So I finally bought a laptop, but no restore CD

OT, in that most of this is about winME, but you guys will know more
than others will.

I finally bought a laptop, and if I had had more time (it arrived
today Thursday and I'm leaving Saturday) I might have bought something
else, but it was only 92 dollars plus 30 shipping, and it does look
nice, etc.

And it's loaded with WinME, but he enclosed a Restore CD for win98.
This isn't of much value is it? Not worth taking with me?

OTOH, I already have an original install CD that a friend gave me for
WinME. Won't that have all the advantages and more of a Restore CD?

Should I use it and put all the .cab files on the laptop, so I will
have all the drivers with me? Or is there a better idea?


I should make a start-up floppy or CD, shouldn't I? Thanks.



If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)

As it's WinMe, then there *should be* a full (complete) set of the
Installation files included in either the Windows/Options/Instal or CABS
folder (depending whether installed from a MS retail copy or an OEM copy of
WinMe)

Assuming that you may need to do a clean install at some future date, take a
look at (and print out) the "cleanhd.txt" file in the win9x folder on your
WinMe CD. You can also view the "Windows Millennium Edition Cleanhd.txt File
Contents" at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;271673
Study it carefully and be sure you have a note of your 'productid' code (the
25 digit code that is supplied with your CD - or use Belarc Advisor from
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html ) and - if your WinMe CD is an
'upgrade' version (rather than a 'full version') - some proof of a 'previous
version' - e.g. your Win98 CD (N.B not required for OEM)

You might also find the following KB article, "How to Use the Fdisk Tool and
the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk" helpful.
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;255867

Use your WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk to format your C: drive and remember
that ALL data will all be erased when you format the disk.
Boot from the floppy and select option 4) Minimal and at the A:\ prompt,
type :-
"format c:" (no quotes and note the space between t and c and the colon
after the c)
Then Press Return.

If you require a start-up floppy, you can create one in Control Panel |
Add/Remove Programs | System Disk or
download a WinMe startup disk image utility onto your hard disk and create a
floppy bootdisk. You can get the utility from
http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm BE SURE TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS

HTH and good luck

Mart



"mm" wrote in message
...
OT, in that most of this is about winME, but you guys will know more
than others will.

I finally bought a laptop, and if I had had more time (it arrived
today Thursday and I'm leaving Saturday) I might have bought something
else, but it was only 92 dollars plus 30 shipping, and it does look
nice, etc.

And it's loaded with WinME, but he enclosed a Restore CD for win98.
This isn't of much value is it? Not worth taking with me?

OTOH, I already have an original install CD that a friend gave me for
WinME. Won't that have all the advantages and more of a Restore CD?

Should I use it and put all the .cab files on the laptop, so I will
have all the drivers with me? Or is there a better idea?


I should make a start-up floppy or CD, shouldn't I? Thanks.



If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)

If the Restore CD is for the laptop (is the computer's brand name on it?),
then it is indeed valuable since that indicates that the laptop was later
upgraded to WinME. WinME almost always worked best when it upgraded a good
working copy of W98 or it was an OEM version specifically tailored for a
particular PC. Installing a retail version clean (ESPECIALLY to a laptop it
was not specifically designed for) often was dicey. The original ME disk
you were given probably won't even work well with the laptop.

--
Regards

Ron Badour
MS MVP 1997 - 2008


"mm" wrote in message
...
OT, in that most of this is about winME, but you guys will know more
than others will.

I finally bought a laptop, and if I had had more time (it arrived
today Thursday and I'm leaving Saturday) I might have bought something
else, but it was only 92 dollars plus 30 shipping, and it does look
nice, etc.

And it's loaded with WinME, but he enclosed a Restore CD for win98.
This isn't of much value is it? Not worth taking with me?

OTOH, I already have an original install CD that a friend gave me for
WinME. Won't that have all the advantages and more of a Restore CD?

Should I use it and put all the .cab files on the laptop, so I will
have all the drivers with me? Or is there a better idea?


I should make a start-up floppy or CD, shouldn't I? Thanks.



If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)