Repairing ME

When earlier versions of Windows became corrupted it was possible to repair
damaged files or to make an installation on top of the existing installation.
Are one or both of these options available for ME? I do not have room on my
hard drive to make a fresh installation. I have an ME Upgrade installation
CD.

ME is pretty good a protecting itself, and reinstalling is not an action to
take lightly - try fixing the problems first!
what are you experiencing? what EXACT error messages are you seeing?


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"
wrote in message ...
When earlier versions of Windows became corrupted it was possible to
repair
damaged files or to make an installation on top of the existing
installation.
Are one or both of these options available for ME? I do not have room on
my
hard drive to make a fresh installation. I have an ME Upgrade
installation
CD.

Thanks for your reply.

Windows Explorer is causing an error on start-up that prevents completion of
the boot. An error window pops up stating this. I click on OK and the
window closes only to pop up again and again. I can't access AOL so I have
to request help from my home PC which runs XP. Thats why I don't have full
details on hand. On monday I will go through the boot and copy the details
if this matters.

It will boot in Safe Mode, but AOL doesn't work. I checked with AOL about
this.

A second problem is that System Restore doesn't set restore points
automatically or allow me to go back before the current month to look for
restore points. But wait....there's more.

The CD ROM drive is unusable. I'm thinking about getting a cheap drive with
my own money. (This is a very old government-owned PC. I have been waiting
for a replacement for over 10 months.) Before I spend money on this PC, I am
looking for options, hence my post.

I maintain another very old government PC that has troubles of its own, thus
my Display Name.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

ME is pretty good a protecting itself, and reinstalling is not an action to
take lightly - try fixing the problems first!
what are you experiencing? what EXACT error messages are you seeing?


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"
wrote in message ...
When earlier versions of Windows became corrupted it was possible to
repair
damaged files or to make an installation on top of the existing
installation.
Are one or both of these options available for ME? I do not have room on
my
hard drive to make a fresh installation. I have an ME Upgrade
installation
CD.

OK -one step at a time

Reboot to Safe Mode
Open Device Manager
Remove ALL CD-ROM devices
Remove ALL error-flagged devices
Remove ALL devices in the 'Other Devices' branch, if present

Reboot to Normal Mode - Windows will reinstall devices required (if it boots
at all!g)

AOL can't work in Safe mode, because both DUN and networking are inactive in
Safe Mode.

If the error is 'Explorer has caused an error in unknown' then

You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all files.

Reboot to Safe Mode and run CWShredder - to remove variants of the
CoolWebSearch hijacker.
http://www.merijn.org/cwschronicles.html

Use CWShredder, the removal tool:
http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.zip
http://www.merijn.org/files/CWShredder.exe
http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads...CWShredder.exe
http://www.zerosrealm.com/downloads/CWShredder.zip

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com, install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such nasties from
your system.


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"
wrote in message ...
Thanks for your reply.

Windows Explorer is causing an error on start-up that prevents completion
of
the boot. An error window pops up stating this. I click on OK and the
window closes only to pop up again and again. I can't access AOL so I
have
to request help from my home PC which runs XP. Thats why I don't have
full
details on hand. On monday I will go through the boot and copy the
details
if this matters.

It will boot in Safe Mode, but AOL doesn't work. I checked with AOL about
this.

A second problem is that System Restore doesn't set restore points
automatically or allow me to go back before the current month to look for
restore points. But wait....there's more.

The CD ROM drive is unusable. I'm thinking about getting a cheap drive
with
my own money. (This is a very old government-owned PC. I have been
waiting
for a replacement for over 10 months.) Before I spend money on this PC, I
am
looking for options, hence my post.

I maintain another very old government PC that has troubles of its own,
thus
my Display Name.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

ME is pretty good a protecting itself, and reinstalling is not an action
to
take lightly - try fixing the problems first!
what are you experiencing? what EXACT error messages are you seeing?


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
When earlier versions of Windows became corrupted it was possible to
repair
damaged files or to make an installation on top of the existing
installation.
Are one or both of these options available for ME? I do not have room
on
my
hard drive to make a fresh installation. I have an ME Upgrade
installation
CD.

Thank you very much for the instructions. You stimulated my thought
processes. I will follow these instructions on monday. The problem PC's
CD-ROM drive doesn't work, but the floppy does. However, I don't have a
floppy. There's no way for me to save your indicated downloads to media that
can be read by the PC.

I will report back.

Meanwhile, I am left with my original post: Is there any way to repair ME
short of a fresh install?

Again, many thanks.

Al Bowman

Noel Paton wrote

OK -one step at a time

Reboot to Safe Mode
Open Device Manager
Remove ALL CD-ROM devices
Remove ALL error-flagged devices
Remove ALL devices in the 'Other Devices' branch, if present

Reboot to Normal Mode - Windows will reinstall devices required (if it boots
at all!g)

AOL can't work in Safe mode, because both DUN and networking are inactive in
Safe Mode.

If the error is 'Explorer has caused an error in unknown' then

You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all files.

Reboot to Safe Mode and run CWShredder - to remove variants of the
CoolWebSearch hijacker.
http://www.merijn.org/cwschronicles.html

Use CWShredder, the removal tool:
http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.zip
http://www.merijn.org/files/CWShredder.exe
http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads...CWShredder.exe
http://www.zerosrealm.com/downloads/CWShredder.zip

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com, install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such nasties from
your system.


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"
wrote in message ...
Thanks for your reply.

Windows Explorer is causing an error on start-up that prevents completion
of
the boot. An error window pops up stating this. I click on OK and the
window closes only to pop up again and again. I can't access AOL so I
have
to request help from my home PC which runs XP. Thats why I don't have
full
details on hand. On monday I will go through the boot and copy the
details
if this matters.

It will boot in Safe Mode, but AOL doesn't work. I checked with AOL about
this.

A second problem is that System Restore doesn't set restore points
automatically or allow me to go back before the current month to look for
restore points. But wait....there's more.

The CD ROM drive is unusable. I'm thinking about getting a cheap drive
with
my own money. (This is a very old government-owned PC. I have been
waiting
for a replacement for over 10 months.) Before I spend money on this PC, I
am
looking for options, hence my post.

I maintain another very old government PC that has troubles of its own,
thus
my Display Name.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

ME is pretty good a protecting itself, and reinstalling is not an action
to
take lightly - try fixing the problems first!
what are you experiencing? what EXACT error messages are you seeing?


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
When earlier versions of Windows became corrupted it was possible to
repair
damaged files or to make an installation on top of the existing
installation.
Are one or both of these options available for ME? I do not have room
on
my
hard drive to make a fresh installation. I have an ME Upgrade
installation
CD.

www.bootdisk.com
download the diskmaker for the OEM Win ME disk, run the program to create
the floppy on your home machine (or any other machine) and take it to work
with you

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"
wrote in message ...
Thank you very much for the instructions. You stimulated my thought
processes. I will follow these instructions on monday. The problem PC's
CD-ROM drive doesn't work, but the floppy does. However, I don't have a
floppy. There's no way for me to save your indicated downloads to media
that
can be read by the PC.

I will report back.

Meanwhile, I am left with my original post: Is there any way to repair ME
short of a fresh install?

Again, many thanks.

Al Bowman

Noel Paton wrote

OK -one step at a time

Reboot to Safe Mode
Open Device Manager
Remove ALL CD-ROM devices
Remove ALL error-flagged devices
Remove ALL devices in the 'Other Devices' branch, if present

Reboot to Normal Mode - Windows will reinstall devices required (if it
boots
at all!g)

AOL can't work in Safe mode, because both DUN and networking are inactive
in
Safe Mode.

If the error is 'Explorer has caused an error in unknown' then

You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all files.

Reboot to Safe Mode and run CWShredder - to remove variants of the
CoolWebSearch hijacker.
http://www.merijn.org/cwschronicles.html

Use CWShredder, the removal tool:
http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.zip
http://www.merijn.org/files/CWShredder.exe
http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads...CWShredder.exe
http://www.zerosrealm.com/downloads/CWShredder.zip

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com, install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such nasties from
your system.


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
Thanks for your reply.

Windows Explorer is causing an error on start-up that prevents
completion
of
the boot. An error window pops up stating this. I click on OK and the
window closes only to pop up again and again. I can't access AOL so I
have
to request help from my home PC which runs XP. Thats why I don't have
full
details on hand. On monday I will go through the boot and copy the
details
if this matters.

It will boot in Safe Mode, but AOL doesn't work. I checked with AOL
about
this.

A second problem is that System Restore doesn't set restore points
automatically or allow me to go back before the current month to look
for
restore points. But wait....there's more.

The CD ROM drive is unusable. I'm thinking about getting a cheap drive
with
my own money. (This is a very old government-owned PC. I have been
waiting
for a replacement for over 10 months.) Before I spend money on this
PC, I
am
looking for options, hence my post.

I maintain another very old government PC that has troubles of its own,
thus
my Display Name.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

ME is pretty good a protecting itself, and reinstalling is not an
action
to
take lightly - try fixing the problems first!
what are you experiencing? what EXACT error messages are you seeing?


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
When earlier versions of Windows became corrupted it was possible to
repair
damaged files or to make an installation on top of the existing
installation.
Are one or both of these options available for ME? I do not have
room
on
my
hard drive to make a fresh installation. I have an ME Upgrade
installation
CD.

Thanks again for jogging my thinking. I supervise the computer room for
veterans disabled or partially disabled by mental illness. This problem PC
is the only one that connects to the Internet. Some of the veterans,
especially the in-patients, are isolated and need the Internet. This PC's
problems have been giving me a lot of anxiety, and I haven't been thinking as
well as I should. Thanks again.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

www.bootdisk.com
download the diskmaker for the OEM Win ME disk, run the program to create
the floppy on your home machine (or any other machine) and take it to work
with you

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"
wrote in message ...
Thank you very much for the instructions. You stimulated my thought
processes. I will follow these instructions on monday. The problem PC's
CD-ROM drive doesn't work, but the floppy does. However, I don't have a
floppy. There's no way for me to save your indicated downloads to media
that
can be read by the PC.

I will report back.

Meanwhile, I am left with my original post: Is there any way to repair ME
short of a fresh install?

Again, many thanks.

Al Bowman

Noel Paton wrote

OK -one step at a time

Reboot to Safe Mode
Open Device Manager
Remove ALL CD-ROM devices
Remove ALL error-flagged devices
Remove ALL devices in the 'Other Devices' branch, if present

Reboot to Normal Mode - Windows will reinstall devices required (if it
boots
at all!g)

AOL can't work in Safe mode, because both DUN and networking are inactive
in
Safe Mode.

If the error is 'Explorer has caused an error in unknown' then

You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all files.

Reboot to Safe Mode and run CWShredder - to remove variants of the
CoolWebSearch hijacker.
http://www.merijn.org/cwschronicles.html

Use CWShredder, the removal tool:
http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.zip
http://www.merijn.org/files/CWShredder.exe
http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads...CWShredder.exe
http://www.zerosrealm.com/downloads/CWShredder.zip

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com, install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such nasties from
your system.


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
Thanks for your reply.

Windows Explorer is causing an error on start-up that prevents
completion
of
the boot. An error window pops up stating this. I click on OK and the
window closes only to pop up again and again. I can't access AOL so I
have
to request help from my home PC which runs XP. Thats why I don't have
full
details on hand. On monday I will go through the boot and copy the
details
if this matters.

It will boot in Safe Mode, but AOL doesn't work. I checked with AOL
about
this.

A second problem is that System Restore doesn't set restore points
automatically or allow me to go back before the current month to look
for
restore points. But wait....there's more.

The CD ROM drive is unusable. I'm thinking about getting a cheap drive
with
my own money. (This is a very old government-owned PC. I have been
waiting
for a replacement for over 10 months.) Before I spend money on this
PC, I
am
looking for options, hence my post.

I maintain another very old government PC that has troubles of its own,
thus
my Display Name.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

ME is pretty good a protecting itself, and reinstalling is not an
action
to
take lightly - try fixing the problems first!
what are you experiencing? what EXACT error messages are you seeing?


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
When earlier versions of Windows became corrupted it was possible to
repair
damaged files or to make an installation on top of the existing
installation.
Are one or both of these options available for ME? I do not have
room
on
my
hard drive to make a fresh installation. I have an ME Upgrade
installation
CD.

Stay with us, Sleepless, and I'm sure Noel and the rest of us can get you
going well again.
Run the McAfee Stinger and all the anti-spyware tools ASAP so we can proceed
witthout those issues handicapping your efforts.
Don't be shy about asking for instructions.

Back to you, Noel.
--
Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS
Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...t/default.aspx
Your cooperation is very appreciated.
------
"Sleepless in New Jersey"
wrote in message ...
Thanks again for jogging my thinking. I supervise the computer room for
veterans disabled or partially disabled by mental illness. This problem
PC
is the only one that connects to the Internet. Some of the veterans,
especially the in-patients, are isolated and need the Internet. This PC's
problems have been giving me a lot of anxiety, and I haven't been thinking
as
well as I should. Thanks again.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

www.bootdisk.com
download the diskmaker for the OEM Win ME disk, run the program to
create
the floppy on your home machine (or any other machine) and take it to
work
with you

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
Thank you very much for the instructions. You stimulated my thought
processes. I will follow these instructions on monday. The problem
PC's
CD-ROM drive doesn't work, but the floppy does. However, I don't have
a
floppy. There's no way for me to save your indicated downloads to
media
that
can be read by the PC.

I will report back.

Meanwhile, I am left with my original post: Is there any way to
repair ME
short of a fresh install?

Again, many thanks.

Al Bowman

Noel Paton wrote

OK -one step at a time

Reboot to Safe Mode
Open Device Manager
Remove ALL CD-ROM devices
Remove ALL error-flagged devices
Remove ALL devices in the 'Other Devices' branch, if present

Reboot to Normal Mode - Windows will reinstall devices required (if
it
boots
at all!g)

AOL can't work in Safe mode, because both DUN and networking are
inactive
in
Safe Mode.

If the error is 'Explorer has caused an error in unknown' then

You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that
A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all files.

Reboot to Safe Mode and run CWShredder - to remove variants of the
CoolWebSearch hijacker.
http://www.merijn.org/cwschronicles.html

Use CWShredder, the removal tool:
http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.zip
http://www.merijn.org/files/CWShredder.exe
http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads...CWShredder.exe
http://www.zerosrealm.com/downloads/CWShredder.zip

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com,
install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such nasties
from
your system.


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
Thanks for your reply.

Windows Explorer is causing an error on start-up that prevents
completion
of
the boot. An error window pops up stating this. I click on OK and
the
window closes only to pop up again and again. I can't access AOL
so I
have
to request help from my home PC which runs XP. Thats why I don't
have
full
details on hand. On monday I will go through the boot and copy the
details
if this matters.

It will boot in Safe Mode, but AOL doesn't work. I checked with
AOL
about
this.

A second problem is that System Restore doesn't set restore points
automatically or allow me to go back before the current month to
look
for
restore points. But wait....there's more.

The CD ROM drive is unusable. I'm thinking about getting a cheap
drive
with
my own money. (This is a very old government-owned PC. I have
been
waiting
for a replacement for over 10 months.) Before I spend money on
this
PC, I
am
looking for options, hence my post.

I maintain another very old government PC that has troubles of its
own,
thus
my Display Name.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

ME is pretty good a protecting itself, and reinstalling is not an
action
to
take lightly - try fixing the problems first!
what are you experiencing? what EXACT error messages are you
seeing?


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages
to
NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
When earlier versions of Windows became corrupted it was
possible to
repair
damaged files or to make an installation on top of the existing
installation.
Are one or both of these options available for ME? I do not
have
room
on
my
hard drive to make a fresh installation. I have an ME Upgrade
installation
CD.

Thanks for your interest Jack. This thread is becoming cumbersome. Please
see my new post: Repairing ME Part 2

"Jack E Martinelli" wrote:

Stay with us, Sleepless, and I'm sure Noel and the rest of us can get you
going well again.
Run the McAfee Stinger and all the anti-spyware tools ASAP so we can proceed
witthout those issues handicapping your efforts.
Don't be shy about asking for instructions.

Back to you, Noel.
--
Jack E. Martinelli 2002-05 MS MVP for Shell/User / DTS
Help us help you: http://www.dts-L.org/goodpost.htm

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...t/default.aspx
Your cooperation is very appreciated.
------
"Sleepless in New Jersey"
wrote in message ...
Thanks again for jogging my thinking. I supervise the computer room for
veterans disabled or partially disabled by mental illness. This problem
PC
is the only one that connects to the Internet. Some of the veterans,
especially the in-patients, are isolated and need the Internet. This PC's
problems have been giving me a lot of anxiety, and I haven't been thinking
as
well as I should. Thanks again.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

www.bootdisk.com
download the diskmaker for the OEM Win ME disk, run the program to
create
the floppy on your home machine (or any other machine) and take it to
work
with you

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
Thank you very much for the instructions. You stimulated my thought
processes. I will follow these instructions on monday. The problem
PC's
CD-ROM drive doesn't work, but the floppy does. However, I don't have
a
floppy. There's no way for me to save your indicated downloads to
media
that
can be read by the PC.

I will report back.

Meanwhile, I am left with my original post: Is there any way to
repair ME
short of a fresh install?

Again, many thanks.

Al Bowman

Noel Paton wrote

OK -one step at a time

Reboot to Safe Mode
Open Device Manager
Remove ALL CD-ROM devices
Remove ALL error-flagged devices
Remove ALL devices in the 'Other Devices' branch, if present

Reboot to Normal Mode - Windows will reinstall devices required (if
it
boots
at all!g)

AOL can't work in Safe mode, because both DUN and networking are
inactive
in
Safe Mode.

If the error is 'Explorer has caused an error in unknown' then

You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that
A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all files.

Reboot to Safe Mode and run CWShredder - to remove variants of the
CoolWebSearch hijacker.
http://www.merijn.org/cwschronicles.html

Use CWShredder, the removal tool:
http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.zip
http://www.merijn.org/files/CWShredder.exe
http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads...CWShredder.exe
http://www.zerosrealm.com/downloads/CWShredder.zip

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com,
install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such nasties
from
your system.


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
Thanks for your reply.

Windows Explorer is causing an error on start-up that prevents
completion
of
the boot. An error window pops up stating this. I click on OK and
the
window closes only to pop up again and again. I can't access AOL
so I
have
to request help from my home PC which runs XP. Thats why I don't
have
full
details on hand. On monday I will go through the boot and copy the
details
if this matters.

It will boot in Safe Mode, but AOL doesn't work. I checked with
AOL
about
this.

A second problem is that System Restore doesn't set restore points
automatically or allow me to go back before the current month to
look
for
restore points. But wait....there's more.

The CD ROM drive is unusable. I'm thinking about getting a cheap
drive
with
my own money. (This is a very old government-owned PC. I have
been
waiting
for a replacement for over 10 months.) Before I spend money on
this
PC, I
am
looking for options, hence my post.

I maintain another very old government PC that has troubles of its
own,
thus
my Display Name.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

ME is pretty good a protecting itself, and reinstalling is not an
action
to
take lightly - try fixing the problems first!
what are you experiencing? what EXACT error messages are you
seeing?


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages
to
NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
When earlier versions of Windows became corrupted it was
possible to
repair
damaged files or to make an installation on top of the existing
installation.
Are one or both of these options available for ME? I do not
have
room
on
my
hard drive to make a fresh installation. I have an ME Upgrade
installation
CD.

Thanks for your interest and help. This thread is becoming cumbersome.
Please see my new post: Repairing ME Part 2

"Noel Paton" wrote:

www.bootdisk.com
download the diskmaker for the OEM Win ME disk, run the program to create
the floppy on your home machine (or any other machine) and take it to work
with you

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"
wrote in message ...
Thank you very much for the instructions. You stimulated my thought
processes. I will follow these instructions on monday. The problem PC's
CD-ROM drive doesn't work, but the floppy does. However, I don't have a
floppy. There's no way for me to save your indicated downloads to media
that
can be read by the PC.

I will report back.

Meanwhile, I am left with my original post: Is there any way to repair ME
short of a fresh install?

Again, many thanks.

Al Bowman

Noel Paton wrote

OK -one step at a time

Reboot to Safe Mode
Open Device Manager
Remove ALL CD-ROM devices
Remove ALL error-flagged devices
Remove ALL devices in the 'Other Devices' branch, if present

Reboot to Normal Mode - Windows will reinstall devices required (if it
boots
at all!g)

AOL can't work in Safe mode, because both DUN and networking are inactive
in
Safe Mode.

If the error is 'Explorer has caused an error in unknown' then

You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all files.

Reboot to Safe Mode and run CWShredder - to remove variants of the
CoolWebSearch hijacker.
http://www.merijn.org/cwschronicles.html

Use CWShredder, the removal tool:
http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.zip
http://www.merijn.org/files/CWShredder.exe
http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads...CWShredder.exe
http://www.zerosrealm.com/downloads/CWShredder.zip

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com, install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such nasties from
your system.


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
Thanks for your reply.

Windows Explorer is causing an error on start-up that prevents
completion
of
the boot. An error window pops up stating this. I click on OK and the
window closes only to pop up again and again. I can't access AOL so I
have
to request help from my home PC which runs XP. Thats why I don't have
full
details on hand. On monday I will go through the boot and copy the
details
if this matters.

It will boot in Safe Mode, but AOL doesn't work. I checked with AOL
about
this.

A second problem is that System Restore doesn't set restore points
automatically or allow me to go back before the current month to look
for
restore points. But wait....there's more.

The CD ROM drive is unusable. I'm thinking about getting a cheap drive
with
my own money. (This is a very old government-owned PC. I have been
waiting
for a replacement for over 10 months.) Before I spend money on this
PC, I
am
looking for options, hence my post.

I maintain another very old government PC that has troubles of its own,
thus
my Display Name.

"Noel Paton" wrote:

ME is pretty good a protecting itself, and reinstalling is not an
action
to
take lightly - try fixing the problems first!
what are you experiencing? what EXACT error messages are you seeing?


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
NG's

"Sleepless in New Jersey"

wrote in message
...
When earlier versions of Windows became corrupted it was possible to
repair
damaged files or to make an installation on top of the existing
installation.
Are one or both of these options available for ME? I do not have
room
on
my
hard drive to make a fresh installation. I have an ME Upgrade
installation
CD.