Win98se won't re-install

[frh]

I posted this request for help in the operating system forum yesterday, but that's probably the wrong place.

I figured I'd save time by copying the hard disk on my office computer to the new one in the family room with Norton Ghost. It would be easier to remove programs and data I didn't want him to access than to spend hours installing all the programs I did want on it.

Both drives got screwed up. I could re-format and re-install everything, but there's way too much data that I need to keep scattered all over the drive. (For instance I've never been able to figure out just exactly where microsoft outlook express keeps my e-mail.)

I put the office drive in my bedroom computer as drive D:, cleaned it up with Norton and Scandisk, then saved some - but not enough of the data. There's a lot of corrupted files on the office drive, and many of them are in the Windows\System directory. It surprised me but it'll still boot in safe mode.

I tried to re-install win98se. The OEM disk goes through ScanDisk and "preparing to run Windows98 setup," first. Then a box pops up on the screen telling me "Your computer already has an operating system installed, which cannot be upgraded by this version of setup. You need to obtain the windows 98 upgrade. Message SV0168." When I click OK, it exits setup. Something similar happens when I try to install it with the win98se upgrade disk. It tells me that it couldn't find a qualifying operating system.

I don't want to give up on saving as much of the data as possible, but I don't know what to do next. I could probably get the win98 upgrade disk to re-install if I copy the right file to the right directory on the drive. Or I could probably get the oem disk to re-install if I delete the right file. But I can't remember what files they look for. Can anyone help?

 

[SupAcHinK]

get a copy of partition magic and partition off your drive. Put everything that's important into one drive and clean format the other. The formatted drive should be C: and just reinstall windows. You have to FORMAT if you want to reinstall an OS or else it will just detect the one that is present. In regarding your stored email just right click on them and go to properties it will show you the directory it is in.

 

[bub]

You need to get into your C:\Windows directory somehow & delete or rename your "win.com" file. If you have a Windows boot disk, it should be possible. Get to C:\, type "cd windows" then "ren win.com win.xxx. Now you should be able to install Windows over top of Windows! (I think)

 

[frh]

Thanks. Re-naming the win.com file worked. It allowed me to re-install windows. But... When windows tries to re-boot the computer it tells me it can't find Aspendium.vxd, Ndiswan.vxd, Vsr.vxd and asivmsvc.vxd. (By the way, it'll still boot in safe mode.) I've searched about a dozen install disks for them. I can't find them, don't know what they're for and can't figure out how to make windows by-pass them.

I'd try to make a copy of the 20 gig drive onto my spare 13 gig drive and re-format the 20 gig drive and start over, but that's kind of what got me in trouble the first time.

 

[DAM]

frh: those files sound like they are either, sound, video or modem drivers, try reinstalling your hardware.



dam()

 

[brennan]

The error messages you're describing, AFAIK, usually result from either the registry or SYS.COM referencing files that no longer exist. Reinstalling your drivers may help, or reinstalling apps, or removing these references fom the proper source. I wouldn't recommend the last unless you really feel comfortable.

Or, you could reinstall Windows completely from scratch, by renaming the Windows directory - at C:, type REN WINDOWS WINOLD - and then reinstalling Windows to C:\WINDOWS. That way, your old Windows directory is still at C:\WINOLD if you need it, but since you're starting from scratch you shouldn't get any conflicts/error messages. Remember to rename WIN.COM as well. Then, once you're going again and you're positive you don't need the WINOLD directory, you can nuke it. Of course, you'll need to reinstall all of your drivers and apps, so have the CDs on hand and/or download the files you need before you do this.

Hope this helps.

-brennan

 

[Rich]

You can either do a search for the registry entries matching those or go to start\programs\accessories\system tools\system information. Then click on the tools tab, go to system file checker, choose the second button to extract one file and type in the name of the file. it will then ask where you want to get it from. An example would be, d:\win98 for where. the c:\windows\system for the destination. the ndiswan one is in there. I checked.

Rich

 

[Slikkster]

ASIVMSVC.VXD is a file from the following device:

NEC Laser 1260


That's where I'd begin my search if you have this printer.

Are you absolutely sure you're spelling the filenames of the other files correctly?

 

[frh]

Actually, I do have an nec 1260 and a lot of other stuff attached to it as well. And I very well could have spelled of the .vxd names wrong. Those vxd files could have been from current hardware or old stuff that isn't even attached to the computer any more.

I just spent about 2 hours on the phone with Microsoft. My hard drive is so corrupted that scandisk created 1,360 .-dd and .chk files in the root directory of drive c. The virtual drive d: had 16 ._dd files. (Are those corrupted directories?) Microsoft's conclusion is that the only solution is to save as much information as I can to a zip disk in safe mode, then re-format the drive and do a clean re-install.

And I probably should have done that a long time ago anyway. Since I first built the computer I've upgraded it from win95 to win98, then to win98se. I've had 4 motherboards, 5 video cards, 7 printers and a whole lot of other hardware and programs in it.

I hate to admit it but rather than spending all the time re-installing windows and all programs on the computer, I just used norton ghost 3 times to upgrade to bigger hard drives. (It's just a pain in the butt to re-install all those programs every time you change the hardware around.) What can I say, some people like building race cars, I'm computer poor.

Truth is, I've been real lucky that this didn't happen a long time ago. But I sure learned something this time. Ghost works great if you're going to a bigger drive. But I tried to copy a 20 gig drive onto a 13 gig drive. And that corrupted both drives.

Meybe that brings me to my next project. Seems like I remember seeing instructions to turn a Promise Ultra 66 card into a risc card...

Anyway, thanks for all the help.

 

[randypj]

frh--

There is no reason you have to Format C: when you upgrade 9x or move to another machine. My upgrade path has been pretty much like yours, cept I started on a 486 with DOS 6.2* and 3.11. Then, Win95a, overwrote with 95b, etc. Lotsa hardware changes. Always Drive Imaged, never new install (well, I don't even remember the pre 9x situation). It does seem like I had remnants of Direct Access Menu and Xtree Pro hanging around in 95a. AFAIK, may still have.

A month ago, I went from an FIC/VIA socket 7 to Asus/BX slut 1. The neatest trick worked great. Course, always stop as much from running on startup as possible ('specially NAV). My last boot into Safe Mode, before I switched mobos, I deleted one of the 6 keys from the registry. I think it was a hardware key? DOH? Takes everything out of Mangler and forces it to be refound.

I definitely didn't want any of that VIA 4-in-1 crape hanging around. Poof.....no more "ghost" items or 3 floppies, 4 monitors, hard drives I haven't seen since '96. I haven't even had to boot to safe mode since.

I would like to thank the person who posted the key delete solution in Anandtech a couple months ago. I wish I could remember who it was. It made things a lot easier.

Course, I always have a mirrored hard drive, in case things go bad.
--Randy