Common Error Messages (DOS)

Supplied to CPAFUG by PAF Support in Salt Lake City.

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Error: "This does not appear to be the right disk. Use it anyway? Y/N"

SOLUTION: The master copy of the diskettes didn't include a volume label for the second 5 1/4 inch diskette which the program needs in order to install it. Answer the question "Y" and it will install correctly.

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ERROR: "This Disk does not contain Family Records Data. Create it? Y/N"

SOLUTION: If this is the first use of PAF this is a normal message. If you have just created a file and added data and get this message, your drive for data disk in Configuration is incorrect because of a missing colon, backslash, or mis-spelling.

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ERROR: "You may not have enough memory to print ..."

SOLUTION: Family Records requires 530K free conventional memory to run properly. With MS-DOS 6.0 or higher (excluding Win95) a memory manipulator called MEMMAKER was introduced. This program optimizes the system's conventional and upper memory to free up much needed RAM. To use this program, type "MEMMAKER" and follow the prompts. With MS-DOS 5.0 or lower, refer to a computer consultant or upgrade your DOS.

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ERROR: "Too many open files."

SOLUTION: PAF needs a minimum of 30 files in order to run adequately. To resolve this problem with MS-DOS 5.0 of higher, edit the Config.sys file and increase the number of files to 30 or more. If you have a Tandy computer, please consult Radio Shack or Tandy Corp. for assistance.

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ERROR: "Drive not ready while reading on drive ..."

SOLUTION: If the error message comes up while reading a floppy drive, ensure that a diskette is in the drive. If a diskette is in the drive, replace it with a newly formatated diskette.

If the message occurs while writing to the hard drive, exit the program. If you are in Windows, press CRTL-ESC simultaneously and check to see if PAF is on your task list; if it is, select it, and it should solve the problem. If you are not running Windows or Win95, you have a hardware problem.

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ERROR: "Cannot open indiv2.bak" or "Cannot open indiv2.dat"

SOLUTION: The first error occurs when the "backup" diskette does not actually contain backup files. To verify this, get a directory of the diskette and check for *.bak files. If none are found, but *.dat files are found it is a data diskette.

The second error occurs when the drive for data disk is set up so the initial backslash is missing. PAF looks further down the tree for the indiv2.dat file. [CPAFUG note: The second error may also occur when you have your backup disk instead of your data disk. See the solution to the first error.]

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ERROR: "Bad Command or Filename" on backing up the data.

SOLUTION: This error message indicates that the label.com file was not found in the search path. The backup will still be made but the diskette will not have an internal volume label. To resolve this problem, copy the label.com file from the DOS directory to the PAF directory, or add C:\DOS to the PATH statement in Autoexec.bat.

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ERROR: "Cannot find specified file type" while selecting a GEDCOM file and pressing F3 key.

SOLUTION: This error indicates that the GEDCOM file disk is not correct. Change this to indicate where the GEDCOM file is and press the F3 key again.

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ERROR: "Error: Bad Record #XXXX file xxxxxxxx."

SOLUTION: Make a backup of the data and run Family Records Repair. If it is the name file, there may be more corruption in the data. If, after running the repair, the names seem strange, restore the backup and send a copy to us.

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ERROR: "Permission Denied" or "Access Denied."

SOLUTION: This error normally occurs when running Windows and you inadvertently attempt to load the program twice in the same session. Exit one program and leave the other running.