reinstalling win Me on a compaq

[mrjohnsonjr]

lately when i try to install anything on my compaq it will just freeze. i cannot update or do anything without it freezing...

it will run regular applications ok.

my question is how do i reinstall win Me without totalling erasing my harddrive????...i have many files that i dont want to lose...

how can i get the compaq disk to just reinstall the os without totally erasing the harddrive..??

i know win 98 has that option so is it available on win Me??

[reboot]

It is, but not with the Compaq restore disk(s).
Just plug in the ME CD, and run setup.
Make sure you install to c:\windows, and not c:\windows.000

[mrjohnsonjr]

the problem is that the cds that came with the comp are not separated into a winMe cd and the drivers cd...it is just a restore cd...

is it a lost cause....????

[reboot]

Yup. You can't use the restore Cd to reload it. The (stupid) setup on the CD will fdisk and format the drive automatically.
There was a workaround for this somewhere, but I'm not sure how successful it was. It involved copying the Cd to the HD, modifying the files in it with an original ME CD, then making an iso, burning the CD, and then reloading it...not a job for a noob.

[GaryRouth]

You could also just try the "System Restore" feature that's built into WinME. If you're lucky, you'll have a "restore point" from before your trouble started. The restore process will take the system files and settings back to that point. If you have installed any software since then, you'll need to re-install them (although they may be what's causing the problem). The best way, in fact, might be to uninstall any new programs (that happened at the same time as your current troubles) from the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control panel ---> and then run System Restore.

If not, make a backup of everything you can onto CD-R or a USB external drive, and run the Compaq set (which will reformat just like reboot mentioned - it will restore the disk to the condition you received it in when the system was delivered). I don't see many Compaqs where I work - I was hoping that their recovery set had a more flexible menu of choices. . . but reboot sounds like he's speaking from experience.

reboot - do Any of the Compaqs come with a more flexible menu choice on their Recovery Disks? [such as an OS-only reinstall?] I looked on their fairly opaque website & couldn't find anything that detailed what options were available on the Recovery set.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[reboot]

Nope. Compaq figures if you screw a system up bad enough to warrant a reinstall, they're going to format it for you first.
BTW, if any hardware has been changed since it's original configuration, the restore disks are useless....with one exception...If you actually bought the hardware from Compaq, they will provide an updated restore disk with drivers for the new hardware included (for a small fee), but it will still format the drive first.
Legalities: If you own a Compaq, and have the disks, and COA/License, then it is legal to install the regular OS on your hard drive, and not use the restore disks.
eg. You "borrow" a copy of Win98 from a friend, install it on your Compaq, use YOUR COA during the install, and all is well. Go figure.
Some restore disks actually have the .cab files in plain sight, and you can copy them to the hd, then run a setup to reinstall Windows over top, without the format, but if the system is that screwed up anyhow, may as well format and start fresh.