I KILLED IT :(

[NJMom]

Well I hit "setup" in that windows cab file and all looked well FOR AWHILE. It said something about clean sweep, started to reload windows (I got excited) and then something came up about progman.exe had been naughty & was closing.

Now when I turn it on I simply see "clean sweep" minimized in the corner, shutting it off causes nothing and the computer just sits there blank. To top things off the mouse is still not acknowledged!!

I had one question left because obviously I'm going to throw in the towel for awhile. If I could somehow get to dos mode before it gets stuck could I format the computer and just load Windows 95 into it for now? I do have that disk in the house -even though it's old it's something?

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED ME LAST NIGHT. I cant believe how helpful and nice many of you are.

Also I'm sorry this whole string was in the wrong forum. I had wanted to hunt down the real "knowledgable people" & figured CPU's was a good place to find them. LOL

Barb
NJMom

 

[Ned_Flanders]

your PC sounds like it is a bit of a state. Even if you were able to get WinMe working again, I doubt that there wouldn't be errors all over the drive etc.

I'd reccomend a clean install, even if it is to Win95.

Do you know the DOS commands for formatting a harddrive?

_______________________
Whos round is it? Down that beer quick, smash my glass down, fall over the table - all rowdy and pissed

 

[RichPLS]

Ahheeemmmm...backup all data first

_____________________________________________
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So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign </font color=red>

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Start your PC with bootable Win95 CD. If your CD is not bootable then you will need to start your PC with a Win95 or Win98 boot floopy. You can download and create Win95/Win98 bootdisk from <A HREF="http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm" target="_new">here</A>.

After starting your PC with bootable CD/floppy, type <font color=red><b>FORMAT /Q C:</b></font color=red> to format your C drive.


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[NJMom]

Could you tell me how to get to a dos prompt when the system is completely dead-something at startup???

Please tell me then what I should type format c:???something

I cant back up anything even if I wanted to (not much left after the reinstall that didnt even work) I'd just like a clean slate so I can try & either install Windows 95 or another program that maybe I can buy out there.

Thanks-
Barb

 

[bjpatrick]

This is what I would do.
Get a Win98 floopy from www.bootdisk.com
pop it in your PC (start the computer) enther these commands
fdisk/mbr
format C:
Then reboot and change to the cd-rom with the D: command (If you possess an operating system that is)
Then just type setup

I would not buy another OS. If your going to buy another Windows OS for 150 bucks over at www.newegg.com. YOu might as well just buy a whole new computer for 400 dollars that comes with Windows XP. A restore cd might be your best bet at this time. They are dirt cheap. <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by bjpatrick on 10/16/04 01:12 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[pauldh]

Why not look into getting a replacement recovery CD from Compaq. I just did that recently for two Win ME Compaq laptops I bought used. For only $10, it's a very easy install to put the computer back to it's as purchased state. With that disc you won't need a Win ME disc. You are alot better off with Win ME than 95, especially for multimedia and for USB devices (printer/scanner/etc.)

That computer should be a Celeron 800MHz, plenty fast for most daily non-gaming use. Don't give up when the solution is a few bucks away. By the way, I'm from the Garden State also. Good Luck.



ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt

 

[pauldh]

Not a fan of Win ME myself and I'd rather use Win 98se than ME, but I'd choose Win ME nowadays over Win 95a,b,c and Win 98 fe. Alot of Software needs 98se or newer, and most USB perpherals won't work on Win 95. In all honesty I think Win ME is better than most of us give it credit for. It's not XP, and was not a good upgrade for 98 users, but overall I think ME is fine. It's not one to choose to buy, but it isn't so bad it needs to be replace either. Especially for this NJMom, when she most likely owns the Win ME lic. right on the compaq case and can get the recovery CD for $10.



ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 1GB Corsair XMS 4000 Pro Series, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt

 

[NJMom]

The only DISC that my Dad did give me when he gave me this computer (BTW-he gave it to me because he'd put it into hibernate mode and couldnt get it out!! LOL)was the RECOVERY DISK.

When I tried to restore to a previous state it simply says IT CANNOT DO THAT-NO REASON.

Its hard not to feel like I'm jinxed sometimes-everything seems to be going wrong with everything I touch!

Barb

 

[bjpatrick]

I just ran int a problem with a restore disk a little while ago. I could not get the disk to run on the computer until I fdisked the mbr and formatted the cd.

fdisk/mbr
format C:

 

[NJMom]

I'm on overload so I'm going to drop this until Monday.
My "ex" husband to be will be visiting his children tomorrow so I'll be staying "out of the house."

You are all a wonderful wealth of information and if this computer wasnt so cursed I'm sure your fixes would have worked yesterday. Unfortunately, last night my computer wouldnt acknowledge it had a mouse and now today it's completely dead!!! So much for reinstalling ---- I'm just cursed I guess.

Thanks especially to those who took the time to send me files last night and never lost patience with me. You were very generous with your time..

Have a nice weekend all.....

Barb

 

[NJMom]

Hello There,
To those who inquired in seperate messages, I did indeed "kill" my computer when trying to re-run Windows(something about progman.exe)

I did discover why the restore disk wouldnt work-its saying my disk is not compatible with the computer it came with-UUGHH......

It is a Pentium 800 and was running good enough for what I needed so I guess I'll try seeing what Compaq will do for me as far as another recovery disk until the day I can get the REAL COMPUTER I've always wanted.

My husband told me at Christmas & my Birthday I could get the system I've always wanted but I insisted on taking the time to research prices on the internet and now he's gone!!
I should have gave him a Thank You Hug and ran out of the room with his credit card in my hand!!!

Take Care ...

Barb

 

[xeenrecoil]

heya NJMom;

Pretty much if you dont have the original Operating System installation disk there isnt much you can do, because what you really need is a fresh install. So pretty much you are at the point to where you need an actual operating system installation disk, and without it you are at a stopping point, there is nothing you can do. Now depending on if the motherboard is proprietary or not you may find that attempting to install a retail or standard OEM version of windows is impossible. You may have to contact the manufacture of the PC to get the proper OS installation disk. This is where you are, there is no other course of action to take.

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