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Help! 98SE loads, but no UI - need it back FAST!



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 10th 05, 01:09 PM
geebee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help! 98SE loads, but no UI - need it back FAST!

My old Win98SE machine has frozen up one too many times, and gotten the
"power-off" treatment one too many times (apparently) and now the
graphic-interface boots up, but I just get the mouse cursor and the Desktop
background color -- no Taskbar, no Icons, no other evidence of a Windows
interface showing!! Even in Safe Mode! No error messages that I could find.
Rolled back to a "System Backup" (Registry) from a few days ago, but that
didn't help either. And OF COURSE, I have to leave town Tuesday for a series
of doctor appointments, for which I need data off the disk...

Backups? What backups? I tell everyone ELSE to do that, but realistically:
who's going to sit there for multiple hours and swap CDs out of your drive
while 12 or so gigs get backup up? And I probably STILL wouldn't have the
Windows OS files I need...

The machine is a stupid HP, and comes with a Restore disk which will be
happy to let you reinstall Windows -- providing you don't mind that it
FORMATS YOUR HARD DRIVE WHILE IT'S DOING IT!!! In other words, you don't get
a usable Windows CD with the computer. The Restore CD probably has the files
I need on it, but they're packed in some HP proprietary format, and
apparently can only be unpacked by the HP software. I'll NEVER buy another HP
computer, but that's beside the point.

I'm assuming I'll have to buy a Win98 Full Install disk, and reinstall over
top of what I've got. I can deal with the expense, and reinstalling my
applications... but I need that disk YESTERDAY!! (and it's early Sunday
morning here...) Does anybody know where I can purchase the OS for download??
Like IMMEDIATELY???

Barring that: anybody know how I can get my UI back? Does anybody know of
some of the likely suspects for critical files to get the UI to load
completely and DO something? And whether there's way I could obtain them
other than getting the Full Install CD? Like maybe a Service Pack? Other
suggestions/options??

Thanks,
GB

P.S. Forgot to add that the system lost the user interface only after I had
diligently run SFC (System File Checker), restored some files which had been
altered or deleted (as many as I could find in CAB files on the hard drive).
Naturally, that just made things worse...
  #2  
Old April 11th 05, 05:07 AM
Jeff Richards
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Get your files off the disk using a boot to DOS and DOS copy commands. Any
floppy freshly formatted and with system files copied to it can get you to a
DOS prompt.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)

"geebee" wrote in message
...
My old Win98SE machine has frozen up one too many times, and gotten the
"power-off" treatment one too many times (apparently) and now the
graphic-interface boots up, but I just get the mouse cursor and the
Desktop
background color -- no Taskbar, no Icons, no other evidence of a Windows
interface showing!! Even in Safe Mode! No error messages that I could
find.
Rolled back to a "System Backup" (Registry) from a few days ago, but that
didn't help either. And OF COURSE, I have to leave town Tuesday for a
series
of doctor appointments, for which I need data off the disk...

Backups? What backups? I tell everyone ELSE to do that, but realistically:
who's going to sit there for multiple hours and swap CDs out of your drive
while 12 or so gigs get backup up? And I probably STILL wouldn't have the
Windows OS files I need...

The machine is a stupid HP, and comes with a Restore disk which will be
happy to let you reinstall Windows -- providing you don't mind that it
FORMATS YOUR HARD DRIVE WHILE IT'S DOING IT!!! In other words, you don't
get
a usable Windows CD with the computer. The Restore CD probably has the
files
I need on it, but they're packed in some HP proprietary format, and
apparently can only be unpacked by the HP software. I'll NEVER buy another
HP
computer, but that's beside the point.

I'm assuming I'll have to buy a Win98 Full Install disk, and reinstall
over
top of what I've got. I can deal with the expense, and reinstalling my
applications... but I need that disk YESTERDAY!! (and it's early Sunday
morning here...) Does anybody know where I can purchase the OS for
download??
Like IMMEDIATELY???

Barring that: anybody know how I can get my UI back? Does anybody know of
some of the likely suspects for critical files to get the UI to load
completely and DO something? And whether there's way I could obtain them
other than getting the Full Install CD? Like maybe a Service Pack? Other
suggestions/options??

Thanks,
GB

P.S. Forgot to add that the system lost the user interface only after I
had
diligently run SFC (System File Checker), restored some files which had
been
altered or deleted (as many as I could find in CAB files on the hard
drive).
Naturally, that just made things worse...



  #3  
Old April 14th 05, 12:52 AM
Ron Badour
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

http://support.microsoft.com/d*efaul...;en-us;2491*91

Maybe this will help and it offers a way of getting into Windows.

--
Regards

Ron Badour, MS MVP Windows 98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo

"geebee" wrote in message
...
My old Win98SE machine has frozen up one too many times, and gotten the
"power-off" treatment one too many times (apparently) and now the
graphic-interface boots up, but I just get the mouse cursor and the
Desktop
background color -- no Taskbar, no Icons, no other evidence of a Windows
interface showing!! Even in Safe Mode! No error messages that I could
find.
Rolled back to a "System Backup" (Registry) from a few days ago, but that
didn't help either. And OF COURSE, I have to leave town Tuesday for a
series
of doctor appointments, for which I need data off the disk...

Backups? What backups? I tell everyone ELSE to do that, but realistically:
who's going to sit there for multiple hours and swap CDs out of your drive
while 12 or so gigs get backup up? And I probably STILL wouldn't have the
Windows OS files I need...

The machine is a stupid HP, and comes with a Restore disk which will be
happy to let you reinstall Windows -- providing you don't mind that it
FORMATS YOUR HARD DRIVE WHILE IT'S DOING IT!!! In other words, you don't
get
a usable Windows CD with the computer. The Restore CD probably has the
files
I need on it, but they're packed in some HP proprietary format, and
apparently can only be unpacked by the HP software. I'll NEVER buy another
HP
computer, but that's beside the point.

I'm assuming I'll have to buy a Win98 Full Install disk, and reinstall
over
top of what I've got. I can deal with the expense, and reinstalling my
applications... but I need that disk YESTERDAY!! (and it's early Sunday
morning here...) Does anybody know where I can purchase the OS for
download??
Like IMMEDIATELY???

Barring that: anybody know how I can get my UI back? Does anybody know of
some of the likely suspects for critical files to get the UI to load
completely and DO something? And whether there's way I could obtain them
other than getting the Full Install CD? Like maybe a Service Pack? Other
suggestions/options??

Thanks,
GB

P.S. Forgot to add that the system lost the user interface only after I
had
diligently run SFC (System File Checker), restored some files which had
been
altered or deleted (as many as I could find in CAB files on the hard
drive).
Naturally, that just made things worse...



 




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