Win98 help please

CF93

CF93

CF93

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Yes yes I know, Windows 98 is old hat, why is anyone still using it, etc etc....but hey, it's not my pc!

A friend has just got a shiny new pc, and wants to give his old 98 machine to his brother for "experimenting" with (don't ask me!)

But somehow he's managed to delete some files so it'll only start in Safe Mode, meaning he can't now burn his files from the Win98 box onto CD to put them on his new WinXP box. :rolleyes:

Basically we're trying to get it working without the need to reformat so he doesn't lose his files. So, is it possible to reinstall 98 over the top of what's already there and get it working again, or is there some sort of system file utility that can tell us what's missing so we can copy it straight off the CD (seem to remember there was....not sure though.)

Ta.


(Can anyone even remember back to the W98 days??)
 
When did it last work?
There was a similar thing to system restore in 98.

scanreg.exe /restore (linkage)
You should be able to run that from DOS and choose a previous backup.
This might let you get back in - worth a try anwyay.
 
Try the fix above first.

You can install Win98 on top of Win98 no probs.
Just make sure that you choose the same folder when installing again.
I.E. the setup will see the old copy of Windows and try to install into a new folder. So if Windows is in C:\Windows, the install might try to install the new copy into C:\Windows.000. Just change that to C:\Windows. Drivers and/or updates will need installing again in most cases.
 
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A lot of programs will have to be installed again too, although some like MS office 97 will work 95% of the time.

Personally I'd do what NS400r suggested first, more sound solution
 
Cheers guys.

Not looking to get it up and running again full time - only just enough to be able to burn his docs to a CD, so not worried about software not working or updates etc.

So all I need is for it to be bootable, I can put on the CDRW drivers/software again if they don't work, and burn the CD. Once the CD is done, the HDD will be wiped anyway.

So we'll give your suggestions a try and see what happens! :)


[edit - I'm assuming that as Win98 doesn't do "My Documents" etc in the same way as SP, a reinstall on top of what's there already won't damage the files he'll need to copy? /edit]
 
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The new install (reinstall) won't touch files that are already on the hard drive except for it's own stuff of course. If it is on the drive now, it will be there afterwards. A lot of stuff will also work afterwards as it will use the current registry when making the new one. Downside is that any faults may also be carried over.
 
Cool, exactly what I wanted to hear.

Might try the registry fix first then as I guess the reinstall will clear the previous registry backups. If that doesn't work I'll try the reinstall.

Cheers guys.
 
Or pull the drive and install as a slave in the new machine.

Copy the files over and then replace drive and format.
 
PsiFox said:
Or pull the drive and install as a slave in the new machine.

Copy the files over and then replace drive and format.
Click to expand...


Did suggest that but opening the new machine invalidates its warranty apparently.

Now I think of it, I'm not sure the registry thing will work, as I think it might be actual system files he's deleted rather than messing up the registry itself. I'll try it anyway!

I'm sure there was a system file checker that took a snapshot of the files and advised of any missing/changed ones. Not sure if it had to be run on a clean install to get a first snapshot though.

Oh well...I'll try the reinstall if the registry restore doesn't work anyway.
 
It might be worth building a PE CD.
(www.nu2.nu)

Give it your OS files, add the portable version of "DeepBurner" (IIRC) and you can then burn CD's without having to worry what OS is on the drive.

Plus - it's fun to play with and you can use it on other people's PC's too. :)
(You can also add AdAware, ClamWin AV etc to it so it's a "Go round and fix someone's borked PC" CD.)
 
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