Friends win98 no boot problem.. (configuration / registry error)

SweatyBanana · Dec 8, 2006

Pantyeatr said:

i have windows 98 on my IBM thinkpad 770 with a pentium I (don't laugh its to tune my megasquirt :lol: )

the laptop has a bad battery, so it has to be pluged in constantly so the internal battery doesn't die.

i has been unpluged since saturday and now i have a configuration / registry error and window will not boot-up.

what do i need to do?
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Pantyeatr said:

wow.

heres what happened

i got the start-up menu, i selected 3 for safe mode. registry/configurator error.

command prompt only and run SCANREG

the following is missing or corrupted

C:\windows\HIMEM.SYS
C:\windows\DBLBUFF.SYS
C:\windows\IFSHLP.SYS

i can't get it into safe mode
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Pantyeatr said:

heres exactly what the screen says:

microsoft windows 98 start-up menu

1. normal
2. logged (\bootlog.txt)
3. safe mode
4. step-by-step confirmation
5. command prompt only
6. safe mode command prompt only

enter a choice: 3

warning windows has detected a registry/configuration error.
choose, command prompt only, and run SCANREG.

the following is missing or corrupted C:\windows\HIMEM.SYS

the following is missing or corrupted C:\windows\DBLBUFF.SYS

the following is missing or corruptedC:\windows\IFSHLP.SYS
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Pantyeatr said:

now i'm getting a

DATA ERROR READING DRIVE C

and codes 14 301 at startup
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Pantyeatr said:

i did the BIOS systems test and everything is fine with the hardware.

while i was in there i had the computer read from the CD rom first then the HDD-1. in the CD rom is the windows 98 disk.

it asked me if i wanted to boot from the disk or the hard drive. i chose the CD-rom and still nothing. :x
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Pantyeatr said:

when i do the A:\scandisk part it tells me "bad command or file name"

then when i go into BIOS for the systems test the HDD-1 checks ok along with everything else :?

i'm worried now. my car has the MS in it and i cant do anything with it cause i have no laptop to put any info into it. its way too cold to ride this motorcycle everyday (by florida's standards anyway ) damn why me :roll: why now :roll:
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This conversation is ongoing, and my parts are fairly irrevelent.. Please help

SweatyBanana · Dec 8, 2006

mmmm up.

Where are all the techies?

SweatyBanana · Dec 9, 2006

Yet again from page two..

Got a PM from TimW.. Think he was drunk though.

SweatyBanana · Dec 9, 2006

Up again.. Come on people.. This is important.. You cannot tune a megasquirt without a computer!

Novice · Dec 9, 2006

All the techies are hanging out at the techie bar drinking with Tim W! As for the corrupted system, in my humble opinion, it would be easiest to reinstall Win98 over itself and no data should be lost. Your friend stated that the computer wouldn't boot from the CD and could be registry related. It might be easier to boot the computer with a Win98 boot disk ( if the friend doesn't have one, go to bootdisk.com and download one ) and reinstall from there.

I would like to see your part of the ongoing conversation as it does pertain to the help needed and offered!

SweatyBanana · Dec 9, 2006

Heres all the stuff since the above. I think.

SweatyBanana said:

Registry/configuration error
The Registry is a database with information for Windows to keep track of your hardware and software configuration.

This message normally appears at startup, so just follow the prompts to startup in Safe Mode. This mode loads only the bare bone necessities for Windows to work. When Windows has loaded click Restore From Backup And Restart. If this doesn’t work then you may have to reinstall Windows any software that was giving problems when the Registry error occurred.
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SweatyBanana said:

Could you post the exact message you are getting with each of the filenames you mentioned?

First guess is that windows has corrupted and that the quick way round this would be to reload windows.

Boot from a boot diskette, enable cdrom support. Put your windows 98 cd in and then change to the cdrom drive letter (probably d or e) by typing D: and hitting return. Now type in setup and press return.

If windows is corrupt as I think it is, it should start setup normally. It may ask you for the directory in which to put the installation. You want the original directory... usually c:\windows - if it offers you c:\windows.000 delete out the last 4 characters so that windows is forced to overwrite the existing install.

Now, this should just put back the windows files and not affect installed software... unless that software is also corrupt.

EDIT: The filepath to start windows may have changed. In order to see if that is so you can use the Edit tool that is found either on your startup disk or at c:\windows\command

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SweatyBanana said:

You can download a Win 98SE bootdisk from bootdisk.com
I suggest using the Windows 98SE OEM bootdisk

Download the file on another computer, insert a blank floppy disk, run the file that you downloaded it will write the needed files to the floppy.

If the hard drive is detected in BIOS boot from the floppy choose command prompt only. At the A:\> prompt type scandisk

A:\>scandisk

also at the same A:/> prompt try fdisk, to see if it recognizes the drive by typing fdisk. DO NOT make any changes with fdisk, you can use option 4 to View Partition INformation, but DO NOT touch any other options. use the [Esc] key to exit fdisk. At the first screen asking if you want to use large partition sizes (FAT32) simply press [Enter], you won't be making any changes.

If the first fdisk screen displays a message no fixed disks found at top and nothing else,the hard drive is highly likely to be dead. If scandisk won't run from the A:/> prompt as well, you've pretty much verified it, but do check for BIOS identification as well.

If fdisk sees the hard drive and you get to the main options screen, EXIT FDISK AND DO NOTHING, but you may use option 4 if you wish to see the partition info. I must stress though, any other option you use in fdisk can and will erase all data on the hard drive. Viewing partition info will not do any damage.

Then at the A:/> prompt type fdisk_/mbr with a space in place of the underscore ( _ ) used here. That should re-write the Master Boot Record. This is only useful if both BIOS and fdisk do recognize the drive. If neither see a hard drive, it's dead.
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SweatyBanana said:

I posted this problem here if you want to follow it with some people that truly know computers.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?p=897032#post897032
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SweatyBanana said:

Hmmm.. How hard would it be for you to run an extension cord and bring out your desktop?

SweatyBanana is not what you are thinking by the way.
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SweatyBanana said:

Snag your computer and a power inverter
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Pantyeatr said:

wow, thanks "sweaty banana" :lol: i hope someone can help on there. i can really use the help cause i lost all motivation to finish my MS install cause of this.
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SweatyBanana said:

Hmmm.. How hard would it be for you to run an extension cord and bring out your desktop?

SweatyBanana is not what you are thinking by the way.
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Pantyeatr said:

lol my car is 30 mins. away from my house. the extension cord would have to be about 20 miles long :lol:

nah, but its a cool name though, just like pantyeatr isn't what most people think :wink:
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SweatyBanana said:

Snag your computer and a power inverter
Click to expand...

SweatyBanana said:

Got this in a private message on those forums..

TimW said:

Registry Checker—Comes with Windows 98. It's the best program to use for automatically backing up and restoring the Registry and for fixing the most common problems with the Registry.
Registry Checker
Registry Checker comes with Windows 98. Finally, Microsoft ships a useful Registry program with the operating system! This program fulfills the following purposes:
Backs up and restores the Registry
Scans and fixes a variety of Registry errors
Optimizes unused space in the Registry
The best part about Registry Checker is that it largely does its own thing. Windows 98 starts Registry Checker every time you boot the operating system. Registry Checker then backs up the Registry to CAB files (compressed archive files) that you find in C:\Windows\Sysbckup. It also scans the Registry for errors. If it finds any, Windows 98 restarts the computer in MS-DOS mode and runs Registry Checker to restore a good backup copy of the Registry automatically or to fix those errors.
REGCLEAN

REGCLEAN is a freeware utility from Microsoft that repairs a number of problems that are common to Microsoft products. This utility isn't nearly as useful as Norton WinDoctor, but it serves the needs of many users.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/arc....mspx?mfr=true
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Pantyeatr said:

i ran BIOS again and it a 301 error code for the thinkpad.

which equals to 8 possible problems:

1. Go to Keyboard or Auxiliary Input Device Checkout
2. Keyboard
3. Video card
4. External numeric keypad
5. External keyboard
6. Keyboard/mouse cable
7. DC/DC card
8. System board

8O :? :?
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Novice · Dec 10, 2006

Might try reading this link also, http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/win98/support/recreg.mspx?mfr=true.:)

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