Error

Error Message:
This version of Windows runs only on MS-DOS 8.00.

Translation:
You will generally see this error message the first time you start Win98 or WinMe after running Setup. If you try to rerun Setup from the command prompt, you may see the error message: “The required Windows files could not be found in the specified directory.” If you try to use the Browse option to point to the Windows folder to direct Windows to its files, you will receive the same error message.

This is caused during Setup when the file copy process of Setup gets some of the necessary files copied to the Windows folder but fails before copying them all. Some of the steps to resolve this problem require issuing a series of commands at a DOS prompt. If this concerns you, you may want to ask for assistance from a knowledgeable friend or associate.

Solution:
Reboot from the startup diskette. When prompted, select Minimal Boot. At the command prompt, type sys c: and press ENTER. If you receive a “System Transferred” message, your computer should now boot into WinMe.

If you receive this message: “Cannot find the system file in the standard locations on drive c:\. SYS can only be used on drive c:\ to attempt a repair of an already existing installation of Windows,” place the WinMe CD-ROM in the CD drive and reboot from the startup diskette. When prompted, select “Start Computer With CD-ROM Support.” At the command prompt, enter the following commands:

Smartdrv extract /I c:\temp x:\win9x\precopy1.cab winboot.sys c: cd\ attrib io.sys –s –h –r ren io.sys *.bak cd \temp copy winboot.sys c:\io.sys

Note that the x: in the second line should be the drive letter for your CD-ROM drive. If you only have a single hard drive, this will usually be d:. Once this is complete, remove the floppy startup diskette and reboot your computer. If this does not resolve the problem, you will need to rerun Setup from the command prompt using the startup diskette.

See Also:
Windows 98/Me Installation
Overcome Introductory Setbacks