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[scarneck]

Need help again.

I keep getting a windows dialog box stating the following:

16 bit MS-DOS Subsystem

C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.
Everytime I hit close or ignore, the window still pops up.

Recently I was running AdAware and quarantined some of the identified files, but I restored them after I was having problems. Still nothing solves this.

HELP!

Demophobe? anyone?

[Demophobe]

A couple of things:

First, there is a 16-bit program that is trying to run, but is unable on your XP machine. This isn't too surprising, and it must be an older application. If it's a virus or something, well, I'm not sure. Even when that window pops up, you should "ctrl+alt+del" to see what processes are running in the background.

What was the last thing you installed, or at least, what did you do before this started happening? As I said, something is trying to run, and upon initialization failure, is doing a loop. This is why you get this window never going away.

Try closing services that you don't recognize in the "ctrl+alt+del" menu...of course, be a bit careful...you don't want to crash you machine. If you cannot find the service that is wanting to run here, try this...

Check the registry for what is running at startup. Go to "start" menu and choose the "run" command. From here, enter "regedit" in the field and "enter".

Here, click the right side to expand the trees. Open "HKEY/LOCAL MACHINE/SOFTWARE/MICROSOFT/WINDOWS/CURRENT VERSION/RUN

See what is in the right side as startup entries. If there is anything you don't recognize as being something you installed or anything suspect, first do this:

Back up the registry!!!!!

Look in the top menus for the registry backup option and back up the entire registry, not just that entry!! This is crucial. If you mess up something, you can resore it through this again.

After that, delete and entries in the "run" area you don't recognize.

Also, another area..HKEY_Current_user/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/RUN

Same thing applies here. Backup before making changes.

Now....that was the short version. The long version of the possible problem/solution.

From: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;324767

This may occur if one or more of the following files are missing or damaged:
-Config.nt
-Autoexec.nt
-Command.com


1. Insert the XP CD into the CD drive or DVD drive.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type "cmd" (without the quotes), and then click OK.
4. At the command prompt, type the following commands, pressing ENTER after each command: (Enter you CD-ROM drive letter in the italics area.)


expand cd-rom:\i386\config.nt_ drive_letter:\system_root\system32\config.nt

expand cd-rom:\i386\autoexec.nt_ drive_letter:\system_root\system32\autoexec.nt

expand cd-rom:\i386\command.co_ drive_letter:\system_root\system32\command.com

exit

5. Start or install the program. If the issue is resolved, do not complete the remaining steps. If the issue is not resolved, go to the next step.

6. Note: The Command.com file is not edited or created in this in the following process. Because of this, you may have to expand it from your Windows XP CD-ROM.

Start Notepad.

7. In Notepad, type the following entries:

dos=high, umb
device=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\himem.sys
files=40

8. On the File menu, click Save As.

9. In the File Name box, type Config.nt, and then click Save. Close the Config.nt file.

10. On the File menu, click New.

11. In the new blank document, type the following entries:

@echo off
lh %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\mscdexnt.exe
lh %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\redir
lh %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\dosx
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 P330 T3

12. On the File menu, click Save As.

13. In the File Name box, type Autoexec.nt, and then click Save. Close the Autoexec.nt file.

14. Start Windows Explorer. Locate the Config.nt file, right-click the Config.nt file, and then click Copy.

15. Right-click the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32 folder, and then click Paste.

16. Locate the Autoexec.nt file, right-click the Autoexec.nt file, and then click Copy.

17. Right-click the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32 folder, and then click Paste.

18. Locate the Command.com file, right-click the expanded Command.com file, and then click Copy.

19. Right-click the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32 folder, and then click Paste. Restart your computer.

Now, are you sorry you asked?

Print it out and do it. It's not really that hard. The entries for notepad are exact.

Or....

copy the c:\windows\repair folder version of autoexec.nt to the c:\windows\system32
folder then right click and left click properties and set to read only and "apply" and "ok"


Ugh....enough for now...

I will post back later.

[Demophobe]

Go here:

http://www.visualtour.com/downloads/default.asp

Scroll down to "XP Fix" program. Looks like a little charmer....

And another site with a download for an Autoexec.nt file:

http://www.oldmp.com/forms/download/xpservicepack2.htm

[scarneck]

I did something that was on a forum..they told me to find the file in the repair folder in system32 and copy it then paste it in the system32 folder. I did that and the sh*t hit the fan. It was caught in a boot/re-boot vicious circle! I couldn't even do a roll back to an earlier date, there wasn't the abillty to select a restore point from a previous set date!

I couldn't do anything, so I went off the deep end and did a complete system restore. (this was at 3:00 am this morning) Lost everything (again)...you'd think I'd learn. One of these days I gotta just take the day off and get to Chuncheon and get schooled in PC protection.

So now I'm going to install a virus protection, learn about firewalls and put as much on DVD/CDs as possible. Oh, and watch what is downloaded via P2P (Limewire)..

I really appreciate the help.

[Demophobe]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, mate...

Listen...one step that will save your data, and also help with any P2P weirdness, is to make some partitions. Use "Partition Magic" to make a 10GB partition (a kind of division, like a wall) on your hard drive, and use this part strictly for the operating system. All programs are installed to this directory, but no saving of any kind goes here; especially any P2P downloads!

Then, make another partition (how much hard drive space do you have?) for storage. This will be only for completed downloads and files. Make it the size of a DVD if you are short on space, then monitor what goes in there very closely. When it's full, do an AV scan to ensure it's virus-free before moving it onto another partition or burning it onto a DVD.

Now, I really recommend at least 3 partitions....OS, storage, and temp stuff. I have 4....all of the aforementioned, plus my Games partition.

The OS drive stays clean and lean....programs files only.The Temp area is a sandbox for downloads and "loseable" file storage. On here, I put my temp folders, .part files from Overnet...anything that I could care less if I lose. Storage gets all files I wish to keep and parhaps burn to DVD, though there is no pressing need, as anything short of a total hard drive failure, they are safe enough. The Games partition holds my paging file and games only. My fastest partition for this.

A 60GB drive would work well at say 10/15/35 (losing some space to the OS)

Anyways, partitions are the way to go if you are really intent on keeping data if the OS goes south for some reason. That and a "sandbox" for P2P files...somewhere they are isolated and can be scanned and saved/deleted safely. Overnet gives you the option to have the temp file in one location, the final download in another. Very handy.

Don't forget that the P2P file area will take a thrashing and needs to be defragmented often. The continuous writes and deletions make it so....defrag often.

Yep....you should come down sometime. If not for the 'puter stuff, then just for some fresh air! Merry Christmas to you and your family!