Q133175: Troubleshooting DriveSpace in Windows 95
Article: Q133175
Product(s): Microsoft Windows 95.x Retail Product
Version(s): 2.0,95
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbtool kbtshoot win95
Last Modified: 13-MAR-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows 95
- Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95
- Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release, version 2.0
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SUMMARY
=======
This article describes how to troubleshoot the following problems with
DriveSpace in Windows 95:
- DriveSpace displays an error message
- Your computer stops responding (hangs) during compression
- Your computer does not boot properly after compressing a drive
MORE INFORMATION
================
DriveSpace Displays an Error Message
------------------------------------
If you receive an error message while running DriveSpace, check the Microsoft
Knowledge Base for existing articles about that error message. Some of the most
common errors are:
Q124558 DriveSpace Err Msg: Mini.cab File Is Missing or Damaged...
Q132883 Err Msg: Drive C Contains Errors That Must Be Corrected...
Q123441 Windows 95 DriveSpace Err Msg: Windows Cannot Perform...
Q154839 Err Msg: Windows Has Detected a Compressed Drive Access Error
Q134859 DriveSpace VxD and Real-Mode Driver Are Mismatched
Q142919 Error Message: ID Number DRVSPACE125
Q155689 Error Message: Mini.cab Is Missing or Corrupt
Computer Hangs During Compression
---------------------------------
If your computer hangs while DriveSpace is running, follow these steps:
1. If DriveSpace stops when it is 25 percent finished, see the following article
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q136830 DriveSpace May Fail to Start in Mini-Windows Mode
2. If DriveSpace stops when it is between 25 and 100 percent finished, see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q136899 DriveSpace Restartability in Windows 95 and MS Plus!
3. If DriveSpace stops while you are uncompressing or resizing a compressed
drive, follow these steps:
a. Start your computer with your Windows 95 or Microsoft Plus! Startup disk.
When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then
choose Step-By-Step Confirmation from the Startup menu. Press N when you
are prompted to load the DoubleSpace or DriveSpace driver.
NOTE: If you did not create a Startup disk during Windows 95 Setup, or you
did not update your Startup disk during Microsoft Plus! Setup, you can
create a Startup disk manually.
For information about creating or updating a Startup disk, please see the
following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q138991 Problems Using Windows 95 or Microsoft Plus! Startup Disk
Q136900 Manually Updating the Startup Disk After Installing Microsoft Plus!
IMPORTANT: If your computer uses software that translates disk geometry
(such as OnTrack Disk Manager or Micro House EZ-Drive), make sure to load
the translation software when you start your computer with the Startup
disk.
b. Verify that you have the correct DriveSpace and ScanDisk files on drives A
and C.
Check the Startup disk for the correct Drvspace.bin and Scandisk.exe files
with the following commands:
dir /a a:\drvspace.bin
dir a:\scandisk.exe
NOTE: The Startup disk does not contain a Dblspace.bin file. The
Drvspace.bin file should have the file size and date noted below,
depending on whether or not Microsoft Plus! is installed. If you did not
install Microsoft Plus!, the Scandisk.exe file should be 134,738 bytes in
size. If you installed Microsoft Plus!, the Scandisk.exe file should be
137,836 bytes in size.
If you do not have the correct versions of these files, extract new copies
from your original disks or CD-ROM to the root folder of drive A.
For information about using the Extract tool, please see the following
article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q129605 How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files
Make sure that both the Drvspace.bin and Dblspace.bin files exist in the
root folder of drive C. To check for these files, type the following
command:
"dir /a c:\d??space.bin" (without the quotation marks)
If you did not install Microsoft Plus!, you should see the following
files:
File name Date/Time Size
------------------------------------------
Drvspace.bin 07-11-95 9:50 A.M. 71,287
Dblspace.bin 07-11-95 9:50 A.M. 71,287
If you did install Microsoft Plus!, you should see the following files:
File name Date/Time Size
-------------------------------------------
Drvspace.bin 07-14-95 12:00 A.M. 64,135
Dblspace.bin 07-14-95 12:00 A.M. 64,135
If you are using Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2, you should have the
following files whether or not Microsoft Plus! is installed:
File name Date/Time Size
-------------------------------------------
Drvspace.bin 08-24-96 11:11 A.M. 65,271
Dblspace.bin 08-24-96 11:11 A.M. 65,271
IMPORTANT: Drvspace.bin and Dblspace.bin are the same files with different
names. Copy the Drvspace.bin file to Dblspace.bin on the Startup disk with
the following commands before you proceed:
attrib -s -h -r a:\drvspace.bin
copy a:\drvspace.bin a:\dblspace.bin
attrib +s +h +r a:\d??space.bin
c. Make sure that either a Drvspace.ini or Dblspace.ini file exists in the
root folder of drive C. To check, type the following command:
"dir /a c:\d??space.ini" (without the quotation marks)
d. If neither a Drvspace.ini or Dblspace.ini file exists on the hard disk,
create one using the EDIT command from the Startup disk. To do this, type
"edit c:\drvspace.ini" (without the quotation marks), and then press
ENTER. Then, save the Drvspace.ini file and close the editor.
e. Restart your computer and do not press the F8 key. The computer should
boot into Windows 95 and the contents of the compressed drive should be
available.
Check for a Restart.drv file in the root folder of drive C or its host
drive by typing the following command:
"dir /a <drive>:\restart.drv" (without the quotation marks)
This file is required by DriveSpace to restart a failed operation. If the
Restart.drv file exists, copy the Config.pss and Autoexec.pss files from
the Failsafe.drv folder to the root folder of the physical boot drive by
typing the following commands at a command prompt:
"copy <drive>:\failsafe.drv\config.pss <drive>:\config.sys
copy <drive>:\failsafe.drv\autoexec.pss <drive>:\autoexec.bat"
(without the quotation marks)
Then, edit the Drvspace.ini or Dblspace.ini file and place a semicolon (;)
before the "ActivateDrive" line for compressed drive C (if it is being
mounted). For example,
";ActivateDrive=H,C0" (without the quotation marks)
This causes the computer to boot to the physical boot drive containing the
Failsafe.drv folder and the Restart.drv file.
NOTE: If there are multiple "ActivateDrive" lines that reference drive C,
place the semicolon before the line that ends with "C0." The Drvspace.ini
file is a hidden, system, read-only file stored in the root folder of the
physical boot drive. To edit the file you must first remove the Hidden,
System, and Read-Only attributes. To do so, type the following line at a
command prompt:
"attrib -s -h -r <drive>:\d??space.ini" (without the quotation marks)
Restart your computer and DriveSpace should try to complete the failed
operation in mini-Windows mode.
f. If the Restart.drv file does not exist, DriveSpace cannot restart the
failed operation automatically. Format the drive and restore data from a
recent backup, or contact Microsoft Technical Support for additional
assistance.
NOTE: It may be impossible to recover data at this point. It may be
necessary to format the drive and restore from a recent backup or to
reinstall Windows 95.
4. If you are troubleshooting a problem with one of the following DriveSpace
operations that was not completed successfully, these operations can be
continued after the underlying problems are resolved (provided you have not
made manual changes to the DriveSpace configuration, such as changing an .ini
file setting or renaming a CVF):
- Compressing an existing drive
- Uncompressing a DoubleSpace or DriveSpace drive
- Creating a new, empty DriveSpace drive
- Changing the size of a DoubleSpace or DriveSpace drive
- Changing the estimated compression ratio (ECR) for a DoubleSpace or
DriveSpace drive
- Mounting a DoubleSpace or DriveSpace drive
- Upgrading (converting) a DoubleSpace or DriveSpace drive to DriveSpace 3
5. If you are not troubleshooting a problem with one of the DriveSpace
operations listed above, verify that the compressed drive is mounted by
trying to access the drive letter that was created when you originally
compressed the drive.
For example, if you compressed drive C and DriveSpace created drive letter H
for the host drive, type "h:" (without the quotation marks) and press ENTER.
If you receive an "Invalid drive specification" error message, the compressed
drive is not mounted.
6. Use ScanDisk to repair or mount the unmounted CVF. To do so, type the
following line:
"scandisk <drive>:" (without the quotation marks)
where <drive> is the letter of the compressed drive if it was mounted in
step 5, or type
"Scandisk /mount=<YYY><drive>" (without the quotation marks)
where <YYY> is the extension of the unmounted CVF and <drive> is
the drive containing the CVF.
When you are prompted to check the host drive first, do so. Perform a surface
scan on all drives, and fix any errors found.
If you receive an error message stating that you cannot use compressed drive C
because it is not mounted, restart your computer and then repeat step 5.
NOTE: If there is insufficient memory available for ScanDisk to check the
compressed drive, repeat the command after modifying your Startup disk to
load the compression driver in upper memory. To do so, create a Config.sys
file on the Startup disk that includes at least the following commands
dos=umb
device=<drive>:\failsafe.drv\windows\himem.sys
device=<drive>:\failsafe.drv\windows\emm386.exe noems
devicehigh=<drive>:\failsafe.drv\command\drvspace.sys /move
where <drive> is either drive C or its host drive. The Failsafe.drv
folder is a hidden folder on the physical boot drive that is used by
DriveSpace to restart interrupted disk compression operations. This folder
should be available even if your compressed drive is not mounted.
The Failsafe.drv folder may also contain a Config.emm file that can be used to
optimize conventional memory. However, you must change the drive letter
designation on the "device=" and "devicehigh=" lines to reference the host
for drive C if drive C is a compressed drive that is mounted when you boot
with the Startup disk.
IMPORTANT: If your hardware configuration requires upper memory to be excluded
when using Emm386.exe, include the appropriate "x=mmmm-nnnn" syntax on the
Emm386.exe command line.
7. Scan your computer for viruses using the latest anti-virus software available
to you. If you upgraded from Microsoft MS-DOS 6.0 or later and you have
Microsoft Anti-Virus for MS-DOS installed, run Msav.exe to detect and clean
all logical drives.
WARNING: The presence of a computer virus may lead to partial or complete data
loss when you perform the following troubleshooting steps. For additional
information about computer viruses, please see the following article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q129972 Description of Computer Viruses
8. Perform a thorough surface scan on your hard disk. To do so, follow these
steps:
a. Edit the Scandisk.ini file on the Startup disk to include the following
lines:
[Environment] ScanTimeOut=On NumPasses=5
b. Save and close the Scandisk.ini file.
c. Type the following line to scan the hard disk
"scandisk <drive>:" (without the quotation marks)
where <drive> is the compressed drive, if it is mounted. If the
compressed drive is not mounted, use the host drive letter instead. Note
that the host drive letter is the same as the drive letter you normally
use for the compressed drive (when you are not having a problem with the
compressed drive).
When you are prompted, instruct ScanDisk to perform the following actions:
- check the host drive first
- mount any unmounted CVFs
- perform a surface scan on both drives
- fix all errors found
- view, and save, a log file
NOTE: This procedure may take some time, particularly if you have a large
hard disk or more than one hard disk. To automate this procedure so that
ScanDisk does not prompt you for instructions, include the following lines
in the Scandisk.ini file:
[Environment]
LfnCheck = Off
Mount = Always
[Custom]
DriveSummary = Off
AllSummary = Auto
Surface = Always
CheckHost = Always
SaveLog = Overwrite
Undo = Never
DS_Header = Fix
FAT_Media = Fix
Okay_Entries = Fix
Bad_Chain = Fix
Crosslinks = Fix
Boot_Sector = Fix
Invalid_MDFAT = Fix
DS_Crosslinks = Fix
DS_LostClust = Fix
DS_Signatures = Fix
Mismatch_FAT = Fix
Bad_Clusters = Fix
Bad_Entries = Delete
LostClust = Save
Then, run ScanDisk using the following command:
"scandisk <drive>: /custom" (without the quotation marks)
ScanDisk creates a Scandisk.log file that you can examine to determine
whether ScanDisk fixed any problems on the drive. The problem should now
be resolved unless you are troubleshooting a failed DriveSpace operation
that is restartable. If this is not the case, you may want to review the
troubleshooting steps.
Your Computer Does Not Boot Properly After Compressing a Drive
--------------------------------------------------------------
A compressed drive may not be mounting correctly. To troubleshoot this problem,
follow steps 5-8 above.
If the compressed drive is mounted correctly but Windows 95 still does not load,
see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q136337 Troubleshooting Windows 95 Startup Problems and Error Messages
Additional query words:
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Keywords : kbtool kbtshoot win95
Technology : kbWin95search kbGamesSearch kbPlusSearch kbOPKSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbPlus95
Version : :2.0,95
Issue type : kbhowto
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