If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Start up error after upgrade
I had the very same problem with my PC. I was able to restore the system to
an earlier resore point through DOS using a Windows ME startup disk. Unfortunately, the restore point was 2 1/2 years ago--have no idea why. Windows is now starting up normally. I downloaded all the critical updates without problem. But now the hard drive seems to be grinding and I cannot get my printer reinstalled. The printer is connected to the PC with a USB connection. When I disconnect and reconnect the PC searches for and finds the new hardware, then searches for the printer software and then freezes up. I have tried removing and reinstalling the software without success. I know the PC, which is 5 yrs old, is probably dying but I'd like to do everything possible to keep it running for at least a few more months. Any help would be appreciated. Fran "Jack E Martinelli" wrote: mossgiel, our good friend, Mart, is well known to be far more clairvoyant than this humble servant. In your case, I hope you have recovered your machine and are happy. Even if so, I'm unclear as to what your situation is or what you did. Nevertheless, I concur with Mart that your unsuccessful attempt to use the machine's first registry backups to restore is a lucky break for you. Had it succeeded, all the programs installed after the first boot would now be a mess. If such a registry replacement had been successful, your best option would have been to attempt to run System Restore to revert to a far more recent time, replacing this "first boot" registry, and some OS files. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "Mart" wrote in message ... Probably, the original setup registry could have given you even more problems - however, as you now imply that you are back in business then good luck and come back to visit the WinMe groups again. Mart "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Mart Many thanks for your comments on this topic. I did try to restore the registry on the PC by trying to restore it to it's original setup by replacing System.dat and classes.dat with the original files that were created when Win ME was setup. Using "Attrib" and the "REN" commands appeared to work fine, but had problems copying the old files into the registry. I can only assume that I had got the "attrib" keys mixed up as it wouldn't let me copy system.1st to System.dat!! I have since tried to replicate this fault on one of my othermachines, (P3 600 Mhz 256Mb of RAM) and surprise surprise the upgrade went without a hitch !!!! Once agin thanks for your useful pointers on this topic, arms me with the neccessary information on what to do if this should happen again. Once again thanks to Jack and Mart for their useful info "Mart" wrote: Jack, one other *possible* (final?) option to restore the registry, at least - before mossgeil goes down the re-install route. As System Restore isn't working, mossgeil *might* get away with using the scanreg /restore ploy, by trying to revert to the last 'good' registry prior to the problem happening, to see if that will bring things back again. Although it is possible do this in Normal and Safe Mode, under the circumstances, I would suggest he does it in Real Mode DOS, using his WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk. Boot, with your Windows Startup (floppy) Disk and choose option 4) Minimal Boot. At the A:\ prompt, type "scanreg /restore" (no quotes and note the space between the g and /) then press Enter. Follow the screen prompts and when asked, select the LAST 'good' date BEFORE THE PROBLEM, continuing with the instructions. Don't forget to remove the floppy disk BEFORE you tell the machine to reboot. Hopefully, that *may* get things working again - if not, then continue with Jack's re-install suggestions. Mart "Jack E Martinelli" wrote in message ... Thank you for your prompt followup. From your report, it appears that scandisk under DOS completed just fine, but the attempt to reboot to WinME Normal Mode failed at the early hangup you describe. This suggests some file corruption of some registry or critical OS files. The usual fix would be to boot To Safe Mode and run SR to revert to a known good time. If Safe Mode will not load properly, then perhaps a use of the command prompt tool might succeed. MS KB Q279736 - "How to Start the System Restore Tool From a Command Prompt" http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];279736 Failing that, you are probably left only with an "in-place" reinstallation, http://winnoel.users.btopenworld.com/reinME.htm or a "clean" installation, http://www.aumha.org/win4/a/clean.htm Or, better yet, the migration to XP SP2, since the hardware supports it. I don't doubt that your friend will be very happy. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Jack Many thanks for your comments. Scandisk ran fine from the start disk, and revealed no errors in either the file system or the hard drive. Once the scan was complete, the machine just hung again, with only the mouse pointer on the screen, no taskbar, and just a plain grey background as opposed the the WinME theme that had originally been on the computer. Totally baffled by this one. The XP migration was done from DOS, and already included SP2 on the disk, so that's one less download to worry about :-) Once again many thanks for the pointers and tips "Jack E Martinelli" wrote: If the WinME system was still running, I would have you check to confirm that Statemgr.exe was checked in msconfig/Startup, to load at startup, and that a process viewer reported that stmgr.exe was executing after boot. Statemgr runs at boot to load stmgr, which is needed to run SR and SFP. OTH, I am very happy that the migration to XP was succcessful and so easy. Obviously, the hrdware supports XP, with which your friend will be happy and far more secure. Be sure to upgrade to SP2, ASAP. Have the friend learn about the many MS ng's supporting XP, where numerous experts stand ready to aid. BTW, what ensued during the attempts to run scandisk from a floppy, under DOS? This should have succeeded. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Jack Many thanks for replying to this issue Had tried running scandisk from the boot disk to no avail :-( When trying safe mode I experienced the same problems IE No taskbar, and no evidence of any programmes running. As regards using system restore, tried to use that to restore to 3 seperate restore points, and on each occassion, Windows told me that the system could not be restored. Totally baffled by this one, it would appear that the download had been corrupted, but prior to re-booting the system did tell me that the update had been successful. On a more happier note, my friend decided to upgrade to XP................. and that upgrade has appeared to cure the problem ................. albeit a few hours reinstalling software !!! Many thanks for your help in this matter. As always any comments are gratefully received :-) "Jack E Martinelli" wrote: Begin by restarting with the WinME EBD, aka, boot disk, and then run scandisk on the C: partition. When it completes, attempt to reboot to Normal Mode. If you have no boot disk, obtain one using another computer from www.bootdisk.com http://www.startdisk.com/ Be sure to obtain the DL file for Windows Millennium, and run it to create the bootable floppy. If this fails, consider booting to Safe Mode and using the Add-Remove Programs wizard to uninstall the recent Win Update, if it is listed in the item list. You may begin considering the possible use of System Restore to revert to a prior state. Be sure to ask more about this before proceeding. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "mossgiel" wrote in message ... After upgrading a friends PC using Windows Update ( File was Internet explorer service pack 1) the PC runs Scandisk and then hangs. All that's visible on the screen is the mouse arrow. Holding down Ctrl + Alt + Del, reveals that there are no programmes running. Had ran an AV Scan prior to carrying out the upgrade, using AVG antivirus, and no viruses detected. Spyware scans had identified some |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Start up error after upgrade
Wow! - Fran, that original thread was about 12 months ago. However, you said
that :- I was able to restore the system ... Unfortunately, the restore point was 2 1/2 years ago Wasn't/isn't there a (much) more recent date in the 'scanreg /restore' archive? Were/are you able to find a (much) later date in the System Restore archive? I will ASS-U-ME not (other than VERY recent stuff - i.e. since the date you got it going again) In the mean time, you also mentioned that your "hard drive seems to be grinding" - do you mean mechanically (noisy)? Try running scandisk - preferably in Real Mode DOS from your start-up floppy - and see (and listen) for slow or noisy response. If your hard drive is 'on its last legs' then your USB printer is the least of your worries at this point in time g (Hint - why did your computer fail in the first place?) Boot using your WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk. Select option 2 or 3 and (eventually) at the A:\ prompt, type: scandisk c: (Note the syntax - space between k and c followed by a colon) Then press return. Warning! If it shows errors, do NOT let it 'fix' them or do a Surface Test until you have backed up your data - you may need professional assistance if you're not sure how to copy or recover your data files. However, if you are prepared to lose data, then let it repair errors and do the surface scan and hopefully - and with a bit of luck g - it may even fix the printer problem. Mart "Fran" wrote in message ... I had the very same problem with my PC. I was able to restore the system to an earlier resore point through DOS using a Windows ME startup disk. Unfortunately, the restore point was 2 1/2 years ago--have no idea why. Windows is now starting up normally. I downloaded all the critical updates without problem. But now the hard drive seems to be grinding and I cannot get my printer reinstalled. The printer is connected to the PC with a USB connection. When I disconnect and reconnect the PC searches for and finds the new hardware, then searches for the printer software and then freezes up. I have tried removing and reinstalling the software without success. I know the PC, which is 5 yrs old, is probably dying but I'd like to do everything possible to keep it running for at least a few more months. Any help would be appreciated. Fran "Jack E Martinelli" wrote: mossgiel, our good friend, Mart, is well known to be far more clairvoyant than this humble servant. In your case, I hope you have recovered your machine and are happy. Even if so, I'm unclear as to what your situation is or what you did. Nevertheless, I concur with Mart that your unsuccessful attempt to use the machine's first registry backups to restore is a lucky break for you. Had it succeeded, all the programs installed after the first boot would now be a mess. If such a registry replacement had been successful, your best option would have been to attempt to run System Restore to revert to a far more recent time, replacing this "first boot" registry, and some OS files. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "Mart" wrote in message ... Probably, the original setup registry could have given you even more problems - however, as you now imply that you are back in business then good luck and come back to visit the WinMe groups again. Mart "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Mart Many thanks for your comments on this topic. I did try to restore the registry on the PC by trying to restore it to it's original setup by replacing System.dat and classes.dat with the original files that were created when Win ME was setup. Using "Attrib" and the "REN" commands appeared to work fine, but had problems copying the old files into the registry. I can only assume that I had got the "attrib" keys mixed up as it wouldn't let me copy system.1st to System.dat!! I have since tried to replicate this fault on one of my othermachines, (P3 600 Mhz 256Mb of RAM) and surprise surprise the upgrade went without a hitch !!!! Once agin thanks for your useful pointers on this topic, arms me with the neccessary information on what to do if this should happen again. Once again thanks to Jack and Mart for their useful info "Mart" wrote: Jack, one other *possible* (final?) option to restore the registry, at least - before mossgeil goes down the re-install route. As System Restore isn't working, mossgeil *might* get away with using the scanreg /restore ploy, by trying to revert to the last 'good' registry prior to the problem happening, to see if that will bring things back again. Although it is possible do this in Normal and Safe Mode, under the circumstances, I would suggest he does it in Real Mode DOS, using his WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk. Boot, with your Windows Startup (floppy) Disk and choose option 4) Minimal Boot. At the A:\ prompt, type "scanreg /restore" (no quotes and note the space between the g and /) then press Enter. Follow the screen prompts and when asked, select the LAST 'good' date BEFORE THE PROBLEM, continuing with the instructions. Don't forget to remove the floppy disk BEFORE you tell the machine to reboot. Hopefully, that *may* get things working again - if not, then continue with Jack's re-install suggestions. Mart "Jack E Martinelli" wrote in message ... Thank you for your prompt followup. From your report, it appears that scandisk under DOS completed just fine, but the attempt to reboot to WinME Normal Mode failed at the early hangup you describe. This suggests some file corruption of some registry or critical OS files. The usual fix would be to boot To Safe Mode and run SR to revert to a known good time. If Safe Mode will not load properly, then perhaps a use of the command prompt tool might succeed. MS KB Q279736 - "How to Start the System Restore Tool From a Command Prompt" http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];279736 Failing that, you are probably left only with an "in-place" reinstallation, http://winnoel.users.btopenworld.com/reinME.htm or a "clean" installation, http://www.aumha.org/win4/a/clean.htm Or, better yet, the migration to XP SP2, since the hardware supports it. I don't doubt that your friend will be very happy. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Jack Many thanks for your comments. Scandisk ran fine from the start disk, and revealed no errors in either the file system or the hard drive. Once the scan was complete, the machine just hung again, with only the mouse pointer on the screen, no taskbar, and just a plain grey background as opposed the the WinME theme that had originally been on the computer. Totally baffled by this one. The XP migration was done from DOS, and already included SP2 on the disk, so that's one less download to worry about :-) Once again many thanks for the pointers and tips "Jack E Martinelli" wrote: If the WinME system was still running, I would have you check to confirm that Statemgr.exe was checked in msconfig/Startup, to load at startup, and that a process viewer reported that stmgr.exe was executing after boot. Statemgr runs at boot to load stmgr, which is needed to run SR and SFP. OTH, I am very happy that the migration to XP was succcessful and so easy. Obviously, the hrdware supports XP, with which your friend will be happy and far more secure. Be sure to upgrade to SP2, ASAP. Have the friend learn about the many MS ng's supporting XP, where numerous experts stand ready to aid. BTW, what ensued during the attempts to run scandisk from a floppy, under DOS? This should have succeeded. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Jack Many thanks for replying to this issue Had tried running scandisk from the boot disk to no avail :-( When trying safe mode I experienced the same problems IE No taskbar, and no evidence of any programmes running. As regards using system restore, tried to use that to restore to 3 seperate restore points, and on each occassion, Windows told me that the system could not be restored. Totally baffled by this one, it would appear that the download had been corrupted, but prior to re-booting the system did tell me that the update had been successful. On a more happier note, my friend decided to upgrade to XP................. and that upgrade has appeared to cure the problem ................. albeit a few hours reinstalling software !!! Many thanks for your help in this matter. As always any comments are gratefully received :-) "Jack E Martinelli" wrote: Begin by restarting with the WinME EBD, aka, boot disk, and then run scandisk on the C: partition. When it completes, attempt to reboot to Normal Mode. If you have no boot disk, obtain one using another computer from www.bootdisk.com http://www.startdisk.com/ Be sure to obtain the DL file for Windows Millennium, and run it to create the bootable floppy. If this fails, consider booting to Safe Mode and using the Add-Remove Programs wizard to uninstall the recent Win Update, if it is listed in the item list. You may begin considering the possible use of System Restore to revert to a prior state. Be sure to ask more about this before proceeding. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "mossgiel" wrote in message ... After upgrading a friends PC using Windows Update ( File was Internet explorer service pack 1) the PC runs Scandisk and then hangs. All that's visible on the screen is the mouse arrow. Holding down Ctrl + Alt + Del, reveals that there are no programmes running. Had ran an AV Scan prior to carrying out the upgrade, using AVG antivirus, and no viruses detected. Spyware scans had identified some |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Start up error after upgrade
Yes, I realized the original thread was a year old, but I was desperate for
help and looking for answers. Thanks for your reply. From what I can tell, the system initally crashed while installing an automatic update of my McAffee virus program. The computer was just frozen up. When I rebooted, all I got was the blank scree and cursor, just like the original poster. When I finally accessed system restore through the ME startup disk in DOS, the latest restore point identified was 10/03. I figured that was better than nothing. It worked. When windows loaded and I opened the system restore utility there were later restore points identified but when I tried to restore to these later points, it wouldn't work. After many attempts, I was finally able to do a minimum install of the printer software and eventually the computer recognizes and installed the hardware and software necessary to reconnect. As far as the grinding goes, I have tried running scan disk in dos from the startup disk and from safemode. Still "grinds"-is mechanically noisy. In anticipation of the inevitable hard drive failure, I purchased an external portable hard drive and intend to back up my files before I lose them altogether. Thanks, Fran. "Mart" wrote: Wow! - Fran, that original thread was about 12 months ago. However, you said that :- I was able to restore the system ... Unfortunately, the restore point was 2 1/2 years ago Wasn't/isn't there a (much) more recent date in the 'scanreg /restore' archive? Were/are you able to find a (much) later date in the System Restore archive? I will ASS-U-ME not (other than VERY recent stuff - i.e. since the date you got it going again) In the mean time, you also mentioned that your "hard drive seems to be grinding" - do you mean mechanically (noisy)? Try running scandisk - preferably in Real Mode DOS from your start-up floppy - and see (and listen) for slow or noisy response. If your hard drive is 'on its last legs' then your USB printer is the least of your worries at this point in time g (Hint - why did your computer fail in the first place?) Boot using your WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk. Select option 2 or 3 and (eventually) at the A:\ prompt, type: scandisk c: (Note the syntax - space between k and c followed by a colon) Then press return. Warning! If it shows errors, do NOT let it 'fix' them or do a Surface Test until you have backed up your data - you may need professional assistance if you're not sure how to copy or recover your data files. However, if you are prepared to lose data, then let it repair errors and do the surface scan and hopefully - and with a bit of luck g - it may even fix the printer problem. Mart "Fran" wrote in message ... I had the very same problem with my PC. I was able to restore the system to an earlier resore point through DOS using a Windows ME startup disk. Unfortunately, the restore point was 2 1/2 years ago--have no idea why. Windows is now starting up normally. I downloaded all the critical updates without problem. But now the hard drive seems to be grinding and I cannot get my printer reinstalled. The printer is connected to the PC with a USB connection. When I disconnect and reconnect the PC searches for and finds the new hardware, then searches for the printer software and then freezes up. I have tried removing and reinstalling the software without success. I know the PC, which is 5 yrs old, is probably dying but I'd like to do everything possible to keep it running for at least a few more months. Any help would be appreciated. Fran "Jack E Martinelli" wrote: mossgiel, our good friend, Mart, is well known to be far more clairvoyant than this humble servant. In your case, I hope you have recovered your machine and are happy. Even if so, I'm unclear as to what your situation is or what you did. Nevertheless, I concur with Mart that your unsuccessful attempt to use the machine's first registry backups to restore is a lucky break for you. Had it succeeded, all the programs installed after the first boot would now be a mess. If such a registry replacement had been successful, your best option would have been to attempt to run System Restore to revert to a far more recent time, replacing this "first boot" registry, and some OS files. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "Mart" wrote in message ... Probably, the original setup registry could have given you even more problems - however, as you now imply that you are back in business then good luck and come back to visit the WinMe groups again. Mart "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Mart Many thanks for your comments on this topic. I did try to restore the registry on the PC by trying to restore it to it's original setup by replacing System.dat and classes.dat with the original files that were created when Win ME was setup. Using "Attrib" and the "REN" commands appeared to work fine, but had problems copying the old files into the registry. I can only assume that I had got the "attrib" keys mixed up as it wouldn't let me copy system.1st to System.dat!! I have since tried to replicate this fault on one of my othermachines, (P3 600 Mhz 256Mb of RAM) and surprise surprise the upgrade went without a hitch !!!! Once agin thanks for your useful pointers on this topic, arms me with the neccessary information on what to do if this should happen again. Once again thanks to Jack and Mart for their useful info "Mart" wrote: Jack, one other *possible* (final?) option to restore the registry, at least - before mossgeil goes down the re-install route. As System Restore isn't working, mossgeil *might* get away with using the scanreg /restore ploy, by trying to revert to the last 'good' registry prior to the problem happening, to see if that will bring things back again. Although it is possible do this in Normal and Safe Mode, under the circumstances, I would suggest he does it in Real Mode DOS, using his WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk. Boot, with your Windows Startup (floppy) Disk and choose option 4) Minimal Boot. At the A:\ prompt, type "scanreg /restore" (no quotes and note the space between the g and /) then press Enter. Follow the screen prompts and when asked, select the LAST 'good' date BEFORE THE PROBLEM, continuing with the instructions. Don't forget to remove the floppy disk BEFORE you tell the machine to reboot. Hopefully, that *may* get things working again - if not, then continue with Jack's re-install suggestions. Mart "Jack E Martinelli" wrote in message ... Thank you for your prompt followup. From your report, it appears that scandisk under DOS completed just fine, but the attempt to reboot to WinME Normal Mode failed at the early hangup you describe. This suggests some file corruption of some registry or critical OS files. The usual fix would be to boot To Safe Mode and run SR to revert to a known good time. If Safe Mode will not load properly, then perhaps a use of the command prompt tool might succeed. MS KB Q279736 - "How to Start the System Restore Tool From a Command Prompt" http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];279736 Failing that, you are probably left only with an "in-place" reinstallation, http://winnoel.users.btopenworld.com/reinME.htm or a "clean" installation, http://www.aumha.org/win4/a/clean.htm Or, better yet, the migration to XP SP2, since the hardware supports it. I don't doubt that your friend will be very happy. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Jack Many thanks for your comments. Scandisk ran fine from the start disk, and revealed no errors in either the file system or the hard drive. Once the scan was complete, the machine just hung again, with only the mouse pointer on the screen, no taskbar, and just a plain grey background as opposed the the WinME theme that had originally been on the computer. Totally baffled by this one. The XP migration was done from DOS, and already included SP2 on the disk, so that's one less download to worry about :-) Once again many thanks for the pointers and tips "Jack E Martinelli" wrote: If the WinME system was still running, I would have you check to confirm that Statemgr.exe was checked in msconfig/Startup, to load at startup, and that a process viewer reported that stmgr.exe was executing after boot. Statemgr runs at boot to load stmgr, which is needed to run SR and SFP. OTH, I am very happy that the migration to XP was succcessful and so easy. Obviously, the hrdware supports XP, with which your friend will be happy and far more secure. Be sure to upgrade to SP2, ASAP. Have the friend learn about the many MS ng's supporting XP, where numerous experts stand ready to aid. BTW, what ensued during the attempts to run scandisk from a floppy, under DOS? This should have succeeded. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Jack Many thanks for replying to this issue Had tried running scandisk from the boot disk to no avail :-( |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Start up error after upgrade
Fran, as I understand it, following your problems with McAfee, you have now
got your printer working again (albeit in slightly degraded mode, but at least functional) and your PC is running sufficiently to get you by - or at least until you are able to recover your data to your new external HDD in anticipation of the demise of your 'mechanically noisy' and suspect HDD (according to the information that you've provided). Hopefully - if nothing else - that has reduced your desperation g At this stage, I'm not sure quite what else you want to know - except to ask/suggest that you initially consider a replacement HDD (although one or two more tests using your old HDD manufacturers utilities *may* be worthwhile before you go down that path). However, in view of the age of the PC and that WinMe will have completed its 'Life Cycle' by July of this year, you *may* wish to consider throwing money at a brand new PC (with a newer OS e.g XP), rather than throwing it at maintaining your existing one. (Good [money] after bad?) That is of course a personal decision and may depend on exactly what use you have for your existing PC and your aspirations for a new one. There is no technical reason why you couldn't get a few more years service from your old one (and WinMe), financial constraints excepted. Only you can decide the next step - you've only to look at the activity in the WinMe newsgroups to see how obsolete WinMe is becoming. In fact most of the respondents to these groups tend to answer queries using their WinXP machines! Good luck with your deliberations - but I would urge you to back-up your important data files sooner rather than later. Mart "Fran" wrote in message ... Yes, I realized the original thread was a year old, but I was desperate for help and looking for answers. Thanks for your reply. From what I can tell, the system initally crashed while installing an automatic update of my McAffee virus program. The computer was just frozen up. When I rebooted, all I got was the blank scree and cursor, just like the original poster. When I finally accessed system restore through the ME startup disk in DOS, the latest restore point identified was 10/03. I figured that was better than nothing. It worked. When windows loaded and I opened the system restore utility there were later restore points identified but when I tried to restore to these later points, it wouldn't work. After many attempts, I was finally able to do a minimum install of the printer software and eventually the computer recognizes and installed the hardware and software necessary to reconnect. As far as the grinding goes, I have tried running scan disk in dos from the startup disk and from safemode. Still "grinds"-is mechanically noisy. In anticipation of the inevitable hard drive failure, I purchased an external portable hard drive and intend to back up my files before I lose them altogether. Thanks, Fran. "Mart" wrote: Wow! - Fran, that original thread was about 12 months ago. However, you said that :- I was able to restore the system ... Unfortunately, the restore point was 2 1/2 years ago Wasn't/isn't there a (much) more recent date in the 'scanreg /restore' archive? Were/are you able to find a (much) later date in the System Restore archive? I will ASS-U-ME not (other than VERY recent stuff - i.e. since the date you got it going again) In the mean time, you also mentioned that your "hard drive seems to be grinding" - do you mean mechanically (noisy)? Try running scandisk - preferably in Real Mode DOS from your start-up floppy - and see (and listen) for slow or noisy response. If your hard drive is 'on its last legs' then your USB printer is the least of your worries at this point in time g (Hint - why did your computer fail in the first place?) Boot using your WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk. Select option 2 or 3 and (eventually) at the A:\ prompt, type: scandisk c: (Note the syntax - space between k and c followed by a colon) Then press return. Warning! If it shows errors, do NOT let it 'fix' them or do a Surface Test until you have backed up your data - you may need professional assistance if you're not sure how to copy or recover your data files. However, if you are prepared to lose data, then let it repair errors and do the surface scan and hopefully - and with a bit of luck g - it may even fix the printer problem. Mart "Fran" wrote in message ... I had the very same problem with my PC. I was able to restore the system to an earlier resore point through DOS using a Windows ME startup disk. Unfortunately, the restore point was 2 1/2 years ago--have no idea why. Windows is now starting up normally. I downloaded all the critical updates without problem. But now the hard drive seems to be grinding and I cannot get my printer reinstalled. The printer is connected to the PC with a USB connection. When I disconnect and reconnect the PC searches for and finds the new hardware, then searches for the printer software and then freezes up. I have tried removing and reinstalling the software without success. I know the PC, which is 5 yrs old, is probably dying but I'd like to do everything possible to keep it running for at least a few more months. Any help would be appreciated. Fran "Jack E Martinelli" wrote: mossgiel, our good friend, Mart, is well known to be far more clairvoyant than this humble servant. In your case, I hope you have recovered your machine and are happy. Even if so, I'm unclear as to what your situation is or what you did. Nevertheless, I concur with Mart that your unsuccessful attempt to use the machine's first registry backups to restore is a lucky break for you. Had it succeeded, all the programs installed after the first boot would now be a mess. If such a registry replacement had been successful, your best option would have been to attempt to run System Restore to revert to a far more recent time, replacing this "first boot" registry, and some OS files. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "Mart" wrote in message ... Probably, the original setup registry could have given you even more problems - however, as you now imply that you are back in business then good luck and come back to visit the WinMe groups again. Mart "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Mart Many thanks for your comments on this topic. I did try to restore the registry on the PC by trying to restore it to it's original setup by replacing System.dat and classes.dat with the original files that were created when Win ME was setup. Using "Attrib" and the "REN" commands appeared to work fine, but had problems copying the old files into the registry. I can only assume that I had got the "attrib" keys mixed up as it wouldn't let me copy system.1st to System.dat!! I have since tried to replicate this fault on one of my othermachines, (P3 600 Mhz 256Mb of RAM) and surprise surprise the upgrade went without a hitch !!!! Once agin thanks for your useful pointers on this topic, arms me with the neccessary information on what to do if this should happen again. Once again thanks to Jack and Mart for their useful info "Mart" wrote: Jack, one other *possible* (final?) option to restore the registry, at least - before mossgeil goes down the re-install route. As System Restore isn't working, mossgeil *might* get away with using the scanreg /restore ploy, by trying to revert to the last 'good' registry prior to the problem happening, to see if that will bring things back again. Although it is possible do this in Normal and Safe Mode, under the circumstances, I would suggest he does it in Real Mode DOS, using his WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk. Boot, with your Windows Startup (floppy) Disk and choose option 4) Minimal Boot. At the A:\ prompt, type "scanreg /restore" (no quotes and note the space between the g and /) then press Enter. Follow the screen prompts and when asked, select the LAST 'good' date BEFORE THE PROBLEM, continuing with the instructions. Don't forget to remove the floppy disk BEFORE you tell the machine to reboot. Hopefully, that *may* get things working again - if not, then continue with Jack's re-install suggestions. Mart "Jack E Martinelli" wrote in message ... Thank you for your prompt followup. From your report, it appears that scandisk under DOS completed just fine, but the attempt to reboot to WinME Normal Mode failed at the early hangup you describe. This suggests some file corruption of some registry or critical OS files. The usual fix would be to boot To Safe Mode and run SR to revert to a known good time. If Safe Mode will not load properly, then perhaps a use of the command prompt tool might succeed. MS KB Q279736 - "How to Start the System Restore Tool From a Command Prompt" http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];279736 Failing that, you are probably left only with an "in-place" reinstallation, http://winnoel.users.btopenworld.com/reinME.htm or a "clean" installation, http://www.aumha.org/win4/a/clean.htm Or, better yet, the migration to XP SP2, since the hardware supports it. I don't doubt that your friend will be very happy. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Jack Many thanks for your comments. Scandisk ran fine from the start disk, and revealed no errors in either the file system or the hard drive. Once the scan was complete, the machine just hung again, with only the mouse pointer on the screen, no taskbar, and just a plain grey background as opposed the the WinME theme that had originally been on the computer. Totally baffled by this one. The XP migration was done from DOS, and already included SP2 on the disk, so that's one less download to worry about :-) Once again many thanks for the pointers and tips "Jack E Martinelli" wrote: If the WinME system was still running, I would have you check to confirm that Statemgr.exe was checked in msconfig/Startup, to load at startup, and that a process viewer reported that stmgr.exe was executing after boot. Statemgr runs at boot to load stmgr, which is needed to run SR and SFP. OTH, I am very happy that the migration to XP was succcessful and so easy. Obviously, the hrdware supports XP, with which your friend will be happy and far more secure. Be sure to upgrade to SP2, ASAP. Have the friend learn about the many MS ng's supporting XP, where numerous experts stand ready to aid. BTW, what ensued during the attempts to run scandisk from a floppy, under DOS? This should have succeeded. -- Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm In Memorium: Alex Nichol http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/nichol.mspx Your cooperation is very appreciated. ------ "mossgiel" wrote in message ... Hi Jack Many thanks for replying to this issue Had tried running scandisk from the boot disk to no avail :-( |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Upgrading to XP Pro | Dan | General | 6 | April 19th 05 01:46 AM |
Upgrading to XP Pro | Dan | Setup & Installation | 5 | April 19th 05 01:46 AM |
Start missing START | Budd | General | 1 | April 4th 05 01:15 PM |
Start Vs. Restart | JD | General | 11 | July 7th 04 08:11 PM |
start menu items | kirby | Software & Applications | 2 | May 25th 04 05:54 AM |