I am curious as to why this problem occurred in the first place...

For some reason my hard drive and the CD-ROM drive are running under MS-DOS compatibility mode file system and their speeds are drastically lowered...

I suspect that some drivers are missing... and they aren't found on the Windows 98 installation disk of mine. This may or may not be the problem, and I would like to find out.

Thank you to whomever can be of help!!

I had this problem a long time ago when I was setting up to use multiple operating systems. I think it can happen due to one of the following situations.

A boot sector virus can cause this without causing other noticeable problems.

Some DOS programs cannot run with Bus Master and other modern IDE drivers. At least Windows thinks they cannot. When the Windows OS (rightly or wrongly) thinks you are trying to run such a program, it sets up DOS compatibility mode. Then it does not seem to get rid of it.

Autoexec.bat and config.sys might have something that creates this problem.

If you create partitions using a version of Fdisk other than the one from the OS you are running, it can cause compatibility mode. This is what caused the problem on my system.

It might happen if you do not install the IDE drivers from the CD that came with your Motherboard. If your vendor set you system up and forgot to do this, shame on him.

I ended up reinstalling my OS to get rid of the problem on my system. This tends to be the surest way to solve many problems, but can be a pain. If nothing else works, use Fdisk to delete all partitions. Then reinstall the OS.

You could try removing the hard disk controllers and letting the Plug & play logic reinstall them. It would be better to reinstall them from the CD that camne with your motherboard.

You might try turning all lines in your autoexec & config files to remarks. This might make the problem go away.

Before taking my advice, try a web search for “DOS compatibility” This might provide better ideas than the above.

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Gouverneur
Eschew Obfuscation!
If one hundred million people believe a foolish idea, it is still a foolish idea.

I had a similar problem which turned out to be a virus. It seems the virus installs a TSR (terminate and stay resident) program that works in DOS. My understanding is that windows then has to convert everything (all instructions)into DOS and then back into Windows which hugely consumes system resources. I believe you can check this by going into System Properties / performance. Is this how you know that its MS-DOS compatability mode?

If its a program you can check by going into MSCONFIG / start up and see whats set to run at startup. If you see something that looks odd try unselecting it, reboot and see it that helps.

I would also check out the MS Knowledge base. lots of useful info there.

You could also try and see whats running via Control/Alt / Del. Post back and let us know how you make out.


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dyslexics Untie!

Hey,

We need more information! These things do not just magically happen.

What changes did you make to the system before this happened? Give us some background information to go on.

Usually, this happens because the motherboard IDE controllers have not been installed correctly or not installed at all, as was previously mentioned.

Post back with more details and we'll kick it up a notch.

Cheers,

Big Blue 66


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Life = Karma, or is it, Karma = Life?

Try this....Q130179 - Troubleshooting MS-DOS Compatibility Mode on Hard Disks (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q130/1/79.asp)

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

I believe the problem arose when I tried to find the problem with the CD-ROM drive. Initially, the hard disk was fine, and only the CD drive had MS-DOS compatibility mode, but when I looked for a new driver I think I reinstalled the one for the hard disk too... that is probably the cause of the MS-DOS compatibility mode problem.

If this helps in your ability to help, I would appreciate it gratefully!!

Thank you all for your help!!