I'm running Win 98 on my spare PC and never get a problem until tonight, when I switched on, a message appeared as follows:
"Boot fron Atapi CD-ROM Failure. Insert System Disk and press Enter"
I switched the PC off then on again and eveything is fine. I'm concerned that it may happen again, what can the problem be please?

Mike

Most likely it is because your PC is set to boot from the CDROM drive first, when it does not find anything there it moves on to the hard drive. I'm guessing you had a music CD or some other CD in the CDROM drive, when you remove it and reboot the PC will boot from your C: drive. To prevent this you could go into your BIOS and change the boot order to put C: first.

Hi,
Since you have Win98 or 98SE, do you do the following Maintenance Steps?
These steps keep my Win98SE running smoothly.

Registry Repair should be done whenever there are problems:

To Repair the Registery:
Turn off the computer; or reboot; then immediately press F8, (or, could be F5) located on top of the keyboard. Keep it press down until an options window comes up, then release it.
(If F8 or F5 doesn't work, then re-boot, and immediately press down the CTRL key, hold down until it comes up to the options screen).
Use the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard to select "Command Prompt Only".
Press Enter
You will now see C:>
Type in SCANREG /FIX (there is a space between the G and the / ).
You will now see C:>SCANREG /FIX
Press Enter
This will take about 5 minutes or so.
When finished, press Enter for OK.
Manually, turn off the computer, wait a few seconds, the turn it back on.
If you don't have the "Command Prompt Only" option, then re-boot the computer normally.
Go to Start/ShutDown, then choose "restart in ms-dos mode".
It will come up to C:\windows.
Type in CD C:\
It will look like C:>windows CD C:\
Press Enter.
It will then be at the C:> prompt.
Then type in SCANREG /FIX
Press Enter
When it returns to the C:> prompt, then manually turn off the computer, and turn it back on.

Win98/98SE Regular Maintenance
All of these should be run whenever Win98/98SE starts giving problems. It will keep the computer running smoothly.

Before doing any of the following; turn off wallpaper and screensavers before re-starting or re-booting the computer.

Safe Mode is best where indicated, because most programs are not running meaning their files are closed, or not in use. This allows them to be scanned much better, repaired, or defragged better.

1. Scandisk
Start in Safe Mode by:
Re-boot the computer, and immediately after starting up, Press and hold down, F8, at top of keypad.
When the options show on the screen, use the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard to select
"Safe Mode".
Press Enter
After it boots to Safe Mode, go to Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools, and click on Scandisk.
(It is faster if set on "Standard", the "Thorough" usually is not needed and takes a long, long time).
Click on "Start" and let it run until finished.

2. Defrag
When Scandisk is finished, click on "Close".
Now, go back to the same place, but this time, click on "Defrag".
Click on OK, and wait until it finishes (might take 1 hour if not done within a month).
After it finishes, Click on OK or whatever.
Then, re-boot.

The following Boot Disk has to be done only one time.

Also, a "must have" is a Boot Disk, for Win98/98SE. One never knows when the computer might not load windows and go to the desktop... it does happen.

Here are steps to make one:

Insert the Win98/98SE CD in the CD-ROM drive.
Go to Start/Programs/Windows Explorer
Double click on D:/ , if that is your CD-ROM drive letter.
Find and open the folder; Tools/Mtsutil/Fat32ebd (stands for Emergency Boot Disk)
Double click on the file Fat32ebd.exe and follow the instructions to create the Boot Disk.
Then remove the CD from the CD-ROM.

Now, we must test the Boot Disk to see if it works.
Shut down the computer; then turn it back on with the Boot Disk still in the computer.
When a screen comes up, use the up and down arrows on the keyboard to select "Boot with CD-ROM support". Then press Enter.
It will show some things about the computer, and then come up to the A:> prompt.
Now, insert a CD (any will do) into the CD-ROM.
Wait until it "spins" and the light goes off.
Now, at the A:> prompt, type in DIR D:
It will now look like A:>DIR D:
It should show all the files on the CD.
If so, the Boot Disk is good. If NOT, repeat all the above.
If it's good, then remove the CD, manually turn off the computer, and remove the Boot Disk. Turn on the computer and it's ready to go.

Here are some "tweaks" for Win98/98SE that really work well.

Win98SE Tweaks for better performance
http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=170

To extract files: here are steps:
Extract the following from c/cabs/cab53 and cab54.
(Right click on a Cab, then left click on View).
To extract a file then seen, Right click on the file,
Then Left click on Extract.
Vcomm.vxd
Vdmad.vxd
Configmg.vxd
Vdd.vxd
Vmouse.vxd
Ntkern.vxd
Vflat.vxd
Extract to:
c/windows/system; and also to:
c/windows/system/vmm32.

Win98SE USB Updates:
http://www.usbman.com/win98seusbguide.htm

Also, for Win98/98SE; any ONE of the following programs WILL, normally, cause problems:
1. Microsoft's DirectX 9.0c
2. Sun Java; any versions, such as j2re 1.4.1 or 1.4.2. (use the Tools, Internet Options, Advanced tab, under the heading "Java VM", the only check mark should be by "JIT compiler for virtual machine.....".
3. Microsoft's Internet Explorer & Outlook Express Cumulative Security Patches from Windows Update.

Just for information:
If you wish to add or subtract from an Experts' reputation, or show appreciation or discontent with
An answer, click on the "balance scales" icon by the Experts' name. You can then choose what you wish.

Best wishes,
fredg

While Fred's maintenance steps are good, there is no reason to go through them for this issue.

The message you got indicates that your system tried to boot from the CD drive. It could have been because a non-bootable CD was in the drive. It could have been because of a glitch that made the drive think a CD was in there. At worse it indicates a problem with your CD drive that may require replacement. I wouldn't be greatly concerned though.

Hi to Fredg and Scott
Thank you so much for your help and being so prompt with your replies. You have really helped me with this glitch.

Kind regards

Mike

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mikebosy

Hi to Fredg and Scott
Thank you so much for your help and being so prompt with your replies. You have really helped me with this glitch.

Kind regards

Mike

---

I feel so invisible. :(







:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NeedKarma

I feel so invisible. :(







:D

---

Did someone say something here? :confused: :D

Murray

Sorry Needkarma, please accept my apologies, in a moment of senility I left your name off the message I posted

Mike