# [SOLVED] Can't "boot" my computer - it freezes



## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

A friend gave me a computer. He claims it worked great when he gave it to me. When I try to boot it says that windows was shut down improperly and needs to run a scan disk. I have attempted the scan disk many times and it freezes somewhere along the line. I also entered in safe mode and windows 98 came up but froze up as soon as I opened the control panel. I have tried: tapping the control key - gave me 2 choices of booting from hard disk or cd rom..I chose hard disc...sent me to scan disk and froze 85% in. I tried tapping the F8 key...gave me a command prompt only...I chose it...typed scanreg /restore...gave me error that is a bad command or file name. I downloaded a DOS booting floppy from www.bootdisk.com. It would not let me run the floppy. I tried to fun a floppy withe Gateway GWSCAN on it but it would not recognize the floppy. I really need some help...Should I just ditch the thing or somehow get it back to its original set-up? I am a rookie in the computer world so I need as much detailed help as possible! Please help if you can. Thanks!!


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## Jeerajat (Sep 5, 2002)

ok try this when it boots up agian http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/usingwindows/maintaining/tips/beginner/scandisk.asp


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## columbo (Sep 10, 2001)

Did you receive any errors when attempting to run Scandisk? 

How far along does it get? How long have you waited (to see if it would finish)?


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Try this.

Start tapping the Ctrl key as soon as you begin booting up. This will bring up the options menu. Choose "Command Prompt Only" then press enter. At the prompt, type scanreg /restore (note the space between the g and /). Use the arrow keys to scroll down to the NEXT TO THE OLDEST restore date. Press enter. When it finishes use Ctrl-Alt-Delete to restart the computer.

Good luck.

Kilowatt


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## SexyTech (Mar 27, 2002)

If this keeps happening, it could be the hard drive going bad.

If you know what brand of Hard drive it is (i.e. Western Digital, Maxtor, etc) go to their website and download the Drive diagnostics program and follow the instructions to make a bootable floppy and run the diags.

Once you run a thurough test on the hard drive, it will let you know if the drive is bad.

If you can not determine what brans of Hard Drive you have, go to Gateway Support Site and download and run GWSCAN program. it will work on All Hard drives.

Hope this helps!

Good Luck!

ST


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

is it set in the bios to boot from floppy (A) drive first if it isn't change it then turn computer off insert floppy and boot the computer


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Can you get into the BIOS setup? If you can make sure that the floppy drive is set as the first boot device. Exit saving changes. Now try the boot disk again. Did you download a Win98 boot disk? Let us know if you can get the boot disk to work.

Also try this. Start up in safe mode again. Now go to Start/Shutdown. Select Restart the computer in MS-DOS. When you get to the dos prompt, type the following commands pressing enter after each command.

cd\

cd windows\command

scanreg /fix

It will take a little while, but windows should compact and rebuild the registry. When its finished, type exit or win and press enter to return to Windows. You can also use Ctrl-Alt-Delete to restart if you wish.

Let us know.

Kilowatt


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

The BIOS set-up is set for floppy as the first boot device. Ran the boot disk and got to the c:\> and it froze...surprise???...not! Have not been able to get to the safe mode again...HELP!


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Let me be sure that I understand this. With the computer off you inserted the boot disk then turned on the computer. Then you got a *c:\>* prompt instead of an *A:\>* prompt? If this is the case then the floppy drive is not working or it is the wrong boot disk. Do you hear the floppy trying to read the disk or is the green light on the floppy flashing?

I'm just trying to figure out exactly what is happening. Hang in there............we'll get it sorted out (eventually).

Kilowatt


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## dai (Mar 7, 2003)

it should come with a not c when you boot from the floppy are you turning the computer off then inserting the floppy then turning the computer on it should then come up with a black screen with
A:
then you type in your instructions in front of th a and press enter


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Okay, I had the computer shut down...Inserted the boot disk in the floppy drive. This is what happened:
1) 2 lights came on - 1 green with a light bulb and 1 red with a "can".
2) it did NOT prompt my "sleeping" monitor to come on.
3) red light goes off and then nothing happens...
4) it did not try to read anything!


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Do you remember which boot disk you downloaded from www.bootdisk.com? Also did you save the download to the desktop of the computer you used to download the boot disk then open the file and follow the directions for making the boot disk or did you download it straight to a floppy disk?

By the way, what operating system is on the computer you are using to connect to TSG?


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

I put new boot disk in drive a...turned computer on...disk loaded and it gave me the safe mode option...I took it.
then it went to a:>...I changed to c:>
cd\
cd windows\command
scanreg /fix
It came up with a Microsoft Registry Checker
"Not Enough Memory"
There is no extended memory driver loaded on your computer.
Make sure you have a HIMEM.SYS file on the disk from which you are starting you computer, and then restart using the 'Command prompt only' option (not 'Safe mode, command prompt only'). Depending on the location of the HIMEM.SYS file, you may need to add a line such as DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS or DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS in the CONFIG.SYS file on you boot drive. Then there was an "OK" option.
Then guess what.....IT FROZE!


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Well at least we're making progress. Leave the boot disk in and restart the computer. You should see an option to "Start computer without CDRom support. Select it then press enter. You should eventually get to the A:\> prompt. At the prompt type

SYS C: and press enter. You should get a message saying "System Transferred". One you see this message, remove the startup disk and Ctrl-Alt-Delete to reboot the computer. See if it will load normally. We are only trying to get to the normal desktop. If you get that far, stop. Post back and we'll decide which way we need to go.

If the SYS C: command doesn't work then reboot with the startup disk again and choose "Start without CDRom support". At the A:\> prompt, type Scandisk /all (space between k and /). This may take a wjile. Please note any errors that may occur.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Okay, I put floppy boot disk in and started the "Proteva" computer...made it through everything until it started to load which kicked into scandisk...where it froze 35% of the way in. Then when I turned the computer off and attempted to turn it back on....the lights lit up but it did not "wake" the sleeping monitor?????


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

I rebooted with start-up disc and chose start without CD Rom Support. At a:\>scandisk /all
It started scan disk:
Media Descriptor - ok
File Allocation Tables - ok
Directory Structure - froze at 37%


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## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

Is this a desktop computer? It really sounds like a bad hard drive and if its a laptop they are difficult. 

You could run windows setup again. Do you have another hard drive?


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

This is a "Proteva" desktop computer. I have a Packard Hell...(Bell) desktop which is what I am working on now...it obviously has a hard drive but that is it!


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Isn't this fun?  

Try this.

Boot up with the startup disk choosing "without CDrom support".
At the A:\> prompt type *copy himem.sys c:\windows* and press enter.(Space between copy and himem.sys and space between himem.sys and c. After the file is copied, Ctrl-Alt-Delete to reboot (leave the floppy in and choose without CDrom supoort again). Then follow the instructions I posted earlier for running the *scanreg /fix* command.

Let us know what happens.

Oh yea, forgot to tell you. If you get a prompt saying that the himem.sys file already exist, over write it.

Kilowatt


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

tried what you said...this is what happened:
overwrite? yes 1 file copied
a:\> I changed to c:\> 
cd
cd\windows\command
scanreg /fix
Microsoft Registry Checker
Repairing C:\Windows\System.Dat
-looking for valid system registry keys
-checking system registry structure
>>Rebuilding system registry (froze @ 43%)


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Try the scanreg/ fix a couple of more times to see if it will get further each time. I feel like the registry is corrupt, if we can only get it straightened out. Anyway tried that while I try something on my test machine.

Let us know.

Kilowatt


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Everything is pointing to a hardware problem, either the hard drive or memory, however, I guess I'm just hard-headed. Let's try a couple of more things.

Remove the startup disk. Power up the beast and hold down the CTRL key ( we need to get to the options menu). Choose option 2 "Logged(Bootlog.txt)". and press enter. When it finishes, use Ctrl-Alt-Delete and reboot as before back to the options menu. This time choose "Command Prompt Only". At the C:\> prompt, type edit bootlog.txt press enter. Look at the file closely for the entry "Terminate= KERNEL Write down exactly what is listed. It might look something like this:

*Initializing KERNEL*

*Terminate = KERNEL*

*Terminate = Win32*

*Endterminate = Win32*

*Endterminate = KERNEL*

This should tell us where the boot process is hanging

Do you have a Win98 CD by chance. Maybe one that came with your other computer?

Kilowatt

Edited: Added line in example.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

kilowatt:
tried to do the last post you suggested and guess what....
got to the options menu (by holding F8) and chose # 2 "Logged (Bootlog.txt). It took me to scan disk and froze @ 67%. The green and red lights were both solid at that point.
Yes, I have both Win98 CD's...one that came with my Packard Bell and one that came with this "lovely" Proteva. Really, I thank you so much for your attempts...let's get it! (Any chance it's a virus??)


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

At this point, it might be a good idea just to erase the hard drive and do a clean install of Win98. How do you feel about it? Make sure that the Windows CD is a full version and not a recovery disk or upgrade. Let's try one more thing first though.

Boot with the startup disk (without CDRom support). At the a:\> prompt type fdisk /mbr and press enter. This will rebuild the Master Boot Record on the hard drive. Restart without the floppy when finished and see what happens.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Kilowatt1: tried your suggestion for fdisk /mbr and restarted it. Of course, it kicked to scandisk and froze @67%, this time with the green light on and the red light off. Okay, this is where I am definitely an idiot when it comes to computer "stuff"... These are the icons on my desktop
My Computer
Norton AntiVirus 2002
Speed Up
Divx Player 2.0 Alpha
Netscape Mail and Newsgroups
Acrobat Reader 5.1
Download Accelerat...
KaZa A lite
Printmaster 12
Kids Games (folder)
Inbox
Ulead Photo Express 2
Net Market Interacti...
Expresslt by Broderbund
Games (folder)
Recycle Bin
Real Jukebox
Family Tree Maker
New Win Zip File
Musicmatch Jukebox
My Documents
Real Player Basic
Quick Books Pro 1999
Netscape 7.0
Solitaire
Win Zip
Quick Time Player
Logitech Resour...
Instant Messenger
TValue for Windows

Anything important?? I am assuming I will lose all of that...is that okay? Now, my friend passed several floppys to me...they are titled:
DF/AI Modem Drivers USRobotics 5612 Model #0637
Windows 98 Expanded Memory Boot Disk
Proteva Inc. Microsoft Windows 98 Startup disk
Windows 98 Startup w/cd drivers & Utilities
Windows 98 startup disk
MS-DOS Cd-rom extensions with device driver

And last but not least...the Windows 98 cd that came with my computer I am using now 1 - Master Recovery 2 - Companion CD and a floppy called Master Restore Diskette V 1.2.03c*

The Windows 98 cd that came with the "Proteva" is just labeled Windows 98


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Nope, haven't given up..............yet

I think the best option is to go ahead and clear the hard drive and start fresh. I didn't see anything in the list that is system specific and/or critical, in fact, your friend that gave you the machine probably would prefer that you not have access to the Quick Books Pro. It is entirely possible that your friend tried to remove QB Pro and that in itself could possibly cause the problem in the windows directory.

What we need to do is remove all the existing partitions on the hard drive, recreate new ones, format, then install a clean copy of Win 98. But first we need to be sure that the CDRom will work with the generic CDRom drivers on the startup disk. Do this:

Boot up with the startup disk and choose "Start computer with CDRom support". Watch closely as shortly before you get to the A:\> prompt you will see a message similar to *"Drive E: = Driver MSCD001 unit 0"* . Write down or remember what letter is assigned (Might not be E, could be D or even R).

Now insert the Win98 CD that came with the Proteva in the CDRom drive. At the A:\> prompt, type E: (or whatever letter) and press enter. If you get an error such as "invalid drive specification", then you will need to go through the same process using one of the other startup disk that came with the Proteva.

If you get to the E:\> prompt (or whatever) type dir and press enter. Write down the files and directories listed and post back the list here. You should have around 5 directories and 4 files. This is from a Win98 se disk I'm using so yours might be slightly different.

If all goes well then I'll walk you through reinstalling Windows.

Kilowatt

PS: Sorry for the delay in responding, I had to bid on a job this AM.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

After the computer froze when I got to the e:\>....I waited awhile and tried again....
ADD_ONS 
AUTO RUN INF 81
CDSAMPLE 
DRIVERS 
README TXT 2838
SETUP EXE 3824
TOOLS 
WIN98 
3 FILES 6734 BYTES
5 DIRS 0 BYTES FREE

Why does it always have to "rest" before I can try something again? Is it overheating?? Something just doesn't make sense to me as to why I can turn it on and it will "wake" the monitor one time and the next time it won't. Someone suggested the Microsoft Patch...Oh well, I have no idea!!! Looking forward to hearing from you...Thanks


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

I'm wondering the same thing. At least we know that you have the proper setup to do a clean reinstall. Of course, it could still be that the hard drive has bit the dust or a problem with the memory modules. If you feel comfortable doing so, lets try one last thing before wiping the hard drive. Take the cover off the case and unplug the ribbon and power cable from the hard drive. Note how they are attached so you reconnect them later. Now boot up with the floppy and CDRom support again. The CDRom letter will probably be D: instead od E:. Change to the CDRom like you did before and type dir . See if it freezes up or hangs like before. If it doesn't hang repeat the process a couple of times. This way we will know whether or not it is the hard drive or windows causing the problem and hopefully not some other hardware.

Let me know what happens.

Kilowatt


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

I "think" I unplugged the power cable and the ribbon to the hard drive. I booted it up with the floppy and CDRom support. I did not get to a CDRom letter...got a message:
"Windows 98 has detected that drive C does not contain a valid FAT or FAT32 partition. There are several possible causes."
There were 3 explanations and that is where I shut it down and posted this reply.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

OK. Plug everything back up and boot with the startup disk again using the same procedure as before ( with cdrom support/change to E:/ dir) to be sure everything is back the way it was. As soon as you do that post back and we'' go ahead with the reinstall.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Guess what??? I plugged everything back in, booted with the startup disk w/cdrom support. It froze @ "preparing to start your computer. This may take a few minutes." Ever since then I have been unsuccessful at getting the monitor to "wake-up" when I try to turn the Proteva on. (It is the same monitor I use for the Packard Bell and it works just fine.) Now what?????


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

I think it is time for you to take "Computer hardware " 101. (It's not that hard and will provide a valuable learning curve). Please unplug the computer, remove the cover, and physically remove then reinsert each card that is plugged into the mother board. Take your time and be sure they are reseated firmly and correctly. Then unp[lug and replug each connector going to the hard drive and cdrom. You will also see some memory modules plugged into the motherboard. (Other than the video, sound, and modem these should be the only things left that actually plug into slots on the motherboard.) Remove and reinsert them as well. Don't worry, the inside of a computer is a lot more durable than you think. Just be sure to touch the outside of the case before working on the inside as this will prevent any static electricity.

Once you have done all this, reboot without the floppy in and try to go into the CMOS setup. Watch the screen closely as it begins the boot process and it should tell you what key to press to "Enter setup", possibly the delete, F1, F2, F10 or some other key. Once you're in setup, check the time and date displayed. Let me know if it is correct. Also, scroll through the pages to familiarize yorself with them. Don't worry, you can't hurt anything unless you make changes and save them.

Let us know how you're doing.

Good luck.

Kilowatt


I have some meetings this morning so I'll check bach from time to time this Afternoon.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Sorry to be frustrating you Kilowatt1, I am trying everything you are suggesting...as far as the computer will let me. Anyway, took your last advice and unplugged, replugged, checked and rechecked all connections...still nothing. The best that I can describe it is that the monitor is "sleeping"...I can hear the drives working...they definitely sound a little louder when the system is not going to work versus when the monitor "wakes" the noise is not as loud in the drives.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Oh I'm not frustrated, I just hate to give in to a machine.

I just went back and re-read everything and I just noticed something. It seems that almost every time you use the startup disk and choose "start with CDRom support", the monitor will not wake up, however if you choose "start without CDRom support", the monitor seems to work. Please try booting with the floppy choosing start without CDRom support to test this theory. Also try booting without the floppy and try to get into the CMOS (BIOS) setup to check the things I listed earlier, especially the time/date. I also want you to check something else for me. Is the hard drive and CDRom drive connected to the *same* flat cable or does each have it's own seperate cable? In addition do you remember seeing a CMOS battery (looks like a silver button about the size of a nickel or quarter)? One other thing. Leave the cover off for a while so you can check to see if all the fans in the system are running, especially the Power supply fan and the processor fan. Oh yea, do you know what model Proteva this is?

OK. I think that covers it. No wait!!................how many sticks of memory modules do you have?


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Okay...it won't let me even attempt to boot...won't "wake" the monitor to try it with the floppy or without.
Now, onto the guts:
there are 2 black, 1 yellow, and 1 red wire that run from the floppy to the hard drive...then 4 black, 2 yellow, and 2 red that run from hard drive to a connector that reduces those 8 wires back to 2 black, 1 yellow and one red...then they connect to a fan?
So the answer to your question is they are NOT the same flat cable.
There is a CMOS battery
The Proteva has a sticker on the back that says H31-A45, if that means anything...other wise I have no idea what model it is.
There is one memory stick with one additional space (64MB).
Thanks!


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

What about the flat "ribbon" cable (about 2 iches wide with the red stripe on one side)? Is the hard drive and the CDRom drive connected to the same cable?


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

No, the hard drive and the CDRom drive are not attached by the same ribbon...


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Left the pc sit all night and tried to reboot this morning but still have no luck.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

This is looking more and more like a hardware issue. Since Proteva went bankrupt due to subpar systems and poor tech support, it is a good possibility taht you do have a hrdware problem. The symptoms are pointing to either a bad video card, the power supply is breaking down or sending a false "power good" signal to the processor, bad memory or a dead CMOS battery. I am still interested in seeing if it will boot with the CDRom out of the equation.

If you are up to it, let's try to isolate whether or not it is a hardware issue. What I mean is we need to remove or disconnect everything from the motherboard except what is absolutely needed to boot into the BIOS setup. Simply put, I want you to physically remove the modem card, sound card, and any network card. Leave only the video card (please double check the video card to be sure it is inserted completely and securely in the slot.) Unplug any printer, speakers, or phone lines. I also want you to unplug the connections from the hard drive and CDRom drive (both the power cable and the ribbon cables). Finally, unplug the connection from the floppy drive (note how they are connected before disconnecting them.)

After all this you should only have the processor, video card, monitor and memory modules left.

Try booting the machine and let me know the results.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Okay Kilowatt1, I see where that hardware class would come in handy!
This is what is plugged into the motherboard right now:
-1 memory card
-wires (8) from the front of the case for the red and green lights
-wires (3) in from the CPU fan??
-wires (20) from the top box in the back of the case (Processor?)
I do not know what the video card is or the sound card.

I removed the modem card, the card above the modem card that has the telephone jack in it, the connections to the hard drive, the connections to the CDRom and the connections to the floppy.

The printer, speakers and phone lines are not attached.

Let me know if this "stuff" is right...and also about the video card and the sound card. When I hear back, I will try to boot. Thanks

Also, I noticed when I unplugged the CDRom: 8 wires coming out from it...4 go to the Processor? and the other 4 go to a connector then out to a smaller connector that is not plugged into anything. Should it be??


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

That's fine. The smaller wires you are refering to are power supply wires coming from the top box in the back of the computer. The box they are coming from is the power supply. The processor is attached to the mother board and has no wires attached to it, except the power supply wires for the processor fan.(Leave these wires attached)

The video card is what the monitor is plugged into. Leave it in with the monitor connected. The sound card is where external speakers would plug into. It will probably have three small holes in it. The wires coming from the CDRom are just additional power supply wires.

Be sure that you have unplugged the "flat" (ribbon) cables from the hard drive, CDRom and floppy. 

Go ahead and try booting the machine to see what, if anything happens.

Kilowatt


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

okay, I booted the pc
everything was going quickly but I was able to jot it down:
-Keyboard error
-PS/2 Mouse error
-Hard Disk Pre-Delay
-A: Drive error
-Searching for Boot record from floppy...not found
-searching for Boot record from SCSI...not found
-Boot failure
-Insert Boot Diskette in a:
Press any key when ready

That was it!


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

That's good, believe it nor not. Turn off the machine and connect the mouse and keyboard, then reboot. The keyboard and mouse errors should now be gone. Now reboot again and try to enter the BIOS setup. If you get into setup, check the time and date to see correct. Post back and let me know. (Don't worry about the other errors, I expected them.)

_Edited by Kilowatt: One of these days I'll learn how to spell!_


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Hi! I plugged in the mouse and keyboard, rebooted and entered BIOS. The system Date reads Sat May 02 1903
The system Time reads 18:36 and ticking......however,
when I tried to escape, it froze and the time stopped ticking.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Boy, talking about an old system!!! OK, restart again, go back into the BIOS and set the time and date. Then follow the directions until you get to the "save changes and exit" screen. Since the time/ date is on the first screen (page) I don't think that you can hit escape to get out of it, you have to follow it on out.

Once you get the time and date correct, power off the machine for about five or ten minutes then go back and check the time/date again to be sure it is still correct. If it is wrong again, then the CMOS battery is dead and will have to be replaced.

If it (the time/date) is OK, then power off and reconnect the floppy drive. Boot again and see if everyhting is OK. Let us know.


Kilowatt


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Hi Kilowatt1: Sorry I had to take so long to get back to you but we got company...I finally got back into BIOS and the date and time were correct. I exited out and shut down. I connected the floppy drive (power cable and ribbon). Guess what? It would not boot...did not "wake" the monitor. So, what's the next step???


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Disconnect the floppy again and try to boot. If it boots OK, then power the system off and plug in the hard drive to see what happens.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

OK...the floppy boot failed so I disconnected it.
Then I connected the hard drive...
the first time it did the following procedures:
1)Arive Error
2)Searching for boot record from floppy
3)Windows screen
4)Scandisk Drive C........froze @ 93%

Shut it down and immediately tried to reboot. It would not"wake" the monitor. Shut it down again and immediately tried to reboot. It was successful this time...ran through scandisk the whole way and got me into windows. When it got me into windows, I did a ctrl-alt-del just to see what was running (in case you wanted to know)
explorer, navapw32, gmt, realplay, cmesys, ymsgr tray, em exec, mm tray, instantaccess, stimon, dssagent, systray, wmexe and rnaap.

Then I shut it down and here I am!


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

That's good!! Restart it again and if you get all the way into windows, go to Start/run. Type in msconfig and press enter. Click on the startup tab. Uncheck everything EXCEPT the following:

ScanReg
Systray
Load Power Profiles (probably two entries)

Click apply and reboot when prompted. If everyhthing seems to boot OK run a few programs and try to access the internet if possible. After a bit, go back into the BIOS setup and check tthe time and date again to make sure they are still correct. Then you can try reconnecting the CDRom drive. Just at looking at the stuff in the running processes tells me that the system is loaded down with spyware, BHO's, and possibly a virus or three. 

Well obviously you can't connect to the internet without the modem, so just try the other suggestions first.

Let us know the results.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Kilowatt1: I was successful at getting right into windows
I did start/run and when I entered msconfg I got a message that "cannot find the file msconfg (or one of its components) make sure the path and filename are correct and that all required libraries are available" (I tried it with c:\ also)


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Once again my spelling leaves a whole lot to be desired!! The command should be msconfig not msconfg............sorry about that.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Kilowatt1: The Bios clock and date are still correct. I hooked up the CDRom drive and it booted just fine.
Just a note...while it is booting it goes to a C:\ for a few seconds then to a c:\essolo.com (as if it's looking for something) before it kicks into windows. Anyway, what's next?? Oh, and by the way, it wasn't your spelling, it was my eyes!


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

I think it is now safe to reinstall the remainder of the hardware except the floppy drive. Install them one at a time, shutting down and restarting at least once after installing each one. The essolo.com is most likely the sound card driver loading from the autoexec.bat file and is nothing to be concerned about.

Did you disable the items in msconfig? It seems that we are on the verge of success. Oh, I suggest that you re-install the sound card first then the modem and any other cards you took out last.

Of course, we'll still need to determine what's wrong with the floppy drive.........whether it is the drive itself or one of the cables.

Also the next time you boot up, right click on the My Computer icon on the desk top then click on properties/performance. See if it says that it is configured for optimal performanceand also jot down the % of available resources.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Yes, I disabled the items in msconfig except the 3 (4) you said to keep. Ok, booted successfully after the modem put back in. Yes, it is configured for optimal performance. System resources: 94% free.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

GREAT!!

The only thing left (hardware wise) is the floppy drive. There are three things that could be the problem. The cable is bad, the drive itself is bad or the drive is misconfigured in the BIOS setup. Please go into the setup and scroll through the pages until you find the settings pertaining to the floppy drive. Make sure that it is configured for a 1.44MB-3.5 inch drive. Also, under a different setting there is probably an option to enable or disable the floppy dirve controller. Motherboards vary so you'll just have to scroll through the pages until you find the settings. Once everything is set correctly save changes and exit then power off the machine and reconnect the floppy drive. Check carefully to ensure that it is connected correctly. If it hangs during boot, shut it down and disconnect ONLY the flat (ribbon) cable leaving the power cable plugged up. Try booting again. If it boots OK then either the flat cable or the drive itself is bad. The only way to see which one it is is to replace them with a known good one. If it hangs with just the power cable attached, try a different power plug. There should be another one coming from the power supply. 

Once you get the floppy drive issue solved, the only thing left is to gain internet access on the machine so that you can download some programs to clean up all the undesirable programs lurking about the hard drive.

Let us know how it's going.

Kilowatt


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Hi Kilowatt1:
I went into set-up and saw that it is configured for a 1.44MB-3.5 inch floppy drive. I was not able to see where the enable or disable option was for the drive controller. I connected the floppy drive and it seems to work just fine. There wasn't any "hanging" as far as I noticed. Now, I connected the modem and am on the internet with the Proteva...can hardly believe it! The only problem is...this computer has Netscape and I have no idea how to use it! (I know how to use Internet Explorer). Anyway, just waiting to hear from you...thanx!


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

That's great news,

I am not too familiar with Netscape either but it basically works the same as IE. I have PM'd TonyKlien to have a look at your startups and offer solutions as he is the best. The following is from one of Tony's post. Follow those directions so we can have a look.

Could you please do this?

Go to http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads.php#det, and download 'Hijack This!'.

Unzip it, launch Hijack This, then press "Config" > "Miscellaneous Tools", and press "Generate Startuplist Log"

This will generate a text file that will list all running processes, all applications that are loaded automatically when you start Windows, and more.

Go to Edit > select all, copy it and post its contents here.


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

OK, here it goes!

StartupList report, 05/05/2003, 6:35:10 PM
StartupList version: 1.52
Started from : C:\UNZIPPED\HIJACKTHIS\HIJACKTHIS.EXE
Detected: Windows 98 Gold (Win9x 4.10.1998)
Detected: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)
* Using default options
==================================================

Running processes:

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSGSRV32.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MPREXE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\mmtask.tsk
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSTASK.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SYSTRAY.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\RNAAPP.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\TAPISRV.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\PSTORES.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DDHELP.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SPOOL32.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\DAP\DAP.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\WINZIP\WINZIP32.EXE
C:\UNZIPPED\HIJACKTHIS\HIJACKTHIS.EXE

--------------------------------------------------

Autorun entries from Registry:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

SystemTray = SysTray.Exe
ScanRegistry = C:\WINDOWS\scanregw.exe /autorun
LoadPowerProfile = Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
TimeSink Ad Client = "C:\Program Files\TimeSink\AdGateway\TSADBOT.EXE"

--------------------------------------------------

Autorun entries from Registry:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices

LoadPowerProfile = Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
SchedulingAgent = mstask.exe

--------------------------------------------------

Autorun entries in Registry subkeys of:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

[DSS]
= C:\WINDOWS\\BBStore\DSS\dssagent.exe

--------------------------------------------------

Shell & screensaver key from C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI:

Shell=Explorer.exe
SCRNSAVE.EXE=
drivers=mmsystem.dll power.drv

--------------------------------------------------

C:\WINDOWS\WININIT.BAK listing:
(Created 5/5/2003, 15:54:12)

[RENAME]
NUL=c:\windows
NUL=C:\WINDOWS\NSUNINST.EXE

--------------------------------------------------

C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT listing:

C:\essolo.com

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Browser Helper Objects:

(no name) - C:\PROGRAM FILES\DAP\DAPIEBAR.DLL - {0096CC0A-623C-4829-AD9C-19AF0DC9D8FE}
NAV Helper - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872}
(no name) - C:\PROGRAM FILES\YAHOO!\MESSENGER\YCOMP.DLL - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88}
(no name) - C:\PROGRAM FILES\ADOBE\ACROBAT 5.0\READER\ACTIVEX\ACROIEHELPER.OCX - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3}
(no name) - C:\PROGRAM FILES\DAP\DAPBHO.DLL - {0000CC75-ACF3-4cac-A0A9-DD3868E06852}

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Task Scheduler jobs:

Tune-up Application Start.job
Symantec NetDetect.job
Norton AntiVirus - Scan my computer.job

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Download Program Files:

[Microsoft Search Settings Control]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\DOWNLOADED PROGRAM FILES\SEARCHSETTINGS.OCX
CODEBASE = http://lg.home.microsoft.com/search/lobby/searchsettings.cab

[CV3 Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WUV3IS.DLL
CODEBASE = http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/R1092/V31Controls/x86/w98/en/actsetup.cab

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating ShellServiceObjectDelayLoad items:

WebCheck: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WEBCHECK.DLL

--------------------------------------------------
End of report, 4,159 bytes
Report generated in 0.591 seconds

Command line options:
/verbose - to add additional info on each section
/complete - to include empty sections and unsuspicious data
/full - to include several rarely-important sections
/force9x - to include Win9x-only startups even if running on WinNT
/forcent - to include WinNT-only startups even if running on Win9x
/forceall - to include all Win9x and WinNT startups, regardless of platform
/history - to list version history only


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

OK.

Do this:

Download Spybot - Search & Destroy

After installing, first press Online, and search for, put a check mark at, and install all updates.

Next, close all Internet Explorer windows, hit 'Check for Problems', and have SpyBot remove all it finds.

Here's the link: http://spybot.eon.net.au/


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## SDF (May 6, 2003)

Kilowatt1, 

I must commend you on your patience, perseverance and generosity in this successful "from a distance" technical and instructional help you have given that has gotten this computer up and running. 

All I can say after reading this entire post is.

Wow and may you be blessed. 
(and Tony Klein who has helped me today)   

SDF Susan


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Thank you for the kind words Susan.

This is what makes TSG such a special site. I, along withthe rest of the TSG family, really enjoy helping others. I've always found that I learn something form virtually every problem I help to resolve. Justkidsmom really deserves the credit for having the perserverance to hang in there and trust the suggestions of a total stranger.

By the way, WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!!  


Take care,

Kilowatt


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## justkidzmom (Apr 22, 2003)

Kilowatt1:
Thanks a million. You surely did "hang in there" with me while my pc was "hanging"! I certainly had the desire to have this beast tamed and you did a fine job! Anyway, guess my thread is solved, I ran the spybot and just did whatever it suggested...hope that's okay!

Hopefully you won't be hearing from me again!

Thanks again. Karol


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Anytime Karol,

You should have a nice clean system now. By the way, remember all those programs I had you uncheck in msconfig? You didn't delete them from the system you just told Windows that you are quite capable of starting them from the programs menu when you need them instead of them running in the background all the time wasting resources. HERE is a site that will tell you what they are and whether or not they should start automatically each time you boot up. If you have a problem with a program or it needs to startup automatically, simply go back into msconfig and re-check it.

Let us know if you need any help in the future.

Take care.

Kilowatt

Oh yea, almost forgot. Be sure to run Spybot often to keep the bad stuff cleaned off your system.


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