Bad or missing command interpreter on Compaq Portable II?

[Tupin]

I get this error when I try to load a floppy. I have some extra 5.25 inch drives, should I just replace it?

 

[Raven]

That's old machine speak for "Please replace disk and press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to reboot". Make sure it's not your disk, your cabling, your settings, and then yes, try replacing the drive.

 

[Lutiana]

I get this error when I try to load a floppy. I have some extra 5.25 inch drives, should I just replace it?

Command.com is either missing or corrupt. Check the disk for bad sectors, and simply add or replace command.com

 

[Lutiana]

That's old machine speak for "Please replace disk and press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to reboot". Make sure it's not your disk, your cabling, your settings, and then yes, try replacing the drive.

No, not quite.

Its old machine speak for "bad or missing command interpretor" ie command.com not there or corrupt (if you are using DOS). ;D

 

[strollin]

Most likely the disk you are trying to boot from has a corrupted or even missing command.com in which case you simply need to copy command.com to that disk.

You can also get that message when you boot from a disk with command.com, then insert a disk without command.com and execute a program from it. When you exit from that program, DOS wants to reload command.com but, of course, can't find it on the current disk, hence the message. One way around it is to create a RAM disk when you boot, then copy command.com to the RAM disk in autoexec.bat. Also, in autoexec.bat add a line like SET COMSPEC=C:\COMMAND.COM to point to command.com on the C: RAM drive. This is only useful on a floppy only system where the disk with command.com may have been removed from the drive. It isn't necessary on a system with a hard drive.

 

[Captain Midnight]

I guess maybe another question to ask is, what kind of floppy are you trying to load? DOS? A game? Lotus 123? I'm just wondering if you are trying to load a floppy that's not a system disk.

 

[Ole Juul]

. . . add or replace command.com

That's my take too.

@Tupin: How did you make out?