C:\Windows\Command\EBD

[Lyn Patterson]

A friend was installing a new programme on her father's computer when it stopped installing and crashed. (She is not on the Internet). The computer now won't load Windows. (Windows 98 SE)

She tried the emergency boot-up disc and got a message saying that the himem.sys file was missing.

I decided to look for this file on my computer to get an idea of what was happening and quite by accident came across a Readme file in C:\Windows\Command\Ebd, (as well as the himem.sys file). This Readme file tells how to use the emergency boot disk. I have printed it out to keep to hand.

Why is such a useful document hidden away?

The real problem is that I told her to print this out and she found that she does not have the C:\Windows\Command file on her computer. In Windows Explorer, her lists of folders/files in C:\Windows starts at Pif and ends with Web. She doesn't have anything starting earlier in the alphabet. Is something very wrong here?

Hope someone can help me to help her. Thanks.

Lyn

 

[Mosaic1]

You say her list of files in Windows Explorer? I thought she couldn't boot to windows.
OR

Did she do a DOS dir of Windows?


If she is missing that many Folders/files, she will have to reinstall. Either on top or do a format and fresh reinstall.

 

[Lyn Patterson]

Mosaic1

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough. It is her father's computer that has crashed.

It is her own computer that seems to be missing a heck of a lot of folders/files as she can't find the file I asked her to print out showing how to use the start up disk.

What is a re-install "on top" - sounds easier than a complete re-install.

Thanks

Lyn

 

[rhettman5]

BTW

What was the program being installed ??

Think i'll steer clear of that one !!

If she can reload windows over it's self, thats the way to go, you'll keep all her programs that way....Rhett

 

[Lyn Patterson]

Rhett

This is the really funny part - her father is very old and she is trying to get him to operate his computer so he can email etc - he is very nervous about doing the wrong thing so I suggested she give him GoBack so if he makes a mistake he can go back ....

So in the middle of installing it for him, it crashes - after all the good things we were saying about how easy it would make it for him - and we can't even get to first base.

The reason it crashed seems to be a file called 'himem.sys' which is missing.

So when she checked her own computer after I told her I had found a file which shows how to use the start up disk, she discovered a whole lot of folders and files were not there!

Load over itself ? How does one do that?

Thanks

Lyn

 

[rhettman5]

Well, now you got me !
I have never done it from a win 98 cd, Windows is installed in my cab files, and I have done it from there.

I do know that a windows 98 se boot disc can be found here :http://freepctech.com/pc/002/files010.shtml

Your friend can d/l it to a floppy and then install it on her fathers machine, I believe the win 98 cd should be in the drive as well as the floppy when she starts, if anyone wants to HELP !! me here, that would be fine, lets get some confirmation on this as, like I said, I have never done it from CD....Rhett....PS Mosaic , you still hangin ??

 

[Mosaic1]

this is regarding her computer and not her Father's:

I find it hard to believe that she is missing all those folders and files. If that were the case, she wouldn't be able to start Windows. Himem starts with H and resides In the Windows folder. It is a file and would be listed after the folders. Without Himem, windows won't boot. The Folders are listed first and then the Files.

I wish we had a better picture of what was going on.
However, to overinstall, shut down. Restart with the Bootdisk in the floppy drive.

Accept CD support when asked. Put the install CD in the Drive.

If the CD drive is usually D it will now be E. The drive is pushed back one letter.

At the A:\> you are going to type E: and press enter to cahnge to the CD drive..... or F: or G:

that will take you to the

E:\> (E prompt)

At that, type setup and press enter to start Windows Setup.

If she has upgraded IE, she should remove it first to avoid problems.
I really am not certain this is necessary. But those are the directions.


For her Father's computer, the first and easiest is to be sure the correct version Bootdisk is used, out it in the floppy drive to reboot the computer. At the A Prompt type this and press enter
Copy Himem.sys C:\windows

It may or may not do the trick.

At the next prompt type C: and press enter
Take the bootdisk out of the drive.

At the C:\> type win and press enter. Does her Father's computer boot now?

 

[rhettman5]

Got a little bit over my head, but, I learned something along with Lyn ...Rhett

 

[Lyn Patterson]

Mosaic1

Thanks for the info. I have printed it out and am going tomorrow to check out both computers. I shall try and look as if I know what I am doing and hope I can get things to work.
I will post tomorrow night with the result.

Thanks for all your assistance.

Lyn

 

[Mosaic1]

Lyn,
You're welcome. As I said before, I find it difficult to believe all is missing. Before you go there, have a look in your own windows Folder to see what belongs. You can do this if you like:
Open a DOS box and type this at the C:\windows>

dir /s>Windows.txt

That will create a file named windows.txt in the windows folder. It will list the files and folders you have there. Then the Folders and what they contain wil be listed.Print that out. Hers will not be the same, but it should be close.
If you only want a listing of the loose files and the names of the directories without their contents, and that might be a better choice, this command will do that:
dir>windows.txt

When you do this, first go to Folder Options>View and be sure Show All Files is selected. The same for her computer. If by some strange reason show all files is not checked and these folders have all (and I don't know how this would happen) become hidden files and folders, that would be why they were not visible in windows Explorer.


You can also try running SFC to find out what's missing. However, that may not be too easy if it hasn't been kept updated.

 

[Lyn Patterson]

Mosaic1

Thanks again - will do what you suggest tonight.

My friend uses her computer only as a wordprocessor and for emails and is not into investigating stuff like I am. I already asked her to run SFC as I thought it might show what is missing but it showed NOTHING ALTERED AT ALL ! Her system is basically as it was when the shop installed Windows 98 etc.

The only programme she has installed since is GoBack and some other stuff I gave her, docs, not programmes. So it should be practically pristine.

I am always downloading stuff and uninstalling it later and am very curious about how things work and I want to find out what to do when things so wrong. That is why this forum is so great.

Will get back to you later.

Thanks again.

Lyn

 

[Lyn Patterson]

Mosaic1

Can report success! On my friend's father's computer, when I tried to get it going, it kept choking on Scandisk until I overwrote the Himem.sys file. Then it was plain sailing - Scandisk ran successfully in safe mode so I then rebooted and everything was OK. Somehow that particular file either went missing or got corrupted. I then successfully installed GoBack.

With regard to my friend's computer and her (missing?) files, the only thing it could be was that they had become hidden, as you said, and sure enough, they were.

So I changed that setting and all the folders were revealed.

The only strange thing is that I still can't locate her Himem.sys file using Start/Find etc. or by looking in WE at Windows/System. Also MY Command folder has an EBD folder inside it which she doesn't have and this is where MY Himem.sys file resides.

The only difference between our computers is that I have been using Windows Update for the last 6 months and she is not on the Internet, so perhaps that is the difference. As her computer works OK I suppose there is no point in worrying about it.

Thanks again for all your help.

Lyn

 

[Mosaic1]

Lyn,
Great news. You did good work.
The reason you have Himem.sys in ebd is because this is the source of the files Windows uses to create a bootdisk when you go to Add Remove Programs and create a bootdisk. The Himem.sys windows uses resides in
C:\windows

I use Windows 98 SE and in Me it may be different and located in Windows\system I know very little about ME. I do know you have it or you wouldn't boot. At any rate. Thanks for posting back to let us know.

Mo

 

[Nix]

For Win Me the memory manager is actually built into IO.SYS and Himem.sys is not loaded, but still exsists in a couple of locations on the hard drive.

If you create an EBD, Himem.sys is copied to it but not used.

Under Win95, 98 Himem.sys is normally loaded in Config.sys, but if you try to do this in Win Me you will receive and error about a memory manager already being loaded.

Similarly EMM386.exe cannot be loaded, if you try to load it, the system locks up.

I'm not sure why Himem.sys and EMM386.EXE are installed when they can't be used by Win Me, but I have a modified WIN98 boot disk that uses the WIN98 version of IO.SYS and allows loading of Himem.sys and EMM386.sys so I use the latest versions from my harddrive.

Basically you can use any version bootdisk to get a DOS prompt as all the required files are stored on the floppy.

This is useful as I have a Sound Blaster Live card and to use it in DOS EMM386.EXE needs to be loaded. Since this can't be done using the WinMe EBD, I use the Win98 EBD with modifications to Config.sys and Autoexec.bat specifc to my requirements.

 

[Lyn Patterson]

Nix

Thank you - between you and Mosaic1 this has been a wonderful learning curve. I now fully understand what the EBD folder is and obviously my friend doesn't have one because she has never made an emergency start-updisk.

Thanks again

Lyn