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Packard Bell Master CD - Skipping the hardware check.

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First post, by kikipcs

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Hey folks,

I managed to fix that PB 640 mobo I've posted about (rotten recovery jumper pin, what are the odds?). I've managed to obtain quite a few Master CDs(if anyone wants an image tell me), and picked one that is most likely to be packed in with the PC. (Aug 1996 MultiMedia). I've managed to jump over the CD check, and jump over the tattoo number checkbox - so I managed to install a fresh copy of Win95A from the Master CD.

However, after re-starting (as Windows 95 setup does) I'm treated to a hardware check - what? The best thing is, I can't skip it, and neither can I just delete the file responsible for that check (hwdetect.bat) from the AUTOEXEC because I get BSODs and can't proceed. 😠

The hardware check detects I have a Thousand Oaks board, and then halts on a screen about how there's no sound card detected and how I should consult a technician.Command input is disabled.
How exactly were people supposed to upgrade their PBs when swapping out a sound card prevents you from restoring/installing Win95? I guess they weren't supposed to. 😦

Anyway, has anyone got the same issue and managed to somehow skip the hardware check? Alternatively, is there a way to get the preloaded software (incl. Navigator) without booting from the Master CD?

Reply 1 of 33, by cyclone3d

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Sooo... what are the contents of the hwdetect.bat?

Also, have yo tried booting into safe mode? Mash F8 before Windows starts to load.. then you can either go straight to Safe Mode or step through the boot process.
My guess is the BSODs are due to incorrect drivers being pre-loaded on Win95 with that Master CD.

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 2 of 33, by kikipcs

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Pardon my late reply - college got in the way.

hwdetect.bat is a carefully-crafted batch file - and it is only created after Win95 finishes installing and proceeds to restart the computer to finish the installation. I'm going to look at the .iso image and try to find it; if I fail, I'll copy it from the PC and send the plaintext here.

F8 didn't work - tried mashing it with all of my force, and nothing seems to happen because Win95 isn't fully finished installing.

Interestingly, I found a vid online where during that second part of the installation, the video author seems to have skipped that check successfully. See here, starting at 12:10:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ddMn1Sz2AA

In my case, after the "thank you for choosing Packard Bell" screen, the screen pops up the upper half of the screen as seen in that vid, but then halts on a "no sound card detected, consult a technician etc." In that video,
you can see that he's tinkered with it, and it proceeds to the rest of the setup successfully.

Reply 3 of 33, by kikipcs

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Well, I got it figured out somehow. 😁

As for the BSODs, yes, it was the drivers. I found a way to omit that, though.

While being a batch noob, the stuff I did wasn't THAT hard, and I figured since I got it working, someone else who might have a similar problem might stumble upon this and get some advice.

After the first part of Windows setup (or Master CD restore) finishes, just before the restart, we have to get to the command prompt. I ejected the boot floppy, pressed "abort" on Abort, Retry, Fail, and got to the command prompt. I reinserted the boot floppy (it has to have EDIT.com on it) and opened C:\PISETUP\HWDETECT.bat.

HWDETECT.bat does a motherboard check, graphics card check and sound card check using three separate apps which give out an "errorlevel". The batch file then has functions to correspond to each level. I edited the batch so each errorlevel that is given out in my case (640 mobo, replacement sound card, replacement graphics card) goes to a function that does not end in a "CTTY NUL :LOOP GOTO LOOP" but to the second part of Windows install, called ":95DETECT".

Alternatively, you could remove the entire beginning with the checks, and just add a "JUMP 95DETECT" to make it instantly jump to the second part of Windows install.

What I also did was remove any mentions of installing drivers for things I don't have installed in the batch file. Skips the BSODs.

And that's about it - I now have a Navigator on my PB.

Reply 5 of 33, by benheaven

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kikipcs wrote on 2019-10-08, 15:13:
Hey folks, […]
Show full quote

Hey folks,

I managed to fix that PB 640 mobo I've posted about (rotten recovery jumper pin, what are the odds?). I've managed to obtain quite a few Master CDs(if anyone wants an image tell me), and picked one that is most likely to be packed in with the PC. (Aug 1996 MultiMedia). I've managed to jump over the CD check, and jump over the tattoo number checkbox - so I managed to install a fresh copy of Win95A from the Master CD.

However, after re-starting (as Windows 95 setup does) I'm treated to a hardware check - what? The best thing is, I can't skip it, and neither can I just delete the file responsible for that check (hwdetect.bat) from the AUTOEXEC because I get BSODs and can't proceed. 😠

The hardware check detects I have a Thousand Oaks board, and then halts on a screen about how there's no sound card detected and how I should consult a technician.Command input is disabled.
How exactly were people supposed to upgrade their PBs when swapping out a sound card prevents you from restoring/installing Win95? I guess they weren't supposed to. 😦

Anyway, has anyone got the same issue and managed to somehow skip the hardware check? Alternatively, is there a way to get the preloaded software (incl. Navigator) without booting from the Master CD?

Have you got a Master CD/Floppy for a Pulsar 23? 1997

Thanks

Reply 6 of 33, by kikipcs

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Guybrush3pwood wrote on 2020-01-19, 01:32:

Would you mind actually posting the contents of the batch file? I tried replacing "CTTY NUL :LOOP GOTO LOOP" with ":95DETECT" but it's still not working.

Well, yes. You shouldn't replace the line with :95DETECT, but rather with GOTO 95DETECT. You wanna go to the next function, not create it. Here's a quick dirty writeup of what the batch does

REM     Introduction, enabling mouse support
VER
PATH A:\
ECHO Master Restore Diskette Version 3.6W
ECHO.
SET MOUSE=Z:\
LH A:\MOUSE.COM >NUL
SET MOUSE=

REM     CD drive detection software - DET-CD. This program does not
REM     output anything visible; instead, you have to look it up with
REM     ERR.EXE to get any output. When used in conjunction with ERR,
REM     it outputs a certain errorlevel depending on what CD drive
REM     you have in your PB.

A:\DET-CD.EXE

REM     This script looks up the "errorlevel" output from DET-CD.EXE
REM     and jumps to an according function. 

IF ERRORLEVEL 231 GOTO UNSUP_CD

REM     Note this line - it jumps to the :UNSUP_CD function.

IF ERRORLEVEL 230 ECHO Detected 2 LITEON LTN-222/A CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 230 GOTO LITEON
IF ERRORLEVEL 229 ECHO Detected 2 Goldstar CRD-8160B CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 229 GOTO GOLDSTAR
IF ERRORLEVEL 228 ECHO Detected 2 NEC CDR-1600A CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 228 GOTO NEC_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 227 ECHO Detected 2 Aztech CDA 1068-01I CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 227 GOTO AZTECH
IF ERRORLEVEL 226 ECHO Detected 2 Aztech CDA 868-01I CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 226 GOTO AZTECH
IF ERRORLEVEL 225 ECHO Detected 2 Aztech CDA 668-01I CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 225 GOTO AZTECH
IF ERRORLEVEL 224 ECHO Detected 2 Goldstar GCD-R560B CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 224 GOTO GOLDSTAR
IF ERRORLEVEL 223 ECHO Detected 2 Goldstar GCD-R580B CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 223 GOTO GOLDSTAR
IF ERRORLEVEL 222 ECHO Detected 2 NEC CDR-1400A CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 222 GOTO NEC_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 221 ECHO Detected 2 NEC CDR-1300A CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 221 GOTO NEC_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 220 ECHO Detected 2 NEC CDR-C251 CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 220 GOTO UNSUP_CD
IF ERRORLEVEL 219 ECHO Detected 2 Torisan CDR-C3G CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 219 GOTO TOR-C3G
IF ERRORLEVEL 218 ECHO Detected 2 Torisan CDR-S1G CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 218 GOTO TOR-S1G
IF ERRORLEVEL 217 ECHO Detected 2 Mitsumi CRMC-FX400D/E CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 217 GOTO MITSUMI
IF ERRORLEVEL 216 ECHO Detected 2 Goldstar GCD-R542B CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 216 GOTO GOLDSTAR
IF ERRORLEVEL 215 ECHO Detected 2 Panasonic CR-581 CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 215 GOTO CR_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 214 ECHO Detected 2 Panasonic CR-574 CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 214 GOTO CR_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 213 ECHO Detected 2 Mitsumi CRMC-FX400 CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 213 GOTO MITSUMI
…Show last 450 lines
IF ERRORLEVEL 212 ECHO Detected 2 Toshiba XM-5302B CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 212 GOTO NEC_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 211 ECHO Detected 2 NEC CDR-271/272/273 CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 211 GOTO NEC_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 210 ECHO Detected 2 Panasonic CR-571/572 CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 210 GOTO CR_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 201 ECHO Detected 2 Panasonic CR-563B CD-ROM Drives.
IF ERRORLEVEL 201 GOTO CR_563
IF ERRORLEVEL 130 ECHO Detected 1 LITEON LTN-222/A CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 130 GOTO LITEON
IF ERRORLEVEL 129 ECHO Detected 1 Goldstar CRD-8160B CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 129 GOTO GOLDSTAR
IF ERRORLEVEL 128 ECHO Detected 1 NEC CDR-1600A CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 128 GOTO NEC_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 127 ECHO Detected 1 Aztech CDA 1068-01I CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 127 GOTO AZTECH
IF ERRORLEVEL 126 ECHO Detected 1 Aztech CDA 868-01I CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 126 GOTO AZTECH
IF ERRORLEVEL 125 ECHO Detected 1 Aztech CDA 668-01I CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 125 GOTO AZTECH
IF ERRORLEVEL 124 ECHO Detected 1 Goldstar GCD-R560B CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 124 GOTO GOLDSTAR
IF ERRORLEVEL 123 ECHO Detected 1 Goldstar GCD-R580B CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 123 GOTO GOLDSTAR
IF ERRORLEVEL 122 ECHO Detected 1 NEC CDR-1400A CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 122 GOTO NEC_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 121 ECHO Detected 1 NEC CDR-1300A CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 121 GOTO NEC_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 120 ECHO Detected 1 NEC CDR-C251 CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 120 GOTO UNSUP_CD
IF ERRORLEVEL 119 ECHO Detected 1 Torisan CDR-C3G CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 119 GOTO TOR-C3G
IF ERRORLEVEL 118 ECHO Detected 1 Torisan CDR-S1G CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 118 GOTO TOR-S1G
IF ERRORLEVEL 117 ECHO Detected 1 Mitsumi CRMC-FX400D/E CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 117 GOTO MITSUMI
IF ERRORLEVEL 116 ECHO Detected 1 Goldstar GCD-R542B CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 116 GOTO GOLDSTAR
IF ERRORLEVEL 115 ECHO Detected 1 Panasonic CR-581 CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 115 GOTO CR_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 114 ECHO Detected 1 Panasonic CR-574 CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 114 GOTO CR_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 113 ECHO Detected 1 Mitsumi CRMC-FX400 CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 113 GOTO MITSUMI
IF ERRORLEVEL 112 ECHO Detected 1 Toshiba XM-5302B CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 112 GOTO NEC_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 111 ECHO Detected 1 NEC CDR-271/272/273 CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 111 GOTO NEC_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 110 ECHO Detected 1 Panasonic CR-571/572 CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 110 GOTO CR_IDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 101 ECHO Detected 1 Panasonic CR-563B CD-ROM Drive.
IF ERRORLEVEL 101 GOTO CR_563

REM     This line below jumps to one of two functions that
REM     do not load any CD driver.

IF ERRORLEVEL 100 GOTO UNSUP_CD

REM     If the errorlevel's number is different than any of those above,
REM     it calls to the following function.

GOTO UNKWN_CD

REM     Here begin the CD driver loading functions.

:CR_563
SET CD=CR_563

REM     I don't really know what AZCAL.EXE does. I assume it has something
REM     to do with the AZTECH sound/modem cards installed in Packard Bells.

A:\AZCAL.EXE

REM     DET-SCM is similar to DET-CD - it also outputs an errorlevel.
REM     The executables themselves do not give out any visible output - 
REM     which adds to the trickiness of figuring out what they do.
REM	It's a sound card detection program.

A:\DET-SCM.EXE
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO UNKWN_SC
IF ERRORLEVEL 5 ECHO Sound Galaxy SGPRO-16 at Base Address 630h
IF ERRORLEVEL 5 GOTO SIX
IF ERRORLEVEL 4 ECHO Forte-16 SB3/SBP/SBPA2 at Base Address 630h
IF ERRORLEVEL 4 GOTO SIX
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 ECHO Sound-16A at Base Address 340h
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO THREE
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 ECHO Sound-144SP at Base Address 340h
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO THREE
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 ECHO Sound-144AM at Base Address 340h
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO THREE

REM     If the errorlevel (again, checkable with ERR.EXE) is different
REM     to those that are mentioned above, it goes to the :UNKNWN_SC
REM     function.

GOTO UNKWN_SC

:SIX

REM     This (and the following) function loads a driver with a different
REM     port, depending on what card you have installed. This only matters
REM     if you have a Panasonic CR-563B drive and a sound card hooked up
REM     to it.

A:\DEVICE.COM A:\CDMKE.SYS /D:MSCD0001 /P:630
GOTO JUMP

:THREE
A:\DEVICE.COM A:\CDMKE.SYS /D:MSCD0001 /P:340
GOTO JUMP

:CR_IDE
SET CD=CR_IDE
A:\DEVICE.COM A:\CR_ATAPI.SYS /D:MSCD0001
GOTO JUMP

:NEC_IDE
SET CD=NEC_IDE
A:\DEVICE.COM A:\NEC_IDE.SYS /D:MSCD0001
GOTO JUMP

:GOLDSTAR
SET CD=GOLDSTAR
A:\DEVICE.COM A:\GSCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD0001
GOTO JUMP

:AZTECH
SET CD=AZTECH
A:\DEVICE.COM A:\SGIDECD.SYS /D:MSCD0001
GOTO JUMP

REM     As you can see, every driver-loading function follows the same
REM     template - sets a CD name, loads a CD driver present on the
REM     floppy, and goes to the :JUMP function.
REM     Bear in mind this floppy uses DEVICE.COM to load the driver.

:MITSUMI
SET CD=MITSUMI
A:\DEVICE.COM A:\MTMCDAI.SYS /D:MSCD0001
GOTO JUMP

:TOR-C3G
SET CD=TOR-C3G
A:\DEVICE.COM A:\TORISAN.SYS /D:MSCD0001 /P:SM
GOTO JUMP

:TOR-S1G
SET CD=TOR-S1G
A:\DEVICE.COM A:\TSYCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD0001 /P:SM
GOTO JUMP

:LITEON
SET CD=LITEON
A:\DEVICE.COM A:\LTNIDE.SYS /D:MSCD0001
GOTO JUMP

REM     One of the functions which interests us.

:UNSUP_CD

REM     Clears the screen, displays the ECHO...

CLS
ECHO Unsupported CD-ROM Drive.  
ECHO.

REM     And gives an errorlevel using the ERR.EXE program.

A:\ERR.EXE A:\DET-CD.EXE
GOTO END

REM     This is what I was getting in my case. Seeing as I replaced
REM     the original, dead drive with a 2001 Samsung 8x-32x drive
REM     it was no surprise that it would not be detected.
REM     At first I thought that it would be a tough nut to crack
REM     (especially as I am not a programmer, and a batch first-timer)
REM     but after some scrutiny of the file, and a batch script textbook
REM     I managed to crack open the master floppy and skip the
REM     CD check altogether.

:UNKNWN_CD
CLS
ECHO Unable to determine CD-ROM drive.  
ECHO.
A:\ERR.EXE A:\DET-CD.EXE
GOTO END

REM     How do you skip this? Well, as easy as it gets - you can just
REM     follow that template. Here's how you would do it - the only
REM     thing you need to do first is to copy your CD driver (or
REM     a universal CD driver like OAK or VIDE-CDD).
REM     Here it goes:
REM
REM     :UNKNWN_CD
REM     ECHO Unknown/unsupported CD drive found. Loading universal driver.
REM     A:\DEVICE.COM A:\OAKV111.SYS /D:MSCD0001
REM     GOTO JUMP
REM
REM     You can replace the "MSCD0001" text with anything you like, just
REM     remember that you need to also change it in the :JUMP's LH string.
REM     Note that if you use a driver with a slowdown (like TEAC)
REM     you have to specify it with a parameter (e.g. /S:4)

:UNKWN_SC
CLS
ECHO Unable to determine Sound Card model.  
ECHO.
A:\ERR.EXE A:\DET-SCM.EXE
GOTO END

REM     The :JUMP function - loads the CD driver in high memory and sets
REM     the buffer number and the drive letter. Apparently the drive letter
REM     is very important - keep it as Q;\ (or Y:\ in some AUTOEXECs)

:JUMP
LH A:\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD0001 /M:30 /L:Q

REM     Loads SmartDrive with 4096KB of cache and hides status messages.

LH A:\SMARTDRV.EXE 4096 128 /Q

REM     DOSKEY does macros and command history. Not sure what that is
REM     here for, but whatever.
REM     Redirect to NUL hides all errors, in case you were wondering.

LH A:\DOSKEY.COM >NUL

:LOOP

REM     This function checks for the CD - what CD is in the drive,
REM     if there is even a CD.

A:\CHKMMCD.EXE Q:
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 SET CDDRV=Q
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO CDOK
A:\CHKMMCD.EXE R:
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 SET CDDRV=R
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO CDOK
A:\CHKMMCD.EXE S:
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 SET CDDRV=S
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO CDOK
A:\CHKMMCD.EXE T:
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 SET CDDRV=T
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO CDOK
GOTO NOCD

REM     I'm not quite sure what that stuff does; it either sets things
REM     up for the installation when there's a certain CD/CD drive in the
REM     PC or it loads some stuff up later depending on what variable
REM     (PB/ZDS/NEC) is there.
REM     It's also very possible that this is for compatibility with
REM     different Master CDs.

:CDOK
IF EXIST %CDDRV%:\PBTOOLS\*.* GOTO PB
IF EXIST %CDDRV%:\ZDSTOOLS\*.* GOTO ZDS
IF EXIST %CDDRV%:\NECTOOLS\*.* GOTO NEC
GOTO PB

:PB
SET TOOLS=PB
SET OEM=Packard Bell
GOTO CHGPATH

:ZDS
SET TOOLS=ZDS
SET OEM=ZDS
GOTO CHGPATH

:NEC
SET TOOLS=NEC
SET OEM=NEC
GOTO CHGPATH

REM     This would confirm that these lines are for compatibility with
REM     various Master CDs.

:CHGPATH
IF EXIST %CDDRV%:\BU\D\WIN95.DAT\WINDOWS\COMMAND\EDIT.COM GOTO CHGPATH3
IF EXIST %CDDRV%:\BU\R\WIN95.001\WINDOWS\COMMAND\EDIT.COM GOTO CHGPATH1
IF EXIST %CDDRV%:\BU\R\WIN95NEW.001\WINDOWS\COMMAND\EDIT.COM GOTO CHGPATH2
GOTO SKIPPATH

:CHGPATH1
PATH A:\;%CDDRV%:\BU\R\WIN95.001\WINDOWS\COMMAND
GOTO SKIPPATH

:CHGPATH2
PATH A:\;%CDDRV%:\BU\R\WIN95NEW.001\WINDOWS\COMMAND
GOTO SKIPPATH

:CHGPATH3
PATH A:\;%CDDRV%:\BU\D\WIN95.DAT\WINDOWS\COMMAND
GOTO SKIPPATH

:SKIPPATH

REM     This is the where the batch script ends up anyway - the Master CD
REM     begins to load.

ECHO.
ECHO %OEM% Master CD found in Drive %CDDRV%:.

REM     The operation directory is changed from A:\ to the CD directory.
REM     I don't know why this is a variable - I thought it just sets
REM     the drive letter to Q:\ and sticks to it.

%CDDRV%:

REM     If there is a AZTPNP.EXE file on the CD you inserted, it runs it.

IF EXIST \%TOOLS%TOOLS\AZTPNP.EXE \%TOOLS%TOOLS\AZTPNP.EXE /D:%CDDRV% >NUL
GOTO CHK_EXE

:CHK_EXE

REM     Contrary to the name, this isn't really a checker - same as above,
REM     if there are those files the batch runs them.

IF EXIST %CDDRV%:\DOSMENU\DOSRUN.EXE GOTO DOSRUN
IF EXIST %CDDRV%:\TCHSUP.EXE GOTO TCHSUP

REM     If it doesn't find one of those two programs, it outputs an error.

ECHO Unable to locate restore program on %CDDRV%:.
GOTO END

REM     :DOSRUN and :TCHSUP do the same thing - they boot the RESTORE
REM     program.

:DOSRUN
CD\DOSMENU
DOSRUN.EXE

REM     After DOSRUN.EXE finishes its operation, it changes the current
REM     directory back to the main directory and goes to the :FINISH.

CD\
GOTO FINISH

:TCHSUP
TCHSUP.EXE
GOTO FINISH

:FINISH

REM     This is what happens after you exit the restore program.

IF ERRORLEVEL 1 SET REBOOT=1
IF (%REBOOT%)==() SET REBOOT=0

REM     This is important!

A:\CDROM.EXE UNLOCK
GOTO COPY_DRV

:NOCD
CLS
ECHO Insert the Master CD into your CD-ROM and press a key... (ESC to exit)

REM     ESCKEY is a simple program that expects an input in the form of a
REM     ESC key press.

A:\ESCKEY.COM

REM     This function will not pass the execution to other functions
REM     if there's no CD in the drive.

IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO END
GOTO LOOP

:COPY_DRV

REM     This function loads the CD drivers after you're done restoring.
REM     Same goes for all the following functions.

IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\BACKUP\DET-CD.EXE COPY A:\DET-CD.EXE C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\BACKUP\DET-CD.EXE /Y >NUL
IF (%CD%)==(CR_563) GOTO COPY_563
IF (%CD%)==(CR_IDE) GOTO COPY_IDE
IF (%CD%)==(NEC_IDE) GOTO COPY_NEC
IF (%CD%)==(GOLDSTAR) GOTO COPY_GS
IF (%CD%)==(AZTECH) GOTO COPY_AZ
IF (%CD%)==(MITSUMI) GOTO COPY_MIT
IF (%CD%)==(TOR-C3G) GOTO COPY_C3G
IF (%CD%)==(TOR-S1G) GOTO COPY_S1G
IF (%CD%)==(LITEON) GOTO COPY_LTN
GOTO END

:COPY_563
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\CDMKE.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\CDMKE.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\CDMKE.SYS COPY A:\CDMKE.SYS C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\CDMKE.SYS /Y >NUL
IF EXIST C:\SOUND144\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\SOUND144\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\SOUND144\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS COPY A:\CDMKE.SYS C:\SOUND144\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS /Y >NUL
IF EXIST C:\SOUND16A\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\SOUND16A\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\SOUND16A\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS COPY A:\CDMKE.SYS C:\SOUND16A\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS /Y >NUL
IF EXIST C:\FORTE16\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\FORTE16\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\FORTE16\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS COPY A:\CDMKE.SYS C:\FORTE16\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS /Y >NUL
IF EXIST C:\MMP16P\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\MMP16P\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\MMP16P\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS COPY A:\CDMKE.SYS C:\MMP16P\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS /Y >NUL
GOTO END

:COPY_IDE
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\CR_ATAPI.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\CR_ATAPI.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\CR_ATAPI.SYS COPY A:\CR_ATAPI.SYS C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\CR_ATAPI.SYS /Y >NUL
GOTO END

:COPY_NEC
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\NEC_IDE.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\NEC_IDE.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\NEC_IDE.SYS COPY A:\NEC_IDE.SYS C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\NEC_IDE.SYS /Y >NUL
GOTO END

:COPY_GS
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\GSCDROM.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\GSCDROM.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\GSCDROM.SYS COPY A:\GSCDROM.SYS C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\GSCDROM.SYS /Y >NUL
GOTO END

:COPY_AZ
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\SGIDECD.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\SGIDECD.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\SGIDECD.SYS COPY A:\SGIDECD.SYS C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\SGIDECD.SYS /Y >NUL
GOTO END

:COPY_MIT
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\MTMCDAI.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\MTMCDAI.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\MTMCDAI.SYS COPY A:\MTMCDAI.SYS C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\MTMCDAI.SYS /Y >NUL
GOTO END

:COPY_C3G
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\TORISAN.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\TORISAN.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\TORISAN.SYS COPY A:\TORISAN.SYS C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\TORISAN.SYS /Y >NUL
GOTO END

:COPY_S1G
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\TSYCDROM.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\TSYCDROM.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\TSYCDROM.SYS COPY A:\TSYCDROM.SYS C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\TSYCDROM.SYS /Y >NUL
GOTO END

:COPY_LTN
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\LTNIDE.SYS A:\ATTRIB.EXE C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\LTNIDE.SYS -R -H -S
IF EXIST C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\LTNIDE.SYS COPY A:\LTNIDE.SYS C:\%TOOLS%TOOLS\LTNIDE.SYS /Y >NUL
GOTO END

:END

REM     The end - disables the CD and sets a reboot using the REBOOT.COM
REM     program.

SET CD=
SET CDDRV=
IF (%REBOOT%)==(1) A:\REBOOT.COM
A:

Reply 7 of 33, by kikipcs

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benheaven wrote on 2020-05-03, 13:21:

Have you got a Master CD/Floppy for a Pulsar 23? 1997

Thanks

You can get the images from archive.org but you're gonna wanna know what kind of Master CD you need. Generally, you'll be fine with a Multimedia CD (more stuff and all that). Here's a page for lookup (although I think it's not finished in 100%: http://pbclub.pwcsite.com/wiki/index.php/Pack … Bell_Master_CDs.

When it comes to images, just pick one from here: https://archive.org/search.php?query=packard% … l%20master%20CD

And the floppy image is here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1e8fvOwX3aDF … ljYuXgI5HXre9V6
Write it to a floppy using RawWriteWin or something.
Cheers!

Reply 8 of 33, by benheaven

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kikipcs wrote on 2020-05-04, 07:33:
You can get the images from archive.org but you're gonna wanna know what kind of Master CD you need. Generally, you'll be fine w […]
Show full quote
benheaven wrote on 2020-05-03, 13:21:

Have you got a Master CD/Floppy for a Pulsar 23? 1997

Thanks

You can get the images from archive.org but you're gonna wanna know what kind of Master CD you need. Generally, you'll be fine with a Multimedia CD (more stuff and all that). Here's a page for lookup (although I think it's not finished in 100%: http://pbclub.pwcsite.com/wiki/index.php/Pack … Bell_Master_CDs.

When it comes to images, just pick one from here: https://archive.org/search.php?query=packard% … l%20master%20CD

And the floppy image is here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1e8fvOwX3aDF … ljYuXgI5HXre9V6
Write it to a floppy using RawWriteWin or something.
Cheers!

Thank you!

Can I test these in Vmware or Virtualbox?

Reply 9 of 33, by benheaven

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kikipcs wrote on 2020-05-04, 07:33:
You can get the images from archive.org but you're gonna wanna know what kind of Master CD you need. Generally, you'll be fine w […]
Show full quote
benheaven wrote on 2020-05-03, 13:21:

Have you got a Master CD/Floppy for a Pulsar 23? 1997

Thanks

You can get the images from archive.org but you're gonna wanna know what kind of Master CD you need. Generally, you'll be fine with a Multimedia CD (more stuff and all that). Here's a page for lookup (although I think it's not finished in 100%: http://pbclub.pwcsite.com/wiki/index.php/Pack … Bell_Master_CDs.

When it comes to images, just pick one from here: https://archive.org/search.php?query=packard% … l%20master%20CD

And the floppy image is here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1e8fvOwX3aDF … ljYuXgI5HXre9V6
Write it to a floppy using RawWriteWin or something.
Cheers!

Hi,

I've gone through the recovery which completed successfully.

It reboots and all I get is a flashing cursor.

Thanks

Reply 10 of 33, by kikipcs

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benheaven wrote on 2020-05-04, 07:43:

Thank you!

Can I test these in Vmware or Virtualbox?

Sure you can. Just like installing any old OS, except you have to boot from a floppy image.

benheaven wrote on 2020-05-04, 10:26:
Hi, […]
Show full quote

Hi,

I've gone through the recovery which completed successfully.

It reboots and all I get is a flashing cursor.

Thanks

Sorry to hear that, but it looks like it didn't get completed all that successfully.
Did you have any sensitive/important data? If not, wipe the drive and reinstall - looks like the recovery messed up some of the system files (perhaps mixed old versions of drivers with new?)

Reply 11 of 33, by benheaven

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kikipcs wrote on 2020-05-04, 18:25:
Sure you can. Just like installing any old OS, except you have to boot from a floppy image. […]
Show full quote
benheaven wrote on 2020-05-04, 07:43:

Thank you!

Can I test these in Vmware or Virtualbox?

Sure you can. Just like installing any old OS, except you have to boot from a floppy image.

benheaven wrote on 2020-05-04, 10:26:
Hi, […]
Show full quote

Hi,

I've gone through the recovery which completed successfully.

It reboots and all I get is a flashing cursor.

Thanks

Sorry to hear that, but it looks like it didn't get completed all that successfully.
Did you have any sensitive/important data? If not, wipe the drive and reinstall - looks like the recovery messed up some of the system files (perhaps mixed old versions of drivers with new?)

Hi,

Tired a few times and different master cd’s just get a blinking cursor after the bios....

Thanks

Reply 12 of 33, by kikipcs

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benheaven wrote on 2020-05-04, 18:33:

Hi,

Tired a few times and different master cd’s just get a blinking cursor after the bios....

Thanks

Can I get some info about the specs of your PC? Also, do you wipe the hard drive before re-installing from the Master CD AND are you sure you're picking the correct option in the menu?

Reply 13 of 33, by benheaven

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kikipcs wrote on 2020-05-04, 20:50:
benheaven wrote on 2020-05-04, 18:33:

Hi,

Tired a few times and different master cd’s just get a blinking cursor after the bios....

Thanks

Can I get some info about the specs of your PC? Also, do you wipe the hard drive before re-installing from the Master CD AND are you sure you're picking the correct option in the menu?

Hi,

It's standard spec:
P1 233mhz
32mb RAM
4GB HD
Standard Modem and Sound Card.

Also any special settings to use on Virtualbox?

Thanks

Reply 14 of 33, by kikipcs

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benheaven wrote on 2020-05-06, 10:42:
Hi, […]
Show full quote

Hi,

It's standard spec:
P1 233mhz
32mb RAM
4GB HD
Standard Modem and Sound Card.

Also any special settings to use on Virtualbox?

Thanks

Ideally you'd want to keep it as barebones as possible to avoid it looking for hardware. Disable USB, all that. You could also try limiting the hard drive size to 2GB max (to avoid FAT32 discrepancies) and using the same amount of RAM that you have on your Packard Bell. It could just be that it's something that conflicts in the VirtualBox itself - after all, it is "virtual".

Additionally you could try installing it in DOSBOX - it's a DOS emulator but it is possible to install Win95. Refer to tutorials online. Be wary that it can be not as compatible as VM, so I'd keep that option as last resort.

Tell me though, on your "physical" PB, what's the current state of the OS? Is there anything installed; is the disk empty or has any data been written to it?

Reply 15 of 33, by benheaven

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kikipcs wrote on 2020-05-07, 19:10:
Ideally you'd want to keep it as barebones as possible to avoid it looking for hardware. Disable USB, all that. You could also t […]
Show full quote
benheaven wrote on 2020-05-06, 10:42:
Hi, […]
Show full quote

Hi,

It's standard spec:
P1 233mhz
32mb RAM
4GB HD
Standard Modem and Sound Card.

Also any special settings to use on Virtualbox?

Thanks

Ideally you'd want to keep it as barebones as possible to avoid it looking for hardware. Disable USB, all that. You could also try limiting the hard drive size to 2GB max (to avoid FAT32 discrepancies) and using the same amount of RAM that you have on your Packard Bell. It could just be that it's something that conflicts in the VirtualBox itself - after all, it is "virtual".

Additionally you could try installing it in DOSBOX - it's a DOS emulator but it is possible to install Win95. Refer to tutorials online. Be wary that it can be not as compatible as VM, so I'd keep that option as last resort.

Tell me though, on your "physical" PB, what's the current state of the OS? Is there anything installed; is the disk empty or has any data been written to it?

Hi,

The PB is completely blank do I need to do anything before the install?

Thanks

Reply 16 of 33, by kikipcs

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benheaven wrote on 2020-05-07, 20:13:

Hi,

The PB is completely blank do I need to do anything before the install?

Thanks

Just format the drive using your preferred option, e.g using a DOS boot floppy or something - that's all.
The restore utility should do everything else for you - at least it did in my case.
Good luck and tell me if anything goes wrong!

Reply 17 of 33, by benheaven

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kikipcs wrote on 2020-05-11, 15:21:
Just format the drive using your preferred option, e.g using a DOS boot floppy or something - that's all. The restore utility sh […]
Show full quote
benheaven wrote on 2020-05-07, 20:13:

Hi,

The PB is completely blank do I need to do anything before the install?

Thanks

Just format the drive using your preferred option, e.g using a DOS boot floppy or something - that's all.
The restore utility should do everything else for you - at least it did in my case.
Good luck and tell me if anything goes wrong!

Hi,

Have tried different Master CD's etc and the universal boot disk. All restores succesfully but still get the flashing line when it gets past the BIOS.

Have done Fdisk etc.

Screenshots attached

Thanks

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Reply 19 of 33, by kikipcs

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benheaven wrote on 2020-05-13, 12:23:
Hi, […]
Show full quote

Hi,

Have tried different Master CD's etc and the universal boot disk. All restores succesfully but still get the flashing line when it gets past the BIOS.

Have done Fdisk etc.

Screenshots attached

Thanks

First off - I used Master CD no. 170586 on my PB (has a 640 motherboard). Haven't had a chance to try it out in VM, though. I burned the CD at 4X (the slowest my burner allows) and everything went fantastic, except that after installing the OS it does another hardware check. We shouldn't be bothered by that just yet, though - don't worry.

As for the blinking cursor, well, try this: after the restoration is complete, eject the CD and the floppy, power down.
Insert a DOS boot floppy, power up, let it load into the command prompt, and then go to the C drive. Then:
1) open the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and gimme a screenshot of its contents;
2) head to C:\WINDOWS and try to run WIN.COM - see if it will boot into Windows.

You also might want to try something a little bit different - after formatting the drive, re-boot to save the changes (you ARE rebooting the PC after formatting, right?) and let it load into the command prompt. Insert the CD and head to the [CD drive letter]:\DOSMENU\ and run RESTORE.BAT. Try it out, tell me how it went.

By the way - your screenshots sure did clear a lot of things! Initially I thought that the "cursor" was in fact a mouse cursor, whereas it's not - it's a flashing underscore. (maybe it's a language discrepancy thing)
You definitely should re-check the jumper settings and the settings for the hard drive in BIOS - if your HD is set to slave (with, let's say, a CD drive in Master) your PB will never boot from it.

And hey - if push comes to shove and we won't be able to figure out anything, I've got an idea - how about I make a HD image with a working installation of W95 (with all the PB bits installed, of course) and send it to you? Let me know what you think.

Best of luck!

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