This is what she told me she gets when she boots. Apparently the system posts and counts the memory but then gets halted at:

"while initializing device ios
error: io subsystem driver has failed to load
either file in ./io subsystem is corrupt
or system low on memory

I first thought it had something to do with cables being loose on the inside of teh computer because from what I know in c++ ios means input output stream and I figured thats where the problem lied....apparently not because all of the connections are secure so she says.

Any help would be appretiated....Also I thought I would mention it does not give an error reference number which I usually run into with pre-built systems.

Thanks for the help

Mike

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IOS Errors.

Cause:

These issue can be caused by any of the following possibilities:

Bad file or statement in the config.sys or autoexec.bat.
Issue with SMARTDRV.EXE or RMM.PDR.
Issue with Windows 95 and AMD K6/2 (350MHz or faster), or an Athlon (1.1GHz or faster).
Other Windows corruption
Solution:

Bad file or statement in the config.sys or autoexec.bat

The following steps should resolve the error "'While initializing device IOS: Error: An I/O subsystem driver failed to load' at boot"

Attempt to temporarily rename your autoexec.bat and config.sys by following the below steps:

Boot the computer to a MS-DOS prompt. Information on how to do this can be found on document CHDOS.
Once at the DOS prompt type:
C:
cd\
ren autoexec.bat autoexec.ch
ren config.sys config.ch
Once the above has been successfully completed reboot the computer.
Additional information about the autoexec.bat and config.sys can be found on our autoexec.bat / config.sys page.

Issue with SMARTDRV.EXE or RMM.PDR.

The following steps can resolve any of the following errors "Windows protection error", "IOS error", "While initializing device IOS: Windows protection error. You must restart your computer.", "While initializing IOS: Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer.", "Windows initializing device IOS: Windows protection error. IOS failed to Initialize, Please restart" or "Windows initializing device IOS: Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer" in Windows 95

Attempt to temporarily rename the SMARTDRV.EXE and or the RMM.PDR:

Boot the computer to a MS-DOS prompt. Information on how to do this can be found on document CHDOS.
Once at the DOS prompt type:
C:
cd\windows
ren smartdrv.exe smartdrv.ch
Once smartdrv.exe has been temporarily renamed reboot the computer to determine if issue is still present
If issue persists attempt to rename the RMM.PDR by following the below steps

Boot the computer to a MS-DOS prompt. Information on how to do this can be found on document CHDOS.
Once at the DOS prompt type:
C:
cd\windows\system\iosubsys
attrib rmm.pdr -r -s -h
ren rmm.pdr rmm.ch
Once rmm.pdr has been temporarily renamed reboot the computer to determine if issue is still present
Issue with Windows 95 and AMD K6/2 (350MHz or faster), or an Athlon (1.1GHz or faster).

The following steps and information should help to resolve "Device IOS failed to initialize. Windows Protection Error. You must reboot your computer."

This issue is attributed to a divide exception in the Ios.vxd and is a limitation of the software algorithms, and is not indicative of a problem with the processor itself, which is functioning properly. This issue has been resolved in Windows 98 and all later releases of the Microsoft operating systems..

Additional information and the resolution to this issue can be obtained from Microsoft in Article ID: Q192841.

Other Windows corruption.

quote:

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Error Message: While Initializing Device IOS an I/O Subsystem Driver Failed to Load...

Applies To

This article was previously published under Q311108

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to start Windows, you may receive the following error message:

While initializing device IOS, an I/O subsystem
driver failed to load.


Either a file in the IOSubsys subdirectory is corrupt
or the system is low on memory.

CAUSE

This issue can occur when the IOSubsys folder is damaged.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, rename the IOSubsys folder, and then reinstall Windows 98. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Insert a Windows 98 Startup disk, and then restart the computer to a command prompt.
2. At the command prompt, type c:, and then press ENTER.
3. Type cd\Windows\system, and then press ENTER.
4. Type ren iosubsys iosubold, and then press ENTER.
5. Reinstall Microsoft Windows 98. For additional information about installing Windows 98, click the article number below
   to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   188881 How to Install Windows 98: Helpful Tips and Suggestions
   

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about troubleshooting IOS-related error messages, click the article number below
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

263466 Error Message: Initializing Device IOS Windows Protection Error

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
• Microsoft Windows 98

Last Reviewed:	1/29/2002 (1.0)
Keywords:	kberrmsg kbprb KB311108

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This issue can occur if a virus hooked the INT21h or INT13h chain before Microsoft Windows is loaded, an unsafe device driver is detected, or a protected-mode driver is missing or damaged in the Iosubsys file located in the Windows\System\Iosubsys folder.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=263466