# cannot find win.com unable to continue loading windows



## acekilla (Oct 29, 2003)

my computer keeps showing this error even when i reboot it


----------



## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

I believe that if you click the link below it will help ya out a bit 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q136630/

# Windows ME users:

(DELETED)

YOu could also do a system restore,,,,power on..tap F8 and enter safe mode then click start...accessories...system tools....system restore...choose a date before the problem occurred.


----------



## acekilla (Oct 29, 2003)

when i try to go to safe mode 
it just says it bypassed the startup files
and it goes to the c prompt

i was wondering if i should just reinstall windows
but i dont remember how to do that without losing my files already on windows


----------



## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

What Windows version is this?

(Bandit, the first link is on the money, what's with the second one? That's for restoring a splash screen)

Ok, I'm going to assume you have Win98 Second Edition, since that is in previous post. I am also going to assume you have cab files in the location c:\windows\options\cabs -- a leap of faith.

From the c:\> prompt type and enter each bold line:

*extract c:\windows\options\cabs\Win98_25.cab Win.cnf /l c:\windows
ren c:\windows\win.cnf win.com*

If no errors in the extraction ctrl alt del to reboot. If errors, copy and report them exactly.

Note here the ^ indicates a space:

extract^c:\windows\options\cabs\Win98_25.cab^Win.cnf^/l^c:\windows
ren^c:\windows\win.cnf^win.com


----------



## acekilla (Oct 29, 2003)

the error said
cannot open c:\windows\options\cabs\win98_25.cab


----------



## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Do you have a Win98 SE Microsoft CD?

If so, using a startup disk boot to the a: prompt, accepting CD-ROM support. Typically this will make the CD drive letter one higher than normal.

Put the CD in the drive

The command lines will be the following from the a: prompt:

extract e:\win98\Win98_25.cab Win.cnf /l c:\windows
ren c:\windows\win.cnf win.com

This will assume that 'e' was the letter assigned to the drive, but you may need to modify as appropriate.

You can also verify whether you have the folder c:\windows\options\cabs on the c: drive with the commands:

c:

cd c:\windows\options\cabs

Do you end up at the cabs directory? If so, then the problem was with the extract utility that loads with Windows. I've seen that before.

You can try the same commands I first gave, but run them from the a:> prompt using the extract utility that comes with boot disks.

If you don't have a Win98 startup disk, you can create one by downloading the setup file for an OEM version from bootdisk.com. You must download to the hard drive you are on, then put a floppy in the drive and run the setup program to copy the files.

http://bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm


----------



## bandit429 (Feb 12, 2002)

Rog to be honest i m not sure how that happened.


----------



## acekilla (Oct 29, 2003)

ok
i dont have a windows startup cd-rom
but i was able to verify that i have c:\windows\options\cabs folder

i assumed if i just reinstalled windows 98 it would fix the problem 
and a tech told me how to do that without a startup cd but i missplaced the paper where i wrote down how to do that


----------



## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Have you tried the extract command using the startup floppy method and pointing it to the hard drive cab files as I suggested?

You can also reinstall Windows from that directory. But FIRST you have to retrieve the Product Key.

You can do it from a command prompt by entering exactly:

*C:\Windows\Command\Find /I "ProductKey" C:\Windows\System.dat*

It is a 25 character key and you must copy it exactly. Do not attempt to reinstall Windows without it.

I would try first to use the extract and rename commands again, using the extract application included with boot disks.

If that fails and you have the product key, then enter:

*c:\windows\options\cabs\setup.exe*

and setup should begin.


----------



## acekilla (Oct 29, 2003)

ok
i tried to get the product key but all it shows is dashes then c:\windows\system.dat


----------



## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Product Key must be entered in quotes as one word: "ProductKey", if you didn't do that, try that again first.

If it still fails try this: from the c:\prompt enter:

*scanreg /fix*

after the registry has been "fixed", try to retrieve the Product Key again, be sure you enter that line exactly (there are 3 spaces to be aware of, before and after /i and after "ProductKey" which must one word and be in quotes)


----------

