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From: dkrause@cper1.Dayton.NCR.COM (David Krause)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Missing or bad command interpreter error on an NCR PC MC386SX.
Message-ID: <266@cper1.Dayton.NCR.COM>
Date: 29 Aug 90 18:44:57 GMT
Reply-To: dkrause@cper1.UUCP (David Krause)
Organization: Personnel & Education, NCR Corporation, Dayton OH
Lines: 18


I am currently having problems with an NCR PC MC386SX.  When first powering
up the PC, I receive the message "Missing or bad command interpreter".
I have isolated the problem to the last line in the config.sys file which is
"shell=c:\dos\command.com /p /e:1024".  Under the error category in the DOS
manual, the error is defined as not being able to locate command.com.
To complicate the problem, this only happens when the PC is first turned on
in the morning.  The problem is corrected by doing a control alt delete.
The following steps have been done in an attempt to remedy the problem:
        1.      Replaced processor board.
        2.      Replaced power supply.
        3.      Reformatted hard drive.
        4.      Reinstalled dos.
        5.      Replaced himem.sys with himem.sys from Windows 3.0.
        6.      Run Norton Utilities to test integrity of drive.
        7.      Run hardware diagnostics.
After performing the above steps, the problem still persists.  Any help, 
suggestions, or comments will be greatly appreciated.