Microsoft KB Archive/105078

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

FastTips: MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade Questions and Answers
Last reviewed: July 29, 1996

Article ID: Q105078

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 6.2, 6.22

1. Q. When I run the Setup program for the MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade, my     video display is unreadable; either the instruction lines are truncated or the screen text is unreadable. How can I correct this problem?

A. If you are running MS-DOS Setup and your monitor is not displaying the setup screens properly, use the following steps:

1. If you have not already done so, quit Setup by pressing the F3 key twice.

2. Insert Setup Disk 1 in drive A or drive B. At the MS-DOS command prompt, type "a:\setup /i" or "b:\setup /i" (without        the quotation marks) and then press ENTER.

The /I switch disables automatic hardware detection. Since display problems can be caused by incorrect hardware settings, make sure you enter the correct display type when Setup prompts you for it.

If the setup screens still display incorrectly, you may need to     manually install MS-DOS 6.2. For instructions on how to do this, refer to your printed MS-DOS 6.2 documentation.

2. Q. Setup repeatedly prompts me to insert the same disk or indicates that my Uninstall disk is not the correct disk. How should I     troubleshoot this problem?

A. Your computer may contain memory-resident or disk-caching programs that prevent Setup from correctly reading the floppy disk. Remove or remark out any memory-resident programs that are started from the AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS files, restart the computer, and then run Setup again. If the problem persists, you may be able to successfully install MS-DOS by using the following steps:

1. Create a temporary directory on your hard disk.

2. Use the COPY command to copy all files from the MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade disks to the temporary directory.

3. Run the Setup program for the MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade from the temporary directory.

3. Q. I'm using Stacker, and when I try to install the MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade, I receive an error message and cannot continue. How can I correct this problem?

A. If you recently acquired Stacker 3.1, you may need to run a STAC Electronics patch before upgrading to MS-DOS 6.2.

If your Stacker 3.1 files show a date and time stamp of 06-03-93 3:10a, you can install MS-DOS 6.2. If the file dates and times are later than these, you need to run the 62STAC.EXE patch before installing MS-DOS 6.2. This file can obtained from the Utilities section of the STAC forum on CompuServe or by calling STAC Electronics Technical Support.

MS-DOS 6.2 was tested with the original Stacker version 3.1. Because version 3.1 was changed without notice, you must use the patch with the revised version before running MS-DOS 6.2 Setup.

The patch temporarily updates the Stacker driver in memory; you must run MS-DOS 6.2 Setup immediately after running 62STACK.EXE. If you have already installed MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade or     Step-Up, uninstall using your Uninstall disk, run the patch, and then reinstall MS-DOS 6.2.

4. Q. I want to install MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade; however, I'm using Stacker version 3.11 and when I try to install MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade, I receive an error message and cannot continue. How can I correct this problem?

A. At the time MS-DOS 6.2 was released, the current version of Stacker was 3.1. Microsoft ensured that MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade and MS-DOS 6.2 Step-Up can detect Stacker 3.1 and do not overwrite it. This ensures that you can access your Stacker-compressed drives.

Since Microsoft cannot guarantee how MS-DOS will interact with future versions of Stacker, MS-DOS 6.2 Setup is not designed to detect and install correctly with versions of Stacker later than 3.1.

To work around this problem, contact STAC Electronics to obtain the 62STAC.EXE file, or follow the procedure below. You can order the 62STAC.EXE file from STAC Electronics, or you can download it from the STAC Electronics bulletin board service at (619) 431-7405.

For more detailed information, order FastTips Technical Library item Q107526, titled "Installing MS-DOS 6.2 over Stacker Version 3.11."

5. Q. Can I install the MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade on my IBM PS/1 computer?

A. You can upgrade to MS-DOS 6.2 if you have an IBM PS/1; however, if your IBM PS/1 is configured to boot from read-only memory (ROM), you must first change your system configuration so that it can boot from your hard disk (usually drive C). To do this, use the procedure in your printed MS-DOS 6.2 documentation.

6. Q. I am using the Stacker disk-compression program. When I run MS- DOS 6.2 Setup, I receive the message "Your computer uses a disk-     compression program and does not have enough free disk space to      set up MS-DOS." How should I troubleshoot this problem?

A. This error occurs if Stacker has allocated so much disk space on     your primary MS-DOS partition for storing the Stacker volume file (SVF) that there is inadequate disk space to install MS-DOS 6.2. To work around this problem, you must increase the free space on your uncompressed drive. For instructions on increasing the free space on your uncompressed drive, refer to your printed MS-DOS 6.2 documentation.

7. Q. I think that one of my MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade disks is defective. What should I do?

A. To determine if an original MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade disk is     defective, use the following steps:

1. Copy the contents of the suspected defective disk to NUL. For example, type "copy /b a:\*.* nul" (without the quotation        marks) at the MS-DOS command prompt and then press ENTER.

This command forces MS-DOS to read all the files on the disk and copy them to the NUL device.

2. If you receive an error message, such as "Data error reading" or "General failure reading," during the copy process, the disk is probably defective. To order a replacement disk, call Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400.

If you do not receive an error during the copy process, the disk is probably not defective.

For more information on troubleshooting setup, refer to your printed MS-DOS 6.2 documentation.