W98 Reboots With Old/incorrect Settings

[CastleHeart]

One of my PCs running W98 has thrown me a curve 3 or 4 times now and it is getting frustrating.

After a lock-up (usually a fast one that goes for operational to total freeze instantly ) I reboot only to receive the message:

Instant Messenger 4.6 has been removed from your computer. Would you like to remove the personalized settings?

Entering a YES or NO gets you loaded - BUT

The desktop is no longer mine. The computer says it is logged in to me - my desktop/my docs/etc exist in WINDOWS/PROFILES exactly named as they should be - but the computer ignores them. I can correct it by renaming all my profile folders - then removing my profile - creating a new one - then delete it's files and replace them with my originals. But what a pain in the butt!

WORD/EXCEL quit working and say they must be reinstalled. The programs are basically all there so it zips through the install but it is still a pain in the butt!

I think the Quick launch bar is reverted to an old copy as well - at least one time displaying an icon that hadn't been used in two years.

Does anyone know what is happening here? I thought maybe it was a registry issue but registry check says it is fine and therefore doesn't let me restore an old copy.

It's always the same routine. And has been happening every few months.

- Castleheart

 

[walkeriam]

Have you tried cleaning the Registry with a good cleaner like RegVac or EasyCleaner?

 

[dogbonz]

Hi castleheart,

It sounds like Windows is reverting to a previous "Administrator" mode.

It sounds silly, but can you just wipe it all and do a complete
re-install ? It WILL solve the problem.

 

[CastleHeart]

QUOTE: "... can you just wipe it all and do a complete
re-install ? It WILL solve the problem. "

a 9mm round through the motherboard will solve it too - and I am tempted!

I am not up to wiping the drive just yet, BonZ. I have reinstalled windows to no avail. It seems to me that reinstalling windows looks to see if files are present and not if they are corrupt - whereby it would leave a bad file remain during the reinstallation.

I actually thought I had W98SE until this started. And the disk I have for SE is not an upgrade disk so it won't load.

But I wish I new what was happening. It runs great otherwise. Walker I do clean up the registry now and again. But most stuff seems unrelated and a few things that it wants to clean up I am not sure about so I haven't let it.

I am trying to figure the connection between MESSENGER 4.6 - EXCEL/WORD registration files - USER SETTINGS

they are all affected by whatever is happening.

- yet Word and Excel are not unistalled - probably just missing a file or a registry line needed to make them work.

- according to my PC messenger 4.6 isn't even on my machine .... so it's kinda hard to remove it

- and USERS doesn't just get changed - it ceases to work properly - causing me to remove that user totally and swap files over later - not to mention the fact that my sound schemes and stuff gets trashed and has to be re-entered manually.

It seems as though something ends up missing after the restart - causing the operating system to take a different path because it doesn't see what it should.

But so far there is no important data loss so it is mostly an annoying enigma. Still..... whenever my PC freezes now and has to be rebooted... I have them roll in the crash cart and grease up the paddles before I hit the RESTART!!!


- C

 

[dogbonz]

OK, castleheart,

Try the following. Do a search for "*.pwl" (without quotes) and delete
all passwords.

Then run every anti-spyware program you can find.

Then go through the registry with "RegCleaner" or (better yet) "Reg Mechanic"
(although that costs).

Lemme know.

 

[CastleHeart]

a little side note here.

Anyone know of a utility that would compare the registry to a copy - or in my case the copy of another registry - and list the differences?
or to list registry changes made in the last X time period ?

I cloned this drive a few days ago. Then it did it's flip-out thing.
The registry should be all but identical to the clone with just a few changes from maybe a weeks work - AND - any changes created by this phenominon.
It would be interesting to see.

And Doggiebonz, there was only one oddball password file. Greenmoo. Never heard of it. The others were legit users pwds. One showed modified this morning - which was strange but then you can't put much stock in Bill Gates' modified/created/accessed dates. I deleted them anyway and will update the pwds in their respective program properties.

I usually keep up with my spyware stuff and will run it all again soon. I have been using REGvac - but I never use it on AUTO because - well.... ya never know. So I do admit there are a few entries I have not deleted because I am not sure what they are yet. They quest continues.
Until then.... I can identify with your avatar !!
Doctor!....my brain hurts !

- Castleheart

 

[walkeriam]

Run RegVac in NOVICE MODE and let it do it's thing. I have never had any problems with doing that on Windows 98, 98SE, ME and XP. You may want to run a virus scan with TREND MICRO, HOUSECALL online scanner.
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp