Where are my programs??

[Obstacle2]

Okay, so I've got this Windows 98SE computer that decided to quit working one day. It's been a while so I don't remember what exactly happened to it, but now it's not working well...at all. It does what is described in this KB article: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=293174 I get the exact same memory location and everything. So I did everything it says, and I get to step 7, where I have to "On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools, and then click Add/Remove." The only problem is there are no Programs listed. Absolutely nothing.

I also tried the method listed here: http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;191609 problem is, upon typing ren c:\explorer.exe explorer.old whoop, "cannot find explorer.exe" or something along those lines. This is a big problem, as this computer as a lot of photos on it I want to remove. Any help would be appreciated, and I'm sure you guys can help, at least a little bit. Thanks!

[pam123]

I'm wondering if you haven't been hit with a virus so, if you decide to do this, make sure the computer you use has an up to date anti-virus program running.
Take the hard drive and install it as a slave drive in another computer.
You can then use the other Widows install to see and transfer the files you want, in your case the pictures.

[Obstacle2]

That's a good idea, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a virus however. How do I slave install it?

[pam123]

When you pull the drive check the back end.
You will see settings silk screened on the drive and on the pins below you will see a little plastic jumper.
You want to know if it's cs (cable select) or m (master).
You will also see other settings one of which will be s or sl (slave).
Make a note of the setting.
While your checking out the drive make sure you take note of how it's cabled.
That broad fat ribbon cable will have a colored edge, that indicates wire 1 which will match pin connector 1 on the drive.
Make sure you know where it is.
No go look at the hard drive in the other computer.
Where is the jumper?
If it's set to master then set the jumper on the drive you're moving to slave.
If it's set to cs, cable select, then the set jumper on the drive your moving to cs if it isn't.
When you slide the drive into place it will use the spare connector on the hard drive cable, which should be the middle one,
Remembered what I said about the colored line for wire 1 and pin 1, the connector should only fit one way but stranger things have happened so make sure you're connecting them correctly.
A word of warning, that you may not need but better safe then sorry.
Shut down both computers and disconnect them from wall socket when you're working on them.
Even when turned off computers still draw current and hot swapping is not something you want to do with this job.
When you get the files you want off the drive shut down, disconnect, and remove the drive.
Set the jumper back where it was previously and return it to the old computer. Remember to hook it up correctly.
Format and Reinstall 98se on the old drive if you wish.

[edfair]

You might want to try the "overlay reinstall" of SE. The process is described in an article here by Gary Routh. It is generally low risk but you need to be careful.

[Obstacle2]

Okay, I was able to make a Windows 98SE startup disk from another computer I have running 98SE. Where do I go with that?

[pam123]

If you're refering to a start-up floppy that you would use to partition and format a hard drive you can use it as part of the over the top reinstall but the 98SE cd is bootable (It has to be the OS cd, not a 'restore' cd).
Here's the link to Gary's instructions for an over the top reinstall of the 9X seriws : http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=70846

[GaryRouth]

Hi Obstacle2

I left a reply to your over-the-top reinstallation error down in the Tips & Tricks thread.

I think you should probably try to clean the drive as much as you can before going forward with the reinstall. A reinstall doesn't really eliminate infections.

You also will likely want to copy your the photos and other vital data off to a removeable media (a CD-R or DVD-R is great for this - & inexpensive) after cleaning the drive of malware. Any computer with a rewriteable optical drive should have software that can do this for you.

Follow Pam's instructions to slave the drive to another pc by attaching it to a cable inside the computer case. Another option, if you have access to a recent computer with a USB 2.0 port, is to use a USB 2.0 external hard drive enclosure (you just hook up your Ultra-ATA/SATA drive to the appropriate connectors inside the enclosure, & then plug in the USB 2.0 plug to the host computer that you'll run the antivirus/antispyware scans from). The enclosures generally cost about $20 - if you get one with both the older parallel Ultra-ATA connector as well as the newer Serial-ATA [SATA], then you'll have that enclosure available for any future troubleshooting.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[Obstacle2]

Hey the reinstall worked, and I was able to run a virus scan, and nothing came up, so whatever happened, it wasn't a virus. But now I've got a new problem, but I'll make a new thread for that one. Thanks guys!