errors with new install

I recently ran fdisk and reformated my windows 98se dell computer. I am having several problems. First, I am unable to install the 56k modem. When following the instructions from dell, after reboot, the registry wants to repair itself and when I restart of course the installation is gone. I finally decided that I didn't really need the modem as I use broadband, so I went on to other program installations. Every time after finishing the installation and restarting, the registry does the repair and erases what I have just put on. What is causing this? I did the fdisk and reformat again wth a different copy of windows 98se thinking that my disk had become corrupt and the same thing is still happening. How can the registry be corrupt after a new install?

 

Yep! Ram or possibly bad hardrive sectors being written to.

As for the ram see:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/186909/EN-US/

As for bad harddrive you'll need to run scandisk in thorough mode to detect and mark bad sectors.

While or during the format/fdisk install process did you have any problems or did the install seem fussy or did it go smoothly without any hickups?

In bios: Is your harddrive recognized correctly and is reflecting correct cylinder, sector, and size information?

How old is this computer?

Boot sector virus???? You can't get rid of this even with a format/fdisk if you are using a bad or infected floppy startup disk to begin with.

 

Did you use the disks supplied by DELL to re-install ?

From what I have seen and heard an OEM machine such as Dell takes a special procedure ( disk ) to rebuild.

I do not think that will work.

Yes. And I believe it will continue to happen until you get the proper Emergency Recovery Disk ( ERD ) that contains ALL of the proper info and drivers that go with the MB and other hardware.

The above is my wild guess anyway. I have only dealt with one OEM machine and will never touch another. Just in case you are thinking. U R 100% correct. I could not get it back in working order.

BillyBob

 

Dell? Not knowing your computer "Specs" so I can prescreen for you, perhaps this will help:
Dells Search support....
http://support.dell.com/support/troubleshooting.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Or the Community Forums:
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/

 

Thanks for all the replies. I hope I can answer everyone's questions. The machine is about 4 years old. I reinstalled windows with the disk provided by dell. A restore disk is not provided by dell, but a resource cd with the drivers on it is provided. I used this as well. I ran a through scan and there were no bad sectors or bytes. The install of windows went smoothly. Only started having problems when I started loading the drivers from the resource cd. The drivers were loaded ( except for the modem - on a separate cd) but no other programs have been put on because of the registry errors. At this point I am hoping that the memory could be the problem as that would be easier than a lot of other things. After I replace the memory, do I need to reformat again?

 

This could also be a possibility:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q273017/

After installing win98 and before doing anything else did you look for updates, patches and known bugs or glitches related to your OEM computer and win98?

As to the reformating again question, I would...at this point you don't know has been done correctly and what is botched, missing or corrupt.

Also note some where while skimming through some of this I did notice a memory diagnostic utility, specific to Dell, being available. Perhaps this needs to be pursued.

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Additional links that may be helpful:

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?DN=1026820

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?DN=TT1024679

Make note of the section stressing "Chipset Drivers "
http://support.dell.com/support/top.../en/document?dn=1026820&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04

 

Goddez1 - thanks for the info. Actually the first thing I did after the reformat was to go to windows update and I couldn't even get the first update on because of the registry errors. I will be checking on the chipset drivers. I did not put them on as the device manager did not have the yellow ! for anything other than the video, audio, and modem. The article you pointed me to did not relate to my model #, but it is still worth checking out. Do you happen to have the link for the memory diagnostic tool?

 

See if you can go to the BIOS/CMOS settings at startup and disable the onboard modem (or other hardware if you think that may be the cause). You may have to go through reinstalling Windows again.

Matt
PS You could also try disabling the hardware via Device Manager (maybe in Safe Mode?).

 

Mattman - Thanks for the memory diagnostics link. Ran the test and the memory failed. I will be replacing the memory as soon as possible and hope that takes care of the problem. Thanks to all for the help.

 

Hi Beth,
Pooh! Bad ram. At least you know. I hope you will keep this post in mind and when you do replace that ram, please let us know how the second round of this battle turns out. I'm sure we would all be interested in knowing if the reinstall goes a bit smoother afterwards.

Thank you for keeping us up to date and your most welcome.