I was just using my computer one day when a program crashed.  So I
figure, its probably about time to restart my computer.  When I do so
I get the error:

Invalid System Disk
please replace the disk and press any key

I check the floppy drive for a disk, and there is nothing there.  I go
into BIOS, disable the floppy drive, same error.  I open my computer
and physically disconnect the floppy drive, same results.  I am
concerned about the cause of this error.  I think it may be something
serious with my computer because I am somewhat familiar with boot
errors.  I don't think it is the hard drive because I don't get the
friendly "operating system not found" error.  I don't think it is the
RAM because I know the computer initializes the RAM and also that it
won't start without the RAM.  I don't think it is the disk drives
because I has disabled all boot items except my hard drive.  I think
that there should be a simple cause of the error, but I am unsure how
to fix it or how serious it is.  If it will help here are some of my
systems specifications:

Dell Dimesion XP 5
PIII 1.0 ghz
256mb RD Ram

I could provide other relevant information is necessary.  I know the
price is low but that is because there is a simple answer to the
question.

---

Request for Question Clarification by alienintelligence-ga on 17 Aug 2002 19:20 PDT

Hi mowe,

I belive the error you are getting
is actually referring to your Hard
Drive.

When the system boots, does it 
usually list the hard drives that
are detected? If not, you might
have to go thru a few things to
see if it's still showing.
Such as going to the BIOS again
and seeing if it's enumerating
there. 

Do you have a boot floppy somewhere?
Have you tried booting with that?
That way you will eliminate several
points of fault at the same time.
You will know the motherboard is
good, the CPU is good, the floppy
is good and the RAM is good. So,
if it does boot on the boot floppy,
that will make the hard drive look
more the culprit.

Grab the boot disk for Win98 oem
here:
[ http://www.mirrors.org/archived_software/www.bootdisk.com/original.htm ]

-AI

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 17 Aug 2002 22:49 PDT

mowe...

I ran into this myself awhile back, but I'm not
positive about the fix. In addition to the good
advice by AI, I'd submit that you might have
somehow lost or corrupted a system file on 
your hard drive. I think that's what the problem
was when it happened to me. The floppy boot disk
is still a good idea. From there, you might need
to copy a/the system file(s) to C:\ 

I'm thinking command.com is a likely culprit.

sublime1-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by alienintelligence-ga on 22 Aug 2002 06:05 PDT

Hi again mowe...

Did you get your Invalid System Disk problem solved?

-AI

Greetings!

The "invalid system disk" message appears when a drive is found, but
no system files are found on it.  The general idea is that the system
files have become corrupted, or your BIOS is toast.

Assuming the simplest case, that you just need to re-install the
system files for your computer.  The process for that is to acquire a
DOS boot disk appropriate for your operating system, boot to that
disk, and then run the 'sys' command.

The 'sys' command . . . 

"Copies MS-DOS system files and command interpreter to a disk you
specify.

SYS [drive1:][path] drive2:

  [drive1:][path] Specifies the location of the system files.
  drive2:         Specifies the drive the files are to be copied to.
"

from running sys /?

Boot disks may be available from http://www.bootdisk.com/

I hope this solves your problem; if you need further information,
please ask for a clarification before rating this answer.


Search Strategy:
invalid system disc OR disk
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=invalid+system+disc+OR+disk

Boot from a floopy type fdisk /mbr press enter

That will restore the master boot record