CRITICAL ERRORS Disk Error 23, 31, 27, etc., are DOS errors indicating some error in executing a DOS command. WordPerfect 4.1 intercepts the DOS error message "AAbort, R-Retry, IIgnore" and inserts the "1) Retry 2) CancelReturn to document" option. The primary and only known reason for these errors is hardware problems. Bad media (diskette, or hard disk), bad diskcontroller card, bad diskdrive, some speedenhanced micro-processors, power spikes and surges, or an inadequate power supply could all attribute to data errors. J K?Errors cont.Floppy diskettes can have many things cause errors. If the error only occurs on a particular floppy diskette, the disk probably has a problem. Hard disks are not as easy to replace. However, they are not perfect and can have marginal sectors drop code giving errors. There have also been problems with the format program not blocking off all of the bad sectors (mainly a DOS 3.0 problem). If the files are copied into another subdirectory and no problems arise, there is probably marginal sectors on the hard disk. Disk controller cards and disk drives can have things go wrong to bring about errors. A few of the reported errors on hard disks have been linked to bad controller cards. A bad disk drive head, drive head alignment, and disk speed are also known for causing errors. With the rapid advancement of the computer hardware, faster micro-processors, larger hard disks, and other expansion peripheral are being added to earlier machines in an effort to boost the ability of the computer, speeding up output. Some of the so called "Turbo Chips" are not as safe as their adds report. The timing of the BIOS can be affected drastically by pushing a PC to run faster than designed. The disk drive may not read/write properly since the data is being sent faster than it can be processed. This holds true for PC's, XT's, AT's, and other computers. Power spikes and surges can cause the same timing problems as the faster chips. Power spikes and surges can also cause other strange things to happen to the media or computer. In addition to the "Turbo Chips", larger hard disk, and expansion boards have been found to reduce the power supply to inadequate levels for the processor, disk drives, etc. One of our machines, a PC XT, came with a 10 megabyte HD (hard disk). When they added a 20 megabyte HD, they experienced HD crashes, data errors, and other strange problems. Six HD's were tried before the power supply was replaced, which solved the problem. Helpful Hints To check the media when using floppy disks, try these steps. If the error occurs when saving the file, try saving to another floppy disk. If it occurs when trying to retrieve a file onf floppy disk, try to copy it to another file name or to another floppy disk. If the above DOS error message (Abort, Retry, Ignore) appears, there is probably damage to the media. To verify the damage, copy all the files onto another floppy disk and reformat the damaged disk. Bad sectors should show up on the disk status information after the format. For users with a HD, there are similar steps to try. If the error occurs when saving the file, try to save to a floppy disk. If a critical error occurs when trying to retrieve a file, try copying it to another file name or to a floppy disk. If the error occurs when doing a WordPerfect command, copy WordPerfect into another sub-directory without deleting the old one and try it again. The other steps regarding DOS error messages apply for the HD.