Can't boot - possible Config problem

[reball01]

Good Morning,

I was loading up Adobe Photoshop Home deluxe last night and let the computer restart. Once it started, I got a flash of the Windows 98 startup then the C: DOS prompt.

I checked the Config.sys file under edit and was greeted by only one line in the file:

DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\setver.exe

and that's all there is. Is this enough? Is there something wrong or am I looking in the wrong direction? How do I restore? I tried reloading the Win98 update and this still doesn't work. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

reball01

[RJ]

Hello reball01,

well, autoexec.bat and config.sys are not required to boot windows. They also can be empty.

You should check in autoexec.bat if there is something which doesn't belong there.
Post your autoexec.bat here and we'll see.

BTW, did you check in peripherial section my answer to your video cd question ?

RJ

[reball01]

Good Morning,

I'll have to wait until tomorrow before I can give you the details concerning autoexec.bat. I'm at work now and this is the only internet connection available to me.

Concerning the Video CD, I've decided to hold off on pursuing it any further. I can save the video as data anyway and that can be enough for now.

Thanks,

reball01

[glc]

Boot to DOS - start tapping F8 when it's booting to get the boot menu - and choose Command Prompt Only. At the C prompt, rename config.sys and autoexec.bat.

ren config.sys config.sav
ren autoexec.bat autoexec.sav

Then restore a good registry from before this problem occured -

scanreg /restore

Choose a good one from the list - there will be 5 backups shown.

If it boots fine, you can then edit the .sav files and rename them back.

[reball01]

Good Morning,

In an act of desperation, I decided to give Microsoft a call for help (I'm apparently allowed 2 free calls, albeit long distance). Well, let's just say I'll never do THAT again!

The tech from MS had me rename the iemigrat.dll to iemigrat.old and then reinstall with my Windows 98 upgrade. I'm glad he didn't expect me to stay on the phone for 30 minutes while Windows reinstalled!

This still didn't do any good. I am able to use the F8 function to get to the safe mode screen. I'll try out glc's recommendations. In the meantime, at RJ's request, I've copied off some of the files such as win.ini, config.sys, and autoexec.bat files. If anyone wants to view them, please contact me at the following e-mail address and I'll reply with an attachment:

rballou@jhuadig.admin.jhu.edu

Thanks for all your help!!!

reball01

[reball01]

Good Morning,

Well, I followed glc's instructions but, unfortunately, every attempt I make at restoring a previous boot fails. The scanreg function simply will not work.

I ran through a step-by-step confirmation from the safe mode options screen and each time I get to "Load Windows drivers?" step I get the following message (regardless of whether I answer Y or N):

While initializing IOS:
Windows protection error. You must restart your computer

You know, the more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to suspect a boot sector virus. Any help or comments you can provide are always appreciated!

Thanks,

reball01

[Statica]

Backup your vital data. & try the following [use at own risk]
0. <b>start in DOS mode, not in windows or in windows shell</b>
1. Rename autoexec.bat and config.sys to something else if you havent already done it by using the .sav:
<b><i>cd\
ren autoexec.bat autoexec.sav
ren config.sys config.sav
</b></i>

2. Check to see if you have the initial windows registry
<b><i>cd\
attrib -s -h -r system.1st
dir system.1st</b></i>
If you get a file not found error you can stop this procedure, if you can see a file listed then you may proceed.


3. Go to your windows directory [c:\windows ?] and backup existing registry
<b><i>cd \windows
attrib -s -h -r system.dat
attrib -s -h -r user.dat
ren system.dat system.sav
ren user.dat user.sav
</b></i>

4. Use the sysem.1st:
<b><i>cd \windows
copy c:\system.1st
ren system.1st system.dat</b></i>

Reboot computer.

What you should see is the starting windows for the first time .. it should redetect and reinstall drivers to all your hardware and reinitialize your registry. Yes I know its drastic, but you can get back all that you have on your harddrive, and try it. If it doesnt work maybe a fresh install is probably called for.

[reboot]

Doing all that messing with software, registry and such is not going to help. An IOS error is an Input Output System error, and is purely hardware related.
Open the case remove everything except video card, restart in safe mode.
Open regedit, and delete the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Config\0001\Enum key completely.
Restart, then add stuff back, one at a time, with a restart in between each.

[reball01]

I went ahead with a new install. I'm backing everything up from now on. I will save this page to my computer as a future reference if this ever pops up again.

Thanks again to everyone for your help!

--reball01