Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!kuhub.cc.ukans.edu!mlab1
From: MLAB1@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: RE: FAT problems
Message-ID: <15178@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>
Date: 20 Oct 89 05:30:55 GMT
References: <5254@lindy.Stanford.EDU>
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services
Lines: 30

In article <5254@lindy.Stanford.EDU>, BL.JPL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Jonathan Lavigne) writes:
> In article <1989Oct15.220849.21435@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu>,
> gejohann@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu (Gene Edward Johannsen) writes:
>>

>>I've got problems.  Recently my FAT has become _slightly_ messed up.  It's
>>not because of a virus or anything. Its just one of those things that happen
>>now and then.  The error causes CHKDSK to think that my C: drive is not a DOS
>>disk and the Norton Utilities doesn't think my C: drive is a hard disk, except
>>for the DISK TEST program that doesn't see anything wrong at all.
>>
>>Anyway, I know that there are two copies of the FAT on my disk and everything
>>works okay using the backup, I would still like to fix my FAT--without
>>reformatting if possible.
> I, too, recently had a problem with the FAT on my hard disk. CHKDSK
> gave the "Probable non-DOS disk " message and, for some reason, the
> settings in my CONFIG.SYS file didn't take effect. Someone told me
> to see whether the first two bytes of the FAT were "F8FF". In fact,
> they were "F7FF". Since the same person said he didn't think the FAT
> problem had any effect on my CONFIG.SYS difficulties, I decided to
> reformat my disk anyway. After I did, all the problems vanished,
> and, sure enough, the first two bytes in the FAT now read "F8FF". If
> the first two bytes in the two copies of the FAT on your hard disk
> aren't "F8FF", you might try changing them using Norton or something
> similar. Of course I wouldn't do anything of that kind without
> backing up the disk and assuming that I might have to reformat.
> 
> Jonathan Lavigne                 BL.JPL@RLG.STANFORD.EDU
> Research Libraries Group
> Stanford University