"Drive X is using MS-DOS compatibility mode file system."

[Dede]

Hello,
I would appreciate help with this problem I had tried a program that ran a test on my PC and after it was done with the test, here is what it said:

"Drive X is using MS-DOS compatibility mode file system, usually caused by a driver listed in the configuration.sys file that windows does not recognize and related to this message. Compatibility mode paging reduces overall system performance."

"If see both messages, [ I did.] see the Help for the 'Compatibility mode paging paging reduces overall system performance.' "

I did look at both messages, however, I could not make sense of what they said.

If it is true,what the test said, I am thinking the problem could slow down my PC.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on how to rectify that problem.

Thanks in advance:
Dede 27

[UberGerbil]

More information would be helpful. What was the test program you were running that gave you this message? What are the details of your system -- hardware, OS version, etc?

You can check the filesystem in use on any drive by looking at its properties (right click on the drive). You want to see "NTFS"; if you see some variation of FAT you may have an issue -- but FAT variants are common and generally not a problem on many forms of external/removable storage like USB flash drives, and the reference to "Drive X" (if it really is X:) suggests that's what might be going on here.

[just brew it!]

What OS are you running? What diagnostic did you run? I am under the impression that this was a really old (Windows 9x/ME) issue, not something that affects modern OSes.

[bthylafh]

Yeah, mentioning config.sys like that makes me suspect you're running Windows 98 or 95.

[Vrock]

Heh, MS-DOS. There's an acronymn you don't see everyday.

[bthylafh]

It could also be one of those scareware things that flash up bogus error messages to try to scare you into buying the program.

Need more information.

[Captain Ned]

Heh, MS-DOS. There's an acronymn you don't see everyday.

FreeDOS 1.1 was released today.

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1117 ... r-17-years

[Vrock]

Heh, MS-DOS. There's an acronymn you don't see everyday.

FreeDOS 1.1 was released today.

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1117 ... r-17-years

I'm sure the five nerds out there with functioning 386SX computers are downloading it now on their 9600 baud modems.

[tanker27]

I'm sure the five nerds out there with functioning 386SX computers are downloading it now on their 9600 baud modems.

HEY! Thats a 386SX WITH a Turbo Button!

[Vrock]

I'm sure the five nerds out there with functioning 386SX computers are downloading it now on their 9600 baud modems.

HEY! Thats a 386SX WITH a Turbo Button!

You need that Turbo button to play demanding games like Wolfenstein 3D.

[Dede]

Thank you all for your help!

I am sorry! I cannot tell you much about what you,folks, asked me. I do not remember what program I ran.

I am an "old" novice running Windows Me on a 1997 Dell PC. Yes, I plan on building a new one.

Again, thank you all very much for your help!

dede

[Crayon Shin Chan]

Whatever program it was that threw you this kind of stupid line, I don't trust it. It probably says next "to fix this problem, pay us 100 dollars!" or something.

[bthylafh]

Nah, on WinME there is probably some old DOS program that's installed a device driver to c:\config.sys. I'd be a little surprised if that sort of malware can run on such an old operating system.

Dede: can you open up C:\config.sys in Notepad and paste its contents here?

[ludi]

See here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.as ... US;q130179

And note that one possible "Cause" is virus activity, although benign device driver issues and conflicts can also do it.

Before attempting to fix anything, you need to be certain that the machine is as clean as you can make it, as Win9x had virtually no meaningful security or permissions controls in its core and the WinMe version of the Windows Security Center was correspondingly a bandaid more than anything. Thorough virus scanning and a malware sweep with SpyBot or AdAware is highly recommended before doing anything else.

If you don't have a recent antivirus program installed, Avast still has a free release that supports older Windows versions:
http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Home-Edi ... 75520.html

[Dede]

Nah, on WinME there is probably some old DOS program that's installed a device driver to c:\config.sys. I'd be a little surprised if that sort of malware can run on such an old operating system.

Dede: can you open up C:\config.sys in Notepad and paste its contents here?

Thank you for help and the others who answered my question!

Here is what I have in C:\config.sys:
[menu]
menuitem=HELP, Help
menuitem=CD, Start computer with CD-ROM support.
menuitem=NOCD, Start computer without CD-ROM support.
menuitem=QUICK, Minimal Boot
menudefault=HELP,30
menucolor=7,0

[HELP]
device=oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
device=btdosm.sys
device=flashpt.sys
device=btcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
device=aspi2dos.sys
device=aspi8dos.sys
device=aspi4dos.sys
device=aspi8u2.sys
device=aspicd.sys /D:mscd001
devicehigh=ramdrive.sys /E 2048

[CD]
device=oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
device=btdosm.sys
device=flashpt.sys
device=btcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
device=aspi2dos.sys
device=aspi8dos.sys
device=aspi4dos.sys
device=aspi8u2.sys
device=aspicd.sys /D:mscd001
devicehigh=ramdrive.sys /E 2048

[NOCD]
devicehigh=ramdrive.sys /E 2048

[QUICK]

[COMMON]
files=10
buffers=10
dos=high,umb
stacks=9,256
lastdrive=z

[Dede]

Nah, on WinME there is probably some old DOS program that's installed a device driver to c:\config.sys. I'd be a little surprised if that sort of malware can run on such an old operating system.

Dede: can you open up C:\config.sys in Notepad and paste its contents here?

Thank you for help and the others who answered my question!

Here is what I have in C:\config.sys: [ I forgot to add my OS: It is ME]
[menu]
menuitem=HELP, Help
menuitem=CD, Start computer with CD-ROM support.
menuitem=NOCD, Start computer without CD-ROM support.
menuitem=QUICK, Minimal Boot
menudefault=HELP,30
menucolor=7,0

[HELP]
device=oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
device=btdosm.sys
device=flashpt.sys
device=btcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
device=aspi2dos.sys
device=aspi8dos.sys
device=aspi4dos.sys
device=aspi8u2.sys
device=aspicd.sys /D:mscd001
devicehigh=ramdrive.sys /E 2048

[CD]
device=oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
device=btdosm.sys
device=flashpt.sys
device=btcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
device=aspi2dos.sys
device=aspi8dos.sys
device=aspi4dos.sys
device=aspi8u2.sys
device=aspicd.sys /D:mscd001
devicehigh=ramdrive.sys /E 2048

[NOCD]
devicehigh=ramdrive.sys /E 2048

[QUICK]

[COMMON]
files=10
buffers=10
dos=high,umb
stacks=9,256
lastdrive=z

[just brew it!]

Just ditch WinME and move on. Fighting with an OS that is essentially based on 1980s MS-DOS code base will just give you ulcers.

And this is coming from someone who was probably one of the last WinNT4/Win2K holdouts... so I'm not necessarily averse to hanging on to old OSes!

[xgsound]

If your only problem was the error report from the program , do not treat this as a problem , only information. Since the base machine is so old you may want to keep it unaltered for older programs only. The installed cdrom may require that setup to operate and the bios may be too old to support newer cd drives.
In short, if it works otherwise, use it unaltered until it is totally replaced.

Jim

[TwistedKestrel]

It has been a LOOOOONG time since I've dealt with any of this, but it looks like you have a config.sys from a boot disk created in Windows on your hard drive somehow. Does that menu come up every time you turn on your computer? If it does, try selecting the "Minimal Boot" option and see if that makes the message go away.

[bthylafh]

That's a lot of stuff in your config.sys for Windows ME, which isn't even capable of booting to DOS mode unless you force it to, and thus config.sys isn't really needed.

I'd rename config.sys to config.old (or maybe config.sys.bak) and then you won't run any of that nonessential stuff anymore.

If I had to guess, the specific culprit is the ramdrive.sys invocation, and RAM drives aren't necessary anyway.

[Vrock]

If you must run a Win9x OS, then run Win98SE. It was the best of them by a long shot.

[Captain Ned]

If you must run a Win9x OS, then run Win98SE. It was the best of them by a long shot.

Still have a copy if the need for a DOSBox ever asserts itself. Just don't let it on the 'Net.

[bthylafh]

Yeah, I'm sure he's going to spend money on such an old computer.

[Vrock]

A copy of Win 98SE should be very cheap.

[Vrock]

If you must run a Win9x OS, then run Win98SE. It was the best of them by a long shot.

Still have a copy if the need for a DOSBox ever asserts itself. Just don't let it on the 'Net.

Fully patched, I would think it should be okay for occasional internet use such as dowloading drivers and the like.

[just brew it!]

If you must run a Win9x OS, then run Win98SE. It was the best of them by a long shot.

Still have a copy if the need for a DOSBox ever asserts itself. Just don't let it on the 'Net.

Fully patched, I would think it should be okay for occasional internet use such as dowloading drivers and the like.

That was also before Windows had a bazillion background services running by default, each with its own potential set of security vulnerabilities.

[bthylafh]

If you must run a Win9x OS, then run Win98SE. It was the best of them by a long shot.

Still have a copy if the need for a DOSBox ever asserts itself. Just don't let it on the 'Net.

Fully patched, I would think it should be okay for occasional internet use such as dowloading drivers and the like.

It's not. Even ignoring the security problems that won't ever be fixed, a vintage computer running 9x/ME will be too slow for nearly every web page these days, even the ones it'd be capable of rendering. Javascript and Flash are a lot more prevalent now, likewise more complex page layouts and the CSS an old browser couldn't render properly. I speak from experience, having tried heroic measures to let a Win98 K6/2-300ish computer be a basic web terminal a couple years ago.

I include driver-download pages in "nearly every web page" above.

ME is inferior stability- and RAM usage-wise to 9x, but I don't think it's worse enough to warrant the effort of backing up and reinstalling.

[ludi]

If I had to guess, the specific culprit is the ramdrive.sys invocation, and RAM drives aren't necessary anyway.

That, and it appears to be loading three generic CD-ROM drivers for no good reason. Second the motion: this file needs to simply go away, and then continue troubleshooting from there.

[Dede]

Hi folks,

I am terribly sorry I did not answer before now. I had trouble with my PC and when I got it going again, I had forgotten my questions! I just reviewed my notes and saw I had not answered you all.

Again. I am sorry for my forgetfulness!

I certainly appreciate your help!

Sincerely,
Dede