DriveSpace Err Msg: MINI.CAB File Is Missing or Damaged...

 Last reviewed: March 13, 1996
Article ID: Q124558
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

You receive the following error messages when you run DriveSpace to perform an operation that requires full restartability:

  • Files required to manage your compressed drive(s) are missing on drive <x>. To restore these files, copy the MINI.CAB file from your Windows 95 Setup Disk 1 or CD-ROM into your Windows directory. The next time you run DriveSpace, the missing files will be restored.

    ID Number: DRVSPACE575

    -and-

  • Windows might not be able to restart this operation if it is interrupted. Check to make sure drive x is not full; you may need as much as 1.5 MB of free space to continue.

    ID Number: DRVSPACE311

CAUSE

These errors occur when the files in the hidden FAILSAFE.DRV\FAILSAFE directory on drive C (or the host for drive C) are missing and DriveSpace cannot find the MINI.CAB file in your Windows 95 SYSTEM subdirectory.

These errors can also occur if there is a file named Failsafe.drv in the root folder of drive C (or the host for drive C).

RESOLUTION

Copy the MINI.CAB file from your original Windows 95 distribution media to your Windows 95 SYSTEM subdirectory.

NOTE: MINI.CAB is located on the standard 1.44-megabyte (MB) disk 1 of the 3.5-inch distribution media format (DMF) disk set and can be copied using Windows Explorer or at an MS-DOS prompt (using EXTRACT is not necessary). On CD-ROM installation media, MINI.CAB is located in the WIN95 directory.

MORE INFORMATION

DriveSpace operations that can prevent Windows from restarting properly if interrupted by a power loss or accidental reboot are fully restartable. To ensure restartability in these cases, DriveSpace uses a mini-version of Windows (a subset of Windows 3.1 also used by Setup).

DriveSpace extracts the mini-version files (from the MINI.CAB file in your Windows 95 SYSTEM subdirectory to a hidden FAILSAFE.DRV directory on the physical boot drive) before beginning an operation that requires full restartability. This ensures that DriveSpace can complete its operation in the event of a power loss or accidental reboot.

DriveSpace requires the mini-version of Windows during the following operations:

  • Compressing an existing drive that contains Windows files (including the swap file).
  • Uncompressing a DriveSpace- or DoubleSpace-compressed drive that contains Windows files (including the swap file).
  • Changing the size of a DriveSpace- or DoubleSpace-compressed drive that contains Windows files (including the swap file).
  • Changing the estimated compression ratio (ECR) for a DriveSpace- or DoubleSpace-compressed drive that contains Windows files (including the swap file).

You should not delete the FAILSAFE.DRV directory created by DriveSpace unless you have a MINI.CAB file in your Windows SYSTEM subdirectory. DriveSpace does not delete FAILSAFE.DRV after successfully completing a restartable operation. This allows future restartable operations to be completed more quickly.

KBCategory: kbtool kberrmsg
KBSubcategory: wpp95 win95 diskmem drvspace dblspace
Additional reference words: 95 err msg dxxspace

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Last reviewed: March 13, 1996
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