Q57730: Err Msg: "No Room for System on Destination Disk" with SYS
Article: Q57730
Product(s): Microsoft Disk Operating System
Version(s): MS-DOS:3.x,4.x,5.x,6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s):
Last Modified: 17-DEC-2000
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 3.1, 3.2, 3.21, 3.3, 3.3a, 4.0, 4.01, 5.0, 5.0a, 6.0, 6.2, 6.21, 6.22
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SYMPTOMS
========
In the Microsoft MS-DOS user's manuals, the SYS command entry states that you do
not need to reformat your disk when you upgrade to a later version of MS-DOS.
SYS updates system disks even though the new system files are larger and must be
broken up to fit in the available disk space.
However, when upgrading some system disks, SYS returns the following error
message:
No room for system on destination disk
CAUSE
=====
This error message is caused by one of the following:
- There is not enough free space anywhere on the destination disk for the
relocatable part of the system files.
Solution
Delete some files to make room for the system files. This is documented in
Appendix F of the "Microsoft MS-DOS User's Guide and Reference" for versions
4.01 and earlier, under the "No room for system on destination disk" error
message.
- A file occupies the first clusters of the disk on a non-system disk.
Solution
If a disk utility is available to find which file(s) occupy the first clusters
of the disk, erase or move those files to clear the space needed for the
system.
If you have the MS-DOS 5, 6, or 6.2 Upgrade, you can run Setup with the /M
parameter.
If the previous two options are not available, you must reformat the disk.
- The disk has an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) version of MS-DOS that
does not use the Microsoft naming convention for the hidden system files.
Solution
Contact the OEM supplier for an MS-DOS upgrade. You should continue running
the OEM version of MS-DOS. However, if you must change to the Microsoft
MS-DOS packaged product, see the information provided below.
- Cluster 2 is a lost cluster and cannot be used to hold IO.SYS.
Solution
Run MS-DOS CHKDSK /F to correct the lost allocation unit.
If you are using MS-DOS 6.2 or later, run SCANDISK.
MORE INFORMATION
================
There is a quick solution for the OEM MS-DOS problem mentioned above. This
solution requires that you have a good understanding of MS-DOS, and that you
have a third-party utility to remove the Hidden, System, and Read-Only
attributes from the system files.
The MS-DOS SYS command looks for the files named IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS on the
destination disk. If these files are not found, because they do not exist or are
named differently, SYS assumes the disk is not a system disk and attempts to
install the new system files starting at cluster 2 (IO.SYS must be contiguous
starting at cluster 2).
Some OEMs, such as IBM, use different names for the system files. To make SYS
work with these disks, you can rename the two files to IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS, as
in the following example. (The following example uses IBM PC-DOS naming
conventions.)
1. Using a third-party attribute change utility, remove the Hidden, Read-Only,
and System attributes from IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM. MS-DOS does not provide
a utility to set or reset the Hidden and System attributes of a file, because
you should not tamper with these files.
2. Rename these two files as follows:
ren ibmbio.com io.sys
ren ibmdos.com msdos.sys
3. Use the attribute utility to replace the Hidden, Read-Only, and System
attributes.
The SYS command should work correctly after you make the above changes. The SYS
command does not transfer COMMAND.COM to the destination floppy disk in MS-DOS
versions 3.3x through 4.x, so you must do that manually.
Additional query words: appnote 6.22 3.30 3.30a 4.00 4.00a 5.00 5.00a 6.00 6.20
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Keywords :
Technology : kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS321 kbMSDOS400 kbMSDOS320 kbMSDOS330a kbMSDOS621 kbMSDOS622 kbMSDOS620 kbMSDOS600 kbMSDOS310 kbMSDOS500 kbMSDOS330 kbMSDOS401 kbMSDOS500a
Version : MS-DOS:3.x,4.x,5.x,6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22
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