中国DOS联盟

DOS Error Messages and Countermeasures

If you don't understand English, are you at a loss for the often - appearing English prompts? Of course, the best idea is that you start learning English now. The future is the century of the Internet, and most of the materials on the Internet are in English. If you don't understand, you will lack a means of communication. But I think it is necessary to give some common error prompts to you. When you don't understand, just come to check.

Abort,Retry, Ignore,fail?
Quit, Retry, Ignore, Cancel?
The given command cannot be recognized, or a disk or device error that prevents the command from being executed occurs. It may be that the disk is damaged or the floppy drive door is not closed.
Press the A key to terminate completely and return to the DOS prompt.
Press the R key to execute the command again.
Press the I key to continue processing, ignoring the error. It is very risky, and it is not recommended to adopt.
Press the F key to not execute the problematic command and continue the following processing. Sometimes it will be used.

Access Denied
Access Denied
Trying to open a file marked as read - only, stored on a write - protected disk, or locked on the network. If the "Type" command is used on a sub - directory or the "CD (chdir)" command is used on a file, this information will also be generated.
The "Attrib" command should be used to remove the read - only status of the file or remove the write protection from the disk, and then try again.

Bad Command or file name
Wrong command or file name
The input command cannot be recognized.
The correctness of the input command should be checked to ensure that the command file can be found in the specified directory or in the search path specified by the Path command.

Boot error
Boot error
The corresponding peripheral cannot be detected during booting.
The setting parameters of the computer should be checked. If the user cannot solve this problem by himself, please find a professional maintenance person.

Cannot find system files
Cannot find system files
Trying to load the operating system from a drive that does not contain system files.
The sys command should be used to copy the system files to the root directory. Unless the system files are really unable to be restored, the Format/s command can be used to re - format the disk.

Cannot load command，system halted
Cannot load command, system halted
The application program overwrites all or part of Command.com in the memory.
The computer should be rebooted, and the data modified by the application program should be checked for integrity. If necessary, Command.com can be copied to a sub - directory, so that DOS can find Command.com here when exiting the application program.

Cannot read file allocation table
Cannot read file allocation table
The file allocation table is bad.
If some data can still be found, then back them up to an empty disk. The Chkdsk command can also be used to repair the file allocation table. If necessary, re - format the disk. If the problem occurs repeatedly, then the drive should be repaired or replaced.

Divide Overflow
Division overflow, division by zero error
The program may have errors in writing and not been debugged well, or may conflict with other programs in the memory.
Check other programs in the memory or stop using this program.

Drive Not Ready Error
Drive not ready
There is no such drive or no disk is inserted.
Check the disk or replace the disk.

Duplicate File Name or File Not Found
Duplicate file name or file not found
When naming a file, it is the same as an existing file, or there is no such file at all when manipulating the file.
Change the name or check the spelling of the file name.

Error loading operating system
Error loading operating system
The operating system file cannot be found or is damaged.
Use the SYS command to copy the operating system file to the drive. If necessary, copy the config.sys and autoexec.bat files to the root directory.

If the system files cannot be restored, then boot the system from a floppy disk, back up the data, and re - format the disk using the Format/s command.


EXEC failure
File execution failure
The executable file of the application program contains errors that affect processing, or the file cannot be opened because too many files have been opened already. The file may be incompatible with the current DOS version.
Check the DOS version. If the version is correct, this problem can be solved by editing the Files command in Config.sys.

File allocation table bad
File allocation table is bad
There are many reasons, for example, a virus attacks, the computer shuts down suddenly, an abnormal shutdown, etc., which can damage the allocation table.
Back up all the data that can be found to an empty disk, and do not overwrite the previous backup. Maybe the problem can be solved by using the Chkdsk command. If necessary, re - format the floppy disk. If the problem repeats, then send the drive for repair.

File cannot be copied onto itself
File cannot be copied to itself
You have specified the same file in the source file and the target file, or you have forgotten to write the file name.
Change the source or target file as needed, and then try again.

File creation Error
File creation error
There may be not enough space in the disk for the file the user wants to create, the file to be created already exists and is a read - only file, or the user wants to replace the name of the file with an existing file name.
You can change to another disk, or use another target name, another target location, or use the Attrib command to remove the read - only attribute of the file.

File not found
File not found
The file cannot be found in the current directory or in any directory specified by the Path and Append commands, or the specified directory is empty.
Check the spelling and location of the file name, and change the search path if necessary.

General failure
General failure
DOS cannot judge the cause of the error. Generally, it is because the disk in the drive is not formatted, or is formatted into a non - DOS system.
The disk should be re - formatted.

Incorrect DOS version
Incorrect DOS version
An external command of a different version is entered.
Set the version with setver or use the correct executable file.

Insufficient Disk Space
Insufficient disk space
There is no available space in the disk to copy files or create files.
Some useless files can be deleted or a larger disk can be replaced.

Insufficient memory
Insufficient memory
There is not enough memory to process the command entered by the user, generally referring to the basic memory.
Some memory - resident files should be deleted or the memory should be optimized and managed. More memory can also be added to the system to adapt to application programs.

Invalid directory
Invalid directory
An invalid directory name or a non - existent directory name is entered.
Check the spelling of the directory.

Invalid Drive Specification
Invalid drive specification
There is no such drive at all, and it may be a spelling error. If the optical drive cannot be specified, it may be that the driver program is not installed.
Re - install the optical drive.

Invalid filename or file not found
Invalid filename or file not found
The entered file name contains invalid characters or wildcards, or the reserved device name is used as the file name.
Try with a different file name.

Invalid Media,track 0 Bad or Unusable
Invalid media, track 0 is bad or unusable
Generally, the disk is damaged.
Replace the disk.

Invalid parameter
Invalid parameter
The correct parameter is not specified in the command line, or there are duplicate or forbidden parameters.
Check the spelling or grammar when entering the command.

Invalid partition table
Invalid partition table
There is an error in the hard disk partition information.
The data that can be found should be backed up, and Fdisk should be run to re - set the hard disk partition.

Invalid path,not directory,or directory not empty
Invalid path, not a directory, or directory is not empty
The system cannot locate the specified directory, or the user enters a file name instead of a directory name, or the directory contains files (or sub - directories) and cannot be deleted.
Check the spelling of the directory name. If the directory is empty, it may contain hidden files. Use the Dir/ah command to display any possible hidden files, change the attributes with attrib, and delete them.

Invalid syntax
Invalid syntax
The system cannot process the syntax format entered by the user.
The correct file format should be consulted and then try again.

No fixed disk Present
No hard disk present
The system cannot detect the existence of the hard disk.
The set drive class parameters should be checked. If this problem cannot be solved, then send it for repair.

Non - System Disk or Disk Error
Non - system disk or disk error
The system cannot find the system files on the current disk.
A disk containing system files should be inserted, or the computer should be rebooted.

Not enough memory
Insufficient memory
See Insufficient memory


NOT READY,READING DRIVE X
Drive X is not ready
There is no disk in the specified drive or the door is not closed.
Insert a disk into the specified drive or close the drive door.

Program too big to fit in memory
Program is too big to fit in memory
See Insufficient memory


Required Parameter missing
Required parameter is missing
See Invalid Parameter


Too many open files
Too many open files
The number of open files exceeds the number specified by the system.
The maximum number should be increased with the Files command in the Config.sys file, and the computer should be rebooted.

Unrecognized command in CONFIG.SYS
Unrecognized command in config.sys
The command in the Config.sys file cannot be recognized when booting the system.
The config.sys file should be edited to correct the invalid line.

Write fault error
Write fault error
The system cannot write data on the disk.
Take the disk out and insert it again. If it still doesn't work, run Chkdsk or Scandisk. If the disk cannot be restored, throw it away.

Write protect error
Write protect error
There is write protection on the disk.
Take the disk out, remove the write protection, and then try again.

Should all the content from "DOS Usage" and "DOS Articles" on the original website be placed on the forum?

It's also okay, because the website can't be accessed now. Some articles might as well be posted, but there's no need to post all of them.

WENGIER, you might as well post an essence post, gathering the better articles from your original DOS articles together. Let more netizens read them. I think it should be called the Essence Post of the New DOS Era. And compress it for netizens to download.

It's best to make it in CHM format. There was a CHM document called "The Road of Masters, DOS Starting" before, which was also okay.