melodyrossi

well the kids have done it again :( now when windows starts to load I am getting the blue screen of death and an error message which reads:

While initiating device IOS

Error: An I/O driver failed to load. Either a file in the ./iossubsys subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. system halted.

I have tried to load in both normal & safe modes but no matter what option I choose it keeps going back to that screen. Memory appears to be loading properly so I am not sure what has happened. Anybody that can help, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Melody

hitech

Boot to your me startup disk, get one from bootdisk.com
A:\>c:
C:\>cd\windows\options\cabs\install
C:\>install\setup-enter

It's been awhile so let me know if I need to change something. This will do a repair.

melodyrossi

first let me say thank you for your speedy response! i went to bootdisk.com com & created a disk but when i put it in it just kept saying to remove disk or media & press any key to restart. this thing has me so discouraged is there anything else i can do?

thanks again........melody

hitech

do you know anyone with a 98 pc? Go to add\remove programs\ windows componets and make a boot disk. It sounds like your boot order is right,but your boot disk did not come out right. be sure if you use a boot disk from bootdisk.com to use the me boot. I've heard of problems with the 98 boot.

melodyrossi

its funny that you should mention that because i happen to have a 98 startup disk and i tried it. it appears as if it would work if i knew the proper commands to issue @ the prompt. would you happen to know what they are? thanks again ;)

hitech

I gave you the commands in my first post

hitech

i gave you the wrong commands
a:>c:
c:>cd\windows\options\install then press enter
C:>WINDOWS\OPTIONS\INSTALL\setup then press enter

OldGrayGary

Hi all


melody -- I don't know if we've asked you yet if you have a Windows Me CD available. Should you have one available, you can repair using that - it's quite simple, but there are some "Gotchas" to be aware of, and some tasks that will need to be taken care of after the reinstall is finished.

hitech's instructions are for systems that have the Windows Me installation files on the hard drive. Such repairs should work if your system has the Windows Me installation ".cab" files in the folder he mentions in his posts. Some PCs have them there, some don't. The folder I've seen used most often on the hard drive is C:\Windows\Options\Cabs --- there is often a "setup.exe" right there in that folder, but not always.

Tell you what, I'll copy-and-paste a reinstall guide I wrote a while back, that includes some extra details here and there -- you could print it out & that might help you while trying things.
________________________________
Windows 98/Me "Over-the-top" Reinstall

Sometimes an over-the-top reinstallation of Windows can be a timesaver. On most recent computers the whole procedure can take as little as 30 or 40 minutes. A nice feature of this procedure is that your programs do not have to be reinstalled, and your data is not lost. You likely will need to visit Windows Update when finished, though, to download and reinstall some of the Security Updates. [Windows Update still works for Windows 98/Me, even though its period of active support by Microsoft expired in mid-2006 (all the updates up to that point can still be found there)].

Beforehand:

You may need to temporarily disable the Bios virus protection that is found on some motherboards (if your motherboard does not have this feature, you can skip this step). Enter Bios Setup by pressing the key displayed during startup, and somewhere on the first or second menu should be an item to Enable or Disable Bios Virus Protection (might be called BiosShield, or VirusGuard, or whatnot) ---> then, when you're finished with your reinstallation of Windows, re-Enable the Bios protection feature.

During the reinstall, it is also a good idea to be entirely disconnected from any networks, wired or wireless (unplug ethernet cables, disable wireless), and to be disconnected from printers, scanners, cameras, multifunction devices, fax machines, PDAs, memory card readers, USB flash drives, external USB/Firewire/eSATA drives, etc.

Over The Top ReInstall:

Place your Windows98/Me CD in the CD/DVD drive (or be ready to point Windows to the place on your hard drive where your Windows 98/Me installation files are stored).

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

If you have the Windows 98/Me CD in your CD/DVD drive, you can then switch to the drive letter of your CD drive [often drive D:], simply by typing the drive letter followed by a colon ( for example - D: ) at the command prompt.

If you have the Windows 98/Me installation files on your hard drive, switch to that location (which is often C:\Windows\Options\Cabs - by typing cd C:\Windows\Options\Cabs ), and start setup (by simply type the command: setup)

***IMPORTANT!*** When Windows asks if you want to use the directory C:\Windows.000, instead choose Other and type in C:\Windows (without the .000 following).

Make sure that you have your antivirus, antispyware, and firewall running before you connect to networks afterward. Don't forget to visit Windows Update ASAP to get the Critical Patches the need reinstalling.
=================================

Should you not have a Windows Me CD, and should the installation ".cab" files not be stored on your hard drive (or should they prove to be corrupted), let us know. If you have a "Recovery CD" set, let us know that, too -- Recovery Disks have their own proprietary procedures that vary from model to model.

Original Windows Me hardware is coming toward the latter years of it's expected usable span, so if things keep crashing while you attempt software repairs, you may want to check the hardware as well. I'll paste in the three main things to look at for that next:
_______________
Check Your Hardware:

Test the system memory --- http://www.memtest.org
Test the hard drive --- http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287
Check in the system's Bios that the settings are OK.

Checking the Bios
Enter your system's Bios Setup by pressing the key mentioned in the startup banner or splash screen that appears immediately upon system power on --- "Press F1 (or F2, F10, DEL, etc.) to Enter Setup". Locate a manual for your system/motherboard & follow the recommendations for correct Bios settings (Google searches or vendor websites should yield a manual). For advanced Bios help (especially for those unlucky enough to have a not-very-helpful manual) you can consult Adrian's Bios Optimization Guide (I've recommended it for years) --- http://www.techarp.com/freebog.aspx --- Once in your system's Bios Setup, pay particular attention to the system time & date: if it has reverted backwards several years, it's time to replace the CMOS battery (instructions might be in your system manual, or you can use the instructions from an Hp/Compaq support page as a generic guide --- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...&product=94878 ). The battery is often a 3v coin-type battery, such as the popular CR-2032, and usually costs about $1.50 (USD).
_______________________

Best of luck!
. . . Gary

hitech

MY me has the setup.exe in install. that's why I changed the way it might be.Most me have the reinstall built in.

melodyrossi

a thousand thanks to both you hi tech & gary for all of your assistance, now i do not feel so helpless i will read everything & try it all! wish me luck, keep ya posted guys............

Jlp1928

Hi,

The Boot Floppy that wont is probably a Data Disk. That is - it has no boot files. Try again. Format the disk frist using Format and System Files or just Add System files in Windows. In Dos use Format /S or just SYS A: to add files. Maybe?

Jim