win 98 recovery help!

My Win98 crashed. Dead and gone. Gives me a kernel error whether I try to boot up in regular mode or safe mode. I can get as far as the MS-DOS screen but any attempt to start Win doesn't go at all. Any chance of recovering what files are stuck in there?

Thanks,
Rob

 

Have you tried reinstalling Windows over top of the current, apparently corrupted, install?

To install from the harddrive which is especially the way to go if all you have is a manufacturer's restore CD that only offers the option to reformat (wipe it clean) and start over:

1. Make SURE you have the product key before your start since you will probably have to type it in at some point. It is found on the sticker that came with the Win98 CD or might be on a sticker on the side of your computer's case.
2. Boot with a Win98 boot floppy in the floppy drive. (You can download the file to make one from www.bootdisk.com or you can make one on any functioning, virus-free Win98 computer - Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs>Startup Disk tab. You'll need a blank formatted floppy disk either way
3.. Once booted to the A: prompt, type in
C:\windows\options\cabs\setup.exe
then press the Enter key on the keyboard
4. The Windows reinstall should begin

Once reinstalled, you should be able to boot into Windows and your data files should be there, undisturbed.