Windows Millennium Edition Solution Center

Top issues

End of support for Windows 98 and Windows Me
Effective July 11, 2006, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me (and their related components) will transition to a non-supported status. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide any incident support options or security updates. Microsoft is not offering a custom support agreement for these products.
Hot Fix and Security Bulletins
Visit this site to view a list of security bulletins and hot fixes.

FDISK/Status Displays Partition Information
Microsoft MS-DOS FDISK has a parameter that causes it to display the partition status automatically. To check the partitioning status, type the following at the DOS prompt: C:\>fdisk /status This command provides information similar to that found...
Maximum Partition Size Using FAT16 File System
Microsoft MS-DOS versions 4.0 and later allow FDISK to partition hard disks up to 4 gigabytes (GB) in size. However, the MS-DOS file allocation table (FAT) file system can support only 2 GB per partition. Because of this fact, a hard disk between...
FDISK /MBR rewrites the Master Boot Record
The MS-DOS Fdisk utility usually updates the master boot record (MBR) only if no master boot record exists. Repartitioning with Fdisk does not rewrite this information. Fdisk has an undocumented parameter called /mbr that causes it to write the...

MS-DOS Does Not Properly Process Hard Disk Hardware Errors
Data corruption may occur when you are using an MS-DOS-based program in MS-DOS mode if your hard disk has a hardware error. Your computer is in MS-DOS mode if you started your computer with a system startup floppy disk, or if you selected Command...
BUG: An absolute pointing device may cause system instability when one or more MS-DOS boxes are open
Explains that when you use an absolute pointing device, system instability may occur. This problem may occur because Vmouse.vxd does not correctly handle absolute pointing messages.
"Error 5 Access Denied" Error Message When a Program Tries to Alter Last Access and Creation Time
MS-DOS-based and 16-bit Windows-based programs have the ability to update the last access and creation time for files and folders by using DOS Interrupt 21 function 7143 sub-functions 5 and 7. Occasionally, while this procedure is being attempted,...

MS-DOS Versions of DriveImage Cannot Operate on Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
When DriveImage (1.0, 2.0, 3.0) is launched on Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), the computer either stops responding with a black screen and blinking cursor in the upper left corner, or you receive the following error message:
Policy That Disables MS-DOS Prompt Disables All MS-DOS Programs
When you double-click an MS-DOS-based program, you may receive the following error message: This program cannot be run due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator. This same behavior may occur if you...
Switching Between an MS-DOS Window and Full Screen May Cause Computer to Hang
When you press ALT+ENTER to switch between an MS-DOS prompt window and a full-screen window, the computer may stop responding (hang).