Repairnig Win98

[sKiBa]

Hi there,

I need to reinstall/repair a win98 box today. Now the user doesn't want anything lost so a reinstall is out of the question. If I do a repair what is lost? I am assume the registry will go meaning no installed programs will run? Will all data in the system root go as well? I haven't worked with 98 for ages...

Can anyone help me out here.
Much appreciated.

 

[PAndersen]

The problem with a reinstall is not that of data getting lost, but errors being kept.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q250928

 

[edfair]

An over the top reinstall may correct some problems. But as PAndersen notes to a MS link some or many potential problems are left, such as registry and .dll files.

Your best bet would be to uninstall the programs and delete them from the programs directory (programs only, not data) and delete the registry and \system files then do an over the top and reinstall the applications. Anything short of that will leave you with all sort of link problems.

Be prepared for spending a lot of time to get it done. My last one was 4 days of intermittent work to save stuff after a motherboard was fried on a lightning stike. Hardware and software links were intertwined like worms in a bait container.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[cdogg]

Reinstalling Windows over-top of itself isn't going to cause any program installs to be lost. The registry is preserved, which is why a lot of problems don't go away during a reinstall. Its main advantage is replacing missing or corrupted critical system files.

And although the reinstall isn't that effective (as the others have mentioned), it's not a bad first option. If it doesn't solve the issue, then you can resort to more in-depth troubleshooting next.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
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[TekTippy4U]

Don't count on the apps working properly, so you'll have to have them (either on CD or floppy) to reinstall - as well as any hardware specific drivers - and all updates will need to be done again. As edfair points out. you'll notice the uninstall option for programs is gone from add/remove in control panel and then you'll have to hunt down all fragments maually...,(probably cause the install overwrites that Reg Key) so uninstall all proggies first and backup personal data (like OE address book, favorites. docs, mp3's etc.).
Last time I did an over the top, the Windows directory was empty (accidentally deleted all files, not the sub-directories).....well - all the programs had to be reinstalled and settings adjusted anyway, so I wiped, fdisked, and formatted, after backing up.

TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[Alcom]

I've used Jouni Vuorio's regcleaner with great success on Win98, WinME and WinXP. My OS repairs always involve this to uninstall useless programs, remove partially uninstalled program names from the add/remove list and to remove invalid keys from the registry. It does a backup simultaneously but I've never had to use it. Download from here:

http://www.downseek.com/download/21692.asp

 

[sKiBa]

thanks for all the help guys, going to look into all of these, much appreciated

 

[TekTippy4U]

I still use the free Orig MS RegClean 4.1a

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=458

which does a decent job and is also undo-able. Cleans up the classes root key ok. Haven't tried other pay for cleaners.

TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs