Old computer fix/overhaul

I'm currently trying to fix an old computer of mine that has been gathering dust. It has a windows 98se operating system. It is extremely slow takes a long time to boot up and respond to any commands. I have gone through and deleted some programs hoping to clear up some of the clutter.

It has however a lot of data that we would like to preserve despite its age. While a clean format sounds nice I'm concerned about a possible virus infection plus the possible whereabouts of the windows 98 disc/key plus the various other programs that may not work on a newer operating system, and the whereabouts of the discs that those programs came in on. Scan disc fails due to writing of various writing to disc that occurs while running it. The newest ad-aware I was able to get also fails when it gets to a directory called CLSID. Before that point it notices 11 critical objects 5 or 6 registry.

This computer used to be quite fast and capable, despite its age I think it can be again. I had used some of the guides and tools in the past to help this machine but, I'm unsure where to start. on boot-up it now attempts scan disc and fails then it mentions a missing file vsdata95.vxd and needing to replace it or kill the application that wants it.

It also has a highly annoying beeping/grinding noise that it make when I'm trying to get it to accomplish a task that somewhat bothers me.

I'm also wondering about how to go about killing any residue of Norton anti-virus/system works and any possible problems I might encounter doing so. It also has inherited old backup versions of earlier computers and I'm wondering about any possible conflicts/suggestions that this might cause and how best to reincorporate this older data.

Also bothering is the recent failure of the version of zone-alarm this computer had. I am completely willing to follow guides in obtaining cccleaner, hijackthis and the like. I'm just unsure about the first steps to take in this situation.
-spacedust

 

Wow! Lots of issues! If the folder "Win98" is on the hard drive, you can use it to reload Windows. The product key is in the registry. Run regedit, and do a search for either "Product Key" or "ProductKey" (no space) and write it down. The "vsdata.vxd" file is a ZoneAlarm file. Try a full uninstall, or reinstall it and then remove it if you don't want it. Run a Win98 compatible file cleaner (like CCleaner) to remove alot of the junk files. ScanDisk and Defrag can be run in safe mode if they don't finish in normal mode. Find out the manufacturer of your hard drive; download and run their diagnostic and make sure the drive is healthy. Do this first; if the drive is dying, there's no point in trying to repair the Windows. You may want to just slave the Win98 drive to a working PC to save the data, then reformat, and reload. If that's what you do, be sure to burn the contents of the folder "Win98" to a CD. That will be your install CD. It won't be bootable, so you'll need a boot floppy. There are some all purpose Norton removers in the AntiVirus downloads here at Major Geeks; they're free. Personally, I think that backing up the data, and formatting the HD and reloading the Windows is your best bet; you have too many problems (IMHO) to fix, and Windows may never run the way it should....

hd2k

 

What is the best way to find out the motherboard info? I admit to some knowledge about the internal workings of my computer but I'm unsure where to look and if I can I'd prefer to get the information without poking around in the guts of my computer. ( I had an unfortunate motherboard death on a previous computer due to a loose screw.)

Due the possibility of a virus I'd rather not slave it to another comp. Although I've not had much experience burning disks I believe this one has a burner and I can reacquaint myself with the process in order to make the boot disc and save the programs I mentioned (on separate discs of course).
-spacedustM

 

I've found that Everest works pretty well on Win98 as well as Win XP to get the info on your mobo, RAM, etc.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181

The older the system, the less info you will get though.

 

I have slaved dozens (if not hundreds) of virus infected drives, and NEVER had one jump over. If you have virus protection software installed on the master PC, there's nothing to worry about. If you are worried, then, if you think about it, the virus could jump onto the CD you burn also. But it won't. Don't worry. If you have the Win98 folder, that will be your install CD, and you'll need to create a boot floppy also. As far as saving programs: generally speaking, if a program has been installed, you cannot back it up. You can save the data created by the program (like Word files, Quicken documents, etc) but you cannot back up Word or Quicken themselves. When they're installed, they generate their own files (.dll's and MANY others) and spread these files through-out the hard drive in many different locations. You would need to back up each file, and its host folder(s), and all the associated files and folders, and you'd have to know where in the file system each folder/file is supposed to go to get it to work on a different PC. It's basically impossible- the software publishers designed it that way to prevent piracy. And, as stated above, Everest will give you all the info about your hardware that you'll need....

hd2k

 

that download was able to pull a good supply of info out about the motherboard. However I'm not sure what to do about finding a diagnosis utility to check the health of the motherboard.

The motherboard name is Tyan S1854 (-A) Trinity 400. The chipset is ApolloPro133A.

In going to there website I was quite lost about what to use you check the motherboard health. (www.tyan.com)

I spent several minutes trying to figure it out but, unfortunately nothing I tried seemed to work. Once again, this is new to me so I don't know exactly what I'm looking for. I'm not dense, just unexperienced.

Under the assumption that it was healthy I ran regedit The most likely key candidate was something after TMID a series of letters/numbers going 10-4-4-4-12 in length. There seems to be just a Windows directory not a Win98 dir.

 

I think we posted at the same time, spacedust. Read my post above..... There are no apps that test the entire motherboard for health: you can test individual components like the RAM, hard drive, CPU, etc.... I suppose you could use a 'burn in' type of utility and let it run overnite to test the PC's overall stability..... chances are, the PC is slow because it's old, and the OS is all messed up for various reasons.... anyway read my above post about program backup, and viruses, and if I can help you proceed, I'll be more than happy to !!!!

hd2k

 

I think it would be best to just reformat but I need to know what to look for in everest to tell if I have anything that screams don't waste your time.

It is an Intell 3, 450mhz that was working quite well (at one time). The only comp I have available to try and make the hard drive a slave to is a laptop and I'm fairly sure my dad doesn't want me going anywhere near it. Which is why I'd rather save off word/wordperfect files (version8 yes, it has relics form 2 older comps) and some game saves and screenshots to a burned disc and just write off any other program losses as good riddens.

Also I need to know if the Windows directory is sufficient to act as a boot disc and the steps to actually reformat the computer. Also what steps I should take to insure the internal devices such as the video cards, Cd reader/burner, ethernet card have the proper drivers on reformat so I'm not left with a dead lump because the windows boot disc can't Identify A,B, or C.

The only 2 things that I see that stand out in the everest info are a SMART hard discs status fail in the summery and a warning that DMI accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The smart error looks like it is due to a raw read error rate and a prediction that (pre-error) data loss imminent.

 

Everest is NOT a diagnostic tool. It simply tells you what parts are installed in the PC; model numbers, manufacturer's, etc. It won't tell you anything about system health. If all you want to save is the Word Perfect documents (the text documents typed up with Word Perfect), that's easy- burn 'em to a CD. You can do the same with the game saves and the screen shots. As far as drivers for your ethernet card, modem, sound card, etc: Go into your device manager (Control Panel > System > Hardware), and click on the little plus signs next to display adapters for video; modems for the modem; network adapters for your ethernet card; sound, video, and game controllers for your sound card, and write down what it listed. Use Everest to tell you what chipset you have, and any other hardware you may have. Again- Everest will ONLY tell what parts (make & model) are installed- NOT if they are functioning properly. Look on your hard drive (drive C: ) for a folder named "Win98". If you don't have it, you cannot create a re-install CD. If you do have it, burn it's contents to a CD. If you're not sure if you have the folder, post a screen shot of your drive C: folders. There should be Program Files, Windows, and others... occasionally, people rename the "Win98", so it might be there under a different name... "CABS" is the most common name used to rename the "Win98" folder. If you want to test your hardware, you must use a seperate program for each item- a program for the RAM, a program for the hard drive, etc.... A RAM diag can be found in the Memory downloads here at MajorGeeks. The hard drive diag can be found at the drive maker's web site. Now, I don't want to be rude here, but I've repeated the same basic info in each of my posts. Here's the breakdown: download and run a hard drive diagnostic. Download and run a RAM diagnostic. Boot into Windows. Back up what you want to a CD. Look at your device manager/Everest and write down which hardware devices you have installed- make and model. Run regedit and find your product key- write it down. Look on your hard drive for a folder called "Win98". If it's not there, look for a folder called "Cabs". If it's not there, let me know, tell me what folder are on drive C: and I'll tell you if can be used to reload windows. If Win98 is there (or Cabs), burn it's contents to a CD. Create a boot floppy. Boot to the floppy. Format the hard drive. Install Windows from the newly burned CD. Locate and download all drivers from the internet. Install the drivers. Reload any saved data. You're done.

hd2k

 

The errors were multiplying and I got too impatient. I have formated the computer however my boot disc is just to msdos prompt. I found a windows xp home edition cd and key. however since it is just basic msdos prompt it cannot change to the cd drive to read the CD.

So I have a new smaller set of problems now. What should I do from here to get the OS installed?

 

Reboot the PC. Go into Setup (also called BIOS or CMOS) by pressing F1 or F2 or Del right when you turn on the PC. Change the boot order to boot to the CD drive first. Save the changes, exit BIOS and the PC will restart. You should get a prompt "Press any key to boot to CD..." and you'll press any key to start the WinXP install.....
From there, just read what it says on screen and follow the prompts...

hd2k

 

It is done and the version of windows seems to have recognized the critical devices, I still need to double check things and set up some security. The first thing I did was download Firefox. Should I just follow one of the guides for obtaining and using adaware/cccleaner/antivirus and if so which one.
-spacedust

I found a new computer guide by major attitude and got the antivir and adaware but I'm confused with the new need for a license/serial number. out of the choices listed which would you recommend.

 

Here at MajorGeeks there is a list of recommended programs and recommended steps to take to keep the PC in top running condition. Check this link for program recommendations: http://www.majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=20
Here's a link to basic PC maintenance: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=106650
That should be enough to get you started. For PC protection, I personally use the following: AntiVir for virus protection, ComodoBOClean for spyware protection, Sygate for a firewall (the new releases may not be free; I'm not sure. I'm running one I downloaded about 18 months ago). I also run Browser Hijack Retaliator 4.5 and Arovax Shield. I've NEVER had any type of major infection, EVER on my home PC. Occasionally I'll visit a questionable site, but my protection has always kicked in and stopped the intrusion..... good luck!

hd2k