# Compaq Computer Crashed (WinMe)..any help?



## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Another member from this forum called me today (Angelize56 aka Marlene) to tell me that her computer has crashed and she gave me some information and asked me to make a thread and see if anyone could tell her how to fix her computer or if its beyond repair.

Firstly: It is a Compaq Presario SWV254, with WinMe

The basic problem is that it will not boot into Windows whatsoever. Here is what happens when she tried to boot up.

She hits the power button and it starts to make a noise. She comes to a screen where she is given the following message: "Windows has detected a registry/config error. Use scan reg/restore to correct the errors"

It then gives her the option of how to startup.

she selects Normal and gets this:

"reg file not found"

Then the new hardware wizard comes up to say "new hardware found" she clicks "next" and it says "hardware not found" then she clicks "finish"

Then she gets this message: "ENUM\HTREE\ROOT\O....SUREG Create Key failed" Then she gets a gray screen with nothing on it.

she reboots and selects LOG and gets this:

"Windows has detected a registry/config error. Use scan reg/restore to correct the errors"

and also "Registry services may not be operative for this session.

she reboots and selects Safe Mode and gets this:

"Windows has detected a registry/config error. Use scan reg/restore to correct the errors"

she reboots and selects Step by Step Confirmation and gets this:

"Windows has detected a registry/config error. Use scan reg/restore to correct the errors"

then: Create a startup file? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: lootlog text? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: Enable SmartDrvdisk cache? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: loaded & initialized TFSHLP.SYS drivers complete
then: Load all Windows drivers? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then "Registry file is not found. Registry services may be inoperable for this session"
then: Override? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: Standard? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: IFSMGR? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: MSmouse.vxd? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: SUREG Create Key Failed

She tried the recovery CD...it does nothing and just goes to the screen with the startup options.

This is waaay out of my league. If anyone knows of some way she can fix her registry then please let me know. I will call her with whatever advice anyone can offer. This is a time sensitive thing since she pays all of her bills online. If there's no hope then please say so so she can make other arrangements.

Thank you in advance for any help or advice you can give!


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

I would do a scanreg /restore.
This should help:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q221512/

Good luck Angel.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

thank you Jack. I'll call her tonight and read it all to her and see if she can get it going again.
I'm pretty sure she said that her restore disk isnt bring recognized so she might not be able to follow the instructions in the link. But its worth a try! :up:


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

The instructions for Me are slightly different in starting the conputer.
Note:


> If you are running Windows Me, start your computer with the startup disk.


That wouldn't be the restore disk.
That would be the floppy boot disk, I believe.


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

Hello valley,

I read the MS article Jack included in his post above especially this:

"If you are running Windows Me, start your computer with the startup disk." so I did that.

Then I chose Minimal Boot (the 4th option).

At the* A:\>* (prompt) I typed *C:* (or c: case doesn't matter)

At the *C:\>*scanreg /restore (note the space)

and up came the choices of date for restoration.

In short I found that article a bit confusing and so I did the above which worked on my WinME.

It might be of help to Marlene, I hope so.

Ben.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Good work, Ben :up:......


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Thank you guys...and thanks for the heads up to let me know that you'd posted, Ben.  I'm just waiting to call Mar until after I put my little one to bed at 7pm. 

She mentioned a recovery disk that did nothing, as well as some backup restore floppies where she managed to get to a place where she could type something in..and tried to type in scan reg but it didnt work. 

But i'm not sure that she did everything right..or maybe she wasnt typing it in correctly so I will have her follow Ben's steps and see if that does the trick. Hopefully..if it does, she will be here herself to thank yous. :up:


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

aarhus2004 said:


> Hello valley,
> 
> I read the MS article Jack included in his post above especially this:
> 
> ...


She did all of this and at the microsoft registry checker, it said "checking system files" and then went back to the C: prompt. It didnt do anything.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

to update...instead of typing scanreg /restore, she typed in scanreg /fix and this is what she got:

fixed windows/user.dat 100%
then it goes to "repairing windows/system.bat" and then it freezes....and the C prompt comes back.


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

valley said:


> to update...instead of typing scanreg /restore, she typed in scanreg /fix and this is what she got:
> 
> fixed windows/user.dat 100%
> then it goes to "repairing windows/system.bat" and then it freezes....and the C prompt comes back.


valley,

I am out of ideas. I have asked dvk01 for help. I see he just left. SDo please an eye on the thread and we'll see what happens.

Ben.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Thanks Ben. I told Mar you were helping and she sends her thanks and says she knows who you are too, which doesnt surprise me since she seems to know everyone here, lol! 

Jack...she was touched that you replied so quickly and says hello and thanks to you too. 

She said that if she has to, she will buy a new computer. The guy at the computer shop said he'd look at it for 59 bucks...but she doesnt want to waste the money only to have them tell her that they cant do anything. 

I'll be watching the thread and told her that i'd call her again tomorrow if I heard anything new.  Thanks again.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

scanreg /repair will only do a repair job on the existing registry being used. Sometimes it won't correct errors.

scanreg /restore replaces the damaged registry with a previously automatically saved registry.

Marlene should try the scanreg /restore command.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

.......I know that from experience with 98se


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Stoner said:


> Marlene should try the scanreg /restore command.


she already tried that and all it did was give her the C: prompt again. It didnt do anything...thats why she tried the scanreg /fix thing.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Stoner said:


> .......I know that from experience with 98se


lol..I think she is at her wits end and is ready to go and buy a brand spanking new one.  Poor girlie is having withdrawals from TSG.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Sorry, I missed that. 

Well, there is always reinstalling the original OS as an option.

New is nicer though.
With her finances being a little tight, maybe a reinstall is worth considering?


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

Hello all,

I have PM'd Elvandil to see if he can help.

If the system files are intact there maybe a DOS command which could trigger a re-install of WinME using those files.

Well its a thought. But if Marlene has the WinCD and a bootup floppy and the Reg Code - well she would have no problem. But has she those?

Ben.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Stoner said:


> Well, there is always reinstalling the original OS as an option.


is that easy to do?



> New is nicer though.
> With her finances being a little tight, maybe a reinstall is worth considering?


I will ask her. If it involves having the original disks that came with the computer though...i'm pretty sure she only has the one recovery disk and the backup floppies.

If reinstalling the OS involves a disk that she can buy through microsoft, i'm sure would be willing to try it.

And yes, a new one would solve her problems if she could swing it. From what she says, she will buy one if she has to and make payments on it. Hate to see her have the extra expense but I know she does her business online as well as being here, with her online family so whatever it takes to get her back....she'll try anything! :up:


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Also, if Marlene does a fresh install......if there is some important data on that computer, it needs to be copied off before a fresh install as it will be lost otherwise.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

aarhus2004 said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I have PM'd Elvandil to see if he can help.


awesome!



> But if Marlene has the WinCD and a bootup floppy and the Reg Code - well she would have no problem. But has she those?
> 
> Ben.


I'll ask her tomorrow. I cant imagine trying to find disks that have been put away for 6 years but who knows...she might have them AND know right where they are too!


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Stoner said:


> Also, if Marlene does a fresh install......if there is some important data on that computer, it needs to be copied off before a fresh install as it will be lost otherwise.


But there's no way to copy anything if she cant get into windows, is there? So far, none of the bootup options work and all she's accomplished is getting as far as the scanreg /fix would allow her to. Then it froze up and gave her that C prompt.

But like she said..whatever it takes to get the job done...she'll try anything.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Did she try scanreg /restore or scan reg /restore as you posted above?

Most ME installations, though not sure about OEM ones, have all the installation files in a folder. It is C:\Windows\Options or C:\Windows\Options\Cabs or C:\Windows\Install. I'm not sure which but I'll find out.

In any case, if you can navigate to one of those folders in DOS and find setup.exe, the installation can be started from there. If there is no format, the current files won't be lost, though programs may need re-installation.

Is she using an ME boot floppy? Isn't scanreg on that floppy? If so, you might try it from A: instead of C:.

PS. Run scandisk from that boot floppy, too.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

It's C:\Windows\Options\Install\setup.exe

She can start setup from there. But do the scandisk first to be sure. Even the DOS scandisk is better than nothing.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

thanks elvandil..i'll pass along all of this info to her and will let you know if it works. She tells me that she is using the floppy...but i'm not exactly sure if its an ME boot floppy. She called it a "backup recovery or restore or something like that"...I was writing it all down and may not have understood her correctly. I'll clarify tomorrow. 

Looks like we have lots to try tomorrow. :up: 

She will be so happy with all of the advice. At least if she has to buy a new one, she will do it knowing that she didnt go down without a fight, lol!


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Tell Marlene I said Hi and wish her luck


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

will do, Jack.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Windows ME Boot Disk


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## Guyzer (Jul 3, 2004)

With all the guru's we have here at TSG there has to be someone that could supply her a newer computer for real, real, real cheap if it's sitting in a corner doing nothing. eg: I had an older box with Win 98 on it that I just gave away to someone that needed it. It wasn't anything fancy but she's up and running again and if I sold it it would have been for peanuts. I got more of a warm feeling for doing what I did and to me that's priceless. 

Val say hi to her from me would 'ya.


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

Hello *valley*,

If Marlene already has a StartUp floppy disk (aka bootup disk) and if the WinME system files are on her computer where mine are on mine, which I think is likely, then this is what she can try. I have just tried it on my system and allowed it to proceed to what was the beginning of the file copy process in the set up. I also doubt the registration number will be asked for since no CD is involved - but its worth a try.

One StartUp floppy disk inserted in its drive.

Start the computer.

Choose* Item 4* (*Minimal Boot*) when the list appears. Press *Enter*.

When the A prompt appears (lettercase doesn't matter)

*A:\>* type *C:* Press* Enter*

When the C prompt appears

*C:\>* type *CD C:\windows\options\install *(Note the space between cd and c) Press *Enter*.

The next prompt will look like this

*C:\windows\options\install*\ type *setup* so that the line looks like this

*C:\windows\options\install\setup* Press *Enter*.

ScanDisk follows as does the setup.

I hope it does the trick.

Ben.


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## ekim68 (Jul 8, 2003)

Guyzer said:


> With all the guru's we have here at TSG there has to be someone that could supply her a newer computer for real, real, real cheap if it's sitting in a corner doing nothing.


I agree, her system is old. So, I will donate $20.00 for another system for her...Anyone else?
And, how can we do this?


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## Guyzer (Jul 3, 2004)

ekim68 said:


> I agree, her system is old. So, I will donate $20.00 for another system for her...Anyone else?
> And, how can we do this?


I'm in for 20. Considering Mike's ( TSG ) address is public maybe he wouldn't mind handling the cash.... or maybe even Valley. All we would need is someone with a computer, including a legit copy of an OS ( XP wink, wink ), to determine a reasonable price. Then one person here to keep track of the amounts committed and it's done ( via PM of course ). Marlene doesn't need a monitor, mouse or keyboard so it should be relatively inexpensive and once the goal is met stop accepting dough. I wouldn't want it to turn into a money making endeavor but I would like to see her get something more up to date.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Gonna call Mar shortly...sorry it took so long (kids..you know how it is!) I love the idea of chipping in for a new one (I'll chip in 25). I doubt we can raise enough to buy a new one...but we can either give her the money to go towards a new tower to help offset her costs or maybe we can find someone with an old tower sitting around and we could give them the money to cover the shipping to get it to her? 

But before we get ahead of ourselves...let me call her and try to get her up and running again. Be back in a bit awhile after we go through all of the steps given here.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

I've tried to call her twice in the last half hour and it keeps going to her voicemail box. I'm thinking Will is on the phone. Last night when i called, it went to voicemail and then she called back 10 minutes later. I havent heard from her yet. I have to go away in a little bit but should only be gone for 2 hours or so. If I dont get ahold of her before I leave, i'll start trying as soon as I get back.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

got her on the phone right now. Tried Ben's suggestion and after typing in:

CD C:\windows\options\install

she gets a message saying "too many parameters"

we are still fiddling with it...keep you posted.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Elvandil said:


> It's C:\Windows\Options\Install\setup.exe


ok, she typed this in and gets a "bad command" message


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Elvandil said:


> Is she using an ME boot floppy? Isn't scanreg on that floppy? If so, you might try it from A: instead of C:.


she just tried this and it says "bad command"


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

valley said:


> got her on the phone right now. Tried Ben's suggestion and after typing in:
> 
> CD C:\windows\options\install
> 
> ...


Hello valley

The prompt for the final entry - (type setuo) is this

*C:\windows\options\install\> * then type setup

If that still yields 'Too many parameters'

use *windows\options* after the *c:\>*

giving this *c:\windows\options* then Press *Enter*

which should result in this prompt

*C:\Windows\options\>* type *setup* Press *Enter*

Ben


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

aarhus2004 said:


> giving this *c:\windows\options* then Press *Enter*
> 
> which should result in this prompt
> 
> ...


ok, she did all of this and gets this new message that says "this program cannot be run in DOS mode"


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

What did she end up booting from?


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Elvandil said:


> What did she end up booting from?


Hi JOHN!!!!...sorry I called you Ben for a minute there.  She booted up from her backup startup floppy that she made in 2001 after she got her computer. Its the only one that she has.

She also has a WinMe recovery/restore CD which is not being recognized at all by her computer.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

and I dont know if this had anything to do with it...but the monitor she is using is not the original monitor that came with her PC. That stopped working quite some time ago and her brother gave her an old monitor that he had, which made the colors off a bit. Also..sometimes the page she was viewing, as well as her desktop or any other full screen program, would have a black border all the way around it....almost like it did not fit the monitor (it sounded to me like a graphic card issue but she says that it is the monitor...i reminded her to crack the case and get the dust bunnies out just incase the fan was being overworked. ). 

anyhow....she was getting by ok with it the way it was. When the pictures on the screen got small, she would have to power down and reboot to fix the problem. If i'm remembering right.....her system froze up while she was rebooting to restore the picture quality. It tried to restart and that was the end of it....I dunno what else to think. I'm not very savvy when it comes to computers.


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## TechGuy (Feb 12, 1999)

Just to reiterate what I posted in the other thread:



> It's up to you guys if you want to start a donation, etc, but I have to ask that you do it privately. We've had some problems in the past with less than genuine people asking for money, and I don't want to open the floodgates to those who might be looking to con others. If we allow one, we then have to decide who is and isn't genuine, and I'm not willing to do that. By that I don't mean to say that I don't think that this is a good, genuine cause -- just that we need to be consistent in enforcing that rule. Thanks for your understanding, and PM if I was unclear.


Good luck in helping her! Although, with it being an Me machine, I'd have to vote for replacing it, too.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

TechGuy said:


> Good luck in helping her! Although, with it being an Me machine, I'd have to vote for replacing it, too.


well, it would be nice if she could get the computer she has now up and running....but you can only do so much.


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## TechGuy (Feb 12, 1999)

FYI, just edited my previous quote to be a little more clear. I hope it helps. 

I just scanned through this thread, and was wondering -- have we checked to make sure she's not out of disk space? I had a customer with a corrupt registry once and couldn't repair it until I realized I had no disk space. 

Try running a *dir* at that command prompt -- at the bottom, it should show free space. Also, have we tried running *scandisk*?


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

TechGuy said:


> FYI, just edited my previous quote to be a little more clear. I hope it helps.
> 
> I just scanned through this thread, and was wondering -- have we checked to make sure she's not out of disk space? I had a customer with a corrupt registry once and couldn't repair it until I realized I had no disk space.
> 
> Try running a *dir* at that command prompt -- at the bottom, it should show free space. Also, have we tried running *scandisk*?


Hello valley,

BootUp with the StartUp disk.
Choose Minimal
At the A:\> type C:
At the C:\> type dir

That works for me - just tried it and it shows the free space on the C: drive.

Its all as Mike suggests (I'm a detail freak obviously).

Will try a scandisk command.

Ben.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

TechGuy said:


> FYI, just edited my previous quote to be a little more clear. I hope it helps.


Thanks for clarifying that, Mike. Its much easier to understand your reasons now. :up:



> I just scanned through this thread, and was wondering -- have we checked to make sure she's not out of disk space? I had a customer with a corrupt registry once and couldn't repair it until I realized I had no disk space.


would that involve putting another memory stick in then?



> Try running a *dir* at that command prompt -- at the bottom, it should show free space.


Cool, something new to try. She will be thrilled! She's been hammering away on her keyboard all day long trying to make it do something other than what its doing.



> Also, have we tried running *scandisk*?


And yes, she tried running scandisk....it keeps saying "bad command"


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

aarhus2004 said:


> Hello valley,
> 
> BootUp with the StartUp disk.
> Choose Minimal
> ...


Hi again Ben. I'll call her first thing in the morning to have her try this stuff. Thanks for all of the help you've been giving and for being a detail freak.


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

Hello valley,

I just tried the scandisk option.

That's done like this:

A:\> type C:

C:\> type scandisk

She could do either the short scan or the surface can - these options are made clear. On my C: drive, size 6GB, the time for the full (surface) scan is 35mins.

HTH

Ben.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

aarhus2004 said:


> Hello valley,
> 
> I just tried the scandisk option.
> 
> ...


Ben, she has been able to type in the scandisk command from the c prompt before...but it kept saying "bad command". I assume that typing in the "dir" command might be a new way to try and get to the place where scandisk will be a good command? I hope so!


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

and what does HTH man?  

I will tell her it means "Hugs To Her"....?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

At the c: prompt, you ONLY want to type 

scandisk


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Val, DISK SPACE is hard drive space, not memory stick related....that would be called ram.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

valley said:


> Hi Ben.  She booted up from her backup startup floppy that she made in 2001 after she got her computer. Its the only one that she has.
> 
> She also has a WinMe recovery/restore CD which is not being recognized at all by her computer.


He's not Ben....just an FYI 

He's John


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

valley said:


> and what does HTH man?
> 
> I will tell her it means "Hugs To Her"....?


Yes that and also the more mundane 'hope that helps'.

I see I missed out on the Press Enter(s) but I'm sure that's known.

She, Marlene, has a very good friend in you, valley.

Best wishes in all.:up:

Ben.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

AcaCandy said:


> At the c: prompt, you ONLY want to type
> 
> scandisk


yes, she did that and it didnt work. Just the word "scandisk" and nothing else.

she also tried ti with the word "scanreg" and it didnt work.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

AcaCandy said:


> He's not Ben....just an FYI
> 
> He's John


then why is he signing his posts as "Ben"?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

You have two people confused.....scroll back up...you'll get it eventually 


Can she get a dir at the C: prompt? Also, can she access the bios setup via F10 when the system is first powered on, after the first beep...to see if the hard drive appears there.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

aarhus2004 said:


> Yes that and also the more mundane 'hope that helps'.
> 
> I see I missed out on the Press Enter(s) but I'm sure that's known.


yep...that much is understood, lol!  Honestly..its been hard relaying from her mouth to this screen. She's giving me a lot of info and i'm trying to be accurate but I worry that i've missed something. She's tried so much already!



> She, Marlene, has a very good friend in you, valley.
> 
> Best wishes in all.:up:
> 
> Ben.


Very kind of you to say Ben...or John or whomever you are!


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Post 39 and 40.....for the hint


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

AcaCandy said:


> You have two people confused.....scroll back up...you'll get it eventually


I doubt i'll ever get it...I can be pretty thick when it comes to the obvious sometimes.  



> Can she get a dir at the C: prompt? Also, can she access the bios setup via F10 when the system is first powered on, after the first beep...to see if the hard drive appears there.


So far, she's been able to get to the A prompy only, where she can then typ in the C prompt. From there, she has tried the many suggestions from this thread and none of them have worked. We even made sure that she was using the backslash and not the forward slash.

I asked her to try tapping the F11 key as she booted up...I didnt remember which F key took her to the BIOS screen. I'll have her try this in the morning too.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

AcaCandy said:


> Post 39 and 40.....for the hint


I only scrolled to the top of this page...thats why I didnt catch it.







I hate doing stuff like that!  But i fixed it..and thanks for telling me! :up:


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

F10 for Compaq.......


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Some bios's open up with the 'delete' key upon booting up.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

AcaCandy said:


> F10 for Compaq.......


I bow to the mistress of tech 

But I'd give the delete key a try anyway


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Hit it til the cows come home  Compaq F10, period, end of statement


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

It's a Compaq so who knows what's under the tin


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

AcaCandy said:


> Hit it til the cows come home  Compaq F10, period, end of statement


SO IT IS WRITTEN...SO IT SHALL BE DONE!


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

Where have you been, AcaCandy?

Anyway you're here now and Marlene's difficulties are about to be solved. You have more tricks up your sleeve than your cat's gun has bullets.

Welcome, and make sure you are up early tomorrow.

Ben.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

good night you guys. Mar will be tickled pink that everyone is trying to tell her how to get it fixed. We've got a few new things to try tomorrow so hope is not lost yet! Maybe one of those will be the magic cure. :up:


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

aarhus2004 said:


> Where have you been, AcaCandy?
> 
> Anyway you're here now and Marlene's difficulties are about to be solved. You have more tricks up your sleeve than your cat's gun has bullets.
> 
> ...


Well, if that isn't rhetorical, I was at the flea market most of the morning, then I cooked a fabulous dinner of chicken enchiladas from scratch  

Am I excused?   BEN 

And, yes, I'll be here at stock market :30 or there about


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

"And, yes, I'll be here at stock market :30 or there about"

Waiting. It's way past :30 (whatever that is).


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

I'm here  Just looking through the latest emails. Looks like I've missed nothing yet


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

Morning Aca,

It occurs to me that when *valley* conveys to *Marlene* that she should press/hit F10 on boot up, will Marlene know why she is where she finds herself to be and what it is she is looking for?

I would like to ask, cos I haven't a clue, if my C: drive doesn't show against Primary in the BIOS what would show there? At the moment I recall seeing 'Auto' until I highlighted it and pressed Enter when I saw the detail of the drive. But if nothing or something nasty like *Oop*s did show what would that mean?

Its a fine day in the forest of the Pacific NW and I hear lots of tweeting - but then I hear that whether or no. Trusting the stocks are on the up.

Ben.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Just to update..I tried calling but it went to her voicemail. I know she's home! Maybe she's napping. Kinda hard to catch her at the right time. Its easier for me to call her when the baby is either eating or sleeping, lol. He's having his lunch now!  Hope she calls soon. If not then i'll try to sneak a call in this afternoon to have her try the "dir" command as well as the F10. 

Like Ben said...if she gets into BIOS, what should I tell her to look for?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

She wants to be certain that the hard drive is there, and that the cdrom is the first boot device, if she is going to attempt a reinstall or complete restore (complete restore will lose everything and put the system back to when it was purchased).


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

ok thanks. I'll pass that along. 

I'm pretty sure she told me back in the beginning that her cdrom wasnt being recognized, which is probably why the recovery DC wasnt working for her. I'll double check on that though when I call her.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

If she sees them both in the bios, have her save the changes coming back out.....if the bios isn't remembering the drives, it could be something simple like the small $3 cmos battery on the motherboard.


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

AcaCandy said:


> She wants to be certain that the hard drive is there, and that the cdrom is the first boot device, if she is going to attempt a reinstall or complete restore (complete restore will lose everything and put the system back to when it was purchased).


Just back from my BIOS.(Award its name) - others may be different but mine opens at *Main* with* System Time *highlighted. The down key highlights *Primary* along side of which is *[Auto]* and the pressing of* Enter *reveals the details of the Hard Disk (upon which is my drive C).

Pressing* Esc *returns me to the Menu and using the go-right key permits me to reach *Boot*. The Boot (on mine remember) shows this:
1. Removable Device ( Floppy)
2. IDE Hard Drive (details of)
3. Atapi CDROM (details of) and 
4. Other Boot Device (meaningless details INT something or other)

To Save and Exit *Press F10*

With the above as the Boot order I have done innumerable format/installs using my OEM disc. So may I assume the order Aca mentions is a Compac Pressy thingy - all same F10 to access the BIOS (I use DEL)?

I wonder if there is a way to capture the BIOS settings?

Ben.


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

AcaCandy said:


> If she sees them both in the bios, have her save the changes coming back out.....if the bios isn't remembering the drives, it could be something simple like the small $3 cmos battery on the motherboard.


Yes, simple in terms of cost and availability but requiring some delicate finger work on the motherboard. A job for steady nerves and slender 'steel' fingers. Plus an awareness that static electricity can end all things (and fingers can have it).

Ben.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Unless she has a dot matrix printer, which I doubt, there isn't a way that I know of to capture the bios settings. One could try to take a picture, but, I'd be willing to say that the chance for too much glare would make it difficult to see.

Good old paper and pencil is a handy back up 

As for the battery, inside those cramped Compaq cases, it can be daunting.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

http://forums.techguy.org/windows-95-98-me/86696-solved-scanreg.html

Found that thread on a google search for the scanreg error message.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

I just talked to Will. Mar is sleeping. So if she doesnt call me back tonight, this will have to be put on hold until tomorrow again. Sorry.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

I'll be back at stock market :30 

That would be 9:30 EST  6:30 A.M. MY TIME


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

6:30 am....man you like to sleep in dont you!


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Actually, I usually WAKE UP around 4:30 and watch CNBC for pre-market stuff


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

I wish you lived with me...then YOU could get up with Luke for his early morning drink!  The kid wakes up at 5 every morning, gets in bed with us and then messes with me....pulls my hair over my face, sticks his fingers in my mouth and up my nose, kicks me in the gut...for an hour or so until I get up.  Now I know why people call their kids "monkeys".


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Um...um.....well, you'll remember Chava? 

She pretty much wakes up at the crack of dawn too......if she's not 'tended to' (meaning FED her tuna breakfast) soon enough, then she's on your chest, in your face, and that is 15 pounds of cat pouncing


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

yep....same thing here only double the weight. Ah the joys of babies and furbabies, eh?


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

Lurking ...


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Hi John. Sorry there's no news (if you were wondering how it was going).  I'm keeping my fingers crossed (and sayin' a lil prayer) that the latest commands will get her up and running again!


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

Hi,

Angelize is unlikely to want to format her hard drive,
but if she does want to do that, please let her know that
some Compaq machines had a proprietary arrangement where a
small partition was used as part of the BIOS, they called it
'Diagnostics'

I do not know if her machine is one that uses it.
I only mention this because it happened to me,
re-instating the Diagnostics section was an unwelcome
additional problem.

Regards, John


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Mar called later on in the night last night to tell me that she couldnt take my call to work on the computer because she was in bed with a headache. I told her to give me a call today around 11 (thats about the time I give Luke his lunch). I didnt hear from her so I just called and got her voicemail. I suspect that she's still got the headache. I'm so sorry not to have any answers for you yet. As soon as I hear from her, i'll post and give the results.  I'm sure she'll call as soon as she can.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

john1 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Angelize is unlikely to want to format her hard drive,
> but if she does want to do that, please let her know that
> ...


and dont forget...anything she has to do like this has to be relayed by me on the phone.  So far the commands have been easy to relay but if she has to format her hard drive and it involves a long time then I might not be able to do it all in one phone call. It would probably be easier for me to print out the directions and mail them to her.  I have no problem doing that if someone wants to tell her how to do it.

Actually, I could print out the whole thread and mail it to her so she can try everything again (incase something got lost in the translation, lol)


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## help4me (Oct 29, 2005)

Val.... please tell Mar that I said hello and I wish I had the tech knowledge to be of more help. I did try to call her several times over the weekend but got her voicemail.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

help4me said:


> Val.... please tell Mar that I said hello and I wish I had the tech knowledge to be of more help. I did try to call her several times over the weekend but got her voicemail.


I will do that Bonnie. I spent a couple of hours (combined time of several calls) on the phone with her over the weekend.  Maybe if she's talking to someone on the phone, it automatically goes to voicemail?  I dunno!


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Yak, yak, yak


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

*Hello team,

I thought I would ask some questions.

If a format is done on a Compaq P. would it not mean that the way to recovery would have to include an installation CD (hewee, I love you! I can see what I am 'saying' thanks to you)? I believe Marlene doesn't have one.

Does a 'Recovery' CD give a full installation? I ask because Marlene has only that (or so I believe).

The 'Diagnostics', "which exists on some Compact machines" (see john1 above), as something which presumably would remain intact since it is, apparently, Bios or partition related, would only have relevance if no format had been done. Correct?

Do we know when this machine was last working? Do we have any knowledge of what was done to the machine while it was still working which may have caused a corruption of the registry?

Is there a recent history of virus (or?) infection?

Was the machine brand new on purchase?

In Post#1 of this thread we learned:

The basic problem is that it will not boot into Windows whatsoever. Here is what happened when she tried to boot-up.




She hits the power button and it starts to make a noise. She comes to a screen where she is given the following message: "Windows has detected a registry/config error. Use scan reg/restore to correct the errors"

It then gives her the option of how to startup.

she selects Normal and gets this: "reg file not found"...

Click to expand...

What other options were offered besides Normal?

What follows is an edit by this poster:

These were outlined in Post#1 I missed them - sorry all. Here is what valley posted on the other options taken and the results of her so doing:




...Then the new hardware wizard comes up to say "new hardware found" she clicks "next" and it says "hardware not found" then she clicks "finish"

Then she gets this message: "ENUM\HTREE\ROOT\O....SUREG Create Key failed" Then she gets a gray screen with nothing on it.

she reboots and selects LOG and gets this:

"Windows has detected a registry/config error. Use scan reg/restore to correct the errors"

and also "Registry services may not be operative for this session.

she reboots and selects Safe Mode and gets this:

"Windows has detected a registry/config error. Use scan reg/restore to correct the errors"

she reboots and selects Step by Step Confirmation and gets this:

"Windows has detected a registry/config error. Use scan reg/restore to correct the errors"

then: Create a startup file? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: lootlog text? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: Enable SmartDrvdisk cache? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: loaded & initialized TFSHLP.SYS drivers complete
then: Load all Windows drivers? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then "Registry file is not found. Registry services may be inoperable for this session"
then: Override? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: Standard? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: IFSMGR? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: MSmouse.vxd? Yes or No (she selects yes)
then: SUREG Create Key Failed

Click to expand...

 end Edit

Based on our help/suggestions:

Marlene has used her originally created StartUp floppy and chosen Option 4 (Minimal Boot) and has tried the following:

She has changed the A:\> to the C:\> (where > means prompt)
and entered

scanreg /restore
and scandisk
and Windows\Options\Install\setup
and Windows\Options\setup

each to no useful effect.

We await the results of her entering (at the C:\>)

dir which may show a list of files and a summary of disk space remaining.

and,

without the StartUp floppy being inserted, her pressing F10 on start-up and being taken into the Bios where she can determine if the hard-disk is, in fact, listed both under the headings 'Main' and 'Boot', and whether the word Diagnostic(s) is present.

What more have I missed?

Ben.*


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

*Just got of the phone with Mar. She had a headache the entire day yesterday, as well as this morning but is feeling better now and is ready to resume. I couldnt talk long because Luke was pulling on me but I did get a few questions in, even if we didnt get to actually try anything with the commands.*



aarhus2004 said:


> *
> If a format is done on a Compaq P. would it not mean that the way to recovery would have to include an installation CD (hewee, I love you! I can see what I am 'saying' thanks to you)? I believe Marlene doesn't have one.*


*

Correct, she doesnt have one. Sorry to read of your vision problems, Ben! Would it help if I posted in all bold text to you from now on?  




Does a 'Recovery' CD give a full installation? I ask because Marlene has only that (or so I believe).

Click to expand...

yes, she has the recovery CD as well as a backup startup floppy. She cannot boot into the Recovery CD but can boot into the backup floppy.




Do we know when this machine was last working?

Click to expand...

It was last working the morning of the day that I started this thread.




Do we have any knowledge of what was done to the machine while it was still working which may have caused a corruption of the registry?

Click to expand...

She had previously been having shutdown issues and for a long time, the only way to shut it down was to hold the button in until it powered down. It never shut down by clicking the "start" button like everyone else's does. The morning it happened, the pictures on her screen all got tiny with a huge black border around it (a recurring problem) the picture was so small that she could not read the words on it so she pressed the button in to power it down like she always does to shut her computer down and when it tried to reboot, nothing came back. Its been like that every since.




Is there a recent history of virus (or?) infection?

Click to expand...

she says that she has not had a virus is a very very long time and her antivirus is up to date.




Was the machine brand new on purchase?

Click to expand...

I believe it was purchased new in 2001. I forgot to ask her this, sorry. I'll double check tomorrow. :up:




What other options were offered besides Normal?

Click to expand...

I posted in the first post the other options and indicated what they were by underlining them...there was "Log" "Safe Mode" and then "Step by Step Confirmation"




Marlene has used her originally created StartUp floppy and chosen Option 4 (Minimal Boot) and has tried the following:

She has changed the A:\> to the C:\> (where > means prompt)
and entered

scanreg /restore
and scandisk
and Windows\Options\Install\setup
and Windows\Options\setup

each to no useful effect.

Click to expand...

Correct.




We await the results of her entering (at the C:\>)

dir which may show a list of files and a summary of disk space remaining.

and,

without the StartUp floppy being inserted, her pressing F10 on start-up and being taken into the Bios where she can determine if the hard-disk is, in fact, listed both under the headings 'Main' and 'Boot', and whether the word Diagnostic(s) is present.

What have I missed?

Ben.

Click to expand...

**
Ben..you are right on top of it all, thank you! I was getting a little overwhelmed by the amount of information and commands and this has helped me a lot to remember where we are! Thanks so much! :up:

I told her to call me around 11 tomorrow and if i didnt hear from her, i'd try to call her and to make sure she picked up, lol! The baby will be having his lunch and i'm sure we can get caught up during that time. Tonight, I am taking the evening off to watch TV.  I'll post as soon as I hear from her and she's tried everything suggested.

Also..someone asked me privately if she has tried to see if there are any loose connections inside of the tower (and I had avised her to check for major dust bunnies that might be clogging up the fans and causing it to overheat) She says that she cannot get the panel off....her brother last took it off when he gave her his old monitor 6 months ago and she thinks he might have cleaned it out then (but isnt sure)...so she will still work on getting that panel off while we are waiting. She said she's ready to take a screwdriver to it if necessary. 

Thanks again for the help and for being so patient. *


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

*Hello valley,

Thanks for the offer of bold text but no need, hewee has put me straight on that one.

My apologies for missing the options. I have edited them into to my last post.

Although we are uncertain of the connection between the issues (there are two others), you have superbly summarized them in your last post.

I have so much admiration for yourself and Marlene, valley, I really do. :up: :up: It will be a great day when this is resolved - one way or the other.

Ben.*


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

aarhus2004 said:


> *
> I have so much admiration for yourself and Marlene, valley, I really do. :up: :up: It will be a great day when this is resolved - one way or the other.
> 
> Ben.*


thats very kind of you to say, thank you. The feeling is definitely mutual. *hugs*

I hope we can get it figured out so she can get back online soon.


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

*Hello valley,

From your first post:



"She hits the power button and it starts to make a noise."

Click to expand...

Is this noise the normal noise of her computer when the boot process begins and does she hear the usual beeps before a screen appears?

What is the hard disk's size, valley? And who manufactured it - if known?

*********************** What follows is informational.

Your Post#7 "backup restore floppies" I think these maybe for her Address Book, Favorites and so on but obviously included the StartUp one.

Your Post#46 TechGuy



"I just scanned through this thread, and was wondering -- have we checked to make sure she's not out of disk space? I had a customer with a corrupt registry once and couldn't repair it until I realized I had no disk space"

Click to expand...

 followed by your



"would that involve putting another memory stick in then?"

Click to expand...

No. Freeing-up hard disk space and so allowing Windows room to operate is it. I don't know whether that is possible in DOS. It maybe though, if one knew the path to the deletable stuff. Music files? Video files? System Restore folders, PC Health stuff - I am guessing. I don't know how TechGuy would go about it though. The dir command, if it can work, will reveal the free space. If too little then TechGuy might have a contribution to make at that point.

Cheers.

Ben.*


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

*Hello valley,

This idea comes courtesy Zee here




Bootup with a startup floppy disk and at the A:\> prompt type

C: (press enter)

Now type:

cd windows\command (press enter)

Your prompt should now read C:\Windows\Command>

Now type:

scanreg /restore (space between g and /)

Press enter, select a date PRIOR to the problem, press enter, wait for the 
process to finish and reboot WITHOUT the disk.

See if you sort it out this way.

Zee

Click to expand...

Please pass it on to Marlene.

Ben.*


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Thanks Ben. I will pass that along to her. I tried to call her today at 11:30 and got her voicemail and she didnt call back.







I hope she's not sick or something. I'm not going to keep phoning. I'll just wait for her to call me when she's ready to continue. Thank you for your patience.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

Marlene just called me. She said she had someone over at her house today to work on her computer who knows a little bit about computers and that he tried everything in this thread and that nothing worked. She is done trying to fix it now. Going back and forth on the phone was very difficult and after this guy tried to help and nothing worked, that was kinda the last straw for her. She's pretty frustrated. 

So thanks everyone (especially Ben...the WinMe king!!!!) for doing all that you could to help me help her. I'm so sorry it didnt work.  

But very grateful for the massive effort!


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

It's too bad that one of us couldn't speak with the person trying to fix it.........


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

AcaCandy said:


> It's too bad that one of us couldn't speak with the person trying to fix it.........


I would have gladly handed the reins over to someone who knew what they were doing..and not just for the guy who was trying to fix it too! I felt pretty useless as a go-between (being a computer novice myself, that is). It was frustrating.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

I'm sure.....and probably even more frustrating for Marlene.


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## Guyzer (Jul 3, 2004)

AcaCandy said:


> It's too bad that one of us couldn't speak with the person trying to fix it.........


As my grandpa used to say " That's the way the pickle squirts. "


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Hmmm, interesting you should say that...I've been looking for a pickling recipe


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## aarhus2004 (Jan 10, 2004)

*Hello val,

I wonder if this might not be the remedy.

The credit for this goes to Zee in his post to me here.
and the source of the information is another man whom I hold in high regard - Mike Maltby. MVP, whose work and contributions in the help-field of computing reflect an enormous depth of knowledge and great generosity.

Perhaps Marlene might do this. It worked for me. I copy the exact wording of the quoted method for acccessing System Restore when one cannot boot into either Safe Mode or Windows:

"Try restoring your system to a date PRIOR to the problem (you MUST have a WinME Startup floppy disk!). (If you don't have one, download the OEM version from www.bootdisk.com as explained above.)

To start the System Restore tool when you cannot start your Windows Me based computer normally or in Safe mode, you can temporarily change the Windows shell from Explorer.exe to rstrui.exe:

1. Start your computer by using the Windows Me Startup disk.

2. At the Startup menu, choose Minimum(Minimal) Boot.

3. At the command prompt (A:\>), type edit c:\windows\system.ini, and then press ENTER.

(This will take you to a blue screen whereon may be seen the contents of the system.ini file - Ben's add-on)

4. Edit the shell= line so that it looks like this:

shell=C:\windows\system\restore\rstrui.exe

5. Press ALT+F, and then press S to save the changes to the System.ini file.

6. Press ALT+F, and then press X.

7. Remove your Windows Me Startup disk, and then restart your computer. When your computer restarts, it should take you directly to System Restore."

Don't you think, val, that this is surely worth a try?

Ben.*


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

aarhus2004 said:


> *
> Don't you think, val, that this is surely worth a try?
> 
> Ben.*


I surely do Ben! :up: I will give her a call and ask her to try. Thats all I can do! But i'm fairly certain that she is not willing to try anything else at this point.

The last time I spoke with her, she was making arrangements to get a refurbished computer within the next week or two. Between the shutdown issues & the pictures problems and now not being able to get online, she decided it would be better to just upgrade to a newer system.

I will still ask her if she is willing to keep going. It sure would be nice to see it working again after all of the hard work everyone has been putting into this thread!  Tell Zee that his efforts are much appreciated!

And I will let you know what she said!


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## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

I wish I still had my old computer then I could give it to her. tell her if she wants I can ask my uncle if he has anyspares laying around. he offered me one but I had no use for it.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

lexmarks567 said:


> I wish I still had my old computer then I could give it to her. tell her if she wants I can ask my uncle if he has anyspares laying around. he offered me one but I had no use for it.


thats very sweet of you but she is all set now!  She is going to be gettting an emachine any day now. Her brother is going to do the shopping for her. Its just a matter of waiting for him and he's been very busy so he hasnt been able to get to it yet. Not only will he have to go get it but he'll have to switch everything over for her to and get it all set up so its going to take the good part of a whole day, I would imagine.

I dont know what she has done with her crashed computer. She'll probably throw it in the dump. She mentioned saving the hard drive in hopes of some day retrieving her pictures from it. LOL..I dont think she'll be a bit sorry to see the rest of it get hauled away though.

Hello to Ben if you pop in.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Thanks for the update Val......sorry I didn't reply to your pm....I read it, thought about it, and then forgot about it


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## Blackmirror (Dec 5, 2006)

Marlene i am missing my partner in crime


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

AcaCandy said:


> Thanks for the update Val......sorry I didn't reply to your pm....I read it, thought about it, and then forgot about it


no problem. I know you are a busy lady.

Hey...check in random tonight or tomorrow. I got a new kitten and need help naming it.  Havent posted any pics yet. I've only had it home for a few hours. What a little honey.


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## LuckyStrike (Nov 2, 2004)

valley said:


> no problem. I know you are a busy lady.
> 
> Hey...check in random tonight or tomorrow. I got a new kitten and need help naming it.  Havent posted any pics yet. I've only had it home for a few hours. What a little honey.


*Nimrod!* A name for the cat I mean.


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## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

Blackmirror said:


> Marlene i am missing my partner in crime


candy is missing her angelize live at 5  cause without marlene she can't get her seoce of information via links


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

valley said:


> no problem. I know you are a busy lady.
> 
> Hey...check in random tonight or tomorrow. I got a new kitten and need help naming it.  Havent posted any pics yet. I've only had it home for a few hours. What a little honey.


:up: Will do................love kittens ........... wish Chava would "allow" me to have one.........  but, I know better


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

lexmarks567 said:


> candy is missing her angelize live at 5  cause without marlene she can't get her seoce of information via links


Yeah, seriously, I mean, I HAD TO ACTUALLY GOOGLE to find a story earlier  What's up with that?  I'm waaaaay too busy to have to find my own news 

At least the Cindy Sheehan thread has been quiet  Well, until DiSaidSo posted there


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