[entrail]

Hello folks , I left my computer on yesterday [ turned off the monitor only ] when I was finished with it , and today i turned the monitor back on and had a odd looking screen that read can not find operating system. I rebooted it and it will not boot up , it tells me that i am missing windows\system\vgaoem.fon file and i can try and repair it by using my install disc and pressing r for repair , which did not seem to do much. Any thoughts on how to fix this and how I may have lost this file?

[Hemant]

Try the Microsoft KB Article from the following webpage: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315338 It is for the Post-Upgrade, but should be of help

[entrail]

Awsome Hemant ,it sounds just like my fix. I will try this tonight when i get home, thank you !

[entrail]

It didn't work , it gives me this message " the system cannot find the file or directory specified" I thought for sure this would work Hemant, as the symptoms in the article are identical to mine. Any other ideas out there?

[entrail]

Originally Posted by entrail

. Any other ideas out there?

Please help !!

[shdunnin]

Could it not find the file 'vgaoem.fon' on the CD, or the directory path to the file on the CD? You should be able to simply copy the file from the XP cd into your 'C:\WINDOWS\system' directory.

At what point does your PC crap out (before or after the Windows XP Splash Scrren)? Also, can you boot in safe mode (I'm not sure how important 'vgaoem.fon' is to windows)?

Try the fix suggested at: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315338 again but try different drive letters (maybe E: or F. If you are getting directory errors, then either one of two things:

1. You aren't using the correct WindowsXP cd
2. The drive letter does not specify the CD-ROM which contains the cd.

Hope this helps some.

[Elvandil]

What command line exactly are you typing?

Try expanding a copy into C:\Windows\Fonts\ and the C:\Windows\System32\dllcache\ folders, too.

[entrail]

Could it not find the file 'vgaoem.fon' on the CD, or the directory path to the file on the CD?

Im not sure, i only know it gave me this responce after i followed the instructions from microsoft " the system cannot find the file or directory specified" Maybe my disc is damaged? I will borrow one from a buddy and see if it works any better.

At what point does your PC crap out

It will not boot up at all,the first and only screen i get is
"Windows could not start. The following file is missing or corrupted \windows\system\vgaoem.fon.
You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows setup using the original setup CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.

again but try different drive letters

I will try but Im sure my drive is "d"

What command line exactly are you typing?

Try expanding a copy into C:\Windows\Fonts\ and the C:\Windows\System32\dllcache\ folders, too.

I'm typing it exactly as it's given to me from the micosoft web site "expand d:\i386\vgaoem.fo_ c:\windows\system" I have tried it with and without a space after expand as well as lower and upper case letters
Can you be more specific Elvandil , Im not sure where you want me to type this, recovery/map maybe?

[Elvandil]

OK. A copy of the file is attached. Unzip it and put the file on a floppy. Boot to the Recovery Console and type:

copy A:\vgaoem.fon C:\Windows\System
copy A:\vgaoem.fon C:\Windows\Fonts
copy A:\vgaoem.fon C:\Windows\System32\dllcache

Exit and try to boot (remove the floppy).

[entrail]

When I open this it reads "Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz 123456890"
Is this really what I am missing? I dont mean to question you Elvandil but it seems like such crap, it is no wonder windows is always screwed up if it runs of stuff like this.

[Elvandil]

Jeeze. Open it with what?

I just downloaded that zip, unzipped it, and I got vgaoem.fon. Even opening that in EditPad shows only "This program cannot be run in MS-DOS".

Right-click the attachment and Save Target As...

[entrail]

I downloaded it to my desktop, unzipped it and it opens with Windows Font Viewer automatically and reads as i said. Now if i open it with word it reads as you have indicated , odd eh? I will give it a try tonight or maybe tomorrow night when I'm off, thanks for the help.

[Elvandil]

The text you quoted is the sample text to show how the font appears in different sizes, nothing more.

[entrail]

Elvandil, I tried it several times this weekend and after every line I get " access is denied"

[entrail]

No it's not. I am still getting the original missing vgaoem message at start up. As I said after each line you had me try and copy from disc I received the message " access is denied" . So for some reason it would not let me copy the file from the floppy I am assuming . I checked the file on the disc in another computer and it was there so I'm not sure why it denied me.