Remind me: "DMI Pool" is what? OS (W98se) or hardware?

[imported_Kiwi]

Instead of switching control to the boot device boot sector instructions, the system hangs up with the message about DMI Pool Data (Is that hardware, still? Note that I've edited to remove a "P" so it's DMI now, not DpMI!) The POST seems mostly complete, with only a "Health Monitor" display showing (Biostar M7VIW, Award BIOS). It's just been assembled, intended for use as a loaner to the Grandkid while I have his PC back here for some diagnostics. It's an older MB, with a Via KT266A chipset, XP 1700+, 512 MB of PC-2700 RAM, a (slow, two year old 5400 rpm) Maxtor 20 Gb Hdd, and an FX 5500 video card.

There is only supposed to be a "DOS-7 part" of Win98 to boot from on the Hdd, but when it stalled on whatever DPMI Pool Data is, I decided to try a W98 floppy - same error or same freeze. I do have a 6.4 Gb Hdd here, but it's got Windows installed on it, from another PC that I salvaged the drive out of, and never reformatted it.

Hey, I'm probably supposed to know what it is, but I'm at that age that I'm not sure if it's something I've forgotten now, or have never known!


:disgust:

 

[imported_Phil]

Well, the trouble is that it's either a hardware problem or a software problem 😉 as at that point, the BIOS is done interrogating the hardware and is ready to start booting an OS.

Do you have a spare HD you could try?

 

[imported_Kiwi]

I can give an old 6.4 Gb salvage piece a try. Shoot, I'm already assembling this particular one just from "leftovers" or it wouldn't be an FX 5500! My budget for my PC hobby isn't a generous one these days (never was, but I'm missing what I never had just a little more than usual lately).

(Ten minute, more or less, later: edit -- the 6.4 would boot up in Safe Mode, with Win/Me -- always hated that POS! So, what did I leave off of the 20 Gb Hdd this time, when I cleaned out the root directory and then ran a SYS command to put a basic Command Level Interpreter on it? )


😉

 

[Green Man]

Check the Settings for hard disk drive, check that boot devices set properly check that BIOS is configured properly, check for loose or disconnected data cable to hard drive.
It may end up being a bad Hard disk drive or other bad hardware. You could unplug the hard drive and see if it will boot to the floppy.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Yeah, I got this same exact problem... I used the search thread, but I couldn't find any good answers to my question...

 

[imported_Kiwi]

The 20 GB in question was a Slave Drive in one of my PC's until these recent rebate crazes struck, and the 80-120 Gb sizes suddenly cost less than the 20's did a couple of years ago! It was working fine when set aside a few months ago, had a copy of Windows 98 se installed, but was set up for a different (gigabyte) MB, so I was going to do a fresh install, and I deleted stuff from the root that I thought I remembered didn't matter.

I've done the same thing before and not had this trouble (wonder what I've killed this time that I shouldn't have?) I'm going to recheck what device is listed as primary boot device and try again to get the floppy going, WHILE the Hdd is in place. I didn't post the reply message while I tried that. The floppy never did anything, but I did get the system running using a CD boot disk, and I've started a Win98 install from a directory I call CABs on that 20 Gb drive.

Thanks.


😎

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
Yeah, I got this same exact problem... I used the search thread, but I couldn't find any good answers to my question...

When this happens to one of my 98se boxes I just reinstall over the top of the existing install. This has always fixed the "DMI" problem for me.

Fern