Help: My son "fixed" my computer

My son sugested to me that he could make my computer faster and better. He
has his own compter that he he is always taking apart, so I allowed him to
"fix" mine. Bad idea. I am now back to re-instaling win98. My problem is
win98 is not going back to it's original state.ie the screen won't allow
anything but 16 colors and it won't play a music cd. no multimedia. And the
one disk I can't find is the recovery disk. Can anyone help

hello,
just a simple question first, how did you go about 're-installing'
windows 98?

regards Jane


"Bart" wrote in message
news
My son sugested to me that he could make my computer faster and better.
He
has his own compter that he he is always taking apart, so I allowed him to
"fix" mine. Bad idea. I am now back to re-instaling win98. My problem
is
win98 is not going back to it's original state.ie the screen won't allow
anything but 16 colors and it won't play a music cd. no multimedia. And
the
one disk I can't find is the recovery disk. Can anyone help

You will need the video card drivers(s) to allow more colors and resoulution
as well as the sound card driver(s) to allow sound. Do you know if they
came with your computer (eg. O.E.M. Original Equipment Manufacturer) or are
after-market retail parts? Also, I would suggest calling Microsoft to get
the Windows Security Update CD before going to the Windows Update site and
upgrading through that site. It makes the process less painful. smile
Finally, you will need drivers for other components which will include your
modem driver if you have a dial-up connection or your Ethernet card for a
broadband connection. Please make sure that you have a firewall, anti-virus
software and anti-spyware software before going on-line. My first stop
would be the Microsoft Windows Update site to acquire the patches that you
do not have and have been released since the Windows Security CD. This
should help to get you started and I am sure you will get more posters that
will help point you in the right direction. I hope for your sake that your
data was backed up. Finally, if you can acquire 98 Second Edition. Perhaps
a friend has a copy he or she is now longer using and is willing to give it
to you with the product key. Even if the friend has the cd but lost the
product key and is no longer using it and willing to give it to you then I
have found that Microsoft is very accamadating as long as you can prove that
the 98SE cd is legititmate and there are not multiple people using the
version that shouldn't be using it. 98SE allows a user to use USB 2.0 with
hardware that says on the box that it has a cd with driver(s) for 98SE.
Good luck, and have a nice day!

"Bart" wrote in message
news
My son sugested to me that he could make my computer faster and better.
He
has his own compter that he he is always taking apart, so I allowed him to
"fix" mine. Bad idea. I am now back to re-instaling win98. My problem
is
win98 is not going back to it's original state.ie the screen won't allow
anything but 16 colors and it won't play a music cd. no multimedia. And
the
one disk I can't find is the recovery disk. Can anyone help

Bart wrote:
My son sugested to me that he could make my computer faster and
better. He has his own compter that he he is always taking apart, so
I allowed him to "fix" mine. Bad idea. I am now back to
re-instaling win98.

Bad move
________________

My problem is win98 is not going back to it's
original state.ie the screen won't allow anything but 16 colors and
it won't play a music cd. no multimedia. And the one disk I can't
find is the recovery disk. Can anyone help

Find the recovery disk.

Having a "recovery disk", your mobo almost certainly has built in video
and sound and the drivers therefore are on that disk. Until you get
those drivers, you are stuck with what Windows gave you. You might
check the computer manufacturer's site for info regarding the drivers.

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.05...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Bart,

If your son hadn't deleted any essential files from your computer (let's
hope it is so, and that he tweaked only Registry), and if that happened
less than 5 days ago -- boot in Command Prompt Only mode (hold down left
Ctrl key when BIOS tests memory, release it when Startup Menu appears,
select this menu item, and press Enter), and type the command:

scanreg /restore

followed by Enter key. Select the Registry of the nearest date/time
before the time your son began his... mmm... fixing, and restore it.

Most likely that will help.
--
Mikhail Zhilin
http://www.aha.ru/~mwz
Sorry, no technical support by e-mail.
Please reply to the newsgroups only.
======
On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 04:33:04 -0800, "Bart"
wrote:

My son sugested to me that he could make my computer faster and better. He
has his own compter that he he is always taking apart, so I allowed him to
"fix" mine. Bad idea. I am now back to re-instaling win98. My problem is
win98 is not going back to it's original state.ie the screen won't allow
anything but 16 colors and it won't play a music cd. no multimedia. And the
one disk I can't find is the recovery disk. Can anyone help

http://support.microsoft.com/default...39&Product=w98
Troubleshooting Video Problems in Windows

"START, Run, MSConfig, Advanced button". If checked, then uncheck "VGA
640x480x16", & reboot.

"Control Panel, Display, Settings tab". Select as you wish from the
Colors dropdown menu & the Size slider. Really, you should need nothing
higher than "High Color (16 bit)", for speed/resource considerations.

If you move the Screen Area slider to 1024x768 there, be sure to click
the Advanced button, & select Large fonts.

Try to get your colors/size at least twice that way. If it continues to
fail, you may need to reinstall your Monitor or Display Adapter...

For the Monitor...
(1) Boot to Safe Mode
(Hold F5 as you boot or CTRL for the Startup Menu)
(2) "START, Settings, Control Panel, System, Device Manager tab"
(3) Open the Monitors branch, & Remove all entries.

Perhaps, FIRST, even in Normal Mode, note what is installed
similar to below for the Adapter. That is...
(a) D-Clk the monitor there for Properties, Driver tab.
(b) Click the Update Driver button, then "Next".
(c) Bolt "Display a list...", & click "Next".
(d) Bolt "Show all hardware".
Examine the two panes to see what is currently installed.
That is likely what you wish to end up with, after step (4).

(4) Boot to Normal Mode.

Hopefully, it will be rediscovered & installed. Then, if still
necessary, here is the rigmarole of the Display Adapter...

.......Quote..........
The first thing to do is to remove the video adapter you have
installed. Right-click on the desktop; choose "Properties" from the
drop-down menu; select "Settings;" click on the "Advanced" button; and
click on "Adapter". An adapter is a program that tells Windows how to
deal with a specific video card. Make note of the adapter that is
currently installed. Then, change the adapter to "Standard Display
Adapter (VGA)" and restart the system.

[That is: Click "Change, Next, bolt 'Display a List...', Next, bolt
'Show all hardware', scroll left pane to top, select '(Standard display
types)', select 'Standard Display Adapter (VGA)' in right pane, click
'Next'"... PCR]

This will remove the current adapter and replace it with a generic VGA
adapter that works with all video cards. You will not like VGA because
it supports only 16 colors, but the purpose of installing it is to get
rid of whatever was there before.

Next, return to the adapter screen and install an adapter that matches
your video card. This may or may not be the adapter that you are
using now. Examine the materials you received with your computer to
see if they include a CD-ROM or floppy disk that contains the correct
video adapter. Or go to the Gateway website and see if they have an
adapter for you to download. Or check the website of the company that
made your video card.

Bill Starbuck (MVP)
.......End....of quote....


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"Bart" wrote in message
news | My son sugested to me that he could make my computer faster and
better. He
| has his own compter that he he is always taking apart, so I allowed
him to
| "fix" mine. Bad idea. I am now back to re-instaling win98. My
problem is
| win98 is not going back to it's original state.ie the screen won't
allow
| anything but 16 colors and it won't play a music cd. no multimedia.
And the
| one disk I can't find is the recovery disk. Can anyone help