Windows ME Installation

I have an old Dell laptop from work that has ME on it but I don't have enough privileges to install anything so I'm trying to do a fresh installation but nothing will boot.

I have tried using the CD and putting an ISO of it onto a USB stick, I have set the booting order to USB device or CD drive but nothing, any ideas?

 

Hi funky munky, is this a proper ME install disc, or an OEM one?

Regardless of the privileges of any account in a windows install it should not affect, an install disc formatting and installing afresh on the HDD.

Q

 

Sorry I should have explained the reason I'm re-installing is because I can't install programs.

It's an OEM disk. I would put the ISO on to the HDD but I can't get at he HDD or is there a way of putting it on without removing the HDD?

Or is there a way of removing admin account privileges?

 

If you put the disc in and restart to boot from it, what happens?

Q

 

It doesn't have a CD drive so I plug my USB CD drive in, I have tried disabling everything in the boot order apart from the disk drive and it says it can't find anything to boot from.

 

Hmm, how do you log into ME on this machine?

If you see a login screen, just hit Esc, can you install apps from here?

 

I just log into my old work account, pressing escape doesn't do anything I'm wondering if the usb is working during boot up?

Is there any other way of installing?

 

If I managed to get the HDD out and just put the ISO on it would that work?

 

Hitting Esc at the login screen should take you straight into the default account.

Do you have a floppy drive and a blank disk? If so, you could create a startup disk and boot from it, navigate to (usually) C:\Windows\Options\Cabs and run a repair of ME from there, or, if you can still read the ME installation number, create a second installation of ME.

 

Hmmm? have you tried using a different USB port? and different USB stick?

Also will it let you boot into safe mode [tap F8 as you boot up]

Q

 

It will let me boot into safe mode and there is only one USB port.

I don't really know what that floppy stuff meant but I do have a PC knocking around that has a floppy drive.

 

Go into safe mode and try to crate a new account with higher privilages.....

Q

 

Hello There,

Sounds to me the windows ME disk is not a bootable disk what you might have to do is install a fresh of Windows 98 or 98se once that disk is done and windows boots up once in the desktop insert the windows ME disk and should beable to upgrade it from there. That should solve your problem.

 

I was wrong I can't boot into safe mode.

I have a floppy drive, what do I do next?

 

Hopefully you mean the laptop has a floppy drive. If so you should find the following guide helpful. Don't worry about it being written for Windows 98, as it applies equally to Windows ME. I can't promise it will work with an OEM disk, but give it a try.

http://www.bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk/freehelp/win98res.htm

 

Fantastic guys, cheers.

 

Good news But which of the two methods did you use in the end?

 

I haven't done it yet as I forgot to bring my CD drive to work but I have made the floppy for the second method and it works perfect.

How do I back up my drivers?

 

Do you know how I install the USB/CD drive drivers?

I have made the disks but it can't find the CD drive.

If I could get the HDD out could I format it and put the ISO on it?

 

An iso is an image of a CD or DVD. You cannot put it on a hard disk and expect to do anything with it so forget the iso.

As I understand it you do have some sort of ME installation disk but can't use it directly to install ME because the laptop does not have a CD drive. However you do have an external CD/DVD drive, and in post #17 plodr has given you a method for booting from that. If that isn't working I really wouldn't know what else to suggest.

 

Could I install ME on the HDD then put it back into this laptop?

 

What HDD are you talking about? In #3 you said you couldn't get at the HDD, but even if you could get it out and mount it in another comp, does that comp have a floppy drive? You need one to install ME.

There is also the issue of drivers. The present ME install must have them all, and you need somehow to get them copied to floppies so they can be reinstalled after you have reinstalled ME. I believe plodr also gave you some advice on this.

If you are doing all this because you enjoy a challenge then fine, that's good and educational, but if it's in the hope of ending up with a useful laptop that hasn't cost anything I really can't see the point at all. You will have a very low spec machine with the worst operating system M$ ever produced, and a limited choice of software. Are you sure it's worth the effort?

 

Look back to my reply in post 9, you should be able to do a repair install or a parallel install from the ME cabfiles already on your hard drive.

 

I might be able to get to the HDD if I take it apart.

I'm planning to do it so I can give it to a friend who doesn't have a computer, I have a Win XP OEM disk too if that would make it easier.

I'm sorry if it looks like I'm ignoring certain post but some of it is going over my head. I have a whole weekend with nothing to do this week so hopfully I can get this done.

 

I'll take another read mate, thank you.

 

Seems my memory is flawed ^^ the default location is the C:\Windows\Options\Install folder though some makers may have had a different location. If the install was done manually, by dragging the folder from the CD, it's likely to be C:\Win9x. Setup.exe is the file you need to double-click within Windows.

 

I'm in the CABS folder what do I do now?

 

Run Setup.exe

 

There isn't one in windows/options/cabs :S

 

Look for C:\Windows\Options\Install, it may be there, sometimes it would be in C:\Win9x, I can't recall an ME installation that I worked on that didn't have the cabfiles on the hard drive.

 

I have now run setup.exe but I need administrator privlages all I wanted to do to this thing is put a wireless card in

 

Ok, let's drop back a step or two - log out then log back in - but don't enter a username or password. ME, like 95 and 98 before it, had no real protection from someone accessing the PC without logging in - if you see a login screen, press Esc. and it should log you in.

 

It says the computer is locked and can only be unlocked by Domain name/my user name or an admin.

 

Try searching through the ME networking Newsgroups.

 

I have given up, I have an old laptop knocking around I have installed XP and given it to her. I don't know what to do to the ME one :S