checkdisk, win95, save files

[DragonNOA1]

well tomorrow a fellow co-worker wants me to go check on there computer b/c it hasn't been working since the last thunderstorm we had received, so i'm thinkin it might be fried. she tells me that it starts up finds the cd-rom drive and gives her a "C" prompt. but somewhere in there she gets a checkdisk error. so what i'm thinkin is maybe the hard drive got fried but how can it if a DOS prompt comes up? and what is a checkdisk error? i'm assuming it has to do w/ the operating system and the main hard drive. and then she has some files on there that she wants saved, so if the hard drive does work, i should be able to go in and save them to a floppy in DOS, but would i be able to reinstall the operating system and still keep/have those files there? i think so.... she has an old computer runnin win95.... if nothing else she wants me to save the computer so she can use it again... so the main question i need answered if none other would be what a checkdisk error is... thanks in advance

[Joeberg]

Hello DragonNOA1,
I wold try to reinstall the OS. IF that doesn't work I would reformat to see if wiping the hdd would eleimate any of the problems occuring with the OS.
Hope That Helps.
-Joe

[GaryRouth]

I might be too late to help (been busy), but a quick way to check just the drive would be with a bootable diagnostic floppy from the manufacturer's website (DataLifeGuard for Western Digitals, SeaTools for Seagates, Powermax for Maxtors, etc)

That would give you a thumbs up or down on the drive's condition.

You could check the system memory, too (http://www.simmtester.com)

If it passes both those tests, try a run of ScanDisk from a bootable floppy (if she hasn't got one, look at http://www.bootdisk.com - be sure to match the version on Windows) - or a bootable Win95 CD.

An "over-the-top" reinstall, like Joeberg suggests, might save some time, and should keep the files she wishes to save intact:
_______________
boot with a bootable floppy or CD - "with CD-rom support", and from DOS rename the win.com file to win.bak. Like this

C:
cd \Windows
rename win.com win.bak

Then switch to the drive letter of your CD drive [often drive D:], and start setup (by simply type the command: setup) When Windows asks if you want to use the directory C:\Windows.000, instead type in C:\Windows [without the .000 following]. You'll need your CD-key handy.

If you've lost your CD-key: before you start the reinstall look for it by starting regedit from the Start/Run box, then navigate to the key (you navigate in regedit like you do in Windows Explorer) HKEY_Local_Machine/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion . . . if you click on "Current Version", you should see a list of keys and values in the box displaying on your right. One of these will read "ProductKey" and will consist of 5 sets of 5 alphanumeric characters = your CD key. Be careful when in regedit just to look at things and not make accidental changes.
_______________
Best of luck
. . . Gary