My Win98SE desktop has a missing partition. Not to mention, the computer doesn't boot up properly. I think I have corrupted himem.sys, explorer, and sysmon files. Oh yeah, and somethings wrong with the registry.
Anyway, I have already tried fixing the himem.sys file and the repairing the registry. Ultimately these solutions don't work. As stated above, I have a missing partition on the computer. I'm after the files in that partition but since I can't get the computer to boot up and stay up (not even in Safe Mode), I can't get those files. I've heard of Win98 boot CD's and I think that might allow me to boot up using the CD and then run a recovery app.
Since I never made one before my computer went on the fritz and it's basically too late now, does anyone know where I can get a free copy/image of a generic Win98SE boot CD? This is my only solution.
Thanks,
bmh
p.s. Please don't refer me to a DOS boot disk web page.
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where http://www.google.com/sear
>>BartPE CD's don't work for Win9x
it loads a windows XP 32 operating system enviroment that can read and recover FAT32 systems you can also get online with it and download some file recovery software.
>>Knoppix is for GNU/Linux
Knoppix is LINUX - it runs from the CD and lets you mount FAT32 or NTFS drives - your problem seems to be, that you need to recover files from a corrupted patition, any one of these solutions will work.
OK - the win98SE CD is bootable - if your BIOS and CDROM drive support booting from it :)
you can create an ISO image of any CD using most major CDBurning packages (Nero, Roxio etc) - but the iSO image will just let you rebuild the original CD
As another suggestion - try and lay your hands on a copy of Hirens Boot CD - it comes preloaded with loads of partioning and file recovery tools
-------------bizarre you need an application called bittorrent to use that http://members.home.nl/2fr
The Ultimate Boot Disk is for personal computers running Windows 95, 98 or ME.
http://www.startdisk.com/W
If your PC has less than 32MB of memory or a quad-speed or slower CD-ROM drive, do not use these disks, go here instead
http://www.startdisk.com/W
Emergency Boot CD v0.3 Lite [3.4M] W9x/2k/XP FREE
[Lockergnome Windows Digest] Calculator Flashbacks and the Searcher
Date: 2/2/2003 2:36:37 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: subscriptions@lockergnome.
{Bootable CD} Emergency Boot CD is a bootable CD for system
recovery that comes with a set of utilities for backup, restore,
repair, and low-level administration. Create backup copies of a
working system so it can be restored, if necessary (we hope not!).
The program can copy and move files, perform emergency boots,
recover the master hard drive boot record, reallocate disk space,
change passwords, and recover deleted files and data. There are
two versions: Lite and Pro, and both are free. However, the Pro
has features that only the hardcore users would want. 'Tis safer
to have the boot than to see your system get the boot. [Meryl]
http://ebcd.pcministry.com
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just go on to a pc that has win 98 and then insert a diskette into the stiffydrive ...... then click add remove programmes and in one of the tabs there will be a button for creating bootable diskette ..... then creat it ...... after that just take the diskette to someone with a cdrom writer...... then you just copy all of the contentes on the diskette onto the cd..... just note that if you want to boot from the cd you must first make sure that you have setup your bios that the cdrom is the first boot.......
LordRipper.
Your assumption that, by simply copying the contents of a bootable floppy to CD-R will make a bootable CD is oversimplistic and wrong.
Applications such as Nero or Easy CD Creator can use a bootable floppy and then, using what they refer to as "boot floppy emulation", can make a bootable CD. You also have to add some useful content to the bootable CD to make the process worthwhile.
The boot sector of a floppy disk is located at cylinder 0, head 0, sector 1. This sector is created by a floppy disk formating program, such as the DOS FORMAT program. The boot sector of a FAT hard disk partition has a similar layout and function. Basically a bootable FAT hard disk partition looks like a big floppy during the early stages of the system's boot processing.
Taken from one of the pages linked to above:
(http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/
>>>
A bootable CD-Rom is a CD from which you boot the PC. This means putting the CD in your CD-Rom drive and power-on or reboot your system. The PC will load a boot image from the CD-Rom and control is given to this boot image. A bootable CD-Rom is not a CD that you insert into your CD-Rom drive and windows will start something from this CD-Rom.
This is called an "autoplay" CD-Rom. I've just put this information here so that people who do not known the difference between a bootable and a "autoplay" CD-Rom can leave this page and look here: NU2-links: autorun. (http://www.nu2.nu/links#a
<<<
A bootable CD is "bootable" by virtue of what is known as the "El Torito Bootable CD-ROM Format Specification v1.0". Audio CD's, CD-RW CD's, and all the other types of CD's all have different specifications that make them what they are, and force manufacturers and vendors to comply with the specifications. Writeable DVD's came out in several different specifications because the different vendors all went off on different tangents without conforming to the specifications being used by the others.
Download the following .pdf file to learn about the "El Torito" specification, and judge why it differs from a CD-R with a bunch of files copied to it from a boot floppy:
http://www.phoenix.com/res
Read some details here:
http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/#
You will see a table there that lists different types of bootable CD's, including the "Floppy Disk Emulation" that I mentioned earlier, and refers to the author's findings about how universally they are supported by BIOS vendors.
Sorry to sound harsh and overcritical, but the comments in this question have so far clearly established several known methods. Had the solution been as simple as your suggestion, it would have been truly wonderful and "Bart" wouldn't have had to dedicate hundreds of hours explaining how to create bootable CD's on all of his pages (http://www.nu2.nu/about/b
surely you can borrow a Win98CD off a friend or relative for the purpose of re-installing windows, just make sure its the same revision of Win98/ win98upgrade, or 98 SE. as long as you have your own unique Product ID key you are not violating any copyright laws, once its installed properly then copy the Win98 or Win9x folder to your Harddrive to avoid needing the CD for any future installations or repairs. Any original Win98 CD will be bootable (98se disks definatly are , not sure about some of the earlier revisions).
If by some bizzare situation you have no freinds or relatives willing to lend you the win98 Disk then buy a copy off ebay for $20 . Try to avoid windows ME at all costs.
This thread needs cleaning up!
The stuff about torrents? *scarey*
For those that still don't know - a .torrent file is the file that BitTorrent uses to store the metainfo for a file which can be shared by BitTorrent, it is not the image file itself.
If you have a .torrent file which you understand is related to the file that you want to download, you can run a bittorrent client with that file loaded and it will hopefully connect to a "tracker" which has information about who is sharing that file to download and then will download the parts of the file and put them together on your hard disk so that when it is finished you will have the file that you want.
PeteLong: I'm aiming at you here:
Haven't you people heard of Google? Don't paste advice if you really don't have a clue what you're writing about!
The only link that you should give as "BitTorrent" is: http://www.bittorrent.com/
the home of bittorrent. There are lots of other clients around, but that is the main and official one and has lots of good documentation about how it works if people have time to read.
If you want to read more this may be helpful:
http://www.pbxanime.com/fo
and more in-depth the official:
http://www.bittorrent.com/
As always you should go to Google first:
http://www.google.com/sear
bmh777:
Did you find out what messed up your machine so badly? Those are serious problems.
Computers don't just "go wrong" out of the blue!
Unless you did it yourself by making a dangerous mistake that you knwo you made, chances are something serious was wrong with your computer, either a corrupted filesystem (not common), faulty hardware (*shrug* not common but possible) or a virus (very common - quite possible)
Until you fix the cause of any of these 3 problems, it is pointless working on the symptoms, as when you boot up again other things are possibly going to be damaged as well.
The first thing to do is identify the cause of the problem and fix that.
If it's a virus or even for the other two, if you've got some patience to learn and are intelligent enough to get your head around driving it you will find that a Linux boot CD such as Knoppix or any of the related ones (some of which are quite small - 30MB or so - so not a huge download) will give you all the tools you need to get your computer working again. In fact they give you a lot more powerful tools than any Windows based recovery system, and come with the added benefit of being completely invulnerable to Windows viruses.
With them you can boot up, dial up and get on the Internet and download the files you need, write the appropriate files back to your hard disk and or backup anything you need to rescue from your Windows box to another machine on your network... and many more things.
Best of all, they're free... don't waste money buying a proprietory tool for any of these tasks.
Oh, and... sorry, I didn't add...
If you (or anyone) still wants a Win98 boot CD - there is apparently one (I don't know if it's legal for them to offer Microsoft's binaries to download like this... I expect probably not) here:
http://www.onecomputerguy.
I haven't tried it, so I'm not recommending it or endorsing it...
my recommendation is... If you're running Win98 you're about to fall off the edge of what Mr Gates willl let you use... Win98 is already living on borrowed time, Microsoft only support 3 versions back, and if you count Windows2003 (which is not for normal users) , WindowsXP, Windows 2000, Windows ME (which was a mistake that Microsoft are trying to forget) and then Windows 98SE ... (not to mention Windows 98 original release) things don't look good... he's only letting it live because people's only alternative if they have old hardware is to try something like Linux and find out how much better it is (and faster it runs) on the same hardware!
If you're running Win98 still you're wide open to viruses and hacks - Win98 *has* no security - if you're on the net with Win98 you're BEGGING for trouble...
If your machine does not have enough resources to run XP or at least Windows2000 - don't fret... Try Knoppix, if it works, blow your Windows away - and install a proper Linux (like Debian) and have a real Operating System!
Exactly. Don't try and "groom" questions because you are not a moderator.
IF, while the question is still open, you feel that there is a correction or clarification to be made then feel free to offer it in a respectful manner, but don't march right into questions (closed or open ones) and take a stab at long-standing experts with inflammatory comments like this:
>>>
"PeteLong: I'm aiming at you here:
Haven't you people heard of Google? Don't paste advice if you really don't have a clue what you're writing about!".
<<<
You have blabbered on at length about the alleged vulnerabilities of Windows 98, the ins-and-outs of BitTorrent, and the benefits of Linux, but you have missed the basis of this question when you stated "Until you fix the cause of any of these 3 problems, it is pointless working on the symptoms".
bmh777 wasn't trying to cure the symptoms or the disease, just rescue his files from a system that he already acknowledged as having failed.
Furthermore, you came up with the idea of using a Knoppix-based boot CD, but a quick read through the previous comments would have shown that this was suggested by the same PeteLong (who apparently "doesn't have a clue what he is writing about") right near the start of this question and, in fact, formed the basis of the accepted answer.
For your information, PeteLong is an ICT projects manager for a VERY LARGE UK-based Health Board, and has previously been a Senior IT Officer, Systems Administrator, Network Engineer, and Desktop Support Technician. His qualifications include: Windows NT/2K/XP MCP MVP (Windows Server), Netware 4.11/5x CNA, Cisco CCNA, A+ Hardware Technician.
Expert Certifications gained by PeteLong through achieving a certain level of points in Experts-Exchange topic areas (2,871,896 total Expert Points to date):
Windows XP (Sage Level)
Windows 2000 (Wizard Level)
Networking (Wizard Level)
Operating Systems (Guru Level)
Microsoft Network (Master Level)
Windows Server 2003 (Master Level)
Windows Security (Master Level)
Applications (Master Level)
Storage (Master Level)
Windows 98 (Master Level)
Exchange Server (Master Level)
Windows NT Networking (Master Level)
Microsoft Outlook (Master Level)
Hardware (Master Level).
Just a pity he wasn't as immediately conversant with the trading of programs and files using BitTorrent as you obviously are, but I do believe that he generally does have a clue about a lot of other disciplines besides downloading things.
You have an unfortunate approach in your way of explaining things to people. By example, I quote your comment directed at bmh777 in reference to a Linux-based Boot CD:
"...if you've got some patience to learn and are intelligent enough to get your head around driving it".
Enough said...
>>PeteLong: I'm aiming at you here:
>>Haven't you people heard of Google? Don't paste advice if you really don't have a clue what you're writing about!
Freaking clueless me :)
>>believe that he generally does have a clue about a lot of other disciplines besides downloading things
ditto LOL
--------------------------
I wish I had Bills "turn of phase"
emmaps I dont have a clue who you are - youve only ever posted three times, so I cannot post judgement on you as a person or a technical Expert - Ive posted 23,023 times on this forum please feel free to delve my ineptitude to your hearts content.
now where the hells my mouse.....................
Support: Welcome to BillDL Technical Support, how can I help you?
Customer: I have a problem with my mouse.
Support: What seems to be the problem with it?
Customer: When I move my mouse down, the pointer moves up but, when I move my mouse up, the pointer moves down. If I go left the pointer goes right, and if I go right the mouse goes left. It's really weird.
Support: Is there a wire coming out of the mouse?
Customer: Yes
Support: Does it go out of the top or the bottom of the mouse?
Customer: Out of the bottom!
Support: Could you please try flipping it around the other way so that the wire goes up out of the top.
Customer: That's it! Thank you so much. You guys are geniuses :-)
(this old thread has been spamming my inbox l8ly, so I may as well add to the problem)
my fav help desk req
User had been using MS word for 6 months and said " i keep getting red squiggly lines under alot of words, they don't appear on the printout but are very annoying." :)
I think it was the first time I was absolutely speechless :O
Bittorrent is in trouble along with some members, due to downloads.
At a university in the US, a program called internet two which connects about 200 colleges. Some bright PC hacker wrote the Internet2 program where one can dowload songs in seconds. It is about 1000 times faster than anything on the intenet Well the colleges are being sued along with about 415 students identified as prolific downloaders.
gonzal13(joe)
mmmm look around.... seems the fight is over :-(
so now there is no use for the popcorn I fetched.
Are you guys gonna keep this threat open for discusion ????
The last phew days my email box got a bid full with the postings here so I dicided to post again.
Well I think MS is oppertunists and copyright started with them .......
but If you search long enough on the internet you will get wat you want with out having to pay for anything ever!!!!!!! no need for bittorents and kazaa's alike.
but it seems luike the questioner got his selution and I have no Idea how we got to this point of downloading etc.
Though I did enjoy reading thru the last couple of threads. It is amazing how people can react without swearing eachother ...... unless you guys are swearing eachother via mesenger .....hehehehehe.......
===================
Catch you guys on the flipside
===================
Ha Ha - well, the main problem with computers and software is the ARCHAIC method used.
1's and 0's going at an on-off rate of 4 gigabytes + It's quite amazing that any of it works at all.
A better way is imminent. That person or persons will be wealthy beyond all dreams
Being 70+ I have no desire to be that person. Give me a hot gal and I will forget all about any of this for the moment...... LOL LOL
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: PeteLongPosted on 2004-07-12 at 10:59:21ID: 11531705
>>p.s. Please don't refer me to a DOS boot disk web page.
why? any boot floppy can be made into a boot CD?