Error Message: Error Writing to Drive C:

ID: Q189000

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you start Windows 98, you may receive the following error message on a blue screen:

Error writing to drive C:


CAUSE

This behavior can occur if your computer's BIOS reports the interrupt request (IRQ) routing information incorrectly.


RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, contact your computer's manufacturer to inquire about an update to address this issue.

To work around this issue, disable IRQ steering. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Restart your computer. Press and hold down the CTRL key until you see the Windows 98 Startup menu, and then choose Safe Mode.

    For more information about how to use the Startup menu in Windows 98, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    ARTICLE-ID: Q178548
    TITLE : No "Starting Windows 98" Message at Startup.


  2. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.


  3. Double-click System, click the Device Manager tab, and then double- click the System Devices branch to expand it.


  4. Click PCI Bus, and then click Properties.


  5. Click the IRQ Steering tab.


  6. Click the Use IRQ Steering check box to clear it.


  7. Click OK, and then click Yes to restart the computer when you are prompted.



MORE INFORMATION

For information about PCI bus IRQ steering, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge base:

ARTICLE-ID: Description of PCI Bus IRQ Steering
TITLE : Q182604

Additional query words: 98 


Keywords          : kberrmsg win98 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: February 11, 1999