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Why do I get a 'file not found' or similar error when I try to run or load a file from a CD-ROM on my PC, even though I can see it in Program Manager, Windows Explorer or using DIR from DOS?

Many CD-ROMs that are included with recently released books include files whose names include spaces and/or lower case letters. These CD-ROMs are designed for use with Windows 95, and files from these cannot be run or loaded on some Windows 95 machines and all Windows NT 3.5x machines (there should be no problems with Windows NT 4).

Windows 95

The solution for Windows 95 is usually quite simple. If your machine is loading drivers in the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files (located on the root of your boot drive, usually C:) for DOS compatibility then this is most probably the source of the problem; Windows 95 cannot access the files correctly even though you can browse the CD. To overcome this you need to disable the DOS compatible drivers; Windows 95 will use it's own drivers to access the CD which support the new format. These drivers are not required for DOS programs when Windows 95 is running as they access the CD through the Windows driver. If you need to be able to use your CD-ROM drive when in full DOS mode you can put the original driver lines into the configuration for DOS mode; please see your Windows 95 documentation for instructions on how to do this.

To disable the DOS drivers, you need to look for the following:

In AUTOEXEC.BAT, look for a line that loads the MSCDEX (MicroSoft CD EXtensions) driver
eg. C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD0001
and insert 'REM ' at the beginning of the line
eg. REM C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD0001

In CONFIG.SYS, find the line that includes the same identifier after /D:
eg. DEVICE=C:\SB16\SBCD.SYS /D:MSCD0001
and again insert 'REM ' at the beginning of the line
eg. REM DEVICE=C:\SB16\SBCD.SYS /D:MSCD0001

When you restart the PC Windows should use it's own drivers to access the CD-ROM drive; if you are not able to see the icon for your drive in 'My Computer' then you may need to contact the manufacturer for updated drivers. To enable the drive (without long filename support) remove the 'REM ' from the lines in the files edited above.

 

Windows NT 3.5x

The Windows 95 formatted CD-ROMs are not compatible with Windows NT 3.5x. For some titles there may be alternative CD-ROMs available from the publishers that are compatible.

If you have bought a book from us and you cannot access the CD-ROM please contact us.

Why have I not received a reply to my email/order?

1. Your email address was typed incorrectly

The most common problem is that your email address was entered incorrectly. This is usually happens when a question is sent via the feedback form, or if you have placed an order for a book through the website. Please try to ensure that your email address is correct, as we have no other way of contacting you through the Internet. Compuserve users should replace the comma in their account number with a period, and append "@compuserve.com" to the end.

2. There are internet routing problems

Even though the email address is correct, occasionally it will 'bounce' back, without actually reaching you. There may be a problem with the physical connections between mail servers, or one of the routers, or even the computer is offline completely. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the Internet, there is not a lot that can be done about this particular problem, other than to keep trying to send the email.

3. Your mailbox cannot be reached

Your mailbox may be full. Your system administrator may have set a maximum size limit for your mailbox. If you don't read your email for a while, the limit will be reached, then the mailserver will reject any incoming email for that account. Contact your system administrator to remove or raise the limit. Also, the mailserver itself may be full, and would reject all incoming email.

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