Computer Hope
Microsoft => Microsoft DOS => Topic started by: Ryan on September 13, 2006, 08:26:48 AM
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I've still got our old HP Pavilion 7285, now in my bedroom. It has a problem. The computer freezes in MS-DOS. I do not have any problems in Windows, other than the fact that an "unknown device" is detected when I start Windows, and this device causes a conflict with the legacy sound drivers, so I just ignore it and cancel the installation. The problem with DOS is, when I go to restart the computer in MS-DOS mode, DOS loads normally, but when I start a game like Ultimate Doom, the computer freezes while the game is loading. Also, under Windows, MS-DOS freezes when I exit from an MS-DOS based game. The latter of the two problems causes me to have to turn off the power improperly, for hitting either escape or ctrl+alt+del doesn't work. At any rate, the CMOS battery needs replacement since when I start up the computer, I get a "CMOS checksum invalid" message, and the real-time clock in Windows doesn't update itself any longer. I purchased such a battery from eBay, and haven't gotten it yet.
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So you have Windows and not real DOS? What version of Windows?
Has this ever worked correctly? If so what has changed? If not, we'll wait for the response to the question.
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It's Windows 95, with MS-DOS (the real DOS, obviously). And yes, it has worked correctly before. That was before my uncle Bill had to reinstall the operating system after I accidentally corrupted a file that Windows required to start normally. (It was caused by a sound card I wanted to have put on there, and I've since gone back to the Sound Blaster that was on there since the time that the original sound card was removed. I feel that PCI cards are more stable than ISA cards.) Would MS-DOS need to be re-installed? Also, the CMOS battery has not been replaced since the computer was bought over 9 years ago, and I need to go into the bios and set the time correctly, otherwise I'll get the "CMOS checksum invalid" message at startup. What appears to be freezing is not DOS, but the computer itself. It doesn't do that when I only use Windows programs. The fans haven't been checked, but they could be checked later. I'm positive that they work. I certainly don't hear any high-pitched sound. No CD-ROM issues to report.
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Replace that CMOS battery...if you want to re-install DOS you will have to format and start over as it needs to be installed before Windows...
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The information that I have on the CMOS battery was gotten from hp.com. I did not open up the PC to see what it is. From what was obtained, it's a Panasonic CR 2032 3V battery. It should be easy to replace.
What will happen if the CMOS battery is not replaced? Will some settings be lost? I do not want that.
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And variations from the default settings will have to be changed EVERYTIME the machine is started, and the clock will lose time. That's all of the good news. Other anomalies can happen, things not work, etc.
Batteries are cheap and easily replaced. It takes about 30 seconds after the case is opened.
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After you replace the battery, if you can still boot into windows, run SFC to check for altered or deleted files. It will allow you to restore files that have been altered or deleted. Try first only those that have been deleted or corrupted.
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And variations from the default settings will have to be changed EVERYTIME the machine is started, and the clock will lose time. That's all of the good news. Other anomalies can happen, things not work, etc.
Batteries are cheap and easily replaced. It takes about 30 seconds after the case is opened.
Would there be any possibility that the battery may need to be soldered in place?
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And variations from the default settings will have to be changed EVERYTIME the machine is started, and the clock will lose time. That's all of the good news. Other anomalies can happen, things not work, etc.
Batteries are cheap and easily replaced. It takes about 30 seconds after the case is opened.
Would there be any possibility that the battery may need to be soldered in place?
NO.
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The next time that my uncle comes to my home, and I've gotten the battery, I'll have him remove the old CMOS battery and pop in the new one. Then the CMOS will need to be reset. I assume inserting the new battery will reset the CMOS?
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The next time that my uncle comes to my home, and I've gotten the battery, I'll have him remove the old CMOS battery and pop in the new one. Then the CMOS will need to be reset. I assume inserting the new battery will reset the CMOS?
Correct.
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Well, well, well. This is surprising: After deciding to re-install the DOS drivers, and configuring the config.sys and autoexec.bat files as said on Computerhope.com, I managed to get 2 out of 3 games to run. Here's the list of games I tested directly under MS-DOS without Windows 95 active:
Doom_SE: Only runs without sound (this was an earlier notice, but I can't get it to run with sound still, so I'm sticking to Windows for the Doom series)
Star Wars: Dark Forces: The game ran, but I had to change the sound settings from "Sound Blaster 16, IRQ 7" to "Sound Blaster Pro, IRQ 5". The game's setup doesn't allow IRQ 5 with Sound Blaster 16 from IMUSE.EXE, but I'll look and see if I can find the config file under Windows and change it.
Stonekeep: The game ran with the Sound Blaster setting "Sound Blaster 16, IRQ 5".
The good news with this is, I do not have to be concerned about the computer locking up when I exit the programs. Of course, with Dark Forces, it went to the command prompt but I couldn't type anything. However, pressing ctrl+alt+del restarted the computer.
Another side note was that I could not get my external midi device to play the midi music for the games that ran when under MS-DOS. I only heard the internal midi synth instead. I will need the Roland SCC-1 midi card for that.
That's all I have to say for right now.
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In order to get that midi card to run in DOS mode you need to find /install the DOS drivers and edit your autoexec and config.sys files to point to the drivers...
paste both files here and we'll have a looksee
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I printed out the autoexec and config guidelines from this site and put them that way on my computer, only removing the 'buffer' line. The DOS drivers work in MS-DOS. The problem could be due to the CMOS battery, or could be caused by a conflict from the detection of the previous sound card I had in there. An unknown device keeps detecting in Windows, and there's a gameport that keeps getting detected too, to complicate things further. Another update I have to report is that I cannot play Wolfenstein 3D. If I attempt it under Windows, the game immediately boots back to Windows and the computer hangs. Under DOS, the game starts, but when I fire a shot or open a door, the computer hangs. (No big issue to me if it's directly in DOS. Windows is not affected.) On the other hand, Quake runs in DOS without any problems. I currently do not have a Roland SCC-1, as I can't find one on eBay. Patio, I have to mention that I'm going to wait until I see one that has the original driver disks with it.
My new computer does not have a floppy drive, and I can't copy the files to a CD on the old computer I'm dealing with, so I can't supply the files as they are. I'd have to type them myself. I'll attempt that:
Config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386 NOEMS
DOS=HIGH,UMB
FILES=30
STACKS=0,0
DEVICEHIGH=C:\CDROM\GSCDROM.SYS
Autoexec.bat:
SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 H7 P330 T6
SET SBPCI=C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\AUDIO\DOSDRV
SET SOUND=C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\AUDIO\DOSDRV
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\
LOADHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD000
LOADHIGH=C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.EXE
The last line I have in Autoexec.bat has 'DOSKEY' loaded. I can't remember the location of Doskey off the top of my head, so I didn't include it here.
That's all I can remember of what I've got in the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files. They're both located in the C:\ directory.
EDIT: It appears that I can play Wolfenstein 3D after all. I only had to turn off the digitized sound. I still had sound, but it was inferior. That was the thing that prevented the computer from hanging. Seems like I found the answer. The only DOS program I have left to test is Dungeon Master II.