windows won't start

[12volt]

help i restarted my computer and wondows would not
start. I have windows 98se when I restarted it said INVALID
SYSTEM DISK! REPLACE DISK AND PRESS ANY KEY so I put in the
win98 boot disk {3.5 floppy} and choose option 2 and loaded sys tools and then I scandisk.exe it ran and it found 52 files bad
and repaired them all. NO HELP! so at command prompt I
SYS C: and it transferd. but when I reboot it tries to start
the windows logo screen comes up and then the AVG antivirus
runs and then I get C:\> I don't know what to do next
can anyone PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!


12volt
thank you.

 

[Jeckler]

It's probably bad news, but try and get into Windows Safe Mode. Press the Ctrl key while the PC is booting until you get to the startup menu. It sounds like 1 or more of those 52 files was important, or possibly win.com itself. You could try reinstalling Windows. Don't format or anything, just install it over itself. You may be surprised at how little you have to do afterwards.

 

[12volt]

Will you send me step by step insructions on how to top load windows?

 

[12volt]

It will not start in safe mode.

12volt

 

[Jeckler]

1st way:
Put your boot floppy in the 'A' drive and reboot, select option 1,"Boot PC WITH CD-Rom support"
Pay attention to what drive letter is assigned to the CD-Rom. Nost likely it'll be E: (C: is your hard drive, D: is a RAM Drive) if you only have one partition.
Put your windows CD in the drive
Type E: (enter)
Type setup (enter)
Answer a few questions, then go have lunch/dinner/midnight snack, 2 courses minimum.
When it asks where you want Windows installed, it might give a suggestion of 'windows.000'. Get rid of the ".000" (note the dot), so it's just "C:\Windows" and have at it!

2nd way:
Boot with the floppy, select option 2, without CD-Rom support.
Navigate your way to 'C:\windows\options\cabs'
Type setup (enter).
This way may not work, but some people copy the contents of the win98 folder from their CD to this location. Hey, you got a 50/50 shot with this option.

3rd way:
Dunno, but thought I'd better have 3, just in case. knowwaddamean?
Oh wait, if you have an OEM PC, like a Dell, or HP, or Compaq, or (you get the idea) with a restore CD, the above probably won't work. In that case, backup what you can to floppy and restore the machine. You'll lose EVERYTHING, and the PC will be just like it was when it was new, except everything will be hopelessly out of date by now. Hehe.

 

[airdale]

Hi
If you do an overwrite like jeckler said it will work.
Did you defrag without disabling, if you have it Go Back???
I also found that if you put your folders and file in My documents and other things on the desktop
they will be in there when you overwrite and reboot.
I did that when i also got an invalid disk error.
Airdale

 

[12volt]

jeckler
it worked thank's alot! you are my new hero. spiderman is OUT!
and you are in. HaHa. i did not lose anything. i can't beleave it!
the only thing is that my display settings will only give me the option to change to 2 colors or 16 colors I believe it's a driver problem i can't rember where to change it. can you help me?

12volt

 

[Jeckler]

Right click on the desktop and select properties (or, click Start -> Settings-> Control Panel, then double click Display). Go to the settings tab. Click Advanced, then adapter. You can change it from here, or your driver may have specific instructions.

 

[12volt]

i have alredy tried that. no change it say's the driver we are useing is the best. i give up.

 

[Jeckler]

Ah, sounds like you're using Windows built-in updater. You're hitting update driver, and then it goes "This wizard searches for updated drivers for blah blah blah mumbo jumbo yack yack", right?
Sorry, wrong way to go about it.
Find out what kind of video card you have. You can do this a couple different ways. Click Start, then Run, type in dxdiag and hit enter. If DirectX is installed, the app will open. Goto the display tab and it should tell you what you have.
Failing that, go back to display properties, on the settings tab, hit advanced, then adapter. There it should show what you have.
For the most comprehensive way to figure it out; take the computer apart and look at the video card. (Make sure it's off, of course). Write down anything that looks like a manufacturer name, model number, etc. Pop it back in, fire it up, and go googling. Once you find the driver, it will come with instructions on how to install it.