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Q80491: MS-DOS Upgrade Detects Current MS-DOS in Root Directory

Article: Q80491
Product(s): Microsoft Disk Operating System
Version(s): MS-DOS:5.0,5.0a,6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 22-NOV-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 5.0, 5.0a, 6.0, 6.2, 6.21, 6.22 
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SUMMARY
=======

This information applies to both Microsoft DoubleSpace and Microsoft DriveSpace.
For MS-DOS 6.22, use DRVSPACE in place of DBLSPACE for commands and filenames.

During the MS-DOS Upgrade installation, the following message may be displayed:

  Setup detected some of your original DOS files in the root directory of your
  hard disk. To avoid a version conflict, you should exit Setup and then copy
  your original DOS files to a subdirectory. Then delete these files from the
  root directory of your hard disk and restart Setup.

This message indicates that you must remove any MS-DOS files from the root
directory and place them in a separate subdirectory before the Setup program can
continue.

MORE INFORMATION
================

The above error message occurs because MS-DOS 5.0 tries to store the old MS-DOS
files in an OLD_DOS.X subdirectory (where "X" represents the particular
installation of MS-DOS 5.0). If the Setup program identifies certain files in
the root directory, it assumes that MS-DOS was installed in the root.

If Setup determines MS-DOS files are in the root directory, you must create
another subdirectory (for example, C:\MSDOS) and copy the MS-DOS files from the
root into this directory. Next, delete the MS-DOS files from the root. Note: The
following MS-DOS system files should remain in the root:

  PC-DOS          MS-DOS
  ------          ------

  IBMBIO.COM      IO.SYS
  IBMDOS.COM      MSDOS.SYS
  COMMAND.COM     COMMAND.COM
  *.INI           *.INI
                  DBLSPACE.BIN        ; MS-DOS 6.0 and 6.2

The following is a possible workaround to the above error message:

1. Have a system/boot disk available.

2. Create a new subdirectory on the hard drive. For example, type the following
  at a command prompt (from the root C:\> directory):

  "md olddos" (without the quotation marks)

3. Copy all files from the root directory into the new subdirectory. For
  example, type:

  "copy c:\*.* c:\olddos" (without the quotation marks)

4. Use the ATTRIB command to make COMMAND.COM, CONFIG.SYS, and AUTOEXEC.BAT
  read-only by typing the following at the command prompt:

  " attrib +r command.com
  attrib +r config.sys
  attrib +r autoexec.bat" (without the quotation marks)

5. Check the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to ensure there are no device
  drivers or programs being loaded from the root directory that are required to
  boot the machine (for example, Disk Manager [DMDRVR.BIN] or Speed Store
  [SSTOR.SYS, HARDDRV.SYS]). If a required device driver or program is
  identified, use step 3 to make the files read-only.

6. Delete all files from the root directory with the following command:

  " del c:\*.*" (without the quotation marks)

7. Use the ATTRIB command to change the files in the root directory back to
  normal to allow the MS-DOS 5.0 Setup program to access them. Use the
  following syntax:

  attrib -r config.sys
  attrib -r autoexec.bat
  attrib -r command.com

  Note: Be sure to follow the above syntax to restore any device drivers or
  programs to normal status.

8. Run the MS-DOS 5 Upgrade Setup program.

Additional query words: 5.00 5.00a 6.00 6.20 6.21 6.22

======================================================================
Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS621 kbMSDOS622 kbMSDOS620 kbMSDOS600 kbMSDOS500 kbMSDOS500a
Version           : MS-DOS:5.0,5.0a,6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22

=============================================================================

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