Troubleshooting Win95 Application Floppy Disk Problems

ID: Q135648

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

The "More Information" section of this article discusses how to troubleshoot floppy disk problems that you encounter during the Setup program for the Windows 95 applications listed at the beginning of this article. This article discusses how to identify and work around the following problems:

MORE INFORMATION

SYMPTOMS

When you encounter a problem during the Setup program for your application, the problem may be characterized by any one of the following symptoms.

Floppy Disk Drive Problem Symptom

Setup requests Disk 2 after Disk 2 is inserted 

   -or-
You receive the following error message: 

   "Error reading drive <x>:" error message

   -or-
When you restart Microsoft Windows 95 in safe mode and run the Office Setup program, a blue screen appears with the following message 

   Error reading disk in drive a:
   Please insert disk <Diamond Symbol><Smiley Face symbol> <Serial Number>
   in drive a:

Damaged Setup Disks Symptom

You receive a "Not enough memory" or "Insufficient memory" error message.

Virus Symptom

You receive the "Cannot find <file>" error message (where <file> is the name of a file that should be located on the Setup disk).

Trouble Reading DMF Disk Symptom

You receive the following error message 

   Could not read from file
To troubleshoot the type of error message you are receiving, see the appropriate section below.

WORKAROUNDS/TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUES

Floppy Disk Drive Problem

Method 1

If Setup is having trouble reading Disk 2 (Setup keeps requesting Disk 2), you may need to add the MS-DOS DRIVPARM command to your CONFIG.SYS file. To do this, place the DRIVPARM command in the CONFIG.SYS with the following syntax: 

   For a 1.44-MB A: drive      For a 1.44-MB B: drive
   --------------------------------------------------

   DRIVPARM=/d:0 /f:7          DRIVPARM=/d:1 /f:7
For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

    ARTICLE-ID: Q119837
    TITLE     : Setup Program Keeps Requesting Disk 2

Method 2

If you are having problems with a floppy disk drive (such as receiving the error message "Error reading drive <x>:"), insert another (non-Microsoft Setup) disk in the floppy disk drive. If you receive an error message attempting to read this disk, there may be a hardware problem with your floppy disk drive.

If you do not receive an error message reading the test floppy disk, there may be a problem with the Setup disk. For more information, see the "Damaged Setup Disks" section in this article.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q131690
   TITLE     : Troubleshooting Floppy Disk Drive Problems in
               Windows
If neither of these methods corrects the problem, there may be a hardware problem with your floppy disk drive: use diagnostic software with your floppy disk drive and have a qualified hardware technician examine it.

Method 3

If you restart Microsoft Windows 95 in safe mode, run the Office Setup program, and a blue screen appears with the following message 

   Error reading disk in drive a:
   Please insert disk <Diamond Symbol><Smiley Face symbol>
   <Serial Number> in drive a:
You may have a damaged Setup disk. To determine whether your disk is damaged, see the Damaged Setup Disks section in this article.

DAMAGED SETUP DISKS

To determine if you have a damaged setup disk, use the following steps:

1. Use a disk utility (such as ScanDisk) to test the disk for damage. 

   NOTE: Do not use a non-Windows 95 aware disk utility on DMF disks.
   Non-Windows 95 aware disk utilities can damage DMF disks. The
   Windows 95 ScanDisk tool recognizes and does not damage DMF disks.

   Before you run a disk utility, please see the following article in
   the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

      ARTICLE-ID: Q120442
      TITLE     : Using Hard Disk Utilities with Windows 95
2. Type the following command at an MS-DOS command prompt 

      copy <drive>\*.* nul

   where <drive> is the floppy disk drive you are having problems with.
   For example, if you are having problems with drive A, insert a disk
   you are having problems with in drive A and type the following command:

      copy a:\*.* nul

   This command copies the files on the disk to a null device. If there
   is a problem copying the files, error messages appear on the screen, and
   there may be a problem with the information on your disk.
If the filename on your disk contains extended characters or unreadable characters, you should check the disk and your computer for a virus (see the "Virus" section below). The name of the file that is located on Disk 2 and following (Disk 1 contains additional files) should be similar to the following: 

   msoff2.cab
If you have determined from either of the above steps that you have a damaged Setup disk, you will need to order a new set of disks. To obtain replacement disks, call the Microsoft Order Desk at (800) 360-7561 and request a replacement set of disks. If you are outside the United States, contact the Microsoft subsidiary for your area. To locate your subsidiary, see the Microsoft World Wide Offices Web site at: 

   http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.htm

VIRUS

If you suspect that a virus is present on your computer, scan the hard disk and floppy disks with a virus detector. If a virus is found on your computer, remove the virus before you run Setup again. If a virus is found on your Setup disk, you will need to obtain a new set of disks.

Microsoft has rigorous quality control measures to insure that viruses are not on disks that we ship. The Setup disks for the applications listed above are distributed virus-free in sealed clear plastic envelopes that display a message about the Microsoft software license agreement. If disks are purchased in any other type of package, they should not be used.

The following viruses are known to cause problems when Setup is run from DMF disks: 

   antiEXE
   NOINT
   Junkie
   A-Dign
   B1
   V-Sign
   RIPPER
For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q105212
   TITLE     : Office: Setup Problems May Indicate that System Has Virus
If you have determined that you have a Setup disk that has been damaged by a virus, you can order a new set of disks. To obtain replacement disks, call the Microsoft Order Desk at (800) 360-7561 and request a replacement set of disks.

If you are outside the United States, contact the Microsoft subsidiary for your area. To locate your subsidiary, see the Microsoft World Wide Offices Web site at: 

    http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.htm

TROUBLE READING DMF DISK

If you are having problems only with DMF disks (Setup Disk 1 works fine, but you have trouble with Setup Disk 2) and you have followed the appropriate steps in the "Floppy Disk Drive Problem," "Damaged Setup Disks," and the "Virus" sections above, you may be having trouble reading DMF disks on your computer. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q124970
   TITLE     : Troubleshooting DMF Issues
Additional query words: 2.00 3.00 4.00 7.00 97 word6 powerpt Insufficient Memory corrupt COFE off97 xl97 
Keywords          : kbsetup offwin offwinsetup xlwin 
Version           : windows:2.0,3.0
Platform          : WINDOWS
Hardware          : x86
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: June 3, 1999