System turned into crap

Hi there.

My computer just got busted somehow (for lack of a better expression), and I
need some help to get it back on track, if that is even possible.

What happened was that one day I rebooted it a few times in a row, because
the ScanDisk program kept freezing, and when it came back on:
- the display was in 16 colors;
- the firewall I had installed refused to load, and it still does - I can't
even uninstall it anymore; it tells me it cannot uninstall it and asks me if
I want to remove it from the 'Add/Remove' list, even though the program can
still be opened
- the Internet cannot be accessed - I think it's because of the firewall,
but I'm not sure

Can anybody tell me how to fix it, without formatting the hard-drive and
installing the operating system again?
(If that's not possible, can anybody give me a tip on how to prevent this
from happening again, if I am forced to re-install everything - but please
keep in mind that with Windows ME oftentimes you are simply forced to reboot
it, so just advising me not to use the 'Reset' button and always restart via
the Start Menu is not exactly a good tip.)

Thanks a million! I will be looking forward to some good advice from the
smart people in these newsgroups. Cheers!

Mart
Sat Mar 24 06:18:27 CDT 2007

You could start by running System Restore and attempt to roll-back no more
than about a week's worth of 'active' (highlighted) dates, i.e. to before
the screen resolution/display changed. See if that gets you somewhere.

> the ScanDisk program kept freezing

That is perhaps a little more worrying as it *might* indicate a possible
failing hard drive.

You could try running scandisk in Real Mode DOS (using the floppy WinMe
Startup Disk) but DO NOT let it do a surface scan until or unless you have
made a note of any error reports and determined whether your data is at risk
and therefore backed-up your (essential) data.

Mart


"Swordlord" <Swordlord@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:93D6D3FF-5238-41DE-8400-3436216A5C21@microsoft.com...
> Hi there.
>
> My computer just got busted somehow (for lack of a better expression), and
> I
> need some help to get it back on track, if that is even possible.
>
> What happened was that one day I rebooted it a few times in a row, because
> the ScanDisk program kept freezing, and when it came back on:
> - the display was in 16 colors;
> - the firewall I had installed refused to load, and it still does - I
> can't
> even uninstall it anymore; it tells me it cannot uninstall it and asks me
> if
> I want to remove it from the 'Add/Remove' list, even though the program
> can
> still be opened
> - the Internet cannot be accessed - I think it's because of the firewall,
> but I'm not sure
>
> Can anybody tell me how to fix it, without formatting the hard-drive and
> installing the operating system again?
> (If that's not possible, can anybody give me a tip on how to prevent this
> from happening again, if I am forced to re-install everything - but please
> keep in mind that with Windows ME oftentimes you are simply forced to
> reboot
> it, so just advising me not to use the 'Reset' button and always restart
> via
> the Start Menu is not exactly a good tip.)
>
> Thanks a million! I will be looking forward to some good advice from the
> smart people in these newsgroups. Cheers!

Norman
Sat Mar 24 06:07:55 CDT 2007

How big is your HDD?
"Swordlord" <Swordlord@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:93D6D3FF-5238-41DE-8400-3436216A5C21@microsoft.com...
> Hi there.
>
> My computer just got busted somehow (for lack of a better expression), and
I
> need some help to get it back on track, if that is even possible.
>
> What happened was that one day I rebooted it a few times in a row, because
> the ScanDisk program kept freezing, and when it came back on:
> - the display was in 16 colors;
> - the firewall I had installed refused to load, and it still does - I
can't
> even uninstall it anymore; it tells me it cannot uninstall it and asks me
if
> I want to remove it from the 'Add/Remove' list, even though the program
can
> still be opened
> - the Internet cannot be accessed - I think it's because of the firewall,
> but I'm not sure
>
> Can anybody tell me how to fix it, without formatting the hard-drive and
> installing the operating system again?
> (If that's not possible, can anybody give me a tip on how to prevent this
> from happening again, if I am forced to re-install everything - but please
> keep in mind that with Windows ME oftentimes you are simply forced to
reboot
> it, so just advising me not to use the 'Reset' button and always restart
via
> the Start Menu is not exactly a good tip.)
>
> Thanks a million! I will be looking forward to some good advice from the
> smart people in these newsgroups. Cheers!

Norman
Sat Mar 24 08:11:52 CDT 2007

Looks like we dove into the same end of the pond, HDD.
He must have taken a long coffee break.
I wonder what brand and age of HDD?
Also seen same symptoms when size barrier is ignored. Too many people
claiming they don't have an issue. Not until they start loading it up and
run disk utilities.
Learned the hard way. Reload of W98 and upgrade of HDD. No problem for about
2 weeks. Was unaware of the size limitation and need to download updates
(WME versions) to get 80G into W98.
Now if that wasn't a kick in the teeth, I did it again a couple of months
later. Forgot to recreate startup disk.
On one of the two occaisons I ended up with near 100 DIR folders on the
root.
So is it a fatigued HDD or did he not meet the size restriction?
If system restore don't work, and probably won't if it is size restriction,
best approach may be reinstall windows to try to recoup data, no running of
scandisk. Once data is retrieved, what may still be available, then proceed
with limiting size, wipe and new install.
Norman
"Mart" <mart(NoSpam)@nospam.nospam> wrote in message
news:OnPKmYgbHHA.3420@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> You could start by running System Restore and attempt to roll-back no more
> than about a week's worth of 'active' (highlighted) dates, i.e. to before
> the screen resolution/display changed. See if that gets you somewhere.
>
> > the ScanDisk program kept freezing
>
> That is perhaps a little more worrying as it *might* indicate a possible
> failing hard drive.
>
> You could try running scandisk in Real Mode DOS (using the floppy WinMe
> Startup Disk) but DO NOT let it do a surface scan until or unless you have
> made a note of any error reports and determined whether your data is at
risk
> and therefore backed-up your (essential) data.
>
> Mart
>
>
> "Swordlord" <Swordlord@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:93D6D3FF-5238-41DE-8400-3436216A5C21@microsoft.com...
> > Hi there.
> >
> > My computer just got busted somehow (for lack of a better expression),
and
> > I
> > need some help to get it back on track, if that is even possible.
> >
> > What happened was that one day I rebooted it a few times in a row,
because
> > the ScanDisk program kept freezing, and when it came back on:
> > - the display was in 16 colors;
> > - the firewall I had installed refused to load, and it still does - I
> > can't
> > even uninstall it anymore; it tells me it cannot uninstall it and asks
me
> > if
> > I want to remove it from the 'Add/Remove' list, even though the program
> > can
> > still be opened
> > - the Internet cannot be accessed - I think it's because of the
firewall,
> > but I'm not sure
> >
> > Can anybody tell me how to fix it, without formatting the hard-drive and
> > installing the operating system again?
> > (If that's not possible, can anybody give me a tip on how to prevent
this
> > from happening again, if I am forced to re-install everything - but
please
> > keep in mind that with Windows ME oftentimes you are simply forced to
> > reboot
> > it, so just advising me not to use the 'Reset' button and always restart
> > via
> > the Start Menu is not exactly a good tip.)
> >
> > Thanks a million! I will be looking forward to some good advice from the
> > smart people in these newsgroups. Cheers!
>
>

Norman
Sat Mar 24 08:15:13 CDT 2007

Just popped to mind, if available, install to clean drive and add original
drive, attempting to move data. DO NOT run scan disk on original drive if it
is size issue. It will only scramble it more.
What say you?
Norman
"Mart" <mart(NoSpam)@nospam.nospam> wrote in message
news:OnPKmYgbHHA.3420@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> You could start by running System Restore and attempt to roll-back no more
> than about a week's worth of 'active' (highlighted) dates, i.e. to before
> the screen resolution/display changed. See if that gets you somewhere.
>
> > the ScanDisk program kept freezing
>
> That is perhaps a little more worrying as it *might* indicate a possible
> failing hard drive.
>
> You could try running scandisk in Real Mode DOS (using the floppy WinMe
> Startup Disk) but DO NOT let it do a surface scan until or unless you have
> made a note of any error reports and determined whether your data is at
risk
> and therefore backed-up your (essential) data.
>
> Mart
>
>
> "Swordlord" <Swordlord@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:93D6D3FF-5238-41DE-8400-3436216A5C21@microsoft.com...
> > Hi there.
> >
> > My computer just got busted somehow (for lack of a better expression),
and
> > I
> > need some help to get it back on track, if that is even possible.
> >
> > What happened was that one day I rebooted it a few times in a row,
because
> > the ScanDisk program kept freezing, and when it came back on:
> > - the display was in 16 colors;
> > - the firewall I had installed refused to load, and it still does - I
> > can't
> > even uninstall it anymore; it tells me it cannot uninstall it and asks
me
> > if
> > I want to remove it from the 'Add/Remove' list, even though the program
> > can
> > still be opened
> > - the Internet cannot be accessed - I think it's because of the
firewall,
> > but I'm not sure
> >
> > Can anybody tell me how to fix it, without formatting the hard-drive and
> > installing the operating system again?
> > (If that's not possible, can anybody give me a tip on how to prevent
this
> > from happening again, if I am forced to re-install everything - but
please
> > keep in mind that with Windows ME oftentimes you are simply forced to
> > reboot
> > it, so just advising me not to use the 'Reset' button and always restart
> > via
> > the Start Menu is not exactly a good tip.)
> >
> > Thanks a million! I will be looking forward to some good advice from the
> > smart people in these newsgroups. Cheers!
>
>

Mart
Sat Mar 24 09:44:11 CDT 2007

Not sure I would completely go along with 'size barrier' issue just yet -
well not until we learn more. If WinMe had previously been installed
correctly, then this should not be a problem.

> .... DO NOT run scan disk on original drive

Yes, do so (in Real Mode DOS) but DO NOT allow a surface scan - as I already
made quite clear in my previous post.

Mart



"Norman" <nthums1@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:OoQy8ghbHHA.4012@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Just popped to mind, if available, install to clean drive and add original
> drive, attempting to move data. DO NOT run scan disk on original drive if
> it
> is size issue. It will only scramble it more.
> What say you?
> Norman
> "Mart" <mart(NoSpam)@nospam.nospam> wrote in message
> news:OnPKmYgbHHA.3420@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> You could start by running System Restore and attempt to roll-back no
>> more
>> than about a week's worth of 'active' (highlighted) dates, i.e. to before
>> the screen resolution/display changed. See if that gets you somewhere.
>>
>> > the ScanDisk program kept freezing
>>
>> That is perhaps a little more worrying as it *might* indicate a possible
>> failing hard drive.
>>
>> You could try running scandisk in Real Mode DOS (using the floppy WinMe
>> Startup Disk) but DO NOT let it do a surface scan until or unless you
>> have
>> made a note of any error reports and determined whether your data is at
> risk
>> and therefore backed-up your (essential) data.
>>
>> Mart
>>
>>
>> "Swordlord" <Swordlord@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:93D6D3FF-5238-41DE-8400-3436216A5C21@microsoft.com...
>> > Hi there.
>> >
>> > My computer just got busted somehow (for lack of a better expression),
> and
>> > I
>> > need some help to get it back on track, if that is even possible.
>> >
>> > What happened was that one day I rebooted it a few times in a row,
> because
>> > the ScanDisk program kept freezing, and when it came back on:
>> > - the display was in 16 colors;
>> > - the firewall I had installed refused to load, and it still does - I
>> > can't
>> > even uninstall it anymore; it tells me it cannot uninstall it and asks
> me
>> > if
>> > I want to remove it from the 'Add/Remove' list, even though the program
>> > can
>> > still be opened
>> > - the Internet cannot be accessed - I think it's because of the
> firewall,
>> > but I'm not sure
>> >
>> > Can anybody tell me how to fix it, without formatting the hard-drive
>> > and
>> > installing the operating system again?
>> > (If that's not possible, can anybody give me a tip on how to prevent
> this
>> > from happening again, if I am forced to re-install everything - but
> please
>> > keep in mind that with Windows ME oftentimes you are simply forced to
>> > reboot
>> > it, so just advising me not to use the 'Reset' button and always
>> > restart
>> > via
>> > the Start Menu is not exactly a good tip.)
>> >
>> > Thanks a million! I will be looking forward to some good advice from
>> > the
>> > smart people in these newsgroups. Cheers!
>>
>>
>
>

Norman
Sat Mar 24 17:46:54 CDT 2007

I assume you mean by correctly that he didn't use a HDD bigger than
127/137GB. He might have put a 160GB or bigger drive in and WME will happily
install. And run fine for some time, usually when it starts getting a good
bit of data or you run scandisk. WME disk tools are not able to handle 42bit
accessing and will wrap causing the overwriting and scrambling of data.
I am not sure if you are talking about the full surface scan so I will
elaborate. Do not allow it to fix anything it finds if it is a drive size
issue as it will only make things worse.
He definitely needs to let us know if size is a possibility or to continue
with your first response. I do agree that the way it popped up leads to
thinking it is a HDD issue.
Norman
"Mart" <mart(NoSpam)@nospam.nospam> wrote in message
news:OPQvjLibHHA.4140@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Not sure I would completely go along with 'size barrier' issue just yet -
> well not until we learn more. If WinMe had previously been installed
> correctly, then this should not be a problem.
>
> > .... DO NOT run scan disk on original drive
>
> Yes, do so (in Real Mode DOS) but DO NOT allow a surface scan - as I
already
> made quite clear in my previous post.
>
> Mart
>
>
>
> "Norman" <nthums1@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:OoQy8ghbHHA.4012@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> > Just popped to mind, if available, install to clean drive and add
original
> > drive, attempting to move data. DO NOT run scan disk on original drive
if
> > it
> > is size issue. It will only scramble it more.
> > What say you?
> > Norman
> > "Mart" <mart(NoSpam)@nospam.nospam> wrote in message
> > news:OnPKmYgbHHA.3420@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> >> You could start by running System Restore and attempt to roll-back no
> >> more
> >> than about a week's worth of 'active' (highlighted) dates, i.e. to
before
> >> the screen resolution/display changed. See if that gets you somewhere.
> >>
> >> > the ScanDisk program kept freezing
> >>
> >> That is perhaps a little more worrying as it *might* indicate a
possible
> >> failing hard drive.
> >>
> >> You could try running scandisk in Real Mode DOS (using the floppy WinMe
> >> Startup Disk) but DO NOT let it do a surface scan until or unless you
> >> have
> >> made a note of any error reports and determined whether your data is at
> > risk
> >> and therefore backed-up your (essential) data.
> >>
> >> Mart
> >>
> >>
> >> "Swordlord" <Swordlord@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> news:93D6D3FF-5238-41DE-8400-3436216A5C21@microsoft.com...
> >> > Hi there.
> >> >
> >> > My computer just got busted somehow (for lack of a better
expression),
> > and
> >> > I
> >> > need some help to get it back on track, if that is even possible.
> >> >
> >> > What happened was that one day I rebooted it a few times in a row,
> > because
> >> > the ScanDisk program kept freezing, and when it came back on:
> >> > - the display was in 16 colors;
> >> > - the firewall I had installed refused to load, and it still does - I
> >> > can't
> >> > even uninstall it anymore; it tells me it cannot uninstall it and
asks
> > me
> >> > if
> >> > I want to remove it from the 'Add/Remove' list, even though the
program
> >> > can
> >> > still be opened
> >> > - the Internet cannot be accessed - I think it's because of the
> > firewall,
> >> > but I'm not sure
> >> >
> >> > Can anybody tell me how to fix it, without formatting the hard-drive
> >> > and
> >> > installing the operating system again?
> >> > (If that's not possible, can anybody give me a tip on how to prevent
> > this
> >> > from happening again, if I am forced to re-install everything - but
> > please
> >> > keep in mind that with Windows ME oftentimes you are simply forced to
> >> > reboot
> >> > it, so just advising me not to use the 'Reset' button and always
> >> > restart
> >> > via
> >> > the Start Menu is not exactly a good tip.)
> >> >
> >> > Thanks a million! I will be looking forward to some good advice from
> >> > the
> >> > smart people in these newsgroups. Cheers!
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>

Swordlord
Tue Mar 27 19:20:57 CDT 2007

Hey.

I don't think I'm going to wait anymore. I will just format the damn
hard-drive and do a clean re-install. It's always the best solution, ain't it?

I just tried to re-install the monitor driver in order to get a better
resolution and, although it was supposedly installed properly and without
problems, I still can't get rid of the blasted 16-color-and-640x480
resolution.

I just wish I knew what in the world caused this crap, so I'd avoid it in
the future!

Thank you for your help, people!

Mart
Tue Mar 27 19:42:47 CDT 2007

Don't know if it's "always" the best solution, but it sure is faster than
pratting around for four days trying to 'fix' it.

Just hope it's the best solution in your case - and don't forget to do your
updates before they're removed from the MS site. (But be aware, there
are/have been some issues on the WinMe WU site quite recently - allegedly,
supposed to be in hand with MS

Regarding the 'monitor driver', perhaps you should be concentrating on the
'video driver', i.e. the graphics card driver, and not the monitor driver.
Just be sure that you've got the latest WinMe driver for your make (and
model) of the card (or motherboard) - perhaps supplied on a separate CD or
disk which came with your PC. If not, search for and download it from the
manufacturers' web site.

Good luck

Mart



"Swordlord" <Swordlord@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:54219128-610F-4333-BEC7-3EF922A37CE9@microsoft.com...
> Hey.
>
> I don't think I'm going to wait anymore. I will just format the damn
> hard-drive and do a clean re-install. It's always the best solution, ain't
> it?
>
> I just tried to re-install the monitor driver in order to get a better
> resolution and, although it was supposedly installed properly and without
> problems, I still can't get rid of the blasted 16-color-and-640x480
> resolution.
>
> I just wish I knew what in the world caused this crap, so I'd avoid it in
> the future!
>
> Thank you for your help, people!

Swordlord
Tue Mar 27 21:06:48 CDT 2007

Hi.

Thank you, everybody, for replying.

Mart:
Unfortunately, I have turned System Restore off (I had found it useless in
the past anyways), so that can't help me.
I did run ScanDisk, in DOS, with the Boot Disk. I ran the regular one 3-4
times (on separate occasions), and even the surface scan twice, but they
never revealed any errors to me, nor did they fix the problem.

!!--Oh, here's something I forgot to say, and which might be very important.
After I ran the first DOS surface ScanDisk, and the computer booted normally,
the computer kept saying "Windows has found new hardware and is locating the
software for it", and it did that for the keyboard, mouse and several other
pieces of equipment that I do not know what their role is.--!!

Norman:
Your first 2 messages confuse me very much. The data I need to keep seems to
be fine - I can move it and have already done so with the aid of an external
hard-drive, which is still recognized fine. I m experiencing problems with
the core of Windows, or so I think: I only get a crappy 640x480 screen, with
a grey background, and I don't have access to the Internet. Perhaps it might
work if I put in my ISP's CD, but that one "requires a higher resolution".
The hard-drive has about 14 GB, and yes, it was almost full; only a little
over 400 MB remained empty when this happened.

Mart again:
Could you please tell me what installing Windows correctly means? The
computer was working fine when I got it. Perhaps I kinda killed the CPU with
the firewall, AV and anti-spyware I had, but better a slow computer than one
prone to outside infections. (Unfortunately, though, I seem to have knocked
it out from the inside, and it's still groggy. :))

So, a big HDD size is not the problem, perhaps do you think I had too little
empty space and the computer got confused and deleted just the files it
wasn't supposed to, the first ones installed and the most important?

!!--Probably very important: If I run Windows setup again, over what I have
now, do you think it will fix the computer, so I wouldn't have to do a brand
new install again? The WinME setup will overwrite the old files, yes? But
what about the third-party programs I have now - will the anti-virus and
anti-spyware still work?

Talk to you tomorrow (I didn't expect to get so many replies so quickly,
that's why I took 2 days to come back here) and thank you very much!

cquirke
Wed Mar 28 12:39:08 CDT 2007

On Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:20:57 -0700, Swordlord

>I don't think I'm going to wait anymore. I will just format the damn
>hard-drive and do a clean re-install. It's always the best solution, ain't it?

Nope. See http://cquirke.mvps.org/reinst.htm - it is very rarely a
"solution" at all, and can make things considerably worse if the
hardware is going bad.

>I just tried to re-install the monitor driver in order to get a better
>resolution and, although it was supposedly installed properly and without
>problems, I still can't get rid of the blasted 16-color-and-640x480
>resolution.

Monitor driver doesn't limit color depth, but display adapter might.

>I just wish I knew what in the world caused this crap, so I'd avoid it in
>the future!

I'd start by checking your hardware, both to ensure that it is
defect-free, and that it has Vista driver support. I'd also avoid any
drivers offered by Windows or Microsoft Update.



>--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
Who is General Failure and
why is he reading my disk?
>--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

Norman
Sat Mar 31 08:22:28 CDT 2007

Sorry if I got you confused. It is now apparent that the situation does not
apply since your HDD is so small. The size issue is something you do need to
be aware of if you upgrade the drive to a larger one. Make sure there is a
way to limit the size of the drive to the previously mentioned size for OS
pre XPsp1.
With having to reinstall those drivers, it is evident that important files
got scrambled. And possibly some not related to those drivers. If you have
never had this type of issue before, it would be important to consider if
you have run the HDD this low on free space frequently in the past. Also if
not done recently, do a thorough scandisk.

Let us know how it works out.
Norman
"Swordlord" <Swordlord@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:824BBD13-731D-4B4A-BFE1-86D953000AC4@microsoft.com...
> Hi.
>
> Thank you, everybody, for replying.
>
> Mart:
> Unfortunately, I have turned System Restore off (I had found it useless in
> the past anyways), so that can't help me.
> I did run ScanDisk, in DOS, with the Boot Disk. I ran the regular one 3-4
> times (on separate occasions), and even the surface scan twice, but they
> never revealed any errors to me, nor did they fix the problem.
>
> !!--Oh, here's something I forgot to say, and which might be very
important.
> After I ran the first DOS surface ScanDisk, and the computer booted
normally,
> the computer kept saying "Windows has found new hardware and is locating
the
> software for it", and it did that for the keyboard, mouse and several
other
> pieces of equipment that I do not know what their role is.--!!
>
> Norman:
> Your first 2 messages confuse me very much. The data I need to keep seems
to
> be fine - I can move it and have already done so with the aid of an
external
> hard-drive, which is still recognized fine. I m experiencing problems with
> the core of Windows, or so I think: I only get a crappy 640x480 screen,
with
> a grey background, and I don't have access to the Internet. Perhaps it
might
> work if I put in my ISP's CD, but that one "requires a higher resolution".
> The hard-drive has about 14 GB, and yes, it was almost full; only a little
> over 400 MB remained empty when this happened.
>
> Mart again:
> Could you please tell me what installing Windows correctly means? The
> computer was working fine when I got it. Perhaps I kinda killed the CPU
with
> the firewall, AV and anti-spyware I had, but better a slow computer than
one
> prone to outside infections. (Unfortunately, though, I seem to have
knocked
> it out from the inside, and it's still groggy. :))
>
> So, a big HDD size is not the problem, perhaps do you think I had too
little
> empty space and the computer got confused and deleted just the files it
> wasn't supposed to, the first ones installed and the most important?
>
> !!--Probably very important: If I run Windows setup again, over what I
have
> now, do you think it will fix the computer, so I wouldn't have to do a
brand
> new install again? The WinME setup will overwrite the old files, yes? But
> what about the third-party programs I have now - will the anti-virus and
> anti-spyware still work?
>
> Talk to you tomorrow (I didn't expect to get so many replies so quickly,
> that's why I took 2 days to come back here) and thank you very much!