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[ The PC Guide | Troubleshooting and Repair Guide | The Troubleshooting Expert | Troubleshooting The System Overall | Troubleshooting Run-Time Error Messages ]

Invalid drive specification

Explanation:

 You specified a drive letter in a command that does not exist.

Diagnosis:

 This usually results from incorrectly typing a drive letter. For example, typing "DIR Q:" will cause this error if there is no Q: volume on the machine. It can also result from a drive not being properly recognized by the system at boot time, for a variety of reasons.

Recommendation:
  • Try the command again using the right drive letter.
  • If you are trying to access a brand new hard disk before it has been partitioned and formatted (say by booting a floppy disk and typing "DIR C:" you will get this error. The hard disk must be partitioned and formatted before you can use it.
  • If you get this error trying to access a floppy disk drive then this means that the drive has either failed or has not been set up properly in the BIOS setup. Check the BIOS settings first; if necessary troubleshoot the drive.
  • If you get this error on a CD-ROM drive, then this means that when the system booted, the device was not seen. You should troubleshoot this here.

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