longhair

Hi guys; I looked at the first 7 threads and did 'nt find my deal so i"m just going to ask.I have win98 second ed. While downloading update driver for voodoo,system shut down.On restart i received "unable to load user exe"I restarted with boot disk and extracted win_28.cab ddeml.dll as suggested on microsoft help. Still nothing. I suspect it's a virus. Any Suggestions??

Wilkua

First off, run a virus scanner. If that isn't an option, boot from the last know running backup. If all else fails, run you computer in safe mode and try to locate the virus file.

OldGrayGary

Hi all


longhair -- it might be fastest to either pull the hard drive & place it in an external USB 2.0 enclosure, and scan it from another PC, or to boot your PC with a bootable CD that has anti-malware tools on it (such as the UBCD for Windows, if your system is recent enough to run it --- http://www.ubcd4win.com )

You could have either a software problem (which includes malware infections) or underlying hardware trouble that is showing up by causing software glitches.

If you want to rule out hardware failure, try testing the memory with a bootable CD or floppy diskette --- http://www.memtest.org --- and test the hard drive in that way as well --- http://tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287 --- also try to enter the Bios Setup for your PC & check on the settings. If the CMOS battery is getting weak, it might not be able to save the Bios settings, and misconfigured Bios settings can cause all sorts of trouble. [An easy first thing to check in the Bios is the time/date = if these have shifted backwards in time several years, the battery likely needs replacing].

If the hardware checks out OK, and the system is clean, you could try an "Over-the-top" in-place reinstall of Windows 98se. That repair has a high chance of success, but you need to have the Windows 98se installation files either on a Windows 98se installation CD, or on the hard drive (in a folder such as C:\Windows\Options\Cabs).

Should you want to try the reinstall, here's a guide for that:
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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.
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Best of luck!
. . . Gary

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longhair

Befor i do anything here's more info.Since i was downloading vga driver i removed voodoo card,enterd setup,reset to onboard vga,checked all settings againts chipset main board manual.All ok.Will not start in safe mode.[unable to load user exe,must install windows]message.I have win98 se cd that came with PC & floppy boot created 2 month's ago.I can only enter with com,prompt Or safe mode com, prompt.With boot disk i ran scandisk /all /surface.All ok.What would say my best option is?[besides shooting it]

longhair

Just rememberd;I'm not sure how,but at one time i did enter step-by-step config, OK,best advice??

Jlp1928

Hi,

Do as Gary suggested. If you have the Microsoft win98 install disk perform the Over the Top install of Win98. You will lose none of your data and may restore the OS to operation. If the disk is OEM it may restore the computer to the brand new state that is, you will lose everything you have added.
.
Luck, Jim

longhair

Floppy start seem's to have stop working.Can only start in com, prompt or step-by-step I don't care about lost info because i wanted to try to upgrade hardware & software anyway.From prompt (C:\>) I typed cd C:\windows\Options\Cabs\ -C:\Windows\options\Cabs> came up. I typed setup and got bad command or file name.I have never used command prompts so i'm not real what i'm doing.

longhair

Just 5 floppys i back't up intire pc on 3 yr's ago but as i've said i don't know how to use dos com, to extract & install.I was told to change file names.How do you do this in dos command only?

OldGrayGary

Hi again


I think it might still be a good idea to run some diagnostics. Scandisk is a good start. If you can, try the memory diagnostics, and perhaps the manufacturer's disk diagnostics, those would help too - because they are more thorough (they give you a better indication of how healthy the hardware is).

The floppy-based diagnostics are easy to use, but you mention that booting from the floppy isn't working anymore. This could be because 1) the drive has failed 2) your floppy diskettes were damaged, or 3) the system's Bios needs to have the boot order set to the floppy drive as the first boot device (if your PC's Bios battery needs replacing, the Bios settings might not stay set correctly - which can lead to several problems. An easy way to check this is to see if the time & date have reverted backwards several years --- if so, the battery likely needs to be replaced).

Most of the diagnostics tools can be placed on bootable CDs nowadays -- so you can run the diagnostics even if your floppy drive no longer works. The full instructions are available from the same pages you download the diagnostics (or - you can download an entire "UBCD" in one download: it has many diagnostic tools included on it -- you burn the download as an image with a program like Nero or Roxio).

If the hardware passes diagnostics, next try some malware scans. I don't recommend trying an 'over-the-top' until you're fairly sure that no malware is present. When the system proves clean - you can boot with your Win98se CD (if it's not a "recovery disk", but is a true Windows installation CD) --- choose "start computer with CD-ROM support" to get a command prompt. Then follow the instructions in my first reply - but simply use the CD rather than the .cabs on the hard drive. If you only have a recovery disk, see if that C:\Windows\Options\Cabs folder has all the installation files - or not. There should be quite a few if they are all there (sometimes they aren't ... ). If there are all there, look for the setup.exe file to get things started.

Of course, if you simply want to start over from scratch -- you can run either a Recovery disk, or erase the drive & run a clean install of Win98se. Those methods require a lot more time.

Hope it goes well - let us know if you have more questions.
. . . Gary

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longhair

Stamp it solved buddy..I went on internet last night and found out how to create startup floppy from dos com, Used it & cd,did what you said before and the old puppy lives again.I am running all spyware prog, now.Thanks for shareing the brain cells!!!!!

OldGrayGary

Congratulations on your good work!
. . . Gary

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longhair

where is the best + safeist place to download UBCD diagnostic tool you mentioned? free...

OldGrayGary

Hi again


Both the Linux-based UBCD and the Windows-XP-based "UBCD for Windows" are free (though the Xp-based UBCD4Win requires that you already have a licensed source for XP). The Linux-based UBCD can be downloaded as one file & burned as a bootable image to CD.

They are available at their home sites:
Linux-based UBCD --- http://www.ubcd.com
WinXP-based UBCD4Win --- http://www.ubcd4win.com

The Linux-based UBCD excels at hardware diagnosis.
The WinXP-based UBCD4Win excels at virus removal.

They both are also good at many other tasks.

Best of luck!
. . . Gary

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longhair

Thanks again..This PC i;ve been posting with came with winxp pro & gold lable CD.And the one i was working on,as i said,came with win98 se.I do have nero on this PC even though i've never used it.I guess i'll try to burn both and see what happens..

longhair

Got another question..I said every thing was back,but after a better check i found that most of my original upgrades,hotfixs and such were gone.I went to win update and it only gives me one critical update.I looked at update history while i was there and started to make a list but got tired of writeing when i got to 2005.Do you know a safe site that has the updates from about 01 to end of support in 06?Hopefuly without haveing to search for each one.

OldGrayGary

Hi again


Even though the entries for the updates don't show, it's possible that the files are still installed OK. Usually Windows Updates checks for the presence of certain files to determine if an update is needed. So you might be OK after all.

There is a collection called "The Unofficial Windows 98se Service Pack" that is available for download at many download sites, that has a great deal of the updates all in one download. Scan the download for malware whenever downloading from such sites, of course. Major Geeks is one site that has the download, and they have a good reputation for having clean downloads --- Here's their link for the Unofficial Service Pack --- http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4131.html

Best of luck
. . . Gary

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longhair

Went ahead and used belar and was able to get win 98 fixed but not 98se.Did some more digging.Belarc shows i have win98se 4.10.2222 build,which is correct.Looked at tool sys info and it shows win98 4.10.2222 A.It also say's IE 5 6.0.2800.1106.If this is not the upgrade to IE 6(which is what i had) then it is not correct.It seems the SE part is where i'm haveing problems.Do you think this geek download will help?Was wanting to attempt upgrade with parts from newer PC with bad motherboard(so say the shop)Both have AMD prossesor's,but i don't know if my old one will support 40 gig harddrive & winxp

longhair

OK..Got the geek's download.Belarc say's i'm good and reg checker shows virsion's match or are newer than what history show'ed.I'm going to stop fixing now and start exploring the upgrade.Again,thanks allot for the great help!!! SOLVED

OldGrayGary

Congratulations on your good work!


(sorry I didn't answer earlier . . . I just got back in town ...)
. . . Gary

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