Computer just went haywire

Well, sure, I have Windows.Options.Cabs...which are used sometimes for installing a printer etc.where they call for a CD, the cab files are used instead. But, I don't need them for reinstalling Windows, which I am trying to avoid. I have the Recovery Disk for that, and the cab files contain the same information. I would still lose everthing and the computer would be put back into its original condition...minus anything that had been installed since and all downloads would be missing.Installing from the cab files would be the same as installing from the CD, wouldn't it? Reinstalling the OS, is not a problem...it is losing everything and taking weeks to backup and reinstall that stuff that I am trying to avoid. I may wind up having to do that but I hope not.



BTW...I tried to get the sounds back by using the Windows Default in scheme, but the sounds didn't go back to what they were because I don't know what sounds to put in where it says says *name*...there is a whole list of sounds there.

( Hey, Billy Bob...I am trapped in my house...can't get out the doors and snow is up to my windows...how did you make out?)

 

PS..There are loads of files in Cabs and they all have + in front of them which gives another bunch of files...off hand I don't see anything for any setup...probably because they provide the Recovery disk and the OS is not set up from the Cab files. If I sound confused as to what you want here...I am. LOL!

See previous message, in case you think this is the only one...

 

OK now Please do not take my word for this. As I AM NOT familiar with HP machines. Or any other OEM Machine.

And all of this sounds ( reads ) simple but it is not. There are way to many diferent things that can cause problems. Both hardware and software wise.

In other words I don't want to be held responsible for you losing stuff.

If as you say when you install things it asks for the CD and goes to that folder I BELIEVE they are the Windows setup files that are needed.

And unless I am wrong you could use them to re-install Windows without losing anything ( or very little )

I Do not believe it would have the same effect as the Recovery CD.

I think. ( please note the words I THINK ) there should be a file in that folder labled SETUP.EXE. ( being HP though maybe not )

I think that you should be able to boot to the EBD ( DOS Floppy ) change to the folder and run setup. Them making sure that Windows went back into the existing folder.

This should put ME back in on top of itself and HOPEFULLY make thing better.

But, no matter how you do it, it is always a gamble. And sometimes those of us that don't think so get a HUGH surprise when it don't work.

Even as many times as I have installed/re-installed I still keep my fingers crossed until the final restart of the install and everything is still there and where it should be.

Again on a WHITER note. we can get out the door but not too much further. MY uneducated guess is that we got about 20 ". And like yourself we still had some left over from CHRISTMAS.

And we are having a heat wav. It is all the way up to 22 degrees from 4-5 degrees yesterday.

Stay in and warm.

BilyBob

 

Billy Bob...There are 78 setup files on this computer...The cabs contain setup files for the printer...the cab files on this machine are only copies of the files on the Recovery disk. According to HP, they recommend using the disk, and they say there is no way to reinstall from the cab files without ending up in the same position as you would with the disk and many problems would be encountered using the cab files. They said if you have a disk, to use it and not try to reinstall from the cab files.

There is no DOS on windows ME and what you mean by the following that you said may as well have been written in Greek, as I don't understand that language either...LOL! I would not know what to do with this at all...you overestimate my understandin...You said:


I think that you should be able to boot to the EBD ( DOS Floppy ) change to the
folder and run setup. Them making sure that Windows went back into the
existing folder.

You are speaking a foreign language here, old buddy!

 

Maybe, maybe not. It certainly won't have the same effect as the full blown recover option but I suspect the repair OS option found on some recover cds probably does the same thing. In other words, repair is probably another way of saying reinstall windows.

Dixie
If you just reinstall windows you shouldn't lose anything. I myself have only done it a couple of times as I can usally get things fixed without it. Each of the times I've done it, nothing was lost and everything worked as before. You'd never have known I did it except that the puter ran like it was supposed to. However as Billy Bob said, theres no guarantees as sometimes things do go wrong. Also, theres know guarantee it'll fix your problem but you never know till you try.

 

Zander...But you probably don't have an OEM Recovery Disk. This OEM Recovery Disk, puts the computer back to original factory condition and anything that has been added, saved, downloaded etc. *is wiped out. HP warns you about this...I have done it on the 98 SE machine a couple of times and *everything was lost and the computer was back to its original condition...

It is going to take me several days to get things organized and backed up to CD...that should be done anyway...but I don't want to reinstall Windows unless the computer won't run otherwise. And then it will take me agood two weeks of installing everything again...I know because I have done it with two 98 SE machines...they never got finished, either...

 

He's talking about booting from a floppy disk. Those darn things keep coming back to haunt you; don't they? What you'd do is put the boot disk in the floppy drive, reboot and when it gets to the a prompt type the following lines (hit the enter key after each line).

c:
cd windows\options\cabs
setup

If the files are there windows setup should run after you type setup. HP may be right but I wonder if they're there and HP just wants to take the easy way out. You should look in that folder again and if you see a setup file double click on it and see if windows setup starts or not. You can always cancel out of it.

 

You got in ahead of me with the last one. I realize all you have is a recovery disk. But, If the windows files are there and if there is a setup file there too you should be able to just reinstall windows which isn't the same as using the recovery disk. If the setup file is there and it runs as I stated in my last post you wouldn't have anything to lose by trying it if in the end you decide to use the recovery disk. If you would try it however, I would back things up just in case.

 

There are 446 files in the cabs...they are all listed with a + and that opens up more with plus signs...if there is a setup file in there somewhere it is going to take a lot of time to find it...some of the files are just numbers that open up to alot more files...when and if I find it I will click on it to see what happens.

 

First off thank you Zander for jumping in here with some help.

There is no DOS on windows ME

I am not refering to the DOS in ME itself. It is there but not quite the same as or have the same capabilities as 95, 98 and 98 SE.

The EBD that I refer to is the same basic disk as what 95 and 98 called the Windows Startup disk. Why in hell MS had to add the confusion I will never know. This has thrown many a user into convulsions. It is just a floppy disk that will boot the machine, give you access to the CDROM. And has some utilities such as Fdisk, Format, Scandisk etc on it.

And it is not the same as what you would get by booting to the Recovery CD. It automates nothing. unless modified by the user like I do. )

The way I do it is to boot to that disk. Type d:\options\setup. But my machine is put together MY WAY

D: being the partition that the \options folder containg the setup files is on. And Setup being the executable that starts the install process.

Then I just have to CAREFULLY watch the various screens to make sure that Windows goes back into the existing folder. After that I just sit back and watch AND PRAY

Now, I have to go get the car dug out and get ready t go to Harford CT. to pick up my Son Who is coming in from California. After he goes back next week he will being going out to Sea for 6 months. So I may not get back here before late tonight or maybe even tomorrow. But I will try.

BillyBob

 

I realize this but was thinking it wouldn't matter if you booted from a boot disk. I hadn't however, gave it any thought as to what happens when you switch to the c: drive. Does this mean once you switch to the c: drive you'll lose all your dos commands because you're no longer running off the floppy? Have no idea as I haven't hardly ever messed with ME. I know you can restore the dos function in ME but I think that's a bit more than Dixie wants to mess with.

 

Billy Bob...you said:


Then I just have to CAREFULLY watch the various screens to make sure that
Windows goes back into the existing folder. After that I just sit back and
watch AND PRAY

I would have no idea of where it was going, or how to put it there...I don't know any DOS at all!!!
I would not dare to attempt something when I had no knowledge at all of what it was doing...

 

Car Still not dug out.

No this does not mean you will lose your DOS commands until you have changed to the proper folder on the C: drive, typed setup and hit enter.

Once you have done that then the setup files from the HD take over and the floppy is then out of the picture and must be removed before the first restart of the install. A warning message should come up telling you to remove the floppy.

Other wise the machine will boot right back to the floppy which at this point is what you do not want it to do. ( You can believe me on that one. ).

BillyBob

 

Billy Bob...I have no idea where you got that quote...I never asked that because I don't know what it means in the first place...and I don't know what you mean by switching to the c drive either...I think you are answering someone else, maybe?? Now I am even more confused than ever...
Let me say again...I know absolutely nothing about DOS and I don't know who you quoted...

Now go dig out the car or you will never get to where you are going...LOL!

 

Dixie
You're right. He was answering a question I asked in my post at the top of this page.

 

My car is dug out but now I gotta wait for the neighbor to move his. AFTER HE digs it out. His drive was all plowed out last night.

Yes I was answering a post by Zander.

What I mean by switching to the C: drive is when you have booted to the Floppy you should wind up with A:\ as the last line.

Then when you type C: you are switching to the C: drive.

When you tpye something like C:\windows\options you are switching to that folder on the C: drive. And if you type SETUP it should start the install of Windows ftrom that folder.

Gotta get bakc to work.

BillyBob

 

Zander...There are so many files in Cabs, that it is impossible to find a setup.exe for Windows ME. So, I did a search for setup.exe and was presented with a mere 78 files, most of which were called just setup.exe. I had to click on properties on them to even get a hint of what they were. I *finally found one that seemed to be the ME file. When I clicked on it, it started to set up the OS and no cancel option was given...I had to reboot immediately to stop it.

Again it is an OEM machine...HP does not recommend doing it this way, but I don't see what difference it would make. BUT, it still would put the machine back to it's original condition according to HP. (Perish the thought that HP support would give the wrong info11 )

So, I have to start backing up... then maybe I would try it and let you know if it worked.
The funny thing is, after the 3 or 4 times that Windows hung on bootup and I got the BSOD when trying to restart with C+A+D, it hasn't happened since...Go figure!

 

I *finally found one that seemed to be the ME file. When I clicked on it, it started to set up the OS and no cancel option was given...I had to reboot immediately to stop it

That appears to be the Setup file we are looking for.

I am willing to bet that is was very near the end of the list of files as it is not in a .cab file. ( that I know of anyway )

Not being sure you did the right thing.

And you are correct. HP ( and most others ) do not want you doing things that way.

That is why I must and will back out of trying to advise you any further. As I DO NOT know waht comes next in an OEM setup.

As to watching screens etc. I believe I am correct that your current OS is installed in C:\Windows. During setup ( at least for me anyway ) there is a window that comes up saying where Windows will be installed. This is where you must be sure that it point to the EXISTING Windows folder. Other wise you may have two installs of Windows and believe me YOU DO NOT want that.

After the screen the install should take care of itself.

Car dug out. Gotta go get mail.

After 1:30 or 2:00 PM I WILL be outta here.

BillyBob

 

AW NUTS !!! I knew there just had to be a mixup on my part somewhere.

I may have ( no make that just plain have ) forgotten something here.

Whether you ( Dixie ) would need it or not I do not know.

But there is a requirement that I must meet. And that is to have a Product Key available so that I can enter it when the request for same appears.

Without it I CAN NOT install or re-install Windows.

BillyBob

 

I don't think I need it for the OEM..the files are exactly the same things that are on the Recovery Disk...in fact they are installed from the Recovery Disk...they would do the same thing as the Recovery Disk, which is probably why HP insists that you install from the disk, which certainly is easier and the result is exactly the same....The key word, I think, is OEM.

OEM is the only way that people like me are able to have a computer at all.