HIMEM.SYS heeeelp...please

Hey, I know that you people have ALLWAYS done such an awesome job on everything that I have ever had problems with!!!! You folks are GREAT!!!!!!!!
Sooooo, here goes another prob.
My sister-in-law says that...when she turned on her 'puter everything started normal....then..she says, 'Windows stopped right in the middle. The screen went black..and, in the middle of the screen was.." Something to do with HIMEM.SYS. and 'please increase file statement yada yada And she is stuck!!! Really stuck.
I DO know that...She has NEVER been on line. AND...she assures me that she is the ONLY one that touches her 'puter.
If any of ya can figure out what the dickens is wrong with the little that I spit out about this ...it would be a jovial thing!!!! hahaha
I WILL have some more info from her as soon as I get off of here and call her to get more details...
Beins as..... I only have one phone line and I am destined to phone lines forever.....AARRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks again!!!!!
adele

 

We need to know what operating system she has, what exactly that error message is, and what, if any, new software or hardware (including any driver updates) she may have done just prior to the error showing up. Plus when exactly does the error pop up? In the middle of loading Windows? In the middle of using some particular software?

The devil is in the details.

 

YAYYYY!!! Dang your fast!!!YAYYYYYYY!!!!
All I know so far is.... she is running Windows 98....nothing new was added..not sure about updates tho. ....And it pops up in the middle of loading windows....
This is what I know sooooo far. I did try to write down all of the particulars when she first told me of this.. I need to call her back and I will get all of the pertinent info.
Thanks a gazillion G.T.!!!
I'll be back shortly!! ~BIG SMILE~

 

you should give the exact msg that comes up on the computer. cheers

 

OK folks!!! ~SMILE~
She has never been on-line. She did not add anything new. She did not upgrade anything.
When she starts her 'puter..everything is peachy untill you get to Windows..Then in the middle of that the screen turns black and the middle says.....
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
The following files are missing or corrupted:
C\Windows\Himem.Sys C:\>REM The following lines added by inoculan anti virus
C:\>C:\PROGRA."1\ cheyenne\antivi"1\examine.exe/x. copyright reserved 1997 associated international Inc. and it's subsidaries. Home Directory testing extended memory AP.Files
C:\Progra"1 please increase files=statement in config.sys to at least files=40.
press any key to continue
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
I had her do the ctr. alt. delete thingy a couple of times and she said that at all started all over again. BLecchhh!!! hahaha huh.eeeeeeeck

AND.... I also had her do the re-start thingy on the tower and ...well...to no avail...

Thanks all of ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's beddy-bye time here at the old ......the old.......the old..........haha, well, the old.hahaha
See ya tomarrow!!!!!!!
P.S. THANKS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!! Gee.. do ya think that I can't thank you enough? haha true!

 

Hm. In older operating systems, you had to specify a number of files in config.sys to allow programs to run properly, but Windows 98 pretty much eliminated the need to tweak that in most cases, and in any case wouldn't start showing errors like that without something new being installed. So lets put increasing the number of files on hold for a bit.

Other than new software that requires tweaking config.sys, the two most common reasons for having himem errors are failing ram (himem.sys is a memory manager) and corrupted himem.sys file in Windows.

For starters, have your friend download Memtest86 and run it to check her memory. It installs onto a floppy disk. Put the disk in the drive, and boot the computer to the floppy and it will run automatically. Let it run (it takes a while) and note any errors reported. It will run continuously, and has about 8 numbered tests. When it starts test one over again, it's ran the full course. If it finds errors, she'll need to identify which ram module is the problem, if she has more than one, and replace it.

If it doesn't report any errors, I'd consider her himem.sys file in Windows may be corrupted. That can be replaced from a Win98 startup diskette it she's got one. If not, a friend might, or she can download a fresh copy from Bootdisk.com . That installs to a floppy disk as well.

But before trying to replace himem.sys from a DOS environment, I'd have here simply try editing config.sys and increasing the number of files to above 40, as the error message suggested. Easy to try.

Boot to that Win98 startup disk, change to the root C directory by typing

C:\ <enter> ( <enter> means hit the Enter key, don't type that out)

Then type:

edit config.sys <enter>

Scroll down to the line that says "files=XX" and change the xx to 50.

IIRC, hit Tab to bring down the top menu, select "Save", and then Exit.

Pull out the floppy disk and reboot, and see if Windows comes up OK. If not, holler back and we'll try walking you through replacing the himem.sys file itself, which is a bit more complicated.

 

(bump) How are you doing Adele?

 

If the screen does EXACTLY look like above, then the filesystem is damaged.
To confirm that, start the 'puter, hold down the CTRL-key until the boot menu is
displayed, then select "Safe Mode - command prompt".

On the command prompt, enter "dir" (without quotes), then press ENTER.
The resulting output should look similar to the following:

filenam1 ext size date
filenam1 ext size date
filenam1 ext size date
filenam1 ext size date
...

If the list looks "weird" or the dir command fails to execute,
the filesystem IS damaged
in that case I'd recommend to re-install Windows.

If the list of files looks ok (all entries lined up, no "real" text),
then enter "type config,sys" (without quotes) and press ENTER.
If the output looks as above (commands mixed with text), then the filesystem
still might be damaged, or only this file (=config.sys) is damaged.
Enter the following two lines (closing each with ENTER):

ren autoexec.bat autoexec.ba#
ren config.sys config.sy#

If both commands complete "silently" (= no error messages such as
"cannot rename" or "file not found" etc.) then reboot and hope for the best.

If the commands cannot be performed for any reason, the filesystem
is most likely damaged.

Good luck

 

Could be a boot virus chk this out
http://websites.anderson.edu/~jrgray/kb_docs/tech/jg0010120940_bootsector_virus.htm

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if they don't have a boot disc, Win98 disc has a repair feature also but you boot to that CD. GT probably has the most likely fix with his advice about the memory. Just thought I'd through that out there as it's helped friends of mine.

 

It may well be a software problem, but since neither Adele nor her friend are tweakers, I figured it better to eliminate the ram possibility first, since that's the simplest to check. And if that's it, won't require them to muck around with the system.

 

Well, here's what I'd do.

It seems as if an antivirus is messing with your Config.sys, which, in Windows 98, you do not need. I would suggest the following:

1. Uninstall (or turn off--but you're better off uninstalling at this point uninstalling) the anitvirus program running.

2. Go to the Windows Explorer (right-click My Computer and regular click Explore), go to the C drive and click it. Off in the right window pane, assuming you have two windows, scroll down until you find Autoexec.bat and Config.sys. Rename (do not delete) them. Reboot.

The idea here is to get rid of those two files and let Windows run the show without them; they simply aren't need to run Windows. Now, certain programs may require these files, but that's not the issue now. All you want to do is get the system up and running, because if you can, you've most likely found the culprit--that darned antivirus program.

If this doesn't work, then rename those two files back to what they were.

Hope this helps,

Starkman

 

You are all AWESOME!!!!!
She lives 80 miles from me (one way). She is on her way out here today. I will give her the floppy to check the RAM thing. I think we'll go with G.T.'s first step and go from there.
I'll also print out all of the replies to this and send them off with her.
Win 98 does have a boot disk and I think that she has one of those..but, if she doesn't I will send one of those back with her too.
I brag about MajorGeeks to all I know!!!!! It is soooo refreshing to be able to recieve help when ya really need it. And it's always easy to understand. And no one treats you like an idiot. I just can't tell you folks enough of how much I truly appreciate each and every one of you!!!!! All of ya'll have sure made this a wonderous eye opener and an amazing learning place. It's really comfy....!!!! Thanks!

It will probably be sometime tomarrow until I hear back from her...But, I will let ya know what is going on as soon as I know myself....

 

Thanks for the update Adele.

Guys, nothing was added or tweaked before the error messages, and she's not connected to the internet, so it's not likely that a program that has been running fine is suddenly sabotaging her, and she's not likely to have picked up a virus. Which takes us back to failing ram or corrupted files.

 

Actually she could have pick up a virus,if she had used a contaminated Floppy rite?

 

Possible, but not too likely unless she borrowed one from somebody, which it didn't sound like she had done.

In the days before internet, that's how we all got infected.

 

That's the reason I brought it up.The good old days yeeeeuck