missing file

[craigtaylor74]

OK, I'm stuck. My brother-in-law has been doing a bit of spring cleaning on his windows 98 se pc and now wonders why he can't connect to Internet. I can see that it's because he's removed a tick from the windows components part in add/remove programs which supplies all the bits needed to use his modem etc. In addition he no longer has his original disc (or can't find it) but I do have an old copy albeit not bootable ... so what i want to know is, to put that tick back we should use the disc but we can't so what file should I point it towards in the browse box in order for the modem to work. Sorry I can't be clearer but I use XP and 98 is a mystery to me.
Thanks in advance,
Craig.

[edfair]

If it were a machine I was working on I would put the 4 files on the CD root into a directory on the hard drive and the files in the CD win98 subdirectory into a sub under the place I put the root files.
Then when I ran setup from control panel I would expect that I could install the required files from where I put them.
There is no one file that does it all.

[GaryRouth]

Craig - do you mean that in Add/Remove Programs, under the Setup tab, he has removed the dial-up networking option? [and so uninstalled those components?]

If this is the case, have him look with Windows Explorer to see if there is a folder full of the Windows 98 installation ".cab" files in C:\Windows\Options\Cabs

If the installation files are in there, you should be able to place the checkmark back into the Dial-Up Networking box, and it will reinstall the Network components for you. You might have to point it to the location of the files on the hard drive by clicking on the "Browse" button (if available). [this is basically what edfair was referring to]

All Win98 Cds are bootable. But not all older computers support booting from a CD. If the version of Win98 on your CD matches his (there is both the original and the 2nd Edition), then you can use your CD to install the Networking components without violating any license agreements.

If he has ISP software doing the connecting, there's a good chance that he needs to uninstall/reinstall that, too.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[craigtaylor74]

Yes, that is exactly what I mean Gary. So, I'll check if he has those cabs but if not I can copy them over from my copy disc? And then, I understand I will have to point towards those files in browse but will it not ask me to choose a specific cab file? Will I have to go through them all until we strike it lucky?
Ta,
Craig.

[Miz]

As GaryRouth said, check to see if the Cab folder exists on the harddrive. If so, you can make the following change to the registry so that Windows will not ask for the installation CD but will get what it needs from that Cabs folder.

Usual Disclaimer: Following these instructions carefully will give you the result you want but mistakes in the registry can render your computer unbootable.

1. Go to the Start menu, select Run, and type in regedit. This will launch the Registry Editor.
2. In the left pane, open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SETUP.
3. In the right pane, scroll down till you see SourcePath. Double-click on it.
4. Change the path (for example: E:\win98cd\win98) to your own setup directory (for example: C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS\). Note: You must have the backslash at the end of your path.
5. Close regedit

[GaryRouth]

Hi again

Craig - if you have a matching disk, all you have to do is go to Add/Remove and place the checkmark, and insert the disk when it prompts. If it doesn't prompt, then the "SourcePath" value may already be set to the hard drive. It should be able to find the correct individual .cab file if you point it to the folder all the cabs are in. (Again: if Source path is already the hard drive, you don't have to do anything).

You might want to make a copy of that Registry tip that Miz just posted. It's a very handy tip: I use that value for all the PCs that I work on to save my friends and neighbors time for this type of thing.

Again, if your copy matches his, and he doesn't already have the .cabs on the hard drive, there's no problem copying your .cab files to his hard drive. His license (product key) is still in his Registry - and as long as he only uses that key for one computer, his Win98 is legal. His license if for the files, and your files are an exact match, and it's for his one computer. If you do copy them over, put them in C:\Windows\Options\Cabs . . . (it's the contents of the D:\Win98 folder that you're copying over) . . .

Should only take a few minutes. Should he need to uninstall/reinstall his ISP software too, that also will only take a few minutes.

If he ends up having trouble with several other programs, let us know, and we'll send a tip about verifying the system files without having to reinstall.
. . . Gary