Windows 98 missing/damaged file.

Hi all...

I'm using Windows 98SE. Recently my PC had a serious crashed and I reinstall
windows 98. But when windows tries to load, I get a error message saying "the
file system.ini is missing or damaged... Windows might need this file to
run..."

I've tried reinstalling windows setup a few times. But the problem still
persists. I hope someone can help me. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jason

Were these reinstall attempts "over the top" of existing installations, or
"clean" installs to a freshly formatted partition?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

I'm using Windows 98SE. Recently my PC had a serious crashed and I reinstall
windows 98. But when windows tries to load, I get a error message saying "the
file system.ini is missing or damaged... Windows might need this file to
run..."

I've tried reinstalling windows setup a few times. But the problem still
persists. I hope someone can help me. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jason

I reinstalled them over existing installations as the error message kept
showing everytime after finishing setup.

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Were these reinstall attempts "over the top" of existing installations, or
"clean" installs to a freshly formatted partition?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

I'm using Windows 98SE. Recently my PC had a serious crashed and I reinstall
windows 98. But when windows tries to load, I get a error message saying "the
file system.ini is missing or damaged... Windows might need this file to
run..."

I've tried reinstalling windows setup a few times. But the problem still
persists. I hope someone can help me. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jason

There are many possible issues that prompt this error, and a reinstall over the
top does not often fix them. In fact, I recommend *against* such a procedure
except when needed to get back into your system long enough to back up personal
files in preparation for "clean" install replacement. Reinstall over the top
usually creates as many or more problems as it fixes, when it fixes anything. In
fact, if your hard drive is large enough, I recommend using BootIt NG
(www.bootitng.com) to resize the existing partition and install a fresh copy to
the newly emptied space. However, that's a bit more complicated.

First, let's see if you even have a system.ini. Boot to a Windows Startup floppy
disk, then at the A:\ prompt, run the following command:

dir /s system.ini

What does it return?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
I reinstalled them over existing installations as the error message kept
showing everytime after finishing setup.

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Were these reinstall attempts "over the top" of existing installations, or
"clean" installs to a freshly formatted partition?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

I'm using Windows 98SE. Recently my PC had a serious crashed and I
reinstall
windows 98. But when windows tries to load, I get a error message saying
"the
file system.ini is missing or damaged... Windows might need this file to
run..."

I've tried reinstalling windows setup a few times. But the problem still
persists. I hope someone can help me. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jason

It says "File not found".

I tried running the same command at C:\, it says "1 files(s), 0 dir(s)"

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

There are many possible issues that prompt this error, and a reinstall over the
top does not often fix them. In fact, I recommend *against* such a procedure
except when needed to get back into your system long enough to back up personal
files in preparation for "clean" install replacement. Reinstall over the top
usually creates as many or more problems as it fixes, when it fixes anything. In
fact, if your hard drive is large enough, I recommend using BootIt NG
(www.bootitng.com) to resize the existing partition and install a fresh copy to
the newly emptied space. However, that's a bit more complicated.

First, let's see if you even have a system.ini. Boot to a Windows Startup floppy
disk, then at the A:\ prompt, run the following command:

dir /s system.ini

What does it return?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
I reinstalled them over existing installations as the error message kept
showing everytime after finishing setup.

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Were these reinstall attempts "over the top" of existing installations, or
"clean" installs to a freshly formatted partition?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

I'm using Windows 98SE. Recently my PC had a serious crashed and I
reinstall
windows 98. But when windows tries to load, I get a error message saying
"the
file system.ini is missing or damaged... Windows might need this file to
run..."

I've tried reinstalling windows setup a few times. But the problem still
persists. I hope someone can help me. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jason

"Jason" wrote in message
...
It says "File not found".

I tried running the same command at C:\, it says "1 files(s), 0 dir(s)"

Jason

Try this. After you boot to the A: prompt, type C:

Then type CD\

Then type DIR /S SYSTEM.INI


"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

There are many possible issues that prompt this error, and a reinstall
over the
top does not often fix them. In fact, I recommend *against* such a
procedure
except when needed to get back into your system long enough to back up
personal
files in preparation for "clean" install replacement. Reinstall over
the top
usually creates as many or more problems as it fixes, when it fixes
anything. In
fact, if your hard drive is large enough, I recommend using BootIt NG
(www.bootitng.com) to resize the existing partition and install a fresh
copy to
the newly emptied space. However, that's a bit more complicated.

First, let's see if you even have a system.ini. Boot to a Windows
Startup floppy
disk, then at the A:\ prompt, run the following command:

dir /s system.ini

What does it return?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
I reinstalled them over existing installations as the error message
kept
showing everytime after finishing setup.

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Were these reinstall attempts "over the top" of existing
installations, or
"clean" installs to a freshly formatted partition?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

I'm using Windows 98SE. Recently my PC had a serious crashed and
I
reinstall
windows 98. But when windows tries to load, I get a error message
saying
"the
file system.ini is missing or damaged... Windows might need this
file to
run..."

I've tried reinstalling windows setup a few times. But the
problem still
persists. I hope someone can help me. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jason

OOP! Sorry. Forgot to include the path. Was it found in C:\Windows? Also, do the
following:

dir /s *.tsh

Lastly, have you had Norton anything installed? Did you uninstall Norton
anything?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
It says "File not found".

I tried running the same command at C:\, it says "1 files(s), 0 dir(s)"

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

There are many possible issues that prompt this error, and a reinstall over
the
top does not often fix them. In fact, I recommend *against* such a procedure
except when needed to get back into your system long enough to back up
personal
files in preparation for "clean" install replacement. Reinstall over the top
usually creates as many or more problems as it fixes, when it fixes
anything. In
fact, if your hard drive is large enough, I recommend using BootIt NG
(www.bootitng.com) to resize the existing partition and install a fresh copy
to
the newly emptied space. However, that's a bit more complicated.

First, let's see if you even have a system.ini. Boot to a Windows Startup
floppy
disk, then at the A:\ prompt, run the following command:

dir /s system.ini

What does it return?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
I reinstalled them over existing installations as the error message kept
showing everytime after finishing setup.

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Were these reinstall attempts "over the top" of existing installations,
or
"clean" installs to a freshly formatted partition?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

I'm using Windows 98SE. Recently my PC had a serious crashed and I
reinstall
windows 98. But when windows tries to load, I get a error message
saying
"the
file system.ini is missing or damaged... Windows might need this file
to
run..."

I've tried reinstalling windows setup a few times. But the problem
still
persists. I hope someone can help me. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jason

Are you *sure* it says system.ini is missing or damaged, and not that something
mentioned in system.ini is missing?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
It says "File not found".

I tried running the same command at C:\, it says "1 files(s), 0 dir(s)"

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

There are many possible issues that prompt this error, and a reinstall over
the
top does not often fix them. In fact, I recommend *against* such a procedure
except when needed to get back into your system long enough to back up
personal
files in preparation for "clean" install replacement. Reinstall over the top
usually creates as many or more problems as it fixes, when it fixes
anything. In
fact, if your hard drive is large enough, I recommend using BootIt NG
(www.bootitng.com) to resize the existing partition and install a fresh copy
to
the newly emptied space. However, that's a bit more complicated.

First, let's see if you even have a system.ini. Boot to a Windows Startup
floppy
disk, then at the A:\ prompt, run the following command:

dir /s system.ini

What does it return?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
I reinstalled them over existing installations as the error message kept
showing everytime after finishing setup.

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Were these reinstall attempts "over the top" of existing installations,
or
"clean" installs to a freshly formatted partition?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

I'm using Windows 98SE. Recently my PC had a serious crashed and I
reinstall
windows 98. But when windows tries to load, I get a error message
saying
"the
file system.ini is missing or damaged... Windows might need this file
to
run..."

I've tried reinstalling windows setup a few times. But the problem
still
persists. I hope someone can help me. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jason

Ok. This is what the screen wrote: "A device file that is specified in the
SYSTEM.INI file is damaged. It may be needed to run Windows."

Then next paragraph says:
"You may need to run Windows again. If the file is included in another
software package, you may need to reinstall the software that uses the file."

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Are you *sure* it says system.ini is missing or damaged, and not that something
mentioned in system.ini is missing?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
It says "File not found".

I tried running the same command at C:\, it says "1 files(s), 0 dir(s)"

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

There are many possible issues that prompt this error, and a reinstall over
the
top does not often fix them. In fact, I recommend *against* such a procedure
except when needed to get back into your system long enough to back up
personal
files in preparation for "clean" install replacement. Reinstall over the top
usually creates as many or more problems as it fixes, when it fixes
anything. In
fact, if your hard drive is large enough, I recommend using BootIt NG
(www.bootitng.com) to resize the existing partition and install a fresh copy
to
the newly emptied space. However, that's a bit more complicated.

First, let's see if you even have a system.ini. Boot to a Windows Startup
floppy
disk, then at the A:\ prompt, run the following command:

dir /s system.ini

What does it return?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
I reinstalled them over existing installations as the error message kept
showing everytime after finishing setup.

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Were these reinstall attempts "over the top" of existing installations,
or
"clean" installs to a freshly formatted partition?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

I'm using Windows 98SE. Recently my PC had a serious crashed and I
reinstall
windows 98. But when windows tries to load, I get a error message
saying
"the
file system.ini is missing or damaged... Windows might need this file
to
run..."

I've tried reinstalling windows setup a few times. But the problem
still
persists. I hope someone can help me. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jason

It says 1 file(s), 0 dir(s).

"Hugh Candlin" wrote:


"Jason" wrote in message
...
It says "File not found".

I tried running the same command at C:\, it says "1 files(s), 0 dir(s)"

Jason

Try this. After you boot to the A: prompt, type C:

Then type CD\

Then type DIR /S SYSTEM.INI


"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

There are many possible issues that prompt this error, and a reinstall
over the
top does not often fix them. In fact, I recommend *against* such a
procedure
except when needed to get back into your system long enough to back up
personal
files in preparation for "clean" install replacement. Reinstall over
the top
usually creates as many or more problems as it fixes, when it fixes
anything. In
fact, if your hard drive is large enough, I recommend using BootIt NG
(www.bootitng.com) to resize the existing partition and install a fresh
copy to
the newly emptied space. However, that's a bit more complicated.

First, let's see if you even have a system.ini. Boot to a Windows
Startup floppy
disk, then at the A:\ prompt, run the following command:

dir /s system.ini

What does it return?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
I reinstalled them over existing installations as the error message
kept
showing everytime after finishing setup.

Jason

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Were these reinstall attempts "over the top" of existing
installations, or
"clean" installs to a freshly formatted partition?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Jason" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

I'm using Windows 98SE. Recently my PC had a serious crashed and
I
reinstall
windows 98. But when windows tries to load, I get a error message
saying
"the
file system.ini is missing or damaged... Windows might need this
file to
run..."

I've tried reinstalling windows setup a few times. But the
problem still
persists. I hope someone can help me. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jason