WinME CD, Printer, Monitor drivers ALL MIA

lolaisbk · 01-12-2008, 10:12 PM

I went to install a printer driver for my Aunt and not only is her printer driver missing, so is her monitor, CD R/RW, audio, video ... everything.

I have tried several restore dates but none of them work. I can't use the restore disk b/c there is no CD ROM.

Any ideas!?

Thanks in advance, Rhonda

**OldGrayGary** · 01-12-2008, 11:45 PM

Hi Rhonda

Running a Restore CD/DVD (or a Restore based on a "restore partition" on the hard drive) can erase programs and personal files already on the drive, depending on what sort of recovery/restore procedure is used (these vary from model to model). What make/model of PC is the computer?

Should your aunt have good backups of data she'd like to keep (documents, photos, music, etc.) and has installation CDs for programs she's added since the PC's first arrived home, I imagine you certainly could run a recovery disk -- even though it seems that the "drivers are missing" (truthfully -most CD drives need no drivers beyond those that are built into Windows).

To run a Recovery/Restore CD/DVD --- you usually boot (start) the computer with the CD/DVD & follow the prompts. As I mentioned before, only do this if you are certain she has backups of any data on the PC that she wants to save. If the computer's hardware is still in good shape, and if the computer checks for bootable CDs in the CD-drive when starting, you should be able to run a recovery. (You can check beforehand -- enter "Bios Setup" and look for a menu for "Boot Order" or "First Boot Device" ... and set the CDROM as the first device to boot from. To enter Bios Setup, look for a banner at startup "Press F1 (or F2, F10, Del, etc.) to Enter Setup" - and press the key mentioned.)

A recovery is a fairly serious step -- did anything unusual lead up to the PC having it's current troubles? There are less dire steps you could try before going the full-Recovery route. An "in-place" or "over-the-top" reinstallation can sometimes be done, even when a Windows installation CD isn't available, if the installation files are stored on the hard drive (often in C:\Windows\Options\Cabs). You can boot the PC with a bootable floppy or CD and have a look from DOS using the dir command to see if those files are there. Bootable floppy disks can be downloaded from bootdisk.com. In general, it's best to clean all malware from the hard drive before trying an in-place reinstallation. Let us know if you want the full instructions for an in-place reinstall.

Failing hardware can be a cause of your current troubles, too: WinMe era hardware is nearing the end of it's expected span. If you'd like to test the hardware for your aunt:
Test the memory --- http://www.memtest.org
Test the hard drive --- http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287
Check the Bios settings --- locate a manual and check the settings, Adrian's Bios Optimization Guide can help for extra guidance --- http://www.techarp.com/freebog.aspx --- especially pay attention to the system time/date in the Bios: if it's reverted backwards several years, the CMOS battery needs replacing. A good generic tutorial for that --- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...=3378346&lang=

Best of luck
. . . Gary

. . . and Welcome to the Tech Support Forums!

P.S. ... all of this assumes that when you mention "CD-RW" in the beginning of your post - you are saying that the PC does indeed have such a drive physically present . . . and that when you later say "you have no CDROM" - you are referring to the fact that the CD drive doesn't appear or work in Windows.

lolaisbk · 01-13-2008, 02:52 AM

Hi Gary,
Thanks for such a quick response. I did check Boot Sequence b/c I wanted it to boot from the OEM CD. It does list an enabled CD ROM in BIOS but it is still not recognized in Windows.
I am heading to bootdisk.com now to create a floppy for her. IF the Cabs are there, what do I need to do (steps/code) to attempt an in-place reinstallation? Full instructions for an in-place reinstall would be GREATLY appreciated!

I am not able to go to any website (to test memory or hard drive) on her PC b/c
she also no longer has internet access due to all of the missing drivers.

The computer indeed does have a CD ROM present, Windows is just no longer recognizing it.
Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks ! ! !
Rhonda

hitech · 01-13-2008, 09:53 AM

Boot to your 98 0r me boot disk. at a:> prompt
a:>c: press enter
C:>cd\windows\options\cabs press enter
C:>WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS\type setup press enter
setup should start
my me has it this way
a:>c:
C:>cd\windows\options\install
C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\INSTALL type setup press enter
setup should start

lolaisbk · 01-13-2008, 10:03 AM

Thanks so much ! ! ! I just printed it out and will take i with me to her hme on Monday !!!!!

I truly appreciate this.

Rhonda

**OldGrayGary** · 01-13-2008, 07:48 PM

Hi again

If there are no serious malware infections present, and the computer's hardware is in good enough shape, the in-place reinstall (which hitech gave you the command syntax for) has a decent chance of succeeding. The .cabs will be in the C:\Windows\Options\Cabs folder, most likely, if Windows was installed by a major-brand computer maker (IBM, Gateway, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, etc.) ... the .cabs will be in the C:\Windows\Options\Install folder, most likely, if the computer was installed with a copy of Windows Me bought off the shelf at a computer store.

I'll copy & paste a full guide that adds a few more details ---
_______________
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/SATA drives, etc.

Over The Top ReInstall:

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 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.
____________

Best of luck
. . . Gary

P.S.
If things don't go well during the in-place reinstall, and there are files on the hard drive that your aunt needs to save, you might want to shift your focus to saving the files first, and then repairing the computer later.

If the computer can boot from a bootable CD, you can use a Linux-based CD to help save the files. Since the PC has a CD-RW, you could boot the computer into Linux "Live-CD" (which doesn't write files to the hard drive), and copy the files that need saving onto CDs --- I believe the Knoppix Live CD would do the trick --- http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html -- other LiveCDs are available from Ubuntu, Mandriva, and Suse (for an even more extensive list, see --- http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

If the hard drive then still has serious malware infections that need cleaning, see if a friend can make you an "UltimateBootCD for Windows" --- http://www.ubcd4win.com/ --- which is also a LiveCD (but requires a Windows XP CD to make)... the UBCD4Win CD if made correctly, will have up-to-date antimalware tools on it that you can use to clean the drive.

lolaisbk · 01-13-2008, 08:04 PM

ReHi Gary,
Thanks tons for the extra info. I am not as adept at PC repair as my Aunt believes. The little I do know I learned thru trial and error and also thru helpful people such as those on this site!!!!

Thanks so much!!!

Rhonda

EndTime · 01-14-2008, 01:37 PM

Hi lolaisbk, This does sound like a malware problem, but usually, any driver problems with Win95/98/ME can be solved by a little registry editing. Back up all "must save data" of course, then run REGEDIT. Click on the + sign for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. You'll see a folder named "ENUM", highlight this folder, and from the drop down menu select EDIT, then DELETE. Reboot your system. You'll need the system CD and all other driver disks that you have. All Windows system drivers will be rebuilt automatically, then all other drivers you will need to re-install manually. This is similar to adding drivers when the system sees "New Hardware." I have done this on several occasions successfully for customers with no problems.

lolaisbk · 01-14-2008, 04:09 PM

Hi EndTime,
Thanks for the info! ! I am saving all of the input I get. I think I will start a noteobok for future reference!!!
I finally got to the DOS Prompt and was able to do a chkdsk and a scandisk.
Scandisk found tons of bad sectors. I put in a new HD and and it is fine now.
I tranferred her data files and reinstlled her externals.

I LOVE this site.

Thanks everyone ! ! !

Rhonda

01-12-2008, 10:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
lolaisbk Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 20 OS: Vista	WinME CD, Printer, Monitor drivers ALL MIA I went to install a printer driver for my Aunt and not only is her printer driver missing, so is her monitor, CD R/RW, audio, video ... everything. I have tried several restore dates but none of them work. I can't use the restore disk b/c there is no CD ROM. Any ideas!? Thanks in advance, Rhonda

01-12-2008, 11:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 2,240 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: WinME CD, Printer, Monitor drivers ALL MIA Hi Rhonda Running a Restore CD/DVD (or a Restore based on a "restore partition" on the hard drive) can erase programs and personal files already on the drive, depending on what sort of recovery/restore procedure is used (these vary from model to model). What make/model of PC is the computer? Should your aunt have good backups of data she'd like to keep (documents, photos, music, etc.) and has installation CDs for programs she's added since the PC's first arrived home, I imagine you certainly could run a recovery disk -- even though it seems that the "drivers are missing" (truthfully -most CD drives need no drivers beyond those that are built into Windows). To run a Recovery/Restore CD/DVD --- you usually boot (start) the computer with the CD/DVD & follow the prompts. As I mentioned before, only do this if you are certain she has backups of any data on the PC that she wants to save. If the computer's hardware is still in good shape, and if the computer checks for bootable CDs in the CD-drive when starting, you should be able to run a recovery. (You can check beforehand -- enter "Bios Setup" and look for a menu for "Boot Order" or "First Boot Device" ... and set the CDROM as the first device to boot from. To enter Bios Setup, look for a banner at startup "Press F1 (or F2, F10, Del, etc.) to Enter Setup" - and press the key mentioned.) A recovery is a fairly serious step -- did anything unusual lead up to the PC having it's current troubles? There are less dire steps you could try before going the full-Recovery route. An "in-place" or "over-the-top" reinstallation can sometimes be done, even when a Windows installation CD isn't available, if the installation files are stored on the hard drive (often in C:\Windows\Options\Cabs). You can boot the PC with a bootable floppy or CD and have a look from DOS using the dir command to see if those files are there. Bootable floppy disks can be downloaded from bootdisk.com. In general, it's best to clean all malware from the hard drive before trying an in-place reinstallation. Let us know if you want the full instructions for an in-place reinstall. Failing hardware can be a cause of your current troubles, too: WinMe era hardware is nearing the end of it's expected span. If you'd like to test the hardware for your aunt: Test the memory --- http://www.memtest.org Test the hard drive --- http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287 Check the Bios settings --- locate a manual and check the settings, Adrian's Bios Optimization Guide can help for extra guidance --- http://www.techarp.com/freebog.aspx --- especially pay attention to the system time/date in the Bios: if it's reverted backwards several years, the CMOS battery needs replacing. A good generic tutorial for that --- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...=3378346&lang= Best of luck . . . Gary . . . and Welcome to the Tech Support Forums! P.S. ... all of this assumes that when you mention "CD-RW" in the beginning of your post - you are saying that the PC does indeed have such a drive physically present . . . and that when you later say "you have no CDROM" - you are referring to the fact that the CD drive doesn't appear or work in Windows. __________________ Last edited by OldGrayGary; 01-12-2008 at 11:48 PM.

01-13-2008, 02:52 AM	#3 (permalink)
lolaisbk Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 20 OS: Vista	Re: WinME CD, Printer, Monitor drivers ALL MIA Hi Gary, Thanks for such a quick response. I did check Boot Sequence b/c I wanted it to boot from the OEM CD. It does list an enabled CD ROM in BIOS but it is still not recognized in Windows. I am heading to bootdisk.com now to create a floppy for her. IF the Cabs are there, what do I need to do (steps/code) to attempt an in-place reinstallation? Full instructions for an in-place reinstall would be GREATLY appreciated! I am not able to go to any website (to test memory or hard drive) on her PC b/c she also no longer has internet access due to all of the missing drivers. The computer indeed does have a CD ROM present, Windows is just no longer recognizing it. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks ! ! ! Rhonda

01-13-2008, 09:53 AM	#4 (permalink)
hitech Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kansas Posts: 623 OS: Windows	Re: WinME CD, Printer, Monitor drivers ALL MIA Boot to your 98 0r me boot disk. at a:> prompt a:>c: press enter C:>cd\windows\options\cabs press enter C:>WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS\type setup press enter setup should start my me has it this way a:>c: C:>cd\windows\options\install C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\INSTALL type setup press enter setup should start

01-13-2008, 10:03 AM	#5 (permalink)
lolaisbk Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 20 OS: Vista	Re: WinME CD, Printer, Monitor drivers ALL MIA Thanks so much ! ! ! I just printed it out and will take i with me to her hme on Monday !!!!! I truly appreciate this. Rhonda

01-13-2008, 07:48 PM	#6 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 2,240 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: WinME CD, Printer, Monitor drivers ALL MIA Hi again If there are no serious malware infections present, and the computer's hardware is in good enough shape, the in-place reinstall (which hitech gave you the command syntax for) has a decent chance of succeeding. The .cabs will be in the C:\Windows\Options\Cabs folder, most likely, if Windows was installed by a major-brand computer maker (IBM, Gateway, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, etc.) ... the .cabs will be in the C:\Windows\Options\Install folder, most likely, if the computer was installed with a copy of Windows Me bought off the shelf at a computer store. I'll copy & paste a full guide that adds a few more details --- _______________ 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/SATA drives, etc. Over The Top ReInstall: 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 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. ____________ Best of luck . . . Gary P.S. If things don't go well during the in-place reinstall, and there are files on the hard drive that your aunt needs to save, you might want to shift your focus to saving the files first, and then repairing the computer later. If the computer can boot from a bootable CD, you can use a Linux-based CD to help save the files. Since the PC has a CD-RW, you could boot the computer into Linux "Live-CD" (which doesn't write files to the hard drive), and copy the files that need saving onto CDs --- I believe the Knoppix Live CD would do the trick --- http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html -- other LiveCDs are available from Ubuntu, Mandriva, and Suse (for an even more extensive list, see --- http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php If the hard drive then still has serious malware infections that need cleaning, see if a friend can make you an "UltimateBootCD for Windows" --- http://www.ubcd4win.com/ --- which is also a LiveCD (but requires a Windows XP CD to make)... the UBCD4Win CD if made correctly, will have up-to-date antimalware tools on it that you can use to clean the drive. __________________ Last edited by OldGrayGary; 01-13-2008 at 07:49 PM.

01-13-2008, 08:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
lolaisbk Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 20 OS: Vista	Re: WinME CD, Printer, Monitor drivers ALL MIA ReHi Gary, Thanks tons for the extra info. I am not as adept at PC repair as my Aunt believes. The little I do know I learned thru trial and error and also thru helpful people such as those on this site!!!! Thanks so much!!! Rhonda

01-14-2008, 01:37 PM	#8 (permalink)
EndTime Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 48 OS: Win ME	Re: WinME CD, Printer, Monitor drivers ALL MIA Hi lolaisbk, This does sound like a malware problem, but usually, any driver problems with Win95/98/ME can be solved by a little registry editing. Back up all "must save data" of course, then run REGEDIT. Click on the + sign for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. You'll see a folder named "ENUM", highlight this folder, and from the drop down menu select EDIT, then DELETE. Reboot your system. You'll need the system CD and all other driver disks that you have. All Windows system drivers will be rebuilt automatically, then all other drivers you will need to re-install manually. This is similar to adding drivers when the system sees "New Hardware." I have done this on several occasions successfully for customers with no problems.

01-14-2008, 04:09 PM	#9 (permalink)
lolaisbk Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 20 OS: Vista	Re: WinME CD, Printer, Monitor drivers ALL MIA Hi EndTime, Thanks for the info! ! I am saving all of the input I get. I think I will start a noteobok for future reference!!! I finally got to the DOS Prompt and was able to do a chkdsk and a scandisk. Scandisk found tons of bad sectors. I put in a new HD and and it is fine now. I tranferred her data files and reinstlled her externals. I LOVE this site. Thanks everyone ! ! ! Rhonda