Registry/configuration error

[dalkaty]

Hi,

Could anyone help with the following problem!

A friends pc will not load windows up, it keeps saying the the following file is missing WIN.COM

It also says the following files are missing or corrupted.

c:\windows\HIMEM.SYS
c:\windows\DBLBUFF.SYS
c:\windows\IFSHLP.SYS

Can anyone tell me how to fix this problem, or how to format the pc, when windows will not load up!
Any help would be much appreciated.

O/S WINDOWS 98SE

[Kubie]

Hi dalkaty,
Welcome to PCMechanic!
Do you have a Win98 bootdisk? If not, you can get one at http://www.bootdisk.com/utility.htm

Turn off pc and reboot with disk in floppy. Select "Without cd-rom support". It will give you a A:\ prompt at which point you can type HELP and see what your options are to restore the missing files. Or you can type FDISK and follow instructions to reformat your HDD and reinstall Win98se.
Carl

[dalkaty]

Thank you for the info Carl, i will try it.

[GaryRouth]

Hi dalkaty, Carl, all:

If your friend's computer is from a major manufacturer (Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway, etc) it should have come with a System Recovery disk. If you aren't experienced in reformatting and reinstalling, I'm not sure you'd want to start from scratch on a proprietary system, since you'll need to get all the proper drivers & such. The Recovery Disk usually has several options: just to reinstall the operating system, or just to reinstall some of the programs it came with, or just to reinstall drivers. There is also the option to completely reformat and reinstall everything: if you select that option, you lose all data entered on that machine since it was purchased [it restores the system to the same state it arrived in from the factory].
_______
But before trying all that, you could also try holding down the F8 key as the system tries to start, and see if it will boot to Safe Mode. If it can, run System File Checker (& have your Win98SE disk handy-it will probably ask for it) from Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information . . . and from the "Tools" menu, choose System File Checker

If all this seems too confusing, and doesn't help, post again for more help.
. . . Gary

[mikeL]

how about using the boot disk and type "sys C:\" without the quotes, won't this copy the system files to the harddrive?

[ktkendall]

Mike;
sys c:\ just copies command.com and makes the hd bootable, but won't help with his problem!

[Kubie]

dalkaty,
I should have asked if your machine was "store bought". I hope you are having success.
Carl

[dalkaty]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the info, but the only thing that works from the above is FDISK, looks like i will be busy for a few hours.
Thanks again.
dalkaty.

[GaryRouth]

Hi again all

dalkaty - Best of luck if you decide to reformat/reinstall. Sounds like you know what you're doing.

If the pc was having trouble with data corruption, you might want to check the memory with something like MemoryDoc at simmtester.com and check the hard drive with the diagnostics programs from the hard drive manufacturer's website. Overclocking can cause data corruption, so you'd need to go with default settings while repairing. And if a virus was the cause, if you created the bootdisk from an infected computer, then the bootdisk will be infected as well: so you'll want to scan that & whatever files you reload when reinstalling (especially personal files from backups).

I confess I'm still a little curious about the pc's origin. . . since if it is a Compaq or whatnot, if their proprietary (non-DOS) partition is removed with fdisk, it makes it difficult to use their patches and updates anymore (called "SoftPaqs") . . . And the motherboard's bios in major brands is often fairly inflexible.

Once again, hope all goes well.
. . . Gary