System Configuration Utility on 3 1/2 Floppy Disk

[Brian_329]

After creating 4 disks from SP19619.exe, including one that was supposed to be a boot disk, I start having problems. Here they are:

Missing command.com. Where is the file and which version do I need? Do I not have because of a corrupt download or is the SP corrupt? Also, I get a message saying the config.sys is bad or missing. More specifically, "Error in Config.sys, Line 0. As a FYI, Line 0 is: "Buffers = 30"

Help is appreciated. Thanks.

[SAKET_5]

Hi Brian,

Could you provide more info please...

what server model, what OS, etc?

regards,

[Roger Faucher]

Brian:

I can only assume that some corruption occurred either during the download or during the extraction process.

Make a great day!

Roger

[Steve Kadish]

You might want to try formatting the disk as a system disk *before* extracting the service pack onto it.

Good luck,
- Steve

[Brian_329]

Here is yet another twist. Ok. So just maybe the download was corrupt. So I try not one, not two, but three SmartStart CD to create a copy of the System Configuration Utility. I still get the same error when I boot from the first disk. To add some further detail that might help, the server has no partitions, including the system one that SmartStart installs. It was wiped a while back. The server will not load with the SmartStart CD, so I figure Ok, I'll create the System Configuration Utility on floppy and use that as my starting point. Since then my progres has been severly stalled in the mud. Someone must have run into this before. I have tried reseating the drives and other stuff. Nothing.

In answer to the question posed by Saket, Proliant 3000.

[Roger Faucher]

I know it's a long shot but I'd try updating the BIOS from here:

http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/locate/69_1112.html#4

and if that doesn't help, you may have a hardware problem.

Make a great day!

Roger

[pudellek]

Don't need command.com. Shell is SD2.EXE.
Just successfully upgraded my Proliant 5500 using sp16916's floppies - no problems.
If system partition not exists, you may create it.
Newer Compaq servers will not boot from system partition, however.

[Charles Cosby_3]

I have the same problem almost every time I have to make boot floppies for Rompaq's or whatever. I now have a dedicated DOS machine (win 95 or 98) and use that to create the floppies. For whatever reason, every time I try it on an NT, XP or W2K machine, I get the error command.com not found.

[pudellek]

I think Brian wants to boot from already created syscfg floppies and not execute sp19619.exe.

If I execute sp19619.exe on a XP machine, it proceeds as normally - a DOS box pops up and the SP files get extracted. And surely well I can go on, execute QRST5.exe and get my 4 syscfg floppies created. And the 1st of the set is bootable and does boot.
?

[Brian_329]

Thanks to all who have taken time to reply and sorry for not responding back sooner. To answer the questions/remarks posted since my last reply on this subject:

Have not yet updated Bios. Considering it though. Ok, someone what is the difference between SP19619 and SP19616? Is the SP19616 newer? The machine I used to create the floppies was a Windows 9x machine. No errors. Everything seemed to work fine during the extraction, but obviously the command.com was not copied and the config.sys might have been corrupted during the extraction process. Pudellek, you say you have no problems booting with floppies that were created from a PC running Win 2k or Win XP? What happens if you create them from a PC running Win 9x? Well, I hope this is enough to jump start this discussion again and I hope I answered all that replied with suggestions to me. Thanks.