Computer Hope

Microsoft => Microsoft Windows => Windows 3.x/9x/ME => Topic started by: Nick Mikhay on September 29, 2017, 11:35:15 PM

Title: Windows 98SE Exiting to Dos
Post by: Nick Mikhay on September 29, 2017, 11:35:15 PM
Hello,
Installed win98 to have a true MS-DOS in native mode operating system. The best thing about it: Restarting in MS-DOS mode is not working when I click the shutdown menu and restart in MS-DOS. The display looses signal and the computer goes into an unknown state. I thought it may be something to do with the video card, so for the record I am using an ATI7000 AGPX4 Card. The motherboard has INTEL Chipset ICH2.
I tried to smooth out the installation as much as I know how. Installed all of the drivers I found online and on the disks, no problems in the device manager other than the onboard sound. Could not find a driver that works still searching.

The other thing, I did find in the COMMAND FOLDER several MS-DOS shortcuts for games. EMS and XMS support, or just XMS, and also a plain Restart in MS-DOS. So the first two seem to work and reboot while the latter does the same as when I click on restart in MS-DOS from the shutdown menu. I thought that it may have something to do with config.sys file or autoexec.bat, so, I checked the files and printed them out, except the latter file which is set to simply use "existing MS-DOS Configuration" and which does not show the contents, (program tab on the shortcut that is).

Another thing, I thought to check the config.sys and autoexec.bat files on the root of my drive, but they are empty. Only one line device=C:\windows\setver.exe

I tried making a few changes to the config.sys but immediately had a problem at boot, so I think that first line setver.exe is critical to windows starting.

Any suggestions, please help. If anyone knows where I can turn to, please do.
Title: Re: Windows 98SE Exiting to Dos
Post by: BC_Programmer on September 30, 2017, 03:51:53 AM
Perhaps your display doesn't support the text mode? Are you able to boot directly into MS-DOS Mode via the F8 at startup? (you have to press it before the boot logo appears)
Title: Re: Windows 98SE Exiting to Dos
Post by: Nick Mikhay on October 01, 2017, 01:51:16 PM
I don't think so, DOS will work when I hit F8 at boot. So the card must supports text mode?
The only problem I have is with the shutdown menu command to restart in MS-DOS.

Can this be anything with ACPI Power Management. I found out there is a special switch to use when installing as in > setup.exe /PJ

Title: Re: Windows 98SE Exiting to Dos
Post by: BC_Programmer on October 01, 2017, 02:28:10 PM
Well, pressing F8 at startup should give a similar capability, as a workaround.

Is this Windows 98 SE, or FE? the original release had a lot of bugs involving restarting in MS-DOS Mode. And both versions often had Conflicts with the video card drivers that prevented it altogether.

Sometimes it also takes quite a while to actually get to the DOS prompt- so maybe give it a few minutes at the blank screen. if you haven't done so.

If you have SE you'll want the  "Unofficial service Pack" as it rolls in a number of updates Microsoft released, including one titled "Shutdown supplement" specifically to fix "Restart in MS-DOS Mode" issues.
Title: Re: Windows 98SE Exiting to Dos
Post by: Nick Mikhay on October 05, 2017, 11:15:49 PM
I checked the video related bios settings, and there was one option to "reserve IRQ  for VGA Card", and since I have AGP, decided I don't need to take up the extra resource. Enabling this to see if it would make a difference actually did, and I'm now able to restart in DOS from the shutdown menu. I wonder if I will need that IRQ for something else? OR it is funny how computers work.
Title: Re: Windows 98SE Exiting to Dos
Post by: Nick Mikhay on October 06, 2017, 12:21:57 AM
Does anyone know what this means.
Autoexec.bat
REM The following lines have been created by Windows. Do not modify them.
REM
C:
CD C:\Windows
CALL C:\Windows\command.com
C:\windows\win.com /wx

Couldn't reboot, so I blanked out the whole autoexec.bat file. This was in there, and not sure how it got there, since I think the whole thing was blank to begin with. Couldn't find what the /wx switch means neither. Not sure if I can/need to put them back now?
Any way I can regenerate the files.
Title: Re: Windows 98SE Exiting to Dos
Post by: BC_Programmer on October 06, 2017, 04:07:46 AM
That's generated by Windows when you reboot into MS-DOS mode. It places that there so that you can type Exit and "return" to windows.

The /WX switch is undocumented. It will restart the computer and will restore config.sys and autoexec.bat from the "old" versions that windows replaced when the system was restarted in MS-DOS mode; these originals are CONFIG.WOS and AUTOEXEC.WOS.