Automap Road Atlas: Unable to Read <filename>
  
PSS ID Number: Q126958
Article last modified on 12-15-1995
 
3.00    | 3.00
 
MS-DOS WINDOWS
 

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3.00    | 3.00
WINDOWS | MS-DOS
 kbhw kb3rdparty kbenv kberrmsg
 
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The information in this article applies to:
 
 - Microsoft Automap Road Atlas for Windows, version 3.0
 - Microsoft Automap Road Atlas for MS-DOS, version 3.0
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SYMPTOMS
========
 
If you attempt to run the Setup program for Microsoft Automap Road
Atlas and receive a disk read error for the disk drive, there may be a
problem with the disk. It is also possible that the disk drive you are
using to install Automap Road Atlas does not closely match the alignment of
the machine that produced the disk.
 
During installation, you may receive one of the following error messages
 
   unable to read <filename>
 
        -or-
 
   unable to read from drive <x>
 
        -or-
 
   unable to expand file: <filename>
 
where <filename> is the file you are trying to read or expand, and <x> is
your drive (for example, A).
 
CAUSE
=====
 
These error messages may result from a defective set of disks, from a
bad disk, or a problem with the disk drive used during installation.
 
Disk read errors are almost always caused by such problems, rather
than by problems related to memory configuration, usage, or other
environmental factors.
 
RESOLUTION
==========
 
You can perform a simple test to determine whether or not the
drive is capable of reading the disk. (For more information about the MS-
DOS COPY, SCANDISK, and CHKDSK commands, see the "More Information" section
of this article.)
 
1. Insert the first Setup disk.
 
2. Change to the disk drive you are using to install Automap Road Atlas,
   and type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and press ENTER:
 
      copy *.* nul
 
   Repeat this step for each disk.
 
   NOTE: The COPY command opens, reads, and closes each file in the
   current directory. This test verifies that each file can actually
   be read from the disk.
 
   The MS-DOS XCOPY command cannot be used with NUL as the target.
 
3. At the MS-DOS command prompt, type the following and press ENTER:
 
      scandisk
 
   NOTE: The SCANDISK command is available on systems running Microsoft
   MS-DOS version 6.2, 6.21, and 6.22. SCANDISK cannot find or correct
   errors on CD-ROM drives.
 
4. At the MS-DOS command prompt, type the following and press ENTER:
 
      chkdsk
 
If you encounter any read errors in the above tests, or if SCANDISK
or CHKDSK report serious errors, perform the same tests on another
computer. If several other computers are available, it may be advantageous
to try more than one.
 
If the disks can be successfully read by another computer, first try
to clean the disk heads, as advised by the computer manufacturer, and
then retry the installation. If the installation still fails on this
computer, there may be a problem with the disk drive. If no available
computer can read the disks, it is likely the disk(s) are damaged.
 
MORE INFORMATION
================
 
COPY
----
 
Using the MS-DOS NUL device as the target for the COPY command is
convenient because no file is created. The output of the command is
discarded into what is called a bit-bucket. If you use NULL as the
target filename by mistake, the command tries to create a file on the
disk; this usually results in an error due to lack of disk space.
 
SCANDISK
--------
 
SCANDISK checks and corrects problems in the following areas of each drive:
 
 - File allocation table (FAT)
 - File system structure (lost clusters, crosslinked files)
 - Directory tree structure
 - Physical surface of the drive (bad clusters)
 
Types of drives SCANDISK can find and correct errors on:
 
 - Hard drives
 - DriveSpace drives
 - DoubleSpace drives (if DoubleSpace is installed)
 - Floppy disk drives
 - RAM drives
 - Memory cards
 
CHKDSK
------
 
CHKDSK checks the status of a disk and displays a status report.
CHKDSK can also correct disk errors.
 
The status report shows errors found in the MS-DOS File system, which
consists of the File Allocation Table (FAT) and directories. CHKDSK
also displays a summary of disk usage. (CHKDSK does not verify that
the information in your files can be accurately read.) If errors
exist on the disk, CHKDSK alerts you with a message.
 
For more information about how to perform this task in Windows, see your
Windows printed documentation or online Help.
 
KBCategory:  kbhw kb3rdparty kbenv kberrmsg
KBSubcategory: win31
 
Additional reference words: kbhowto auto auto-map automap reference null
scrap
scratch
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Keywords          : win31 
Version           : 3.00    | 3.00
Platform          : MS-DOS WINDOWS
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Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1995.