Reference number: CH000012

Receiving error "Missing command interpreter."

Issue:

When booting the computer, the error message "Missing command interpreter" appears.

Note: This document also applies to the error message "Invalid boot disk error"

Cause:

This error message can be caused by any of the below reasons.

1. Non bootable CD or diskette in drive.
2. Boot option setup improperly.
3. The command.com, msdos.sys, io.sys or drvspace.bin is missing or corrupted.
4. Bad hard drive.

Solution:

Non bootable CD or diskette in drive

It is possible that the computer may be attempting to boot from a device other than your hard drive. Verify that no floppy diskette or CD is in the computer.

Boot option setup improperly

Verify that the boot options are setup properly within CMOS. We recommend that the boot options be similar to:

1. Floppy
2. Hard Drive
3. CD-ROM
4. Network

Additional information about CMOS can be found on our CMOS page

The command.com, msdos.sys, io.sys or drvspace.bin is missing or corrupted

Use a bootable floppy diskette with sys.com on it. The first MS-DOS diskette, Windows 95, or Windows 98 diskette will also work.

1. Boot from the floppy diskette and get to a A:\> prompt.
2. Once at the prompt type sys c: and press enter
3. This should give you the message system transferred. Once the system has been transferred, remove the floppy diskette and reboot the computer.

This issue can only be resolved with a bootable diskette. If you do not have a bootable diskette refer to our boot diskette page for information on how to create one. See our boot disk page for additional information about creating a boot disk.

Bad hard drive

It is possible that the hard drive may be going or already is bad. If, after following the above steps, you are still receiving errors about the command interpreter or the command.com being missing or bad, we recommend that you follow the below instructions.

1. Boot the computer with a bootable floppy diskette.
2. At the prompt type fdisk /mbr and press enter.
3. This will return to a prompt with no message. 
4. Once back at the prompt attempt to reboot the computer.
5. If the same issue occurs we recommend that you delete and recreate the partition, and reinstall the operating system back onto the computer.

Additional information:

• See our command interpreter dictionary definition for additional information about this term.
• Additional information about fdisk /mbr can be found on document CH000175.
• See document CH000186 for additional information about erasing your hard disk drive and starting over.
• Additional information about how to delete a partition using fdisk can be found on document CH000344.
• See document CH000345 for additional information about creating a partition in fdisk.