Use the Display Partition Information option of the FDISK program to see if your hard disk has an active (bootable) DOS partition on it. (See the MS-DOS Reference Manual for instructions on using FDISK.) If it does not, back up all your hard disk files and then reinstall MS-DOS on the hard disk. See your MS-DOS Installation Guide for instructions.

If the disk does have an active DOS partition, back up all your files and then try reformatting the disk using SELECT. See your MS-DOS Installation Guide for instructions.

Caution

Reformatting destroys all the data currently on your hard disk, so do this only after careful consideration and after trying the preceding step.

6.If your hard disk is producing a lot of read/write errors or you are having other serious problems with it, try running the Hard Disk Drive and Controller diagnostics check, described in Appendix E. If the program indicates an error, contact your Epson dealer.

7.If you have been using your hard disk for a long time and begin to see numerous read/write errors, the magnetic signals on the disk may be getting weak. If this is the case, you may need to reformat the hard disk. If you decide to do this, follow these steps:

Back up all the data on the disk using COPY, XCOPY, or BACKUP (described in the MS-DOS Reference Manual).

Follow the instructions in Appendix C to perform a low-level (physical) format.

Follow the instructions in the MS-DOS Installation Guide to install MS-DOS on the hard disk.

Troubleshooting D-21