.bat and config.sys can be found on our autoexec.bat / config.sys page. 

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 troubleshooting section for your hardware device or software program. If you are having errors running a command in MS-DOS, please see our MS-DOS main page for syntax of each of the MS-DOS commands and additional information about each of the commands.

Computer running slowly

1. 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. See our autoexec.bat / config.sys page for additional information.
2. Make sure your computer has at least 50MB of free hard disk drive space. If your computer has less than 50MB free, it may cause the computer to operate more slowly.
3. Run Microsoft Scandisk and Defrag on the computer. Additional information and help with these commands can be found on our scandisk page and our defrag page.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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 troubleshooting section for steps that can be taken to help resolve your hardware issues.

Other

If you are still running into errors or unable to resolve your issue, please search our web page, check our on-line help section, and check our Q&A section for additional help and/or recommendations. If after checking these locations you are still unable to resolve your issue, feel free to contact our support team.